Football : The Scottish Football Thread

[Derek]

A Hearts fan decides ending it all is preferable to watching the Edinburgh derby. Ouchy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maxCFZgcgfM

(I'm led to believe he wasn't injured as a result of this!)

[LondonRoad]

Originally Posted by Derek

(I'm led to believe he wasn't injured as a result of this!)

Landing on his head would have prevented any serious injury

[Derek]

Scottish football continues its long slow slide to oblivion.

The new master plan is to copy a league setup that came close to killing the game in Austria and Switzerland a few years back with splits all over the place, points and goals being reset and a general feeling of making things up as they go along.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/a...-within-weeks/

The plan is to implement a top flight "Premiership" of 12 clubs, a 12-club "Championship" beneath and a third tier "National League" of 18 clubs.

After two rounds of games, the top two tiers would split into three sub-leagues of eight teams. The top eight would contest the league title and European places with the middle eight settling promotion and relegation.

That middle league of eight, made up of SPL1's bottom four teams and SPL2's top four, would see their points reset. They would then play 14 matches, facing each other both home and away, with the four highest placed sides at the end of the campaign playing in the subsequent season's top division.

Happily for certain sections of Scottish football it means Rangers would have gone through this season in the lowest league to still be in the lowest league next year.

I suppose just having a setup where teams play each other home and away a set number of times each year with the lowest two teams dropping a division to be replaced by the top two in the division below (even if 2nd and 2nd bottom have a playoff) would be too radical for the halfwits running the game up here.

[Pog66]

not a follower of Scottish football but it does seem overly complicated and connived to ensure maximum old firm derby's - until this season of course.

It's not a coincidence that Norwich City's years of financial mismanagement & on-pitch mediocrity ended when Neil Doomcaster left to take up the SPL Chief exec job.

[LondonRoad]

Change is certainly required but there is again an inherent unfairness in this proposed system. Splits will always throw up anomolies and they're always predictable so why have them.

There have been enough anomolies in the current system but this proposal makes those pale into insignificance.

A team that finishes 9th in the top league may be 12 points clear of the team in 10th but both teams start the middle 8 league with the same number of points. Farcical.

No splits, play each other same number of times home and away. Play offs for relegation/promotion. Simples..... or does that not suit Sky?

[Derek]

Originally Posted by LondonRoad

No splits, play each other same number of times home and away. Play offs for relegation/promotion. Simples..... or does that not suit Sky?

You've just said something football related I agree with! Urghh!

*Goes off to shower with carbolic soap and steel wool*

You have to wonder what they have against the simpler and fairer setup thats used by most other leagues worldwide?

[LondonRoad]

Originally Posted by Derek

You've just said something football related I agree with! Urghh!

*Goes off to shower with carbolic soap and steel wool*

You have to wonder what they have against the simpler and fairer setup thats used by most other leagues worldwide?

It won't happen again.

I tried to red rep myself

[denphone]

Gordon Strachan to be named Scotland coach

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21023913

[colin25]

Originally Posted by denphone

Gordon Strachan to be named Scotland coach

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21023913

I am hopeful that he will do the best with what we have

[denphone]

Originally Posted by colin25

I am hopeful that he will do the best with what we have

Indeed he can only do his best with the tools he has at his disposal.

[Chad]

Originally Posted by colin25

I am hopeful that he will do the best with what we have

I'm excited by this appointment. Strachan has a fire in his belly that other recent managers didn't have. Whilst his record isn't fantastic down in England what he did with Celtic, especially in the Champions League, was impressive.

As a collection of players, I don't think the Scotland squad is too bad. Whilst we are clearly not world beaters with the right line-up, tactics, motivation and a sense of pride we should be able to compete at a decent level.

[colin25]

Originally Posted by Chad

I'm excited by this appointment. Strachan has a fire in his belly that other recent managers didn't have. Whilst his record isn't fantastic down in England what he did with Celtic, especially in the Champions League, was impressive.

As a collection of players, I don't think the Scotland squad is too bad. Whilst we are clearly not world beaters with the right line-up, tactics, motivation and a sense of pride we should be able to compete at a decent level.

Yes, agree. A decent level is all I would want. No need to win the world cup, but would be nice to look like we have a chance to qualify. Too many were happy to ignore the obvious.

[LondonRoad]

I like wee Gordon Strachan. I think he's got a good football brain.

My slight concern is he seems to be a bit huffy and and has an air of resignation about him if things aren't going well. As an international manager he won't be working with the players on a daily basis so has to be able to change things during the game. He has lacked the ability to do that a few times at club level in the past.

He's a clever guy though so hopefully he's learned from his mistakes. My cup is half full at the moment.

[LondonRoad]

Gorgeous George concerned about the Rangers situation

http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/913

[Derek]

It's George Galloway so automatically irrelevant.

Still I suppose like most Celtic fans he is obsessed with their more successful neighbours across in the nicer side of the city.