Dindeleux Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Whilst discussing with a work mate yesterday the merits of Scotland having a bigger top league we got onto the subject of discussing who the 20 biggest clubs in the country were - both in terms of current day standing and also post-WWII record. I don't really think there is much value in looking back prior to WWII or we would probably have had Queens Park in the top 5. During this discussion we had a lot of differing ideas about what clubs were bigger than others - I was quite surprised by this as I thought a lot were a given. Anyway here is my top 20 (divided into some sections) and my reasons why - no doubt I'll get hammered for some of these or the positioning of them so feel free to correctly. It is just my own feelings based on trophies, crowds, time in top leagues..........results against Killie etc. I will of course be biased in some way. Firstly - The top 2: No doubt in my eyes that the two biggest clubs are Celtic/Rangers, Rangers/Celtic. Not really wanting to talk about this too much, both clubs have had their ups and downs and one is stronger than the other at the moment (simply by actually existing) but both clubs despite whatever company run them are the two biggest. 1/2: Celtic/Rangers (will just leave as that as don't want this to turn into a bigot fest) The next group: Straight away this was where disagreement hit. I personally then rank the next three top clubs as Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee United. My mate disagreed with this order and put Dundee Utd above Hearts. I'm not sure why but I've always looked at it the other way round. For a long time across the 20 years I've been watching football Hearts have been the 3rd best team in the top division but I rank Aberdeen as a bigger club. 3. Aberdeen 4. Hearts 5. Dundee Utd The other guy also said you have to include Dundee and Hibs in this next grouping. I'm really not too sure and I would have Hibs as a "lesser" club than the three mentioned in the previous group. I also don't really consider Dundee to be a bigger club than my own (or I didn't) but once we started looking through the last 40 years or so I reconsidered this. I'm even really unsure why I view Hibs as a "big" club. I remember Bobby Williamson leaving us for Hibs and being confused before my dad educated me that they were a far bigger club than ours. 6. Hibs 7. Dundee Then I think you have another grouping of a few teams - Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and Dunfermline. I have no idea why I have Dunfermline in here but I look at them as being a club of potentially similar standing to my own. Added into this, based on their own success of the last 20 years, I have to also include Caley. I know with crowds etc and the "newness" of the club in terms of senior football this may not go down well with some people but it is my standings. 8. Motherwell 9. Kilmarnock 10. St Johnstone 11. Dunfermline 12. ICT Following this I think have another two clubs who I cannot seperate but who I think are a grade above the group following them - St Mirren and Partick Thistle. I know that a lot of people will say both teams are bigger than Caley and possibly Dunfermline (and maybe even Kilmarnock too) but again it is my opinion. 13. St Mirren 14. Partick This is where it starts to get interesting as some of the clubs in the next grouping are across 3 leagues but bear with me. I could probably have put some of these clubs above any team from Kilmarnock down (including us) Falkirk (who I look at as a big club, probably due to the amount of important games against us in the time I've watched Kilmarnock), Raith Rovers (who were a rival of ours from early to mid 90s for promotion and relegation, Ayr, Morton, Hamilton and then Ross County who similarly to Caley I found it really hard to rank. 15. Falkirk 16. Raith 17. Ayr 18. Morton 19. Hamilton 20. Ross County No doubt Hamilton fans will feel they should be a lot higher placed but I've saw Hamilton be as low as the bottom tier and, whilst they have done brilliantly over the last 10 years, I still rank them as a smaller club than Ayr and Morton. Thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnstoun Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 My first thought is that there are 22 teams in your top 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dindeleux Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 My first thought is that there are 22 teams in your top 20. Ha ha very very good shout!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pac Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'd replace dundee Utd with hibbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Someone sounds the Captain Sensible horn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Lichtie Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 No Arbroath? Disappointing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bairn Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 IMO, 1. Celtic 2. Aberdeen 3. Hearts 4. Dundee Utd 5. Hibs 6. Motherwell 7. Dundee 8. Kilmarnock 9. Sevco 10. St Johnstone 11. Inverness 12. St Mirren 13. Dunfermline 14. Falkirk 15. Partick 16. Hamilton 17. Raith 18. Ross County 19. Livingston 20. Queen of the South 9001. Old Rangers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattydfc Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Dundee are a far bigger team than Dundee United could ever dream to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattydfc Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Celtic Aberdeen Hearts Dundee then who really gives a f**k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Post WWII: 1. Celtic 2. Rangers 3. Aberdeen 4. Hearts 5. Hibs 6. Dundee Current Day: 1. Celtic 2. Aberdeen 3. Hearts 4. Dundee United 5. Hibs. 6. Dundee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 By what measure are people ranking Aberdeen above Hearts? It certainly can't be attendances, recent history or our head-to-head record where we utterly blow them out of the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honest_Man#1 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 IMO, 1. Celtic 2. Aberdeen 3. Hearts 4. Dundee Utd 5. Hibs 6. Motherwell 7. Dundee 8. Kilmarnock 9. Sevco 10. St Johnstone 11. Inverness 12. St Mirren 13. Dunfermline 14. Falkirk 15. Partick 16. Hamilton 17. Raith 18. Ross County 19. Livingston 20. Queen of the South 9001. Old Rangers Livingston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Foot Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Scotland's top 20 clubs: 1. Jordan's, Cupar. 2. Peppermint Park, Dalkeith. 3. Megabar, Motherwell. 4. The Ben Nevis Inn, Fort William. 5. The Hive, Edinburgh. 6. Le Mirage, Girvan. 7. Fantoosh, Paisley. 8. Twig, Bathgate. 9. Expo, Kilmarnock. 10. The Martell, Falkirk. 11. Diamonds, Airdrie. 12. Joanna's Nightclub, Elgin. 13. Cav, Edinburgh. 14. Garage, Glasgow. etc, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bairn Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Scotland's top 20 clubs: 1. Jordan's, Cupar. 2. Peppermint Park, Dalkeith. 3. Megabar, Motherwell. 4. The Ben Nevis Inn, Fort William. 5. The Hive, Edinburgh. 6. Le Mirage, Girvan. 7. Fantoosh, Paisley. 8. Twig, Bathgate. 9. Expo, Kilmarnock. 10. The Martell, Falkirk. 11. Diamonds, Airdrie. 12. Joanna's Nightclub, Elgin. 13. Cav, Edinburgh. 14. Garage, Glasgow. etc, etc... Now there's an idea for a thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Foot Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Now there's an idea for a thread It's been done. I did numbers 1 - 5 myself then had to use the other thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Probably the fact they've made an impact in Europe. I suppose. I wasn't even ejaculatory matter for at least another decade when they were last relevant, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraser Fyvie Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 People claiming Dundee Utd are a bigger club than Hibs... By what measure are people ranking Aberdeen above Hearts? It certainly can't be attendances, recent history or our head-to-head record where we utterly blow them out of the water. The most predictable response in this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Interestingly the Statto rating system currently makes it: 1 - Celtic 2 - Aberdeen 3 - Inverness 4 - St Johnstone, Hearts 6 - Dundee Utd 7 - Dundee 8 - Kilmarnock 9 - Motherwell 10 - Ross County 11 - Partick 12 - Hamilton 13 - Hibs 14 - Rangers 15 - St Mirren 16 - Falkirk 17 - QotS 18 - Raith 19 - Dumbarton 20 - Morton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widge Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Ooooft that'll rankle with a few HJ, but ultimately is correct for recent times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7-2 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Interestingly the Statto rating system currently makes it: Can't the right though...Rangers as high as 14? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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