Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

[Bill Bones]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Kev- the SPL( and any top division) are not allowed to schedule mid-week games on the CL/Europa league dates.

AMMS- I'm not opposed to a top division of 20 teams. In an ideal world I'd support it. But 20 team, or even 18 team top divisions, are the exception, not the rule. You've listed 22 teams and I'd say Ayr and Airdire are a stretch, even allowing for 'potential'. With a 3 up, 3 down set-up you'd be looking at having a part-time team(s) in the top league with a support base and average gates in the hundreds. In the short term it would bankrupt most of the current SPL and lead to huge gap developing between the top division and the rump remaining below it.

Torres- Southern softie.

[torres]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

I was planning on coming through for the Alloa home leg but a couple of weeks nightshift has put paid to that. Some punters relaying to me that the SFL will do all that's possible to keep Dunfermline up (can't see why myself).

[Dink]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

I don't really see why the SFL would be particularly desperate to keep Dunfermline in division one. Dropping down a division shouldn't have a major impact on their ability to come out of administration as they will have two home games against Rangers, with decent crowds, to make up for the other drops in attendance they would face by dropping down a league. And if the SFL really didn't want them relegated they could have chosen to deduct less points from Dunfermline for going into admin.

I suspect the chat is fuelled by Forfar's three sending offs on Saturday but from reading Pie and Bovril most neutrals at the game seemed to think the red card decisions were by and large correct. Mind you, if we fail to get through these games I may well be shouting "Conspiracy!" myself come Sunday evening.

[torres]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Yeah Dink, that's pretty much how I read it as well.

Good luck in the Final. I predicted Alloa to win the play-offs so I won't go back on that now.

[Hofzinser]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

I'm not sure precisely what it all means but the CharlotteFakes Twitter account, including a link to this interesting-looking letter is generating a bit of a kerfuffle with regards to the Rangers situation.

The suggestion is that Chalres Green was merely a front for Craig Whyte, who has never really gone away, and indeed may re-emerge before long.

[Neiljag]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Things looking decidedly dodgy over in Gorgie.

The timing of an administration or liquidation and the resulting punishments could have a massive affect on a number of clubs next season. Personally I'd prefer an administration resulting in a hefty points deduction starting in August, but I'm a bit biased in that regard.

[AFC42]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

I guess because no court action reported today they will play out the game tomorrow and admin in the close season will follow. The question is will Hibs let them ground share (the irony) or will they get some kind of leaseback deal on Tynecastle?

[RobM]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

There appears to be a consensus among the Hearts support that there should be no coherent response to this and that we should fiddle while Rome burns.

Honestly, we deserve every fucking thing that's coming to us.

[AMMS]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

To be fair Rob what would a coherent response be? Supporters simply don't have the organisation or finance to deal with the type of meltdown Hearts are facing. No amount of collecting cans or 'fighting funds' will help this mess.
Try and find a way of saving your ground, if you've any presence on Edinburgh Council try and make sure the ground can't be zoned for housing or something, other than that all you can really do is wait for the collapse and then attempt to pick up the pieces and start again. The debt is so colossal it's impossible for the support to manage far less clear. Although I've a feeling you'll receive a far more sympathetic response from the rest of Scottish football than we did, that might help you pick up the pieces.

As long as the core of the support remains the 'club' will continue, whatever the corporate structure or legal name, it'll still be Hearts and in the that's pretty much all the matters.

Good luck, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

[oscar mike]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Dunno what to add Rob other than to offer my sympathies, it's a fucked up situation.

In other news, Greg Kiltie has been named in the Killie squad today. He was born in 1997. I'll just let that sink in.

[AFC42]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

SPL have said there isn't enough evidence that UBIG are actually insolvent yet, and the season is now over (what about the cup?) so no points deduction/relegation this season.

So if the football club gets sold as a going concern (with no stadium) they may survive debt free but as lodgers somewhere.

[RobM]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

I fear that the bullet has only been dodged for the moment AFC.

The best we can hope for is the Lithuanian administrator accepting a reasonable offer for Tynecastle is the best that they're going to be able to raise from the club and that that offer comes from somebody with Hearts interests in mind.

God knows how it's going to end though, it'd be a struggle to survive without Tynecastle. Paying rent to play at a sixth full Murrayfield? Easter Road? Can't see that washing with a huge part of the Hibs support.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Meadowbank? Musselburgh (heh)?

[Geoffrey de Ste. Croix]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

RobM wrote: I fear that the bullet has only been dodged for the moment AFC.

The best we can hope for is the Lithuanian administrator accepting a reasonable offer for Tynecastle is the best that they're going to be able to raise from the club and that that offer comes from somebody with Hearts interests in mind.

God knows how it's going to end though, it'd be a struggle to survive without Tynecastle. Paying rent to play at a sixth full Murrayfield? Easter Road? Can't see that washing with a huge part of the Hibs support.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clydebank_fc#Decline_and_fall

[blameless]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Congratulations to the Waspies for back-to-back promotions.

When was the last time Cowden were a division above Dunfermline though? I know the Pars were in Division 2 in the mid 80s, but I'm sure Cowdenbeath were down there with them that time.

[Kevin S]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clydebank_fc#Decline_and_fall

Is there another team to play Airdrieonians to Hearts' Clydebank?

[AMMS]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Dunfermline probably, maybe even us if things continue to implode.

[dalliance]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Reading that Wijipedia page I was amazed they could take 6,000 fans to a Junior Cup Final. I went to Kilbowie a few times in their Premier League days and even saw them beat Rangers 2-1 once and they never had anywhere near 6,000 fans back then.

[Mr Beast]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

One Airdrieonians was bad enough, Kev.

Their rough house team of the 80's had to be seen to be believed - nearly 30 years later I can still hardly believe it.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Since we used to beat the team fairly easily, it was their rough-house fans I was generally more concerned about...

[AMMS]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

My wife and I once viewed a house in one of Glasgow's leafier districts. The guy selling it had done a ton of work to it, converting the loft into an extra bedroom, adding an en-suite, putting in a new kitchen and landscaping the back garden, it really was a lovely house. However throughout the house were framed mementoes of Airdrieonians, pics of the cup final team(s), action shots of Walter Kidd, many pics of the guy who owned the house with various Airdrie players past and present and, pride of place in the hall a large photo of him and about 20 others with a big flag bearing the words 'Section B on tour'.
You don't see that on Location, Location, Location.

He was really nice actually, we couldn't afford his house.

[torres]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Anyone up for the Junior Cup?

[RobM]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

torres wrote: Anyone up for the Junior Cup?

Looking good from here mate. Anybody else up for it?

[Geoffrey de Ste. Croix]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

AMMS wrote: My wife and I once viewed a house in one of Glasgow's leafier districts. The guy selling it had done a ton of work to it, converting the loft into an extra bedroom, adding an en-suite, putting in a new kitchen and landscaping the back garden, it really was a lovely house. However throughout the house were framed mementoes of Airdrieonians, pics of the cup final team(s), action shots of Walter Kidd, many pics of the guy who owned the house with various Airdrie players past and present and, pride of place in the hall a large photo of him and about 20 others with a big flag bearing the words 'Section B on tour'.
You don't see that on Location, Location, Location.

He was really nice actually, we couldn't afford his house.

Ha ha. I know nothing about house prices but an educated guess would tell me that a predominant array of Airdrieonans paraphernalia glorifying their 1980s/90's shithouse of a side would wipe at least £27k off the asking price. Although I would pay to watch the owner take Kirstie Alsopp through the memories his photos evoked.

dalliance,

yeah I know, the Junior cup final did bring out some questions as to "where were you when we were in the pits?" or indeed in the Premier League. We suffered permanently from being in the vicinity of the ugly sisters and the fact that we were a relatively new club (came into the league in 1965) never helped matters either.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Scottish Football 2012 - 2013 Season

Although I would pay to watch the owner take Kirstie Alsopp through the memories his photos evoked.

I, on the other hand, would pay to see him reform the 'mental section B' and reenact their worst excesses all over her Tory face.