Sinner-to-Saint Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Nightmare said: The English lower leagues have dispensation to play on midweek nights where UEFA events are taking place. As top tiers aren’t afforded that right, a 44-game season is a no-go. 1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said: We'll struggle to fit in a full 20/21 season as it is, even with talk of culling the Betfred and Challenge Cups entirely for a year. Adding more games to a regular season seems irrational. 1 hour ago, Doonhamer1969 said: Celtic played 9 games in December in Scottish weather, far too many. 46 games per season is far too many IMHO. @RandomGuy @Doonhamer1969 @Nightmare - point taken, it was a bad idea. 1 hour ago, craigkillie said: Why would league reconstruction do nothing for Partick Thistle or Stranraer? If the top flight gets bigger then teams get saved in the leagues below. Sounds like the Stenhousemuir chairman is a bit thick. I thought the same. Any reconstruction designed to save Hearts will surely mean expansion, which would presumably save Thistle and Stranraer, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdTheDuck Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 51 minutes ago, Ric said: Now, I think this is very fair and unfortunately it always muddies any study we can do. Football finances have very much been a moveable feast over the decades. Larger teams with bigger fanbases allowing greater gate receipts and merchandising have always benefited and it's only conjecture but I feel when you add in the way TV money has impacted on that it's only increased the gap. As I say, this is all just correlation and conjecture. Sadly someone like Budge won't give two fucks when it comes to her "taskforce" as that will simply have these following objectives: Stop Hearts being relegated Ensure that once Hearts are not relegated, the finances are returned back to normal so Hearts don't lose money to those pesky smaller clubs. You're absolutely right, the real world doesn't pay attention to history. UEFA, of course, are culpable in this with their pandering to the Big Five leagues and the subsequent side show of financial monsters in the smaller nations. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Anyone who still calls the Championship ‘the best league in Scotland’ hasn’t watched many games recently and doesn’t understand the financial disaster taking place across many clubs at that level. The standard has been declining for years while most clubs operate at ever reducing but still unsustainable costs. It’s a throwaway cliche that hinders a genuine evaluation of Scottish football’s problems. Even a modest expansion of the top flight would likely benefit most clubs in the second tier but it would need to be guaranteed for the long term (at least ten years) rather than a bailout. There remains however no pressing reason for top flight clubs to split their income yet further which is why expansion ideas have consistently failed to win support. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 8 minutes ago, virginton said: Anyone who still calls the Championship ‘the best league in Scotland’ hasn’t watched many games recently and doesn’t understand the financial disaster taking place across many clubs at that level. The standard has been declining for years while most clubs operate at ever reducing but still unsustainable costs. It’s a throwaway cliche that hinders a genuine evaluation of Scottish football’s problems. Even a modest expansion of the top flight would likely benefit most clubs in the second tier but it would need to be guaranteed for the long term (at least ten years) rather than a bailout. There remains however no pressing reason for top flight clubs to split their income yet further which is why expansion ideas have consistently failed to win support. Looks good to journo in our country who only have to look at the league table and never actually interrogate why the league is so tight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morley Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 hour ago, craigkillie said: Why would league reconstruction do nothing for Partick Thistle or Stranraer? If the top flight gets bigger then teams get saved in the leagues below. Sounds like the Stenhousemuir chairman is a bit thick. It does appear the only possible proposal on the table likely to be past will be expansion of the spfl Premier league by bringing in two extra teams into the spfl2 (Brora who released a statement today saying committed to join the spfl if asked, and Kelty). So everyone shunts up 2 places from the bottom up in order to move the top 2 clubs from the championship into the Premier league meaning Hearts stay put for next season. So all those relegated would be cancelled and would stay in their current leagues for next season and the 2nd place team in each league also goes up with the champion. Sticky point is if the Premier will vote to spread their wealth to 14 from12 teams, and ensuring the old firm still get the same number of games against each other. Plus how those who were in 3rd place in each league feel about the top 2 going up. This idea of it only being a temporary restructure only increases the chances it will be knocked back and this has to be a perm restructure maybe with a clause committing to review it again after 1 season. Plus has to be recognition of the growing number of Licenced clubs, increasing quality, attendances, and depth of clubs sitting below the spfl (many on paper larger than many current spfl lower league clubs) by introducing automatic relegation/promotion into spfl2. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree house tam Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 21 minutes ago, virginton said: Anyone who still calls the Championship ‘the best league in Scotland’ hasn’t watched many games recently and doesn’t understand the financial disaster taking place across many clubs at that level. The standard has been declining for years while most clubs operate at ever reducing but still unsustainable costs. It’s a throwaway cliche that hinders a genuine evaluation of Scottish football’s problems. Even a modest expansion of the top flight would likely benefit most clubs in the second tier but it would need to be guaranteed for the long term (at least ten years) rather than a bailout. There remains however no pressing reason for top flight clubs to split their income yet further which is why expansion ideas have consistently failed to win support. The standard has been declining in Scottish football for years, while costs have been going up. Footballers at clubs from 2nd place in the premiership down to the bottom level are laughable, most need 3 touches to control a ball and are so one footed I could play against them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthBank Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 hour ago, craigkillie said: Why would league reconstruction do nothing for Partick Thistle or Stranraer? If the top flight gets bigger then teams get saved in the leagues below. Sounds like the Stenhousemuir chairman is a bit thick. I'll expand. The original proposal and vote did not include reconstruction. It was tough shit on PT and Stranraer as the SPFL Board were ignoring their protests. It was only after further discussions when a Premiership team got heavily involved that reconstruction came onto the menu hence the view that the diddy clubs are playing second fiddle to the big boys. Yes PT and Stranraer may yet be saved but that is a by-product and wasn't the motivation for reconstruction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree house tam Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 3 hours ago, Ric said: So here's a wonderful piece of correlation, and I touched on it yesterday... An 18 team league was introduced in 1955/56. Here is a decade of league winners from that period: Now contrast that to last decade of a 12 team league: Now, obviously we have to factor in Rangers going bankrupt and coming back as a different club, so that explains their absence for a few of those years. For me, I've always felt that a larger league playing each other twice negates the huge advantage the two big clubs have, even if it can mean some teams getting stuck in a position in the last weeks of a season. I know which I would prefer. All this shows is that St Mirren were as pish then as they are now. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, tree house tam said: All this shows is that St Mirren were as pish then as they are now. Remember that time St Mirren were involved in successive relegations only to find themselves languishing at the bottom of the seaside league? Me neither. However... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I think it's delusional that they will go for any more than 14 teams - once you reach 16 it will mean that teams will only get a guaranteed 2 home games against the Old Firm.Turkeys don't vote for Christmas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossBFaeDundee Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree house tam Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Ric said: Remember that time St Mirren were involved in successive relegations only to find themselves languishing at the bottom of the seaside league? Me neither. However... Brilliant times tbf, it's what got me hooked on Saints. Edited April 17, 2020 by tree house tam Stupid phone 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pet Jeden Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said: I think it's delusional that they will go for any more than 14 teams - once you reach 16 it will mean that teams will only get a guaranteed 2 home games against the Old Firm. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas. Oh, I don't know about that. Almost every team with the eventual possibility of a play-off promotion chance, voted to declare the league now. Edited April 17, 2020 by Pet Jeden 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree house tam Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 3 minutes ago, RossBFaeDundee said: And yet were clear in bottom place with the worst form... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 39 minutes ago, tree house tam said: The standard has been declining in Scottish football for years, while costs have been going up. Footballers at clubs from 2nd place in the premiership down to the bottom level are laughable, most need 3 touches to control a ball and are so one footed I could play against them. I watched the highlights of the Saints v United game Radford put on our thread, from 31 years ago, and it's incredible how every player seems capable of plucking the ball out the air with a perfect first touch. Nowadays you go mental with applause when it happens. Chris Kane gets applauded for chasing the opposition player who collects his first touch... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gannonball Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 minute ago, RandomGuy. said: I watched the highlights of the Saints v United game Radford put on our thread, from 31 years ago, and it's incredible how every player seems capable of plucking the ball out the air with a perfect first touch. Nowadays you go mental with applause when it happens. Chris Kane gets applauded for chasing the opposition player who collects his first touch... Whilst Watching some of the Sportscene classics and the odd videos on twitter I was thinking the same. The Players might be a bit fitter now and more tactically aware but in terms of technique its night and day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 4 minutes ago, gannonball said: Whilst Watching some of the Sportscene classics and the odd videos on twitter I was thinking the same. The Players might be a bit fitter now and more tactically aware but in terms of technique its night and day. Tbh I always just assumed, since I'd never really seen much game time from that era, it was just auld c***s like @tree house tam being auld c***s. Seeing George O'Boyle in his prime was surreal, would easily put any striker we've had in the past decade to shame with how good he is on the ball. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 29 minutes ago, RossBFaeDundee said: One of the most moronic arguments I've ever heard. What a fucking fraud she is. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gannonball Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: Seeing George O'Boyle in his prime was surreal, would easily put any striker we've had in the past decade to shame with how good he is on the ball. I can actually mind growing up watching the sportscene highlights and looking forward to the St.Johnstone games to see how he played. Cant remember the last player in the league that made me want to particularly watch another teams highlights on tv, probably Emerenko at Killie in his first spell. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 48 minutes ago, tree house tam said: Brilliant times tbf, it's what got me hooked on Saints. At least the number of fans you have wouldn't look out of place in those leagues.. Spoiler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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