alanmacc

I know that most folk here support teams south of Gretna but thought is just say congrats to Rangers and not before time too, the league title is back in its rightful place.

4in a row .. ohh no where’d it go

irnbru14

Rangers, Celtic, who cares, makes no difference which side of the InFirm win it in all reality, when are you lot p***ing off to blight England and give the rest of us some piece

theduke

Cheerio to 4 in A Row!

"Cheer up Gordon Strachan oh what can it mean to a sad f@*n&n B#&*!*d and Sh^t# football team"

Superb Hello Hello!

theduke

You mean a chance of winning something?

CarolineSwan

love it love it

certainly put a smile on hubbys face , though he was raging last night when the the site he normally watches the games on kept crashing

nzdave

Im all for the SPL banter, having had a season ticket for 14 years at Tynecastle before comin across here, but no need for the old bigotted rubbish! Try and keep that out.

Glad the jambos got 3rd and to be fair, it was good to see Rangers win the league. Couldnt really stomach seeing Celtic win again...it was getting too much like the EPL!!

alanmacc

Ohhhhhh come on you really think the SPL could survive with no old firm?
Ok yes it would mean that you would have a good crack at the title and possible entry for atleast one season to the champs........

But with lack of revenue from OF travelling support could the rest of the SPL really buy a strong enough squad to compete in the champs? I really dont think so ........ and for that matter could the old firm survice in the EPL imo no!!!

But anyhoos this is all a bit of banter and I for one am glad that it can be taken as banter with no fear of really upsetting anybody or the mindless muppets that follow both sides of the OF

irnbru14

One thing I don't miss about Scotland, the Old Firm and the antiquated sectarian baggage that goes with them

irnbru14

Honest answer IMHO is yes it would be the thing that woudl trigger the much needed revolution in Scottish Football.

The OF are two big teams (if not anywhere actually near as good as they think they are) in a small pond, get rid of them, restructure the SPL and Division 1 to two 16 team divisions and play each other once home and away again, like it used to be! Ditch the stupid league split too!!

Suddenly you have a bunch of teams of similar size in with a chance of winning the league, Hibs, Hearts, Dons, Dundee Utd, Motherwell, Killie for example all have as good a chance at the start of the season to win the thing, if being more competitive doesnt bring the fans back nothing will, its boring just now, we know one half of the gruesome two-some will win it and the rest push for 3rd or 4th...great!

Any loss of revenue will encourage teams to blood their own players, gotta be good for the national team that too.

ANd the OF get to go and get relegated to the Championship, think its win win win for Scottish Football if you ask me

nzdave

I agree!! Providing we can keep at least 1 Champions Legue spot for the SPL winners, then I could see packed out stadiums for a lot of teams, as it would be far more competative with Hearts, Dundee Utd, Aberdeen etc all competeing for top spot. A lot of people loose interest after Xmas time when the league is already wrapped up for either side of the Old Firm.

Get 2 leagues of 16 teams each. Play each other home and away, and stop this split rubbish. Jobs a good one....we dont really need the 2 Ugly Sisters!

theduke

That is not what all the people who run these clubs are saying, they are terrified that they are going to see lots of the smaller clubs miss out on the big money spin offs from the OF.

SFA needs both the OF, if they are not involved they are asking for compensation to cover loss.

But maybe we should get you guys to contact them and make them see all will be good with your new format league set up.

The OF will eventually move to the EPL, when no one knows, but it will have a negative effect on Scottish football no matter how many pairs of rose tinted specs are worn!

Anyway good to see Strachan has now seen the light and decided to leave Castle Greyskull!

alanmacc

You honestly think that the SPL would survive with no OF cash to prop it up is a bit delusional if you ask me, at present we have 2 teams that could gain entry to the champs league but that is only due to the coefficient of all the teams that play in Europe from Scotland.
Should the OF depart to the EPL, which I don’t think will ever happen, then for the first season the top two of the SPL would have a chance of entering, by the next season it would be reduced to the winners only.
Seasons after that who knows but it is likely that you would need to play qualification games to even get into the CL, and if you got knocked out in the early stages which are most likely then the knock on effect would be huge.

To attract the decent sponsors and players you need to be able to guarantee CL if not European football every season, both the OF can guarantee this yet still struggle to lure top players at the top of their game to come play in Scotland so what would the chances of the rest of the teams who pay a lower salary have of tempting players to come to them.

Yes it would mean blooding more home grown talent but Scotland is not an endless pool of good players, can you honestly name 5 European if not world class home grown players that could cut it in the big league ……. Ok lets see, Scott Brown over rated pretty average, Barry Ferguson had his shot at it, hardly set the place on fire, McGregor possibly, Mcgeady already decided not to play for Scotland and yet to perform to his full ability.
I know I have only highlighted OF players and that is only because they have played in the CL and failed to cut it at the highest level, this is why we need imports to prop up our teams.

I know it’s a bit of a rant but im sick of people assuming the SPL would survive with no OF, but I do however agree that we need to move it to a 16 team league, this in itself would make for a more competitive race

irnbru14

The SPl wouldn't only survive without the OF it would prosper!

Who's talking about Champions League? We are talking about a competitive domestic top division in Scotland when the two biggest parasites on the game have gone, you think that supporters of other clubs give two hoots about Rangers and Celtic? Competitve league where your team actually has a chance of doing something will bring back the supporters to the grounds, reliance on bringing through some of your own players will encourage this too.

Scott Brown would do well in the EPL if he had a manager who actually let him play his natural game, Strachan has killed his attacking instincts. Alan Hutton is already down there, as is Darren Fletcher, sounds like Steven Fletcher is being hunted by several EPL/Championship clubs, Christophe Berra is down there at the top end of the championships, McFadden played for Everton, Garry O'Connor also at Birmingham...I think you belittle some of the players we have produced over the last few years

The sooner they go and leave the rest of us to get on with it in a more positive environment the better

alanmacc

[QUOTE=irnbru14;7603693]The SPl wouldn't only survive without the OF it would prosper!

Who's talking about Champions League? We are talking about a competitive domestic top division in Scotland when the two biggest parasites on the game have gone, you think that supporters of other clubs give two hoots about Rangers and Celtic?


Ohhh have a bit of honesty, prosper ?? with no European money coming in the SPL would become a backwater league like Ireland or Wales is that really the way forward? to win a competitive league with no prospects of palying in Europe?

As far as the parasites comments goes I think that's a tad harsh considering the prices the OF fans need to pay for away games, the prices OF pay for away games are on average 15% higher than those charged to the rest of the teams so I put it that we are not at all parasitic but in fact major donors to the coffers of smaller teams.

Do other supporters care for the OF? not really but for the small first and second division teams who draw them in cup games it can be a matter of survival for the next season for them, so I think the OF actually put more into the Scottish game than you give credit for.

Mcfadden has flattered to deceive for years, yes he has flashes of brilliance but no great consistency, that is where the whole of SPL need to get to having good quality players who are home grown and can play consistently for a few seasons and not just be a flash in the pan. Berra, O'Connor both palying for bottom feeder teams, yes playing against greater opposition but not top level football.
The EPL can survive with no European football for lower league teams due to the financial hand outs of Sky, where are Scotland has Setanta who are not trying to renege on the current deal and recoup some cash back whilst the EPL is cash rich, even Newcastle who got relegates will receive a windfall payment for this of around 30mill ......... Scotland will have a better TV rights deal that can be spread out over the teams

theduke

CHAMPIONIES! CHAMPIONIES!



52 Domestic Championships!

That's all I have to say on the matter! Bring out the Buckie