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Starter for TEN; Anyone for TEN-is? Bo Derek: Scottish Football 2020-21

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    Starter for TEN; Anyone for TEN-is? Bo Derek: Scottish Football 2020-21

    In just under 3 weeks time the SPFL Premiership campaign kicks off. And in case you haven't noticed, it's all about TEN-IN-A-ROW!

    So come 1st August 2020, Hearts, Partick Thistle (and Stranraer) can all bugger off back to being diddy clubs that the mainstream media no longer care about, as this season is only going to be about two clubs and nothing else. Whilst TEN-IN-A-ROW means very little to most diddy club fans, the narrative's been set and there's nothing we can do about it.

    The past 4 months has seen Scottish Football reach a new nadir even by our own shambolic standards, but what awaits could sink us even lower. Rangers are they new Celtic - utterly paranoid and convinced there's a conspiracy at the very top (i.e. Peter Lawwell) denying them their glory at every turn. Celtic are the new Rangers (or should that be 'old' Rangers?) in that they are firmly Scotland's establishment club - what Peter Lawwell wants, Peter Lawwell gets. He's the reason why Hearts & Thistle shat themselves and won't go anywhere near contesting Celtic being named Premiership champions. You don't take on the establishment and live to tell the tale.

    So if you're a diddy club fan, best of luck in trying to read, see or hear anything about your team from the usual mainstream outlets. We may as well not exist, so let's just sit back and laugh as the bitterness, pettiness and downright nastiness escalates, especially when the Ugly Sisters go head to head. Brace yourselves for the many Rangers statements spouting utter shite, immediately followed by Celtic's "whataboutery" statement. It's such a shame both of them can't lose - where's a strong Aberdeen when you need them?

    So now TEN-IN-A-ROW is out the way, how's the pre-season been for your club? St Mirren have released a few players including captain Stephen McGinn and striker Danny Mullen, two players that I'm very sad to see leave and hope we don't regret it. We've signed a couple of players but just like every pre-season appear to have a squad that's got little depth. Financially we appear to be ok so no doubt it'll be another season of trying to avoid relegation.

    There's been some managerial changes and for once St Mirren aren't part of it. St Johnstone have a new manager in Callum Davidson after Tommy Wright resigned after 7 very successful seasons, and with Wright missing out on the Northern Ireland job, he'll be number one on most shortlists when the first sacking comes. Daniel Stendal predictably left the Hearts sinking ship, so they surprisingly brought Robbie Neilson back from Dundee Utd, so Utd appointed Micky Mellon having initially flirted with Steve McClaren. Whilst not new, Alex Dyer was confirmed as Killie's manager on a permanent basis and Ross County have ditched their co-managers with Stuart Kettlewell taking full control with Steven Ferguson "moving upstairs".

    A provisional start date of 17 October has been set for the Championship and Leagues One & Two to resume although I don't think the fixtures have been released yet. I see Dundee have asked a lot of their players to take wage cuts and appear to be in some financial difficulty, but then Dundee appear to be in financial difficulty every year so not too sure how much of it is Covid-related. Meanwhile Morton look like they'll be the next fan-owned club meaning they'll never have to deal with the likes of Hugh Scott ever again.

    #2
    What's Arbroath's chances of another calm season in the second?

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      #3
      Originally posted by Gangster Octopus View Post
      What's Arbroath's chances of another calm season in the second?
      Well hopefully you’ll need a change kit for playing Hearts...

      Comment


        #4
        Quite remarkable, or maybe not, that the randomly computer generated fixtures somehow has managed to get the bigotfest be the last game in the first round of fixtures. Obviously the completely neutral SPFL are hoping that full crowds will be allowed to attend by then. Aye, there's only 2 clubs in Scotland. No doubt the A&E departments in Glasgow hospitals will be horrified by this decision.

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          #5
          How will the leagues starting in October get the games in? What decisions are being made about attendances/behind closed doors? How do fans get to see the games on TV?
          Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 14-07-2020, 19:43.

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            #6
            Think the Scottish lower divisions are doing a 27 game season

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              #7
              I see that in the latest UEFA co-efficient rankings, Scotland have gone above Czech Rep, Greece and Switzerland to 14th place.

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                #8
                A team that wins one game in the group stages of the UEFA champions league earns as much prize money as the entire prize money all 12 clubs receive in the Scottish Premier League. A team reaching the last 16 of the Champions League (with an assumed 10 points) would receive around 175% of the total prize fund for the domestic league. That's a yawning gap.

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                  #9
                  I guess it guarantees no dead rubbers, but it makes it even more criminal that England gets four places in the group stage. All that loot and don't even have to play a qualifier.
                  Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 15-07-2020, 10:29.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by CY_Boaby View Post
                    The past 4 months has seen Scottish Football reach a new nadir even by our own shambolic standards...
                    Yup, it's been bloody grim. The vote to wind up the season, Dundee's vote in the 'Spam' box, conspiracy theories, the numerous league reconstruction proposals, the court hearing, the pending arbitration, the Notice of Complaint, the accusations / counter-accusations and finger-pointing, the endless f*cking procession of club statements.

                    Originally posted by CY_Boaby View Post
                    ... where's a strong Aberdeen when you need them?
                    At the moment, we seem to be digging-in for a season of damage limitation.
                    Players had agreed to defer a portion of their wages back in April, then subsequently agreed to a wage cut a few weeks ago. Former player Johnny Hayes was brought back from Celtic, but only because he has agreed to all his salary being deferred for a whole year. No word on the payment of appearance or win bonuses, but it's a magnificent gesture which will cement his place as a fan's favourite once again.
                    But it looks inevitable that at least one, if not two, of our most sale-able assets (Sam Cosgrove, Scott McKenna & Lewis Ferguson) will need to be sold to plug the estimated 4 million pound Covid gap in the club finances. If only that wee shite Ryan Fraser hadn't wound down his Bournemouth contract we were due to benefit from 25% of any transfer fee, which could have solved the problem in one fell swoop.

                    Other than Hayes, it's hard to see any new players coming in, even if we do sell one or more of the above. On paper the squad looks strong enough for the top half of the table (although probably not strong or consistent enough to hang on to the coat tails of the gruesome twosome), and we hope to see the best of Kennedy, McGeouch & Hernandez in their first full seasons in red. Left-back still looks like a potential problem area, and we're also a bit thin on cover for central defence.
                    So we'll also need some of our academy products to step up to the plate. Bruce Anderson, Michael Ruth & Miko Virtanen being the most likely.
                    Time is running out for Scott Wright, Connor McLennan & Ryan Hedges, and all three could find themselves out on loan to get some game time and prove themselves.

                    Oh, and the season's not even begun and Craig Bryson & Mikey Devlin are injured.
                    Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
                    Last edited by The Red Max; 15-07-2020, 11:26.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The (English) Premier League pays its bottom team about three times as much as the CL figure, so that's an even bigger gap. I meant more the gap between Celtic (if they get through the qualifiers) and everyone else in Scotland. It's twenty to thirty million quid for them compared to two million each for the rest.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Satchmo Distel View Post
                        How will the leagues starting in October get the games in? What decisions are being made about attendances/behind closed doors? How do fans get to see the games on TV?
                        The Premiership is starting on 1st August. Not sure when fans will be allowed in but apparently priority will be given to those who have bought season tickets, currently 6,200+. Pittodrie's capacity is 21,000 and I think 6,500 is the "safe" distancing capacity.

                        Not sure what is happening TV wise.
                        h

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Rogin the Armchair fan View Post
                          A team that wins one game in the group stages of the UEFA champions league earns as much prize money as the entire prize money all 12 clubs receive in the Scottish Premier League. A team reaching the last 16 of the Champions League (with an assumed 10 points) would receive around 175% of the total prize fund for the domestic league. That's a yawning gap.
                          Rogin,

                          a few years ago , Celtic won one game in CL group stage, but managed to finish third in the group so were parachuted into the Europa League. They didn't do much there either but UEFA game them prize money of ?35m+ (effectively for failure).

                          as I have mentioned before, UEFA have hugely widened the gap between the "big" leagues and the rest with their ridiculous qualifying criteria and astronomical money awards. They have also managed to hugely widen the gap in the smaller leagues too between the big club or clubs and the rest. In both cases, competition is significantly reduced both domestically and in Europe.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Boaby, unfortunately we're unlikely to see a strong Enough Aberdeen to make a significant challenge for the league. The money isn't there. UEFA are the most culpable in ensuring that the gap between the haves and have nots is too wide to be bridged. The ugly sisters will be miles ahead of the rest in terms of points gained. Sad. Very sad.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by The Red Max View Post

                              Yup, it's been bloody grim. The vote to wind up the season, Dundee's vote in the 'Spam' box, conspiracy theories, the numerous league reconstruction proposals, the court hearing, the pending arbitration, the Notice of Complaint, the accusations / counter-accusations and finger-pointing, the endless f*cking procession of club statements.


                              At the moment, we seem to be digging-in for a season of damage limitation.
                              Players had agreed to defer a portion of their wages back in April, then subsequently agreed to a wage cut a few weeks ago. Former player Johnny Hayes was brought back from Celtic, but only because he has agreed to all his salary being deferred for a whole year. No word on the payment of appearance or win bonuses, but it's a magnificent gesture which will cement his place as a fan's favourite once again.
                              But it looks inevitable that at least one, if not two, of our most sale-able assets (Sam Cosgrove, Scott McKenna & Lewis Ferguson) will need to be sold to plug the estimated 4 million pound Covid gap in the club finances. If only that wee shite Ryan Fraser hadn't wound down his Bournemouth contract we were due to benefit from 25% of any transfer fee, which could have solved the problem in one fell swoop.

                              Other than Hayes, it's hard to see any new players coming in, even if we do sell one or more of the above. On paper the squad looks strong enough for the top half of the table (although probably not strong or consistent enough to hang on to the coat tails of the gruesome twosome), and we hope to see the best of Kennedy, McGeouch & Hernandez in their first full seasons in red. Left-back still looks like a potential problem area, and we're also a bit thin on cover for central defence.
                              So we'll also need some of our academy products to step up to the plate. Bruce Anderson, Michael Ruth & Miko Virtanen being the most likely.
                              Time is running out for Scott Wright, Connor McLennan & Ryan Hedges, and all three could find themselves out on loan to get some game time and prove themselves.

                              Oh, and the season's not even begun and Craig Bryson & Mikey Devlin are injured.
                              Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
                              Max, as much as it pains me to say it, I can't see Aberdeen, even if they have a good season, being any closer than 20 points behind the Ugly Sisters. The days of a competitive league are gone and I can't see that returning. Oh , for a return to the 80's.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Originally posted by The Red Max View Post
                                But it looks inevitable that at least one, if not two, of our most sale-able assets (Sam Cosgrove, Scott McKenna & Lewis Ferguson) will need to be sold to plug the estimated 4 million pound Covid gap in the club finances.
                                We at Carlisle would quite like Cosgrove to be the one (or one of two) in that equation, to help plug the gap in our own finances. It's only fair, we've gifted you a good physio after all.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by DPDPDPDP View Post

                                  Max, as much as it pains me to say it, I can't see Aberdeen, even if they have a good season, being any closer than 20 points behind the Ugly Sisters. The days of a competitive league are gone and I can't see that returning. Oh , for a return to the 80's.
                                  I wouldn't disagree, and it pains me to say that.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    An awful lot in the Scottish press regarding aRangers player "taking a knee" in support of Black Lives Matter and as to whether the Scottish Leagues should follows England's example. Rangers very vocal in support of this. However, in Scotland, especially in Glasgow, we have a much bigger problem with sectarianism. Of course, Rangers are completely silent on this matter. It would be great if the SPFL could find some way to combine BLM with "religion doesn't matter" when it comes to football. Somehow, I doubt it.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      7 members of St Mirren's backroom staff have tested positive for Covid.
                                      All SPL teams will now have to return to twice-weekly testing.
                                      The new season starts in 9 days time.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        And then 24 hours later 6 of the 7 were confirmed to have returned a "false positive" result. Looks like the private testing company used is nowhere near as reliable as the NHS version, but with many/all clubs using a private testing facility there's a good chance many more results will suffer the same outcome with clubs sweating until the NHS results come back.

                                        As for the taking a knee and the sectarian problems, I've just been listening to the Nutmeg podcast with Archie Macpherson talking about the time that young Celtic fan, Mark Scott, was murdered in 1995 as he walked past a loyalist pub, just because he was wearing a Celtic scarf . Utterly horrific crime that was further compounded when the bigot was defended in court by then Rangers vice-chairman, Donald Findlay QC. As Scotland's top defence lawyer Findlay had every right to defend him but surely even he and/or Rangers FC could see that it was such a horrible look to have the vice-chairman of Rangers FC defending this murderous thug. I know it was 25 years ago but that still rankles with me.

                                        Let's just hope all this 10-in-a-row nonsense doesn't see someone end up on a mortuary slab just because they happened to be wearing the wrong scarf at the wrong time.

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          Thistle and Hearts' relegations have been upheld by the arbitration panel.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by blameless View Post
                                            Thistle and Hearts' relegations have been upheld by the arbitration panel.
                                            Sorry to hear that blameless, the whole saga has been an absolute shambles but I think the final outcome today was fairly inevitable right from the get-go.
                                            Just to rub salt in the infected wound, Hearts and Thistle could now face paying legal costs, with the arbitration process continuing for "submissions about expenses".

                                            Comment


                                              #23
                                              I'm not so worried about legal costs, more that the SFA might stick the boot in because we dared to take it to court at all.

                                              I'm pretty sick of the whole circus - we were the first team to be relegated by goalpost-moving bullshit (ICT's groundshare being suddenly approved when others were told no) and now the only team it's happened to twice.

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                My genuine sympathy for Thistle as a club rather wore out when they jumped on this Hearts bandwagon and sued...not the SFA, not the full list of promoted/crowned clubs (cos that would’ve Involved Celtic) but specifically us, Raith and Cove. I’d have been fully behind any proposed reconstruction but this legal action was nasty and deserved to lose. Hope you come back up. Hope Hearts don’t.

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                                                  #25
                                                  I think Hearts might have gotten more support and more sympathy if Budge had also suggested an option whereby Hearts have a play off with team second in Division 1 to see who goes up or who stays up.

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