Let's not mess about here.
The SPL is a disaster.
Crowds get lower every year and the league is already only between two teams and it's not even half way through.
The split doesn't do anything except give more money to the Old Firm.
I don't really want my team to get promoted.
First Division is the best league in Scotland.

Lets see how you feel after 5 or 6 seasons.

Only because you can't get back out of it.

Diddy League fan in SPL Abuse Shocker!!!

I guess this is aimed for the 1st division forum as everyone in the SPL loves it.

Any club owner would give up their fanbase to be in the SPL.

I tend to agree with the Fifer.......

The 1st Div probably holds most of my favourite moments, but they usually have alcohol fueled trips at the back off...Seasons of trips to Dingwall, Inverness, Brechin, QOS, Forfar all hold superb memories

We humped the Fifers last time in the SPL but the 1st Div humpings hold more for me.......

That said the SPL is the place to be for prestige, tv and press coverage...the coverage and interest in the 1st Div is minimal now, the standard of play has dropped over the years.

I do blame the 4-5-1 formation all over for the death of football.....

A brilliant point. If deployed the right way it can be brilliant to watch but at this level, a team playing 451 is going to be dull. Even though not many teams deploy it, overall the mentality of teams is to avoid defeat and think about winning later.

As for Clyde, if we play 451 - we lose and our fans riot. When we change to an attacking system, our fans are delighted. It's no wonder attendances are dropping when certain managers don't bother trying to play decent football.

I tend to agree too.

lets face it, we dont have a hope in hell of seeing the SPL in the near or even far future. But I have to look at that as a positive thing.

I dont want to pay SPL prices to see my team play (and likely get beaten) week in week out. I dont want either side of the old firms fans take over Broadwood each time we play them.

It would be nice to get some of our games televised and spoken about on the Radio once in a while though. And our team to appear in Fifa 2034 as an spl team.

But seriously. All it would do to us is put the price of going to see our team up. And its expensive enough.

What our league needs is more media attention (and not the Lithgow kind either).

I agree, our league is the best in Scotland.

I want to win the league, but I am not that fussed about getting promoted. At the moment, I can just about afford to go to all the home and away games. £17 a pop at an away ground is more than I am happy to pay, but I don't have much of a choice. If we go up, it gets 10x more difficult to park and I would need to pay £22-25 to get into an away game. I can guarantee I would not attend away games in the SPL at that price, plus my season ticket will go up. Add all that to the fact we probably would lose about half our games it doesn't sound so attractive.

The 1st Division is a good, competitive league and it's easy to get to most of the grounds, get parked and get in for less than £17. Ok, this is overpriced but its nothing like the SPL.

It's interesting isn't it. I go to most games home and away but of we do get promoted I will definitely not be doing it due to cost.

And one very nearly did. This reminds me of the comments on a Thistle website the spring just before our club fell out of the SPL. The First is better, there's more competition.

It'd probably be cheaper for me as SPL clubs tend to have student gates.

stuart.duff@stjohnstonefc.co.uk


Rant away!

You can blame the likes of your chairman John Yorkston for the state of the top flight.

I agree with the OP. In fact, the Champions League is crap too. I wouldn't want Dundee United winning it.

Nail. Head. I don't remember too many complaints from Dunfermline fans when their chairman (and ours, to be fair) set up the SPL in the first place.

By far your best and most insightful post on P&B.

That'll be John 'No point in this, we'll be up and down in one season' Yorkston?

Yorkston never said such a thing. But why let facts get in the way of having another pointless go at him?

You should try dropping down in consecutive season to the 3rd division and then trying to get back up - great fun. You get to see some really far away places and some right wierd people.

Just don't try to play any actual skilful footy - if you think the 1st has its hatchet-clubs then check out the lower leagues.

The First divsion is fucking horrific.

There isn't one Saturday i sit there wishing we were playing Aberdeen or Hibs instead of Clyde and Morton.

The SPL is the place to be, regardless of it's staleness and any other opinion is sadly deluded.

There, I've fixed it. You ruined an insightful post with a statement that was, by definition, false.

SPL has its drawbacks, the worst things are the Old Filth Fans then the pricing which is a total rip off.

I'm sure St. Mirren are looking forward to a return to Division 1 next season and we will probably be back the year after.

Screw that. We'd probably go right back down again, but it would be nice to play against the bigger and better teams week in and week out.

The only thing that our league has is that it's competitive, and not only at one end of the table.

If anything sums up how crap the SPL would be, this snippet from Accies site does:



£22 and £23 to watch Accies, Motherwell and Kilmarnock. Do you really think this is more entertaining than paying £16/£17 to watch Dundee, Dunfermline and St Johnstone etc? No chance.

Who'd want to be an adult football fan?

More entertaining ? Of course it is, regardless of ticket price. Whether it's more value for money with a price hike that steep is debateable though, but I'd take your phrase for what I think.

No chance.

Do I think Motherwell, Killie and Hamilton are more entertaining than the top clubs in our League? Nope. I stand by my point.

I don't think the top sides in our league are any better than the bottom ones of the SPL, and the ones at the bottom are absolutely atrocious.

Can I bring up the farce of the 10,000 seat rule? Can I? Can I? Please? Anyone want to buy a stand?

You'd maybe like playing us a bit more if you could actually beat us.

It usually takes two teams to make an entertaining game and have I seen (highlights of) games where all of the above were entertaining.

The problem with the SPL is not merely the attitude of the teams in it - and don't tell me the boards of SFL1 teams would behave differently - but the closed door nature of the whole edifice.

I'd be happy to see the SFL completely reorganise itself but it won't. It's like bald men fighting over a comb. There's something to be said for the Scottish League and its teams putting their house in order before lecturing the SPL.

Everyone fcuking moaning about the SPL, thing is you are all fcuking moaning because you weren't good enough to win the league and earn the right to play there.

The standard in the SPL is light years away from the 1st division and anyone that thinks half the first division is as good as the bottom half of the SPL is a fcuking maniac.

The point was that the Scottish Football in total is fucking shite.
Celtic and Rangers, who've shat on teams like yours, were beaten by teams from Lithuania and Denmark.

So tell me, are you enjoying paying £23 to watch your team getting shafted each week?

If Falkirk were to get relegated and the Rovers got promoted I'd be happy to remain in the First. At least there would be a bit of passion in those games.

£22 to watch Accies is a rip-off, thats SPL prices. Its a case of like it or lump it due to us having to spend big bucks to bring the stadium up to standard and replacing the pitch.

The only thing that is shafting us at the minute are some terrible refs, we deserved a point v celtic and should've took 3 points from tannadice.....next week away to Rangers is £23 and £7 which is pretty good. I'd rather pay that than sit at Broadwood, Broomfield or bloody Crappylow any day.

Every fan will at some point say that should've had more from a game when ultimately they deserved nothing simply because the opposition did something better than they did to get the points.

Maybe you come under the £7 admission but I would rather watch Thistle at Broadwood, Broomfield or bloody Crappylow any day than Ipox/Porkheid. At least I know I have a chance of watching a close game that won't cost me £23.

Honestly, is getting ripped off watching Hamilton getting beaten most weeks in the SPL better than watching them win every week in the 1st?

Despite the prices, the old firm and everything else that's wrong with it, the SPL is the only place to be.

For a fan its rubbish. Expensive, little to play for, chances of getting pumped regularly go up massively with promotion.

The only good thing for most clubs apart from the money from an entertainment point of view is getting a local derby, aside from that its garbage especially playing the Old Scum.

Expensive, yep, but so is the first division. £15/£16/£17 for most games, it's not THAT much more for the SPL.

Little to play for, true, but it's the same in the first division with only 1 promotion place. And if fans dont want to be promoted, that pretty much means there's nothing to play for!

Chances of getting beaten more often, yes, but when you do win in the SPL, it means more than in div1 because you're playing better teams. And when you beat one of the old firm it's about as good as it gets supporting a wee team.

I dont think I would even have to think twice about being back in the SPL, we have been here for far too long!

First few seasons are fine when, as has been said above, you still have the novelty of away days in places like Dingwall, Dumfries, Brechin, Arbroath etc. However im pretty sick of it now. Its been said that it must be rubbish to pay £20+ to watch your team get gubbed 50% of the time. However, I think that a little more exciting than watching a team play 4-5-1 when coming to McDiarmid and time-wasting in the first half! (mind you we would get that twice a season from hamilton in the SPL!) The last 7 seasons around 90% of games at McDiarmid the home fans are expecting a win rather than hoping for one.

Its not just for the media coverage and, ahem, "prestige" of playing in the SPL. Away days would be better and to be honest i dont think £5 is a massive leap when you consider the better atmosphere etc. While i dont think the quality at the lower end of the SPL is much better than the top of the 1st, there is a clear jump to teams like United, Hearts, Hibs etc and obviously a massive one to the OF. Its funnily enough the prospect of decent teams coming to McDiarmid that appeals most to me. Im not bothered if we win 90% of the time (although that would be nice!), I'd be happy enough watching a better standard of team come to McDiarmid and try and play football.

SPL=Scary Prices League.

While,Iam enjoying the novelty factor in the SPL,my away games are now rationed due to the exorbitant costs involved.

Met a guy on the train tonight who has followed Accies from the Third Division to this season and has only been to one game this season.His reasons were interesting:over priced fitba,fans being moved from their seats for Old Firm fans,the corporate jolly ons,newbies upsetting old fans and the do-or die fitba.

The single biggest tragedy for me is seeing guys who went to Cowdenbeath etc when we were homeless in the middle of winter on a Tuesday night now being priced out altogether.

Fitba wise,teams are more physical in the SPL and Accies have been found out for being too namby-pamby playing nice fitba till recently.

I miss the First as the fans are there because they want to be-not because they have won promotion.

However,the increase in publicity,gates and excitement in the top League when you look at the fixtures compensates that.

Facts are fitba is too dear and the League should be bigger as I have been saying for years when we were in the First.Too many clubs in the SPL are about retaining what they have and not thinking for the good of the game.

Football is going nowhere in this country.

To have any recognised success outwith our own diddy leagues we would need a mammoth team, forged from the remains of Celtic, Rangers, Thistle, Queens Park, St Mirren, Morton, Dumbarton and the Port Juniors. We could call it Drunkenbigotdiddies Slightly United.

I think that team would stand a chance of winning the UEFA Cup one day.

Interesting comments from the 'Accies fans.
I wonder how many people would rather watch Dundee/Dunfermline/QOTS/Saints/Partick for £15 or St Mirren for £23.

Not really an appetising choice either way - I'd rather watch Queens for £10-12

Am sorry, every first division team fan would give their arm to be in the SPL. Taking ticket prices out the equation, in footballing terms, the SPL is the place to be.

The first division is an awful league and like the Championship in England, is full of long ball merchants and hackers. Skill is at a premium am afraid and while you get the odd decent match, it isn't filled with free flowing football. The SPL isn't exactly either but there is far higher proportion than in the SFL.

If we were to get promoted, for example, we would need far better players than what we currently have to stay up. A few new defenders, certainly at least one Centre Midfielder and a winger or two. Plus we would need at least 2 strikers.

With the greatest of respect to you thats just utter Bollocks!

Same old predictable winners every week, Same 2 teams finishing at the top of the league every year. Boring! thats what I think of the SPL. At least in the first, no-one can really predict whos going to win the league. What you're really saying is that "You" would give your right arm to see your team in the SPL. You dont speak for me, so dont talk shite. Im quite happy to stay where we are instead of having to put up with losing our stadium to fans of the old firm every time we have the misfortune to play them. And do you really think that playing teams like Hibs, Inverness Caly and St Mirren among others is any better than playing some of our teams. The only thing getting into the SPL would do is make your club and clubs like it nearer bankruptcy. Most of our teams couldnt afford the SPL without the fans having to lose out. i.e. More expensive tickets, replica tops, scarves etc etc etc. Pipedreams are nice, but you have to remember thats all they are!!

Other than the OF winning, which is inevitable, what is predictable about the SPL games?

Perhaps you would like to take a stab at predicting the results of Saturday's card. See how you get on.

TBH I have been enjoying going to different places over the past couple of seasons than what we did previously. Playing the same teams over and over again four times a season is pretty dire, but I will probably say the same thing about the first division in a couple of years.

Saying that if Falkirk get relegated, Raith come up East Fife come up and Airdrie stay in the league then I don't want to get promoted.