General football musings

[Prancer]

Surely not even for manager did they pay £340k for Brewster. ICT will still be surviving off that money.
Wonder how much we got for Robbie

[PHOODLE-OUt]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/1507..._rankings/

Scots clubs pay penalty in Europe as nation slips down rankings

ALL three of Scotland's Europa League entrants will have to play at the first qualifying round before the start of July for the first time in history next season as our ranking has hit a new low.

[The Great Khali]

That's honestly horrendous. Diddy nation.

[2MatoFish]

If it makes it harder for celtic then it's a good thing. Europe doesn't have any effect on most clubs in any given season, and only a minor benefit for the hearts, aberdeen etc. If it means there's an extra chance for celtic to miss out on champions league money then it's a good thing.

[Zizou]

How much longer are the SFA going to sit back and allow this to go on. We are an absolute backwater paying Premiership prices to watch this pish

[PHOODLE-OUt]

2nd oldest FA in the world, you'd think we had the hang of it by now 

[PHOODLE-OUt]

The main Board consists of eight members: the Scottish FA Office Bearers (Alan McRae, President; Stewart Regan, Chief Executive;  and Rod Petrie, Vice-President), plus Ralph Topping (SPFL), Michael Mulraney (SPFL), Tom Johnston (Scottish Junior FA) and independent non-executive directors, Barrie Jackson and Gary Hughes.

Take it this is a job for life and these cunts answer to nobody? 

[shaun.lawson]

If it makes it harder for celtic then it's a good thing. Europe doesn't have any effect on most clubs in any given season, and only a minor benefit for the hearts, aberdeen etc. If it means there's an extra chance for celtic to miss out on champions league money then it's a good thing.

Celtic have made the CL group stages only three times in the last 8 years; and the last 16 only once since 2008. As we can see this season, in which they are only 27 points ahead of 2nd place, this has had a devastating impact on their domestic prospects and truly re-invigorated the chances of everyone else.

[Billy Butcher]

To be fair, we did get PUMPED OOT by a team of Maltese plumbers and posties.

[2MatoFish]

Celtic have made the CL group stages only three times in the last 8 years; and the last 16 only once since 2008. As we can see this season, in which they are only 27 points ahead of 2nd place, this has had a devastating impact on their domestic prospects and truly re-invigorated the chances of everyone else.

So just the 60 odd million over the period? You've shown me up there.

[shaun.lawson]

So just the 60 odd million over the period? You've shown me up there.

Your argument's been expounded very very often over the last goodness knows how many years. It is and has always been myopic drivel. Because as Celtic and Rangers decline in European terms, the rest of us decline too - meaning there's no change. The league's profile deteriorates; good managers leave earlier; we can't even compete with the English Championship for wages.

On this season's evidence, Celtic, nobodies in Europe, have never been as far ahead of everyone else as they are now. It's not them being or not being in the CL which does that. It's 60,000 fans and a top class manager which does that.

[CritchSmile]

2na is right.

Qualifying for the Group Stages 3 in the last 8 years is an absolute gold mine for Celtic. They don't spend their money like PL clubs, they invest it strategically in well scouted players who they can then sell on to largely offset years in which they don't make the CL.

That 20 odd million every other year ensures that they dominate Scottish football.

Shaun has a point that Celtic have a brand that can attract a "Brendan Rogers" who can then attract players like Dembele, Sinclair etc...who otherwise would not have looked twice at moving to Celtic. But the longer Celtic are less seen as a European elite club, it dilutes the brand and the more likely they will be getting Ronny Dalia's - i.e. going for the cheap/high risk option.

[2MatoFish]

Your argument's been expounded very very often over the last goodness knows how many years. It is and has always been myopic drivel. Because as Celtic and Rangers decline in European terms, the rest of us decline too - meaning there's no change. The league's profile deteriorates; good managers leave earlier; we can't even compete with the English Championship for wages.

On this season's evidence, Celtic, nobodies in Europe, have never been as far ahead of everyone else as they are now. It's not them being or not being in the CL which does that. It's 60,000 fans and a top class manager which does that.

The league's profile deteriorates? That impacts celtic more than the rest. Good managers leave earlier? Harms celtic more than the rest. They'll not have 60k fans and a top manager if they're shit in europe. You've got a cheek to talk about myopic drivel, magoo.

[PHOODLE-OUt]

https://stv.tv/sport/football/1380144-fo...ign=buffer

[Roger H. Sterling]

Sold that wee nyaff at the perfect time. What was it, 750k or something?

[Picards Forehead]

All been downhill since that Liverpool goal

[Hank Scorpio]

If he could rediscover some form for United and help catch up with Hibs, that would be nice

[Shteve]

Could have been a quality player in different circumstances imo. Dat mazy at ER

[The Great Khali]

He started his last season with us, in great form. Ripped the pish out of St Johnstone in the first game of the season, and of course, the Anfield goal.

[shaun.lawson]

The league's profile deteriorates? That impacts celtic more than the rest. Good managers leave earlier? Harms celtic more than the rest. They'll not have 60k fans and a top manager if they're shit in europe. You've got a cheek to talk about myopic drivel, magoo.

All of which isn't true, because they've been shit in Europe for most of the last decade. Compare their team now with their team under O'Neill. There's no comparison - yet they're on course for a record which would be pretty much unprecedented anywhere in Europe. In other words, while they aren't the draw they once were, everyone else has deteriorated a lot faster.

On a similar note: plenty of times in recent years, folk have said things like "our 2006 side would walk the league now". Other than this season, yes, of course it would've - but this view acts like clubs exist in some individual vacuum, unaffected by everything else. They don't. Rangers and Celtic spent tons of money at the turn of the century so Hearts and everyone else spent tons of money at the turn of the century. Rangers collapsed and Celtic spent a lot less for many years recently; yet what happened? Procession after procession.

If only we had summer football. If only it was an 18 or 20-team league. If only Celtic never reach the CL again. It's all nonsense. Apart from Rangers (and it's only temporary in their case), clubs punch their actual weight now. The problem with Scottish football is that the size of its leading club (and before long, its second biggest club) dwarfs that of everyone else; and worse, the size of its three mid-ranking clubs is way bigger than the others too. Cue relentless predictability and boredom.