The ignorant comments of Jamie O’Hara about the Bournemouth job being bigger than the one at Rangers have been poured over continuously ever since he made them.
There was more than a hint of the theatrical about ex-Spurs player O’Hara’s comments and they felt more about increasing his profile through shock jock coverage than actually making a point.
“I wouldn’t want to disrespect the Rangers people because they are a huge football club,” said O’Hara [talkSPORT].
“But it’s a bigger job to potentially be the Bournemouth manager.
“Rangers are a huge, huge football club but for me there’s only two clubs in Scotland.
“With Bournemouth, they’ve just dropped out of the Premier League, to get them back into the Premier League, they are a higher profile football team.
“I would take the Bournemouth job, it’s a bigger job.”
Bournemouth is not a “bigger job” than Rangers and it utterly ludicrous to suggest so. O’Hara got the reaction he wanted by suggesting it was.
It’s since spawned tiresome reams of content on English ignorance towards Scottish football, had Ally McCoist calling him a “diddy”, and even drawn the ridicule of English football legends.
McCoist even suggested the only clubs bigger than Rangers down south are Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool [talkSPORT].
Harry Redknapp was the latest to come out and laugh off the suggestion the touchline at Bournemouth’s 11,000 Vitality was bigger than Ibrox’s 50,000.
“I love Ally McCoist to bits and he’s dead right when he says Jamie must have been drinking when he came away with that statement,” said Redknapp [Daily Record].
“Let’s face it, he can’t have been serious and that’s coming from someone who has a lot of affection for Bournemouth.
“Bournemouth hadn’t even been in the second tier for the first 88 years of their existence.
“I worked in America and Rangers came on tour and the place was mobbed. They had fans coming from Canada and all over to watch them. They’re a massive club.
“Jamie’s a great lad and I like him a lot but he must have been having a wind-up. He must have been trying to cause a bit of controversy because he can’t have been serious.
“I heard him saying it and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was laughing out loud. Ally’s response was great. Bournemouth’s stadium holds 11,000 so Jamie has clearly never been to Ibrox!”
And this is just it.
It’s tacky, tired coverage with absolutely no substance designed simply to rile up listeners and generate a debate which honestly, doesn’t even exist.
Neil Warnock has even chimed in with his two cents, believing that Rangers and Celtic would be “top six” before long if they played in the English Premier League.
O’Hara might have been aiming to increase his profile with controversial punditry but whilst it’s got clicks, listens and people talking, his reputation as someone to take seriously has taken a bruising.
Call it ignorant, call it deliberate, call it ridiculous, but let’s stop calling these ridiculous notions from pundits down south a debate. Please.
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