Soda Jerk Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I have an irrational hatred for Wigan. I just don't think they should be in the top flight. They can never fill their ground even when Chelsea or United come to town. That is a bit of an unreasonable reason to hate a team, but it bugs me. Even the lower league sides pull a full house for the big games - local derbies, drawn against a Premier League side in the cup etc. Just not enough people give a fuck about them for them to play in the BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.They've got alot of players I like though. Rodellega is awesome. I like N'Zog even though he's a colossal bastard. He could probably play for a top side if he wasn't such a moaning, cheating piss. Victor Moses is criminally overlooked. he's got ridiculous tekkers, and I still reckon Tom Cleverley is gonna be a hit if he can stay fit. He's got glass feet like Kieran Gibbs. That's the trouble with these new English kids. They are all fucking soft.I dunno where I'm going with this. I've been drinking beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I pretty much agree with you. Wigan's a rugger town. Footie fans probably get mocked there and therefore it should have no place in the premier league. I kinda like martinez tho, his grasp of English is admirable. He and houllier are proper English swots, they speak better than me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I do like Martinez too. He's a genuinely nice man and very likeable. Accepts responsibility well, and doesn't have too much of a moan after the game. I do question his abilities as a manager though. I think Wigan have got a reasonable squad, but are horrifically inconsistent and sometimes downright embarrassing. They never really replaced Valencia and Palacios though. They were a good team playing good football under Bruce, and that tore them apart a little bit when they lost them both. I thought Moses was going to be the immediate replacement for Valencia, but he doesn't seem to be able to hold down a first team position. Hendry Thomas doesn't quite match up to Palacios either.They'll be very lucky not to get relegated this season. I hope Martinez stays in the Premier League though. He's a good man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Shocking result for us yesterday, absolutely shocking. I like Tweed as a bloke but I have absolutely no confidence in his ability to lead our team onto better things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorge Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 BBC Sport - Football - Scottish Premier League clubs head for 10-team set-upGroan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossP Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Self Preservation League. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorge Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Self Preservation League.It's SPL2 in disguise. I'll be horrified if it gets through. It's disgusting, near enough 9 out of 10 fans against it says it all, if even a quarter/fifth of said fans decide to stop handing over their (have to say I'm closer to chucking it than I have been for a while), the consequences will be dire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 BBC Sport - Football - Scottish Premier League clubs head for 10-team set-upGroan. FUCK SAKEThis is what most people will tell you what is wrong with the SPL. At the moment, I might see Aberdeen play one team 3 times a season, possibly as high as 5 if we draw them in cups. I cannot believe that we are regressing to even less teams! It's staggering!Also, why is it SPL 2? Is it not just the same as it is now, except with 10 teams at the top instead of 12? What the fuck does it have to do with the premier league, as it's known now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 FUCK SAKEThis is what most people will tell you what is wrong with the SPL. At the moment, I might see Aberdeen play one team 3 times a season, possibly as high as 5 if we draw them in cups. I cannot believe that we are regressing to even less teams! It's staggering!Also, why is it SPL 2? Is it not just the same as it is now, except with 10 teams at the top instead of 12? What the fuck does it have to do with the premier league, as it's known now?I'm guessing SPL2 is the division below. It's just a name association like the German leagues being called Bundesliga 1 and 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 zzzzzzzzzzzzScottish football is a joke. I'm no businessman so i dont know how the financial side of things would work with a larger league but a ten team league is just boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorge Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Take it from a 1st division semi-regular here, playing roughly the same nine teams four times a season (excluding cup draws) is a load of dribble, our fixture against Falkirk this Saturday is one of SIX times we play them this season. That's what the SPL is going to turn back into, and all the SPL2 will do is move the poverty line slightly further up (and being below that poverty line will hurt even more, wouldn't like to be a Brechin/Alloa/Stirling fan in the new order).Scottish football is a joke? Yup..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaki Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 The financial implications of expanding the league obviously make it a non-starter. The assumption is that this restructuring will improve the quality of the teams in the league by making more money. I understand how boring it gets playing the same teams all the time but the quality of teams in Scotland is dire anyway. Would I really be more excited about going to see Aberdeen play once against poor Raith, Partick and Dunfermline sides than I would going to see them play 3 times against a decent Hibs side? Perhaps, but negligibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 King Pat dropped the ball a bit last night. He just let that header go in, despite being about 2 yards away. Didn't even do one of those ridiculous hangtime jumps that he usually does. Sort your life out.The Blackpool/Brum game was ace. There's nothing quite like a last minute winner. There's nothing quite like Holloway going right off the boil on the sideliens either. Magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Am I the only one who likes the current setup? The top six is something else to play for and adds a bit of interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 I agree that fans are generally unaware of all the facts and that they jump to conclusions and are very fickle, but you surely can't ignore their views given that they are supposedly the "market"....i.e. the same "market" that the television companies are chasing, the same "market" that many of the sponsors will be trying to advertise to and the same "market" who more often than not vote with their feet at grounds across Scotland.Also, do they really think they will secure long term television rights and Media rights for the 2nd tier of Scottish Football? How naieve....Going lower still, I love the fact the lower league chairmen are moaning about loss of sponsorship etc through going regional. You only need to take a look at most of the sponsors across the lower leagues; the majority of them are established local brands who don't really do much business in the ether regions of Scotland.Going lower still....I watch a ten team league week in week out and I am fucking sick of 6 games a season against Arbroath, Clyde, Albion Rovers etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 2 leagues of 10 sounds shite. I do like their idea of a pyramid system to allow Highland league teams into the SFL though. Caley Thistle, Ross County and Peterfuckingheid (spit) have all shown what they can do given the chance. Not so much Elgin City. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 If Aberdeen get into the 5th round of the Scottish Cup and draw Celtic we could be playing them 4 times in 2 weeks. That's with the current setup. It's going to be fucking ridiculous with a 10 team league again.4 clubs now look likely to vote against it, but they'll probably get bought off when the time comes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gladstone Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Scottish football pisses me off. I really want it to be good, but most of the time it's bollocks.I can't see any single way that moving to a 10 team league is going to improve anything.16 or 18 team league would improve things I think.I don't have all the information, particularly financial information but I don't see how moving to a bigger league would cripple anything. The basic facts that I've gathered during the last 10 or so years of giving a fuck, is that football teams more often than not live outwith their means. If there is less money coming in because Sky (or whoever) want 4 old firm games a season and the "smaller" clubs want to play the old firm as much as possible to get decent gate receipts, it will probably be a good thing to be honest. We might realise that we cannot compete with the "package" that is the EPL, and why the fuck would we want to? The arse will fall out of that circus sometime, and they won't have a fucking league.We tried it on a smaller scale with Setanta and that worked out pretty fucking badly.If the decision was made to move to a 16 or 18 team league in say 5 years' time, it would give everyone involved time to make adjustments etc.The fact is that you will still get complete fucking idiots running football teams and spending more than they should - check the nick of our champions right now! They are supposed to be one of the clubs with more money than everyone else, but they are seemingly a couple of called up loans away from going under (will probably never happen, but still...).With less football on TV, which might happen if Sky (or whoever) pulled the plug because of less old firm games or whatever, perhaps more people might go to matches. The lower half of the current SPL would surely have more chance of going and winning some games if now first division clubs were thrown into the mix, and the now first division clubs would get the chance to play "bigger" teams than they currently do and hopefully would generate more bums on seats.Pretty simplistic view on things, but as a football fan, I think a 10 team league would be a catastrophe. But, like there can be idiots running football teams, we have idiots running the fucking league... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaki Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 To be fair there are a number of extremely successful business people and also a former First Minister (with nothing to gain from it) who are behind this proposal. I know that this doesnt automatically mean that it is any good or that we have to like it but there is obviously some merit in it. Like it or not football is all about money and this step is seen as the way to make the most money out of Scottish football which will be distributed more evenly than it currently is. If I was making a financial decision I know Id be more likely to heed the advice of self made millionaires and successful politicians rather than your average football fan! (perhaps this makes me a gullible idiot though) It does seem that the unilateral support within SPL clubs that has been reported is wide of the markat least according to Stephen Thomson: Thompson: Dundee United aren't alone in opposing smaller SPL | Football | STV Sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gladstone Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 To be fair there are a number of extremely successful business people and also a former First Minister (with nothing to gain from it) who are behind this proposal. I know that this doesnt automatically mean that it is any good or that we have to like it but there is obviously some merit in it. Like it or not football is all about money and this step is seen as the way to make the most money out of Scottish football which will be distributed more evenly than it currently is. If I was making a financial decision I know Id be more likely to heed the advice of self made millionaires and successful politicians rather than your average football fan! (perhaps this makes me a gullible idiot though) It does seem that the unilateral support within SPL clubs that has been reported is wide of the markat least according to Stephen Thomson: Thompson: Dundee United aren't alone in opposing smaller SPL | Football | STV SportSelf-made millionaires are quite often only looking to benefit themselves.If they can make a bit more money out of their money, they will be happy.This might increase money in the short term for Scottish clubs, but it will be the demise of Scottish football I tell thee, but if Scottish football goes completely tits up in 10 years time, the guys at the helm just now won't really give a fuck.We need a longer term plan, and if that means less money in the short term (so long as clubs don't go under because of it!), then I'd be all for it.Scotland just seems so fucking crap at getting the best out of things. We are a small country, yes, but other small countries manage to do well sometimes. Uruguay for example piss all over Scotland. They do have far superiour neighbours than we do, and we just keep trying to emulate what the EPL has achieved financially, which is where we are going wrong. The EPL has made a lot of people rich, but most of the clubs are in unbelievable amounts of debt, and the national team is so much shitter than it should be.EDIT: Compare the Irish league with the SPL, and then compare the achievements of both national teams over the past 20 years. Ireland pisses all over Scotland from an international perspective, but their domestic league is piss poor (even pisser poorer than the SPL). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorge Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Going lower still....I watch a ten team league week in week out and I am fucking sick of 6 games a season against Arbroath, Clyde, Albion Rovers etcIf Milne, Petrie etc get their way then it'll be six games a season against Tayport, Lochee and Carnoustie for the Angus clubs before long because the second tier criteria will put a glass ceiling in the way of them getting up no matter how well they are run. Brechin are a good case in point: the Glebe would likely fail the ground criteria for SPL2 even though it would never need 3000 seats every 2 weeks (Brechin population: 8000-ish IIRC). The smaller clubs that go up would just yo-yo straight back down because all the money they get would go into spending on the ground rather than the players on it, it's exactly the same problem with the original SPL that put us, Airdrie, Raith, St Mirren etc. almost out of business all over again. The lower leagues would almost certainly be forced into going regional, or the clubs in them will die off whilst waiting for that cup draw against the Scum that won't come.FTOF, and fuck Milne, Petrie, Gilmour and Brown for being so short sighted, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaki Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 There is surely no money to be made by owning an SPL club? Debt riddled companies with low income aren't really sound investments. Boyle, Milne, Thompson etc. need to protect that investment but they'll never make money from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gladstone Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 If Milne, Petrie etc get their way then it'll be six games a season against Tayport, Lochee and Carnoustie for the Angus clubs before long because the second tier criteria will put a glass ceiling in the way of them getting up no matter how well they are run. Brechin are a good case in point: the Glebe would likely fail the ground criteria for SPL2 even though it would never need 3000 seats every 2 weeks (Brechin population: 8000-ish IIRC). The smaller clubs that go up would just yo-yo straight back down because all the money they get would go into spending on the ground rather than the players on it, it's exactly the same problem with the original SPL that put us, Airdrie, Raith, St Mirren etc. almost out of business all over again. The lower leagues would almost certainly be forced into going regional, or the clubs in them will die off whilst waiting for that cup draw against the Scum that won't come.FTOF, and fuck Milne, Petrie, Gilmour and Brown for being so short sighted,The stadium requirements are so fucking ridiculous. Didn't the criteria used to be that SPL teams had to have a 10,000 capacity all seater stadium? How many SPL clubs get 10,000 a week? Not many.Fucking idiots.Teams should be promoted on merit, and merit alone. Safety requirements should be the only thing outside footballing merit stopping a team getting promoted. If a team has a 3,000 capacity stadium that is safe enough to cater for 3,000 people, then that should be it. If they need / want a bigger stadium, that should be up to them. Going out of business to get a stadium good enough to play in the SPL just shouldn't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gladstone Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 There is surely no money to be made by owning an SPL club? Debt riddled companies with low income aren't really sound investments. Boyle, Milne, Thompson etc. need to protect that investment but they'll never make money from it.Don't kid yourself. They'll be taking sizable salaries and bonuses etc out of the clubs that they run for a start... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphas Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 We need a longer term plan, and if that means less money in the short term (so long as clubs don't go under because of it!), then I'd be all for it.I think that's the issue though, there would be several clubs in danger with less cash. The Scottish game has become too hand to mouth in terms of money and that seems to be blocking any long term plans the fans would like. Including an extra 4 or 6 clubs won't bring in the equivalent level of money so there will be more teams going after a similar pot of cash the teams are sharing out now.Sad state of affairs really as the vast majority of supporters want a larger league (75% of fans want 16 or 18 team league going by the recent survey). Most other industries take notice of what customer's want but it looks like Scottish football isn't in a position to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.