Smokerson Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 I would imagine Aberdeen were playing to Achieve 3rd and get into Europe. They’ve split the old firm in recent times also and were in a good tussle with Motherwell this season. There’s also the battle to make the top 6 which has been exciting in some years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SotesBornalichtie Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 2 hours ago, Lichtie78 said: That just isn’t true is it?Had the Premiership continued then Motherwell, Aberdeen, Livi and Hibs would have all been battling until the final day to try and secure European qualification. 30 minutes ago, Smokerson said: I would imagine Aberdeen were playing to Achieve 3rd and get into Europe. They’ve split the old firm in recent times also and were in a good tussle with Motherwell this season. There’s also the battle to make the top 6 which has been exciting in some years. And how has any of that raised the standard of Scottish football on a European and world stage? How far have these teams gone when they play any European games? My concern is for Scottish football in general and the introduction of the smaller leagues began the decline. Time was when Scottish teams could compete in Europe and internationally. That wasn't when they played each other 4 times in the league. There have been the odd exceptions of course, but over the years teams outwith the Old Firm have tended not to get very far in European competition and the National team have failed on so many fronts. As for the Lichties, we have had an outstanding season, so much better than we could have expected and thoroughly deserved by the players and all at Gayfield. Next season, whenever that may be, will be a testing time to see if we can maintain the standards set over the past few months. I, for one, would be happy to see us maintain our Championship place over the next few seasons and become a permanent fixture in the Championship. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relichtie Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Lichties 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoseMarooniho Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 All this talk of 14 team leagues is making me dewy eyed for the years and years we played in leagues this size pre-1995. 39 games, 2 at home, 1 away (or vice-versa). I want this back simply for the nostalgia. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robertolichtie Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 7 hours ago, SotesBornalichtie said: And how has any of that raised the standard of Scottish football on a European and world stage? How far have these teams gone when they play any European games? My concern is for Scottish football in general and the introduction of the smaller leagues began the decline. Time was when Scottish teams could compete in Europe and internationally. That wasn't when they played each other 4 times in the league. There have been the odd exceptions of course, but over the years teams outwith the Old Firm have tended not to get very far in European competition and the National team have failed on so many fronts. As for the Lichties, we have had an outstanding season, so much better than we could have expected and thoroughly deserved by the players and all at Gayfield. Next season, whenever that may be, will be a testing time to see if we can maintain the standards set over the past few months. I, for one, would be happy to see us maintain our Championship place over the next few seasons and become a permanent fixture in the Championship. Would say the decline was more caused by the breakaway that was the SPL which then meant the money everyone under the premier league got was less so in the years since, most clubs have cut squad size so reserve teams disappeared then after that clubs then slowly stopped running unders teams. Thats whats really killed the standard of football in Scotland. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichtie78 Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 And how has any of that raised the standard of Scottish football on a European and world stage? How far have these teams gone when they play any European games? My concern is for Scottish football in general and the introduction of the smaller leagues began the decline. Time was when Scottish teams could compete in Europe and internationally. That wasn't when they played each other 4 times in the league. There have been the odd exceptions of course, but over the years teams outwith the Old Firm have tended not to get very far in European competition and the National team have failed on so many fronts. As for the Lichties, we have had an outstanding season, so much better than we could have expected and thoroughly deserved by the players and all at Gayfield. Next season, whenever that may be, will be a testing time to see if we can maintain the standards set over the past few months. I, for one, would be happy to see us maintain our Championship place over the next few seasons and become a permanent fixture in the Championship. I would say the reason we can not compete in Europe is down to the massive TV deals other countries have, rather than the fact teams play each other 4 times a season. Probably have to accept our clubs will never be able to compete on that front again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Shandrix Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 As a nation I don't see us doing anything on the European stage anytime soon. I don't think that's got much to do with massive tv deals because I'm not convinced that comparative countries have significantly better deals than us. The smaller leagues playing 4 times a season is more of a problem imo. You surely cannot get excited by playing QOTS or Alloa 4 times a season. Even 14-14-14 is still going to be 3 times a season. No better than the status quo. I get quite misty eyed for the pre-76 format of 18 team leagues, 34 games, home and away but as we've seen on other threads I'm not sure the majority do. Until we can persuade a broadcaster and the Scottish football media (and the majority of fans) that there is more to our game than endless fucking Rangers Celtic matches nothing will change. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokerson Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 It depends what you class as doing in something in europe, in the last 17 years we have had 2 European finalists, a few times we’ve had teams reaching the knock out stages of the champions league and even this season Rangers still had an opportunity of reaching the last 16. Admittedly the national team have been poor. Having leagues of 10 or 14 or 20 isn’t going to change this, as mentioned Europe’s elite leagues are stretching further and further away all the time with the tv deals they have. FWIW, I would prefer the 14-14-14 set up but not overly fussed either way, playing Ayr United and Morton three times instead of four Makes no real difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Shandrix Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Smokerson said: It depends what you class as doing in something in europe, in the last 17 years we have had 2 European finalists, a few times we’ve had teams reaching the knock out stages of the champions league and even this season Rangers still had an opportunity of reaching the last 16. Admittedly the national team have been poor. Having leagues of 10 or 14 or 20 isn’t going to change this, as mentioned Europe’s elite leagues are stretching further and further away all the time with the tv deals they have. FWIW, I would prefer the 14-14-14 set up but not overly fussed either way, playing Ayr United and Morton three times instead of four Makes no real difference. We are never ever going to be anywhere near the elite leagues though. Bigger leagues, say 18, mean teams could possibly blood more youngsters because they're not constantly looking over their shoulder at relegation which in turn could help the national team. Naysayers would maybe suggest that that would lead to more meaningless games. It could also be said that it would to more exciting games because teams might go all out to win rather than not lose. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichtie78 Posted April 29, 2020 Author Share Posted April 29, 2020 I think if teams ended up having half a season of meaningless games then it would be reflected in the attendances 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonLichtie Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 On 29/04/2020 at 00:03, Jimi Shandrix said: I don't think that's got much to do with massive tv deals because I'm not convinced that comparative countries have significantly better deals than us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lichtie23 Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Thomas O’Brien wins the Supporters club player of the year while Miko wins new signing of the season. Both thoroughly deserved IMO 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36-0 Maroon Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 2 hours ago, lichtie23 said: Thomas O’Brien wins the Supporters club player of the year while Miko wins new signing of the season. Both thoroughly deserved IMO Spot on 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Shandrix Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 3 hours ago, SimonLichtie said: Mmm. Telt. In footballing terms I still don't think think we can aspire to the top 3 but yes those other countries were certainly amongst those that I did have in mind along with the likes of Poland and Greece. What is our problem then? Are we just that bad at negotiating? "We'll offer you 45" "No, we want 20 and not a penny less". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsimButtHitsASix Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 1 minute ago, Jimi Shandrix said: Mmm. Telt. In footballing terms I still don't think think we can aspire to the top 3 but yes those other countries were certainly amongst those that I did have in mind along with the likes of Poland and Greece. What is our problem then? Are we just that bad at negotiating? "We'll offer you 45" "No, we want 20 and not a penny less". Attendances in other countries are pish compared to Scotland. Broadcasters know that the majority of folk who want to watch Aberdeen v Hearts will be at Pittodrie anyway. Clubs in other nations are far more likely to accept kick off times to suit broadcasters knowing the fans aren't gonna be at the game anyway. Our clubs still make the majority of their income through paying at the gate compared to TV/Sponsorship so we're stuck to having most games played at 3PM on a Saturday. We could, and should, be getting more but we aren't gonna be getting a whole lot more without a lot more games moved to suit it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farflung lichtie Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Attendances in other countries are pish compared to Scotland.Interesting, I vaguely recall stats showing per capita attendance at a Scottish games were higher than many others and wonder if that’s still true (or even accurate to begin with). Since the crowd is a key ingredient in televised games -as we’ll soon learn if games behind closed doors take place -, you’d think the SPFL might be able to command a comparatively higher fee. Personally, I find the Scottish Premier League a bit boring but mainly due to the lack of competitiveness due to Old Firm. Mind you most of the other leagues are also dominated by one or two. As in England, I think the Championship here is a more exciting tournament altogether and wonder why some modest commercial TV package (or comprehensive BBC/ITV incl highlights) could not be organised. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsimButtHitsASix Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 (edited) Kinda hard to show this information due to differing league sizes and the fact some leagues have a few clubs with a far higher support than others in the league (Old Firm in Scotland, Big Three in Netherlands, etc.) but here it is Scotland population 5,438,100 Top tier average attendance percentage of population 0.29 Average attendance without Old Firm as percentage of population 0.16 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.06 Belgium population 11,585,253 Top tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.09 Average attendance without top two as percentage of population 0.07 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.03 Netherlands population 17,127,246 Top tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.11 Average attendance as percentage of population 0.08 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.03 Denmark population 5,787,725 Top tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.11 Average attendance as percentage of population 0.09 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.02 Sweden population 10,088,474 Top tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.09 Average attendance as percentage of population 0.07 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.02 Norway population 5,411,798 Top tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.11 Average attendance as percentage of population 0.09 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.03 Switzerland population 8,644,333 Top tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.13 Average attendance as percentage of population 0.09 Second tier average attendance as percentage of population 0.02 The fact these nations, general, have bigger populations and less of them actually go to the games means there's a bigger potential audience for broadcasters. But, compared to population, we have over twice as many fans going to games, including games not including the big two in the league and this continues even into the lower leagues. Edited May 1, 2020 by AsimButtHitsASix 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan3600 Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Isn’t it a bit perverse to think our problem is too many people go to games, so the potential TV audience is lower? Surely high attendances at games demonstrates a higher interest in watching football which means TV audience potential is higher. No? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsimButtHitsASix Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Can't watch it on the telly if yer freezing yer tits off at Gayfield. But if other games are moved will ye really bother yer arse watching Motherwell v Kilmarnock on a Tuesday night? Especially with the Spurs v Liverpool/Valencia v Real Madrid/Bayern v Schalke/PSG v Lyon, etc. on the other side? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan3600 Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Can't watch it on the telly if yer freezing yer tits off at Gayfield. But if other games are moved will ye really bother yer arse watching Motherwell v Kilmarnock on a Tuesday night? Especially with the Spurs v Liverpool/Valencia v Real Madrid/Bayern v Schalke/PSG v Lyon, etc. on the other side?No 0 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.