SPL Discussion Thread

[liam88]

I was at Croke Park on Sunday so it was the longest I went without knowing a Celtic result!! Great to come back and find a 4-0 win especially without Magic's goal drought ending (he also scored a cracker vs Austria which I watched in the pub with a Polish lad :) ) and Nakmura putting one in!
Great to see Hib's result as well-I'd like Hibs to finish above Hearts as I do like a lot of Hibs fans so needless to say I can't wait for the wheels to come off for the jambos and see them slip back down the table!

With regards to ICT their fan base has deffinatly been bolstered by promotion. I rememebr when they played Celtic a couple of seasons back their captain was saying about how they had lots of fans turnming up for it but was very dissapointed week in week out with the attendance.....manylocals just not bothering.
It probably won#t happen but i'd like to see ICT go down and see how many of their fans stay on the bandwagon.

[Aberdonian Stu]

ICT will not go down this season nor would it be a good thing if they did.

Inverness is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe (seriously it is) although it's population is still only 60,000. It's no shock that it took them a while to develop a fan base as they used to be two seperate Highland league clubs, Inverness Thistle and Caledonians. Despite what some reports say (I think it was in WSC last year) Highland league attendances are awful.

They've progressed quite quickly through the divisions in Scotland and have constantly improved turnout...at least while in Inverness. Unsurprisingly not too many of their fans were bothered with the 3 hour trip to Aberdeen for home games during their enforced stay there.

For the SPL's sake the team they could best do without are Livi. A bit of an MK Dons job, not quite as bad but what they did is still pretty awful, and no potential in the club.

[superfrank]

What bout Hearts just heard they won 4-1 at Livi and they're five points clear at the top. When was the last time a non Old Firm team won the SPL? I'm pretty sure it was Aberdeen with Ferguson in charge.

[liam88]

For the SPL's sake the team they could best do without are Livi. A bit of an MK Dons job, not quite as bad but what they did is still pretty awful, and no potential in the club.

Early days yet but can't see them staying up this season....was an outside hoep they do an Northern Ireland and do the job against Hearts today but alas.... :(
ICT's loss the otherday meant they couldn't jump Rangers.....shame really could have been nice to see :D
Two great reuslts for Celtic yesterday.....would like to see the league a bit closer this season but I still think that it's going to be Celtic or Rangers and the more results like yesterday the better :D

Well done Falkirk-great comeback against a much bigger team.

[Tony Montana]

What bout Hearts just heard they won 4-1 at Livi and they're five points clear at the top. When was the last time a non Old Firm team won the SPL? I'm pretty sure it was Aberdeen with Ferguson in charge.

Aberdeen in '85.Not exactly competitive is it? :(

[liam88]

http://media.putfile.com/stanpetrov

Lovely :D

(and the Pogues int he backgrond when it goes in....)

[sadloserkid]

I'm pretty sure it was Aberdeen with Ferguson in charge.

Who? :confused: ;)

[Aberdonian Stu]

Alex Ferguson's achievements at Pittodrie rank right up there with what he's done at United, indeed the big man even says so himself.

He took a team that had been a regional side with little success in recent years (well recent relative to the time) bar a shock win in the Scots Cup final at the start of the season. He joinedat a time when the town was becoming more affluent because of oil and this helped attract some good signings. He broke the Old Firm dominance taking 3 league titles, and several domestic cups.

In 1983 he led the Gothenberg greats to a famous 2-1 victory over Real Madrid (who?) in the European Cup Winners Cup final and their subsequent victory over Hamburg in the European Super Cup made Aberdeen the only Scottish club to win two European trophies.

He then joined a club down south, nearly lost his job, won a few of league titles, and a couple of European trophies.

Interestingly Ebbe Skovdahl is liked almost as much as Ferguson because he brought respecatability back to the club for a while. Hopefully the Jimmys can exceed the Danes efforts, although obviously it's unthinkable that they'll match Ferguson's.

[dcfcsteve]

I have asked in the local about that Northern Ireland fanclub of Stranraer... Apparently they have exactly 5 members and they just randomly picked a team in Scotland to support as an excuse to go away from home during some weekends :D


Sounds like a laugh Gerrit, but I despise 'fans' who do this.

I'll bet they never go to watch Irish League football and have turned their back on their local teams.

Apparently there's even an Accrington Stanley supporters club in Omagh. That's the same Omagh who's own senior club side recently went out of business, by the way....

The Dublin branch of the Blackburn Rovers fan club has had up to 400 members in recent years - and mostly Irish. Doubtless all real passionate football fans - who couldn't even tell you if Tolka was on the north or south side of the city. Absolutely absurd. Whipping's too good for them...

[superfrank]

He then joined a club down south, nearly lost his job, won a few of league titles, and a couple of European trophies.

Interestingly Ebbe Skovdahl is liked almost as much as Ferguson because he brought respecatability back to the club for a while. Hopefully the Jimmys can exceed the Danes efforts, although obviously it's unthinkable that they'll match Ferguson's.
He (Ferguson) was also Scotland manager at Mexico '86.

I quite like Aberdeen, partly cos my sister lives there. I don't actually support any Scottish teams but they would be my favourite, although I'd be happy just to see anyone beat the Old Firm.

[gspain]

Sounds like a laugh Gerrit, but I despise 'fans' who do this.

I'll bet they never go to watch Irish League football and have turned their back on their local teams.

Apparently there's even an Accrington Stanley supporters club in Omagh. That's the same Omagh who's own senior club side recently went out of business, by the way....

The Dublin branch of the Blackburn Rovers fan club has had up to 400 members in recent years - and mostly Irish. Doubtless all real passionate football fans - who couldn't even tell you if Tolka was on the north or south side of the city. Absolutely absurd. Whipping's too good for them...

Not mutually exclusive though. I believe there is a Bohs/Wolves season ticket holder who rarely misses a game played by either team.

I was staggered eveasdropping on a conversation prior to Pats v Carlisle a few years back re a group of Dubs who go over regularly. One of them was telling the English Carlisle fan that our league was muck. The Leinster league was muck too as a couple of their sides could only draw with Carlisle. :D

2,000-4,000 Irish at any Manyoo home game (not sure if the stat refers to RoI or whole island but this is travelling support).

I think the positives here though is the huge potential support for football here. Rememebr it is the biggest sport by playing numbe rin the Republic and presumably across thw whole island. I imagine a successful Irish side regularly playing in the group stages of the champions league could tap into that latent support. Shels v Depor gave us a taste of this. Unfortunately I think we are still a few years away here.

[Poor Student]

Keep it on topic lads.

Rangers are truly shocking at the moment. Their defence looks quite poor and disorganised and they are totally blunt in attack. They are fortunate to have taken a win against Celtic or they'd be languishing further down the table. I don't think realistically by the season's end they'd be outside the top 3 though.

Considering Celtic's recent form a trouble free win against Aberdeen is a great result. Zurawski had another good game. Scored a great goal and played well to set up the second. He looks like developing into a great signing. He can score goals and create, somewhat the same role as Larsson. His form for Poland has also been great. Hibs away is the real acid test for Celtic's aspirations this season. With Strachan and his signings settled there can be no more excuses.

I watched Hearts yesterday on TV and I think they're going to win the league. Great going forward, swift, fluid, inventive and clinical. Also very solid at the back. If Celtic fail to beat them in the next month and by then they've not suffered a form dip it could well be their title.

[Gerrit]

I would feel a happy man if for once a non-"political party in disguise" would win the league (= no Old Firm club) and am I being too optimistic or not, but it seems Hearts really have a strong side this year. For Scottish football it'd be good as well to see the title go to Edinburgh, the real capital which seems like a wee city though football-wise as all attention goes to Glasgow...


As for Inverness CT: I followed them for the first time when they were in Third Division. I was attracted by their northernness (my Far North fascination...) and because of the Highland atmosphere by the city, but I started to also look out for the club's backgrounds.
It was Third Division back then when I started to sympathise with them. I every week looked out for their results via the BBC, they played teams like East Fife, Stenhousemuir, Queen of the South, ... And now, about 10 years later, they play Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen... I really got attracted to the club because of their stadium surrounded by mountains and a lake. The dream for every true stadium fanatic like myself.
I feel like a trip to a game of them. My main focus has been EL when in Dublin, now that I live in NI it's the IL. I will never prefer a televised cross-water game over an EL/IL game, but a once-off trip to Inverness during a weekend there's no IL games would be nice.

[Gerrit]

As for fanclubs BTW: Hearts has a Belgian fanclub! I never knew this...

They even have fans in New Zealand... I wonder if there's ever been a Kiwi at a Hearts game. This seems a bit exagerated to prefer a club AT THE OTHER END OF THE WORLD above a local club. Maybe those few lads should try to catch a game in the New Zealand league, or a NZ Knights game (the only NZ professional club, they play in Australia's professional league)

[Aberdonian Stu]

Inverness is a hell of a journey. Three hours from Aberdeen, the nearest city with an airport.

I have to disagree with Poor Student on Hearts winning the title. It would be great but I don't think it will happen.

My money is still on an Old firm side, despite the drop in form. Remember Hearts haven't played either yet. They will get results against the Old Firm but I think both Old Firm sides will come out on top overall in their clashes.

[Junior]

Inverness has an airport?

Hearts have been able to build up momentum by having a relatively easy start (apart from Hibs). I agree Hearts, The Dons & Hibs will all take points off Celtic & Rangers, meaning a closer league.

Whether Hearts have the experience and the consistency to win it I am not so sure.

[Aberdonian Stu]

My point was that to the best of my knowledge Inverness has NO airport. Aberdeen's is the nearest and is actually in Dyce, the next town over, so you could add a half hour to any trip out to another city.

[superfrank]

But Dyce is also on the north-west way out of the city.

Sorry, PS.

[Aberdonian Stu]

Yes but if you're travelling anywhere from there having gone to the airport the odds are you'll have to go back into the city and go to either the bus station or train station, which are beside each other making a journey out of the city longer.

[superfrank]

Say you flew from Dublin to Aberdeen and you then rented a car at Dyce airport, you could then drive to Inverness and cut out Aberdeen and all their roundabouts that say "Oil Capital of Europe".

[Poor Student]

But Dyce is also on the north-west way out of the city.

Sorry, PS.

For Frank?

[superfrank]

The whole Aberdeen to Inverness debate.

[eirebhoy]

Rangers beat Porto 3-2. :(

[Rebal Boy]

I'd say this league will be much closer this year then in recent years gone by, but I'd say Celtic will prob win it. I think it would be brillent for the Scottish League for Hearts to win it, but I don't think it will happen. Then again I could be wrong.

[liam88]

Rangers beat Porto 3-2. :(
Everytime an announcment went over the PA telling the Porto fans what to do after the game the Rangers fan gave a really loud boo and drowned it out :( ....not a very welcoming atmosphere at all.
I hope Rangers come 4th in the group :D

[Poor Student]

The whole Aberdeen to Inverness debate.

It's mainly the dcfcsteve thing. We do not allow attacking people for lending their support to foreign clubs this forum, it's not up for debate or condemnation here as per the rules which you are required to read before posting in the thread.

[Junior]

My point was that to the best of my knowledge Inverness has NO airport. Aberdeen's is the nearest and is actually in Dyce, the next town over, so you could add a half hour to any trip out to another city.

Ok, but it does? http://www.invernessairport.com/

[Junior]

Hearts have been able to build up momentum by having a relatively easy start (apart from Hibs). I agree Hearts, The Dons & Hibs will all take points off Celtic & Rangers, meaning a closer league.


To follow on from this point.

Hearts are away to ICT this weekend, on current form, they should pick up 3 pts.

Celtic are away to Hibs (tough game, Hibs have an identical record to Celtic and have already thumped rangers at Ibrox - they will fancy their chances)
Rangers are at home to Killie. Killie are also joint 3rd at the moment, after Rangers win in the CL, they could possibly suffer another domestic hiccup.

If Celtic & Rangers drop points and Hearts win - Hearts confidence will continue to rise (as will Hibs and Killies for that matter) The first real crunch game of the season (apart from the early Celtic v Rangers disaster) will be the following week when Hearts entertain Rangers at Tynecastle.

Jnr

[Aberdonian Stu]

Junior - I wasn't aware of the airport but you can't fly direct from Dublin.

Frank - I know car rental is an option but it's a bloody expensive one which also limits potential drinking on any trip.

Am I the only one who finds this incredibly boring?

[superfrank]

Everytime an announcment went over the PA telling the Porto fans what to do after the game the Rangers fan gave a really loud boo and drowned it out :( ....not a very welcoming atmosphere at all.
I hope Rangers come 4th in the group :D
They always do that!!

[liam88]

They always do that!!
I didn't know that....you learn something everyday....

I think Celtic and Hearts will both win this weekend-Rangers will get at least a draw...Stu I agree-I couldn't give a flying pixie where Inverness airport is!

[Poor Student]

We have the bizarre situation this week that Hibs will be taking a European hangover into a game against a rested Celtic!

[geysir]

I thought Celtic signed an Arsenal player on loan, Alladiere?, where is he?

[superfrank]

I thought Celtic signed an Arsenal player on loan, Alladiere?, where is he?
He had Arsenal or Celtic cancel his loan and now he's at West Ham.

[Poor Student]

He had Arsenal or Celtic cancel his loan and now he's at West Ham.

It was mutual. He just came in at a bad time. It looked last season that the injury had fecked Maloney and he was going to be a write off as a useful player but this season he has look rejuvenated and been playing well. Add to this Chris Sutton, Hartson and the arrival of Zurawski plus Beattie continuing his progress and there was just no room for him. Strachan wasn't disappointed in him or anything. If anything the disappointment was Aliadiare for not getting a decent chance.

[Gerrit]

I like long journeys. I think everyone who's into travelling likes it. It turns me off when something is closer than an hour driving. Nothing's as nice as staring out of the car/bus/train window and seeing the landscapes change, while your mp3 player plays your beloved tunes.

Do the very northern tows like Durness, Thurso or John O'Groets (yes, it is a town: http://www.incallander.co.uk/images/nmapn.jpg) have any teams in the main Scottish pyramid? Or do they play in local leagues?

Interesting BTW is that the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands all have their own FAs, unofficial (=non FIFA affiliated) national sides and leagues. When it comes to national teams the Shetlands are quite active (and won the last Island Games in soccer) while the Orkneys and Hebrides didn't play for quite a while, but the three archipelagos all have leagues up and running.
Bizarre, as Hebrides and Orkneys could in fact enrole their teams in the Scottish leagues (except for the Outer Hebrides and the Shetland Islands the isles are not too far off-mainland). The island of Skye probably plays in the regular Scottish league pyramid.

[superfrank]

Richie Foran's scored twice (so far) for Motherwell today, they're playing Falkirk.

[Plastic Paddy]

There is no Scottish pyramid Gerrit, just the Highland League, East of Scotland and South of Scotland leagues and some strange entity known as "junior" football (non-SFA affiliated clubs) below the SFL. You can Google yourself for more information.

On another note, isn't this thread just a bit too nicey-nicey? That's why I've never posted here until now. Like watching paint dry...

:ball: PP

[Poor Student]

On another note, isn't this thread just a bit too nicey-nicey? That's why I've never posted here until now. Like watching paint dry...

:ball: PP

As if you don't know what the alternative is? :confused:

Hearts win again today, Skacel again scores. He's scored every game this season and is in line to break Negri and Viduka's record for games with consecutive goals from a season's start. A 3-0 Rangers win at home against Kilmarnock too. Big pressure on Celtic away to Hibs tomorrow. Hearts take on Rangers next week at Tynecastle. That match will say a lot about both team's title chances.

[Plastic Paddy]

Ah c'mon PS, I'm only teasing. :) You're doing a grand job.

There's no pressure on Celtic this afternoon. We (yes, that's "we") should put three past them without reply. Next week's marmalade derby will be the one to watch alright.

:ball: PP

[Plastic Paddy]

Before anyone starts, I said "should". We should have been three up after twenty minutes. Profligate finishing (by Hartson in particular) meant that Hibs found a way back into the game. Still, the three points were won.

I await next weekend's Tynecastle face-off with just a wee bit more than passing interest. :)

:ball: PP

[superfrank]

Profligate finishing
Too much listening to Rico, I think. :D :rolleyes:

[Hibs4Ever]

Ah c'mon PS, I'm only teasing. :) You're doing a grand job.

There's no pressure on Celtic this afternoon. We (yes, that's "we") should put three past them without reply. Next week's marmalade derby will be the one to watch alright.

:ball: PP

What were your reasons for thinking this???

[Plastic Paddy]

How many reasons do you want? I'll give you five to start.

Celtic have better players, more tactical options and greater strength in depth, plus we hadn't had only three days to recover from a UEFA Cup tie... :o And that's before the injuries to Smith and Brown were factored in.

We should have scored four in the first half-an-hour; the fact that Hartson didn't seem interested was the let-off that a better team would have exploited. And how Ivan Sproule stayed on the pitch is beyond me, but I digress.

:ball: PP

[Hibs4Ever]

How many reasons do you want? I'll give you five to start.

Celtic have better players, more tactical options and greater strength in depth, plus we hadn't had only three days to recover from a UEFA Cup tie... :o And that's before the injuries to Smith and Brown were factored in.

We should have scored four in the first half-an-hour; the fact that Hartson didn't seem interested was the let-off that a better team would have exploited. And how Ivan Sproule stayed on the pitch is beyond me, but I digress.

:ball: PP

Facts when you made your prediction. Both clubs were joint 2nd in the league. Last time we played we stuffed celtic 3-1 in glasgow. A couple of weeks ago we hammerd rangers at ibrox 3-0 just a week after celtic got easily beaten there. So your pre match prediction was way off. Sproule stayed on pitch because it was hand bags, telfer was just as much to blame. Thankfully telfer is nothing like petrov though, or it would've looked like he was shot and rolled 50 yards around the ground :D

[Plastic Paddy]

If you think my pre-match prediction was way off, you obviously weren't watching the game.

You use the word "facts" and then pepper your response with opinion. "Stuffed"? Hardly. Two late goals in a hitherto tight game do not constitute a stuffing. I won't comment on your victory at Mordor (but will state that our defeat wasn't as "easy" as you suggest), as that might place me in the invidious position of having to defend Rangers; something I just can't bring myself to do. :D

On the question of your pocket rocket, I was thinking more of Sproule's squaring up to Balde some thirty seconds after receiving his booking, but never mind. A decent referee (are there any in Scotland?) would have sent him from the field, no question, if only to save him from himself. To Balde's immense credit, he didn't react at all. Not even so much as a stray elbow in the mush at the next opportunity.

Good luck in Dneprpetrovsk, by the way. You were most unlucky not to win last Thursday.

:ball: PP

[Hibs4Ever]

If you think my pre-match prediction was way off, you obviously weren't watching the game.

You use the word "facts" and then pepper your response with opinion. "Stuffed"? Hardly. Two late goals in a hitherto tight game do not constitute a stuffing. I won't comment on your victory at Mordor (but will state that our defeat wasn't as "easy" as you suggest), as that might place me in the invidious position of having to defend Rangers; something I just can't bring myself to do. :D

On the question of your pocket rocket, I was thinking more of Sproule's squaring up to Balde some thirty seconds after receiving his booking, but never mind. A decent referee (are there any in Scotland?) would have sent him from the field, no question, if only to save him from himself. To Balde's immense credit, he didn't react at all. Not even so much as a stray elbow in the mush at the next opportunity.

Good luck in Dneprpetrovsk, by the way. You were most unlucky not to win last Thursday.
:ball: PP

Tell me about it. Traceled over for it, amazing atmosphere. Roll on a nice trip to Ukraine next week. At least Dnipro will have to come out and play at home

[eirebhoy]

Sproule stayed on pitch because it was hand bags, telfer was just as much to blame.
Telfer was partly to blame but certainly not equally. Telfer tacked Sproule from behind. Wasn't a bad tackle and didn't even bring a freekick. Sproule than chases after Telfer to get revenge.

[liam88]

Lovely last night:
>Celtic through (dopn't care how-we are through)
>Hibs through (always nice to see)
>Lamberts Bhoys do the Job against Hearts......I hope their season goes downhill from here :D :D

Hearts vs Rangers this weekend i don't care who wins-hate 'em both and can't wait to see Hearts come crashing down.....first their cup dreams then their league dreams :D

[superfrank]

I have to say I want HJearts to win. I don't like Rangers, never did.

But the again, I'm not a Celtic fan either.