Gordon Strachan the voice of scottish fitba

[Shadwell Dog]

13 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said:

Absolute shite.

League Division Three FFS.

Your Hamilton's , ross countys and st Mirren's would struggle to get out of league one down south. In fact they'd probably struggle to stay up in it.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Shadwell Dog

[Guest SJP79]

11 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Your Hamilton's , ross countys and st Mirren's would struggle to get out of league one down south. In fact they'd probably struggle to stay up on it.

Where would you place Falkirk ?

[Shadwell Dog]

Just now, SJP79 said:

Where would you place Falkirk ?

Probably Non league at the moment. 

[the snudge]

18 minutes ago, Shadwell Dog said:

Your Hamilton's , ross countys and st Mirren's would struggle to get out of league one down south. In fact they'd probably struggle to stay up in it.

Just because we border England, doesn't mean we are comparable in terms of league quality. Perhaps look to Norway, Denmark, Ireland and compare? It'd be more realistic. 

[Shadwell Dog]

9 minutes ago, the snudge said:

Just because we border England, doesn't mean we are comparable in terms of league quality. Perhaps look to Norway, Denmark, Ireland and compare? It'd be more realistic. 

You're getting the wrong end of the bloody stick here. I wasnt using it as a slag scottish fitbaw thing or saying we should be better than where we are I was simply saying if you're a regular in league one then you've as much made it in the game as you have if you're a regular in the Scottish prem. I'm just being realistic.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Shadwell Dog

[Derry Alli]

1 hour ago, cmontheloknow said:

Just stop typing. You are an utter clownboot.

^^^ Worried at the new competition. 

[tamthebam]

I doubt he would go but if he ever turned up to an Edinburgh City game and tried to blag his way in he'd be told "you're meant to be a professional. Get the wallet out and pay, ya tight wee git"

[Clyde01]

Scotland Captain ? 

As ignorant as Strachan is you would have thought Andy Robertson would have been an obvious example even to him.

His comments were laughable, maybe if we got more than 0.1% share of the financial pot we might consider going full time and running an academy. Clown.

[Loonytoons]

9 hours ago, Mr. Alli said:

He's spot on, tbf. The current set up isn't working - and hasn't worked for many, many years. It's high time clubs were pushed and taken out their comfort zone or left behind to wither and die.

I include fans in that, too. For years it's just been accepted that mediocrity is where it's at.

 

Far better spectacle at this level in my opinion.  I stopped going to top flight Tayside games a long time ago, utter turgid crap and way overpriced for what was on display.

Some guys that just didn't have the extra bit to make it full time in the bigger leagues are a joy to watch in the lower leagues.  They generally shine far better than the stars in the upper leagues.

In fairly recent years, Swankie and Foxy spring to mind for Forfar.  Also, guys like Darren Dods and Sean Dillon coming down the leagues at the end of their careers passing on their experience too.  Great to watch just how they completely boss other players and referees too.

[Derry Alli]

In no world was it ever good to watch Darren Dods. An absolute huddy at whatever level he is or was at. 

[Ludo*1]

Using Darren Dods, Gavin Swankie and Sean Dillon as great things to watch in lower league Scottish football hasn't helped you make your point.

[Mattmc]

Give it a few weeks and part time will be needed when they propose introducing colt teams again.

[Ballboy]

I think what Strachan's point is that clubs like Albion rovers and Annan who are in league 2 but still have a vote when it comes to the reconstruction of the league system and have never been in the top league.   He's saying small clubs especially part time clubs should grateful to part of the spfl.   I'm sure may fans of the (top) teams in Scotland will think he has a point as they should be deciding what teams come in.  Realistically it shows in attendance in cup games when lower league teams get drawn against premier teams. 

It just shows how the people running our game really feel.  I'm sure as a former Scotland and Celtic manager his views still has influence at SFA level. Also because of his status as a player and manager the press in england will report on what he says. Not so long ago the hearts chairwitch went very public with her view Scottish football had to many clubs. Now she needs votes for her reconstruction plans the small clubs all sudden matter.  Sevco a few seasons ago needed lower league teams to admit them back to the league system as a new company and now dont give a f**k if part time teams dont survive this unprecedented event we now have.  It seems though the people who have influenced our game over they years believe big clubs should only play big clubs.  Small town teams and part timers should have no voice and no influence on what happens with the top league. 

A question was asked about how may teams have produced young players to enhance Scottish football but how many players have left the bigger clubs and played in the lower leagues maybe on loan or had a short spell at a lower league team as they would say to get their love of the game back.  Gary McKay-Steven for airdrie. Robert snodgrass going to Stirling Albion on loan.  Many more at other clubs have made a difference.  More teams in Scotland now have former youth players who didn't make at our top 2 clubs and had to drop down the leagues to get game time because the big 2 especially are more interested in bringing in players from other countries then developing young Scottish boys.  

[Newbornbairn]

Quote

told The Courier: “What people say privately and publicly in Scottish football are two different things and Gordon Strachan has this great ability not to bother about that.

“He just says what he thinks.

“The specific thing he’s talking about – 42 clubs is probably not the right number.

“People try and get round it because it’s not politically correct. But everyone’s got a role at their own level.

“Even the smaller clubs have a role in their communities. The problem is that they share in the decision making as well – that’s not on.

“That was a theme in my time with the SPL (which became the SPFL in 2013 after a merger with the SFL), the investing clubs versus the community clubs.

“People investing the money should be able to create the environment that’s most fertile.

 

“I’m a huge fan of community clubs. But we need to make sure the right people are empowered to make the right decisions.”

Roger Mitchell backing Strachan up. 

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/dundee-fc/1332647/dundee-fc-gordon-strachan-roger-mitchell-spl/

[Sergeant Wilson]

Essentially what Mitchell and Strachan are saying is:

Mulraney (or someone like him) a multi-millionaire through work and business acumen who supports Alloa shouldn't have a say in professional football, despite taking Alloa on an upward trend.

Craig Whyte would've had a say, despite his obvious failings because he supported Rangers.

Can it be argued that Mulraney has used his influence to better Alloa to the detriment of football in general? I could counter that reps of bigger clubs have done more damage than any diddy Chairman.

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Sergeant Wilson

[The Moonster]

Genuinely had to google "Roger Mitchell" there to see who this c**t was. I hereby offer him to a square go, Ruel street, Saturday, 3pm.

[ROBROYSTON]

From the Times yesterday:-

Ross Graham, the Forfar Athletic chairman, has hit back at claims by Gordon Strachan that the country’s lower-division clubs do not contribute enough to Scottish football.

In a withering attack on part-time clubs, mainly in Leagues One and Two, Strachan yesterday said that they were only pretending to be professional and that they expected the rest of the league to look after them.

The former Scotland manager criticised the wages they paid, the crowds they attracted and accused them of failing to produce players, all of which has angered Graham, whose club finished ninth in League One last season.

“His comments are pretty consistent with somebody that has no experience of working in part-time, lower-league football,” said Graham. “He obviously has no knowledge of how professionally things are done at our level. To call clubs like ours unprofessional is very disrespectful to managers such as Jim Duffy, Jim McInally, Peter Grant, Ray McKinnon, Mark Wilson and Ian Murray, who have played at the highest level and are bringing their professionalism to the lower leagues.”

Graham said Strachan had wrongly conflated part-time football with a lack of professionalism. “If you have a part-time doctor or a part-time nurse working at a hospital, they’re no less professional than full-timers. It’s the same in football. Regardless of how many hours are worked, there is professionalism right down the four divisions.”

Strachan called for a rethink of the game’s structure. He said that clubs with no ambition to better themselves should find their level outwith the Scottish Professional Football League instead of expecting support from the SPFL and having a say on its big issues.

Graham, in response, insists that all the power lies with the Premiership, where an 11-1 majority is required to pass reconstruction proposals. He also vehemently denies that clubs in the bottom two tiers are sponging off the rest. “The distribution money isn’t what keeps part-time clubs alive because such a small percentage of it actually makes it down the leagues,” he said. “It’s contained within the top division. The part-time clubs cut their cloth to suit. If any clubs are going to go bust in this Covid crisis, they are more likely to be full-time than part-time.”

Graham says that the structure already rewards ambitious clubs and punishes those who have failed to keep up. In recent years, Cove Rangers and Edinburgh City have been promoted to League Two via the pyramid system and have more than held their own.

The Forfar chairman urges critics not to forget the important role performed by part-time league clubs, economic and socially, in their community. He also suggests that Dundee, of whom Strachan is technical director, have not exactly covered themselves in glory when it comes to professionalism recently. “Arbroath have taken points from them. Alloa have taken points from them. Elgin City beat them in the Challenge Cup. If the professionalism was there, I don’t think clubs like that would have an earthly. The gap between part-time and full-time is not as big as some people think.”

Strachan’s other major criticism was that clubs in the bottom two tiers had not produced enough talented players, but Graham says that many of the game’s top players would not have fulfilled their potential had they been denied the chance to play league football in the lower divisions.

“The role part-time clubs play in the transition of young development players into adults performing at the top level is massive. It’s probably the most important transition they will make.

“Look at the Scotland captain, Andy Robertson, who did it at Queen’s Park. Scott McKenna is another. Both of them will say that their time in lower-league football prepared them for playing at a higher level.”

 

 

[Jack Burton]

told The Courier: “What people say privately and publicly in Scottish football are two different things and Gordon Strachan has this great ability not to bother about that.

“He just says what he thinks.

“The specific thing he’s talking about – 42 clubs is probably not the right number.

“People try and get round it because it’s not politically correct. But everyone’s got a role at their own level.

“Even the smaller clubs have a role in their communities. The problem is that they share in the decision making as well – that’s not on.

“That was a theme in my time with the SPL (which became the SPFL in 2013 after a merger with the SFL), the investing clubs versus the community clubs.

“People investing the money should be able to create the environment that’s most fertile.

 

“I’m a huge fan of community clubs. But we need to make sure the right people are empowered to make the right decisions.”

Roger Mitchell backing Strachan up. 
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/dundee-fc/1332647/dundee-fc-gordon-strachan-roger-mitchell-spl/
Clubs in league 1 & 2 do get a vote but it's not parity with the clubs in the top flight or Championship. The Premiership clubs can pretty much veto anything they don't like with the 11 to 1 majority. The SPFL board is largely made up of top flight clubs as well. The league 1 & 2 clubs get one member of the board between them.

The prize money offer in league 1 & 2 is only around 800k split amongst the teams. I can't see that making much difference when split between the other teams.

As for investing clubs does that then mean the likes of Cove and Kelty get a vote? There a full time teams in league 1, so they should be promoted and kept in the top 2 leagues purely based on being full time?

[afca32]

There are many odious characters in Scottish football but for me the most detestable of them all is Roger Mitchell.

[Shadwell Dog]

48 minutes ago, ROBROYSTON said:

From the Times yesterday:-

Ross Graham, the Forfar Athletic chairman, has hit back at claims by Gordon Strachan that the country’s lower-division clubs do not contribute enough to Scottish football.

In a withering attack on part-time clubs, mainly in Leagues One and Two, Strachan yesterday said that they were only pretending to be professional and that they expected the rest of the league to look after them.

The former Scotland manager criticised the wages they paid, the crowds they attracted and accused them of failing to produce players, all of which has angered Graham, whose club finished ninth in League One last season.

“His comments are pretty consistent with somebody that has no experience of working in part-time, lower-league football,” said Graham. “He obviously has no knowledge of how professionally things are done at our level. To call clubs like ours unprofessional is very disrespectful to managers such as Jim Duffy, Jim McInally, Peter Grant, Ray McKinnon, Mark Wilson and Ian Murray, who have played at the highest level and are bringing their professionalism to the lower leagues.”

Graham said Strachan had wrongly conflated part-time football with a lack of professionalism. “If you have a part-time doctor or a part-time nurse working at a hospital, they’re no less professional than full-timers. It’s the same in football. Regardless of how many hours are worked, there is professionalism right down the four divisions.”

Strachan called for a rethink of the game’s structure. He said that clubs with no ambition to better themselves should find their level outwith the Scottish Professional Football League instead of expecting support from the SPFL and having a say on its big issues.

Graham, in response, insists that all the power lies with the Premiership, where an 11-1 majority is required to pass reconstruction proposals. He also vehemently denies that clubs in the bottom two tiers are sponging off the rest. “The distribution money isn’t what keeps part-time clubs alive because such a small percentage of it actually makes it down the leagues,” he said. “It’s contained within the top division. The part-time clubs cut their cloth to suit. If any clubs are going to go bust in this Covid crisis, they are more likely to be full-time than part-time.”

Graham says that the structure already rewards ambitious clubs and punishes those who have failed to keep up. In recent years, Cove Rangers and Edinburgh City have been promoted to League Two via the pyramid system and have more than held their own.

The Forfar chairman urges critics not to forget the important role performed by part-time league clubs, economic and socially, in their community. He also suggests that Dundee, of whom Strachan is technical director, have not exactly covered themselves in glory when it comes to professionalism recently. “Arbroath have taken points from them. Alloa have taken points from them. Elgin City beat them in the Challenge Cup. If the professionalism was there, I don’t think clubs like that would have an earthly. The gap between part-time and full-time is not as big as some people think.”

Strachan’s other major criticism was that clubs in the bottom two tiers had not produced enough talented players, but Graham says that many of the game’s top players would not have fulfilled their potential had they been denied the chance to play league football in the lower divisions.

“The role part-time clubs play in the transition of young development players into adults performing at the top level is massive. It’s probably the most important transition they will make.

“Look at the Scotland captain, Andy Robertson, who did it at Queen’s Park. Scott McKenna is another. Both of them will say that their time in lower-league football prepared them for playing at a higher level.”

 

 

I stopped reading when I saw Ray McKinnon linked to professionalism I'm afraid.