Scotland name squad

[HoBNob]

34 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

 

The Championship is never off the TV I’m sure most people will be able to make a judgement for themselves.

The Championship is definitely of a higher standard throughout but from what I’ve seen our top teams would be fine in that league.

Certainly not that big of a gap to say Brentford would beat everybody but Celtic anyway.

 

I find that when you watch games on TV, especially when it's two good teams who are evenly matched you can often get lost in the fact that with the teams cancelling each other out in poor games then standard seems worse than it actually is. 

 

However being at a game it seems to give you a better feel for the game, the quality of the passing and control etc, which is why I then reckon that Brentford would beat everybody bar Celtic more times than they would lose. Again that's never going to be proved in fact but it's the opinion I've got from watching the games. 

[HoBNob]

10 minutes ago, Millions said:

The championship is pretty dreadful to watch. A tough midfielder and 2 fast strikers sees you through. I'd wager most Scottish premier teams, certainly at home, would fare well

Just going by Brentford by they don't have any tough midfielders really, the midfielders they play are footballers first and foremost. The main striker for the season wasn't particularly quick either, the pace mainly came from out wide which is pretty standard. 

[Millions]

I find that when you watch games on TV, especially when it's two good teams who are evenly matched you can often get lost in the fact that with the teams cancelling each other out in poor games then standard seems worse than it actually is. 

 

However being at a game it seems to give you a better feel for the game, the quality of the passing and control etc, which is why I then reckon that Brentford would beat everybody bar Celtic more times than they would lose. Again that's never going to be proved in fact but it's the opinion I've got from watching the games. 

Off topic

 

Is Lewis McLeod still there? If so is he doing well?

 

Eta- I thought he was a fantastic prospect coming through, I know he had a few injuries

 

[1320Lichtie]

I find that when you watch games on TV, especially when it's two good teams who are evenly matched you can often get lost in the fact that with the teams cancelling each other out in poor games then standard seems worse than it actually is. 
 
However being at a game it seems to give you a better feel for the game, the quality of the passing and control etc

That’s the same in any game you go too though to be fair, it’s never the same on TV.

[PB 4.2]

Picking teams in the relevant positions:  

Celtic v Wolves 
Rangers v Fulham 
Aberdeen v Derby 
Hibs v Preston 
Killie v Millwall 
Hearts v Ipswich 
Motherwell v Leeds 
St Johnstone v Notts Forest 
Hamilton v Hull 
Dundee v Reading 
Partick Thistle v Burton 
Ross County v Sunderland 

Celtic would be a nap.   They're clearly miles better than Wolves.  

But the SPL would probably lose 7-5 or 8-4ish 

[Millions]

Picking teams in the relevant positions:  

Celtic v Wolves 
Rangers v Fulham 
Aberdeen v Derby 
Hibs v Preston 
Killie v Millwall 
Hearts v Ipswich 
Motherwell v Leeds 
St Johnstone v Notts Forest 
Hamilton v Hull 
Dundee v Reading 
Partick Thistle v Burton 
Ross County v Sunderland 

Celtic would be a nap.   They're clearly miles better than Wolves.  

But the SPL would probably lose 7-5 or 8-4ish 

First 5 to Scotland, I'd bet hearts and Ross county also. With the financial difference it's honestly not that great

[HoBNob]

20 minutes ago, Millions said:

Off topic

 

Is Lewis McLeod still there? If so is he doing well?

 

Eta- I thought he was a fantastic prospect coming through, I know he had a few injuries

 

Brentford are overloaded with midfielders at the present so he's not been getting much of a look in, he started in a cup game against Notts County where the manager made allot of changes, with the playoffs now out of reach though he got his second start at the weekend and got a goal, hopefully that will be enough to keep him in the side for a couple of weeks and get a run of games, it's hard to say how he's done because his times just been utterly decimated by injuries. When I watched him against Notts County he played better than most, I'm hopeful that he'll fulfil his potential. 

[Londonwell]

6 minutes ago, PB 4.2 said:

Picking teams in the relevant positions:  

Celtic v Wolves 
Rangers v Fulham 
Aberdeen v Derby 
Hibs v Preston 
Killie v Millwall 
Hearts v Ipswich 
Motherwell v Leeds 
St Johnstone v Notts Forest 
Hamilton v Hull 
Dundee v Reading 
Partick Thistle v Burton 
Ross County v Sunderland 

Celtic would be a nap.   They're clearly miles better than Wolves.  

But the SPL would probably lose 7-5 or 8-4ish 

Mon the Fulham

[PB 4.2]

1 minute ago, Millions said:

First 5 to Scotland, I'd bet hearts and Ross county also. With the financial difference it's honestly not that great

I think the championship sides would win but by very little.   

The championship has strength in depth.   Hence why it's a hard league to punt on.   Gains for the top half of the table ( Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs and probably better) are swallowed up by Leeds, Forrest, Hull Reading , Sunderland.   Clubs that would come 3-5th in the SPL.  

[skippy2015]

It’s the finances now that make the championship stronger than the Scottish Premiership. Almost all the league teams have a bigger wage bill than Celtic now and consistently spend more every transfer money ( although I accept that money isn’t everything) if we look at Fulham for instance been in championship for a while now - spend 20 million this year - bought Rui Fonte for 8.21 million in summer Celtic can barely afford that then they bought Aboubakar Kamara for 5 million. Bottom line is money generally attracts better players. Another way to look at it is how many players from Scottish Premiership are going to the World Cup ? 2 at best . The English championship are expecting over 25 -35 players to be playing on footballs biggest stage this summers.

Then there’s the training facilities almost every team in championship have state of the art training facilities which also help attract better players. Aberdeen one of Scotland’s best teams have poor facilities thus the urgency to build a new stadium and training ground.

[Millions]

I think the championship sides would win but by very little.   

The championship has strength in depth.   Hence why it's a hard league to punt on.   Gains for the top half of the table ( Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs and probably better) are swallowed up by Leeds, Forrest, Hull Reading , Sunderland.   Clubs that would come 3-5th in the SPL.  

It's very hard to compare given the financial implications. I'd also say half the premiership teams are terrible aswell. Money rules the world!

[Millions]

I have watched Peterborough a lot this season (league 1) and even though the wages will eclipse most Scottish teams, the standard isn't great.

Probably biased but our game seems more open and exciting ( apart from Hearts,f**k Avril)

[PB 4.2]

1 minute ago, Millions said:

It's very hard to compare given the financial implications. I'd also say half the premiership teams are terrible aswell. Money rules the world!

There are 3 decent teams in the EPL for the first time in years.   Man City are the equal of Bayern, Barca or PSG.   Liverpool and Spurs are a step-down but equal to Juventus, or Napoli or Atletico Marid.  

The 2nd half of the EPL is bobbins.   Salivating over an awful Burnley shows how bad it used be and really still is.   

I suspect Celtic, Hibs, Rangers, and Aberdeen would survive relegation from the EPL.  

[LinkinFighter]

[emoji23]

[tree house tam]

9 hours ago, PB 4.2 said:

Picking teams in the relevant positions:  

Celtic v Wolves 
Rangers v Fulham 
Aberdeen v Derby 
Hibs v Preston 
Killie v Millwall 
Hearts v Ipswich 
Motherwell v Leeds 
St Johnstone v Notts Forest 
Hamilton v Hull 
Dundee v Reading 
Partick Thistle v Burton 
Ross County v Sunderland 

Celtic would be a nap.   They're clearly miles better than Wolves.  

But the SPL would probably lose 7-5 or 8-4ish 

We'd fucking smash Forest on and off the pitch. c***s.

[ekfootball]

After hearing Joey Barton yesterday it seems like for such a small nothing league we keep getting talked about by folk in England. There big teams have been shafted out of Europe and the best they can do is come out and say the Scottish game is pathetic. Maybe they should be looking at how there game is so poor in comparison to other nations who spend a fraction of the money.

Joey couldn't hack being the main man up here as he doesn't have the mental capacity or strength to deal with it. He couldn't deal with players right on his case every time he had the ball and players wanting to make a name for themselves by outfighting him. He came up here for a jolly and it was the complete opposite. Lets be honest the type of player he is can get away with being average in the premiership alongside so many other players in that position(Darren fletcher and Charlie Adam have done it for years) but when he was called upon to be the main man and dictate games he just didn't have the ability or character to do it.

He mentioned how he was more successful than any celtic player etc

The guy has two championship titles to his name and that's it. Guys like Brown as much as I dislike him has achieved far more in the game. 

[ekfootball]

13 hours ago, Grant228 said:

If Brentford were at full strength and playing to there best,  the only side who would beat them would be Celtic, as the table shows Brentford are bang on mid table. 

Brentford are a team I like and are one of the few proper footballing sides in that league.  My opinion is though a full strength Aberdeen, Rangers and Hibs would beat them. Matter of opinion but I have watched enough of both leagues to form an opinion as well as I am sure a lot of others have.

[The Moonster]

26 minutes ago, ekfootball said:

After hearing Joey Barton yesterday it seems like for such a small nothing league we keep getting talked about by folk in England.

We keep getting shat on because it causes a massive outrage from fans and generates clicks/listens/viewers for whichever shitehawk website/programme has said it. Stop talking about these c***s being c***s and they'll stop talking about us in such negative terms.

[forameus]

41 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

We keep getting shat on because it causes a massive outrage from fans and generates clicks/listens/viewers for whichever shitehawk website/programme has said it. Stop talking about these c***s being c***s and they'll stop talking about us in such negative terms.

Exactly.  The comments on Twitter were the exact reason why they do this.  Does Joey Barton really believe what he's saying?  Probably.  Does he know that it's incredibly hypocritical?  Absolutely.  They don't care.  Saying stupid things is great for TalkSport, and if he can say them in an inflammatory way then even better.  And this one has the third w**k fantasy for their producers - people will agree with him.  So you've got him pissing off an entire country, rallying another nation full of taxi drivers for "telling it how it is" (neither party seeing he's just trolling) and TalkSport and all involved reap the benefits.

I don't really care how many people tell us we're shite, I'll continue to enjoy watching Scottish football more than English.  The people higher up in the SFA/SPFL, and the more prominent media personalities, should be ignoring the pish that gets spouted and concentrate on talking us up, rather than covering someone talking us down.

[The Moonster]

Agree totally, we should worry about what we're doing to promote the game rather than what others are doing to talk it down. I think BT Sport do an excellent job in promoting our game and have coverage which is ten fold better than anything Sky can dream up. Sky will have Kris Commons and Boyd talking for 5 minutes before kick off about either Rangers or Celtic, we then get the game and 10 minutes of analysis after the match. Compare that to BT actually doing short films with interviews, discussion about both teams involved and perhaps even talking about other issues in Scottish football from that week, they have a good mix of guests too IMO (even if I they all annoy me in one way or another). For all Chris Sutton's faults, he sees the game for what it is up here (entertaining and passionate) and isn't shy in shouting down c***s like Barton.  

Beyond the coverage of actual league matches though, I think the SPFL could be doing far more. Their social media content is just click bait now. "Lets take a look back to when Hibs beat Kilmarnock in 2011, tag a Hibee who would love this!" is bland, lazy shite that anyone with half a brain cell could fart out. Get interesting articles up there, interviews with players/managers, blast out with stats that show the game in good light etc. The Challenge Cup final (granted, it's not our most prestigious trophy) is on this weekend and they've so far put one video of Queen of the South beating Thistle (tag someone who needs to see these scenes! kill me now) in a final years ago to promote it. No mention of who is contesting this weekends final, no mention of how much tickets are, no mention of how to get tickets, no mention if there will be a pay at the gate option. I don't doubt they'll put more out through the week but again it just seems to be lazy and doing the bare minimum. Encourage fans along to games rather than posting videos for likes/page activity.