Scottish Premier League Thread 2008/2009

foxtrot

foxtrot

Shoe bomber
24 December 2002
Glasgow, Scotland
Rangers FC
SPL1.jpg


There seems to be a thread for almost every other league in Europe except the SPL. Probably because there aren't so many Scottish regulars these days. Or perhaps people think it's a mickey-mouse league.


  • Do you think the standard of football in the SPL is weak?
  • Has it improved Scottish football since its creation in 1998 or is it worse?
  • Can Scottish clubs compete at the highest level in Europe?
Whatever your opinion, there is no doubt that on and off the pitch, Scottish football is at least entertaining.
 
LOL.............so elegantly put.

Good idea Foxy with this thread.

I think we do well and punch well about our weight. You look around the world now and teams from Turkey and Russia can blow us out the money financially wise, so it's getting harder for us.

But in the past 5 years we've did really well getting to 2 UEFA finals, qualifying 3 times for the Last 16.

Financially we get a pittance but do well.

Unfortuantely it is really Celtic and Rangers, as we've already saw Hibs fail miserably in the Inter-Toto. And I don't see much for QOS doing anything.

The league finished for the past few years have been excellent too and far more exciting that the top leagues in the world.


FD
 
fd1972uk said:
LOL.............so elegantly put.

Good idea Foxy with this thread.

I think we do well and punch well about our weight. You look around the world now and teams from Turkey and Russia can blow us out the money financially wise, so it's getting harder for us.

But in the past 5 years we've did really well getting to 2 UEFA finals, qualifying 3 times for the Last 16.

Financially we get a pittance but do well.

Unfortuantely it is really Celtic and Rangers, as we've already saw Hibs fail miserably in the Inter-Toto. And I don't see much for QOS doing anything.

The league finished for the past few years have been excellent too and far more exciting that the top leagues in the world.


FD
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Yeah at the end of the day it all comes down to money. We don't have it. How much did Derby get for being the worst Premiership team ever? £20m? :CONFUSE:
 
Does that even include their pay-off's though for the next 2 or 3 years? When Pearson scored it was a £50m goal.


FD
 
I think the best thing that happened for the SPL was losing the TV money from sky. That reduced the gulf between the top 2 and the rest of the league teams a little.

Having said that, I watched hardly any SPL football last year as I was gripped by the premiership and the much classier presentation on Sky Sports when a game is on, compared to Setanta.

I dont know why Celtic and Rangers do well in europe, I think it is more the work rate of our teams rather than skill.

Rangers done well getting to the final of the UEFA last year, but I think the competition itself is pretty crap and not where Rangers or Celtic want to be.

2 worst things the SPL have done...

1) The split.
2) Taking away the winter break.

bonus point if you can guess whether I have Virgin or Sky :-)

Cheers
Shooto
 
Nick Cave said:
I'm glad to see the gulf between the top two and the rest is closing seemingly, all you need now is the six and five rule to come in....
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Yes, I suppose its for the good of the game up here to see Motherwell become a supposed "3rd force". They're a decent team and hopefully they'll get a good run in this season's UEFA Cup. Not sure about Aberdeen for the forthcoming season. They've lost a lot of good players this window already. Hibs showed they're not to be taken seriously after an embarrassing Intertoto exit. As for Hearts? :LOL:

Shooto said:
I think the best thing that happened for the SPL was losing the TV money from sky. That reduced the gulf between the top 2 and the rest of the league teams a little.

Having said that, I watched hardly any SPL football last year as I was gripped by the premiership and the much classier presentation on Sky Sports when a game is on, compared to Setanta.

I dont know why Celtic and Rangers do well in europe, I think it is more the work rate of our teams rather than skill.

Rangers done well getting to the final of the UEFA last year, but I think the competition itself is pretty crap and not where Rangers or Celtic want to be.

2 worst things the SPL have done...

1) The split.
2) Taking away the winter break.

bonus point if you can guess whether I have Virgin or Sky :-)

Cheers
Shooto
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I bet you have Virgin! ;))
Got that downstairs but upstairs I have Sky. Last season though I didn't pay a penny for Setanta on Sky and it's still on. :SHHH:

Have to disagree with your opinion of the Sky pullout. I think if we had stayed with Sky, they would gradually pay more and more each renewal. In turn, every SPL team would be making a lot more and the quality of players would be better. The SPL got greedy quickly and made an arse of it.
 
Sky where paying the teams peanuts, but yeah they did ask for more and Sky decided it wasn't worth it.

It's just a 2nd rate Premiership though with only 2 teams (well England have 3 now with Chelsea) fighting for the Championship and the rest slugging it out for the scraps. There's more of a turn-around in fortunes from other teams though as opposed to the Premier with one season relegation threatened to Euro contenders.

I've loved the end of season finale's in the past 4 or 5 years, we've had belters (granted 2 weren't to my liking).


FD
 
Nick Cave said:
Is it still on Setanta this season, I have not been watching too much TV lately...
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Yep. The SPL signed a new deal with Setanta in June. £125m from 2010 - 2014. That's worth 7% of the Premiership deal with Sky & Setanta.

Live Fixtures:

09 Aug - Falkirk v Rangers 12:30 PM
10 Aug - Celtic v St Mirren 12:30 PM
11 Aug - Hamilton v Dundee Utd 7:45 PM
17 Aug - Dundee Utd v Celtic 2:00 PM
23 Aug - Aberdeen v Rangers 12:30 PM
31 Aug - Celtic v Rangers 12:30 PM

All on Setanta Sports 1
 
The thing is and will always be is that Rangers and Celtic complain endlessly that there is no competition in the league and when teams do start to challenge what happens.....They buy the best players from the other teams and decimate them hence there continuing domination.

But i suppose that is a failing in the players going there. Did they not learn from Riordan?

They have both lost the "fear" factor when teams visit Ibrox and Parkhead but if there is anychance of teams winning there the refs will bail them out anyway.

Scottish football is corrupt to the core i'm afraid.

I had to laught at Hibs last night thou:) Great advert for the game. Although i do think Hearts will re-emerge as the 3rd team in Scotland if Romanov lets the new man do his job
 
foxtrot said:
:LOL: Disagree as well but you have to agree that at times, the SFA and the SPL adminstration are a joke. Their incompetence may make people think there is an agenda.
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I watched the Dundee Utd game against your Rangers last season and the Referee was just disgusting:sick: Only in Glasgow do the refs do that my friend said
 
I know the game you were talking about. Think it was this one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/7390628.stm The ref was Mike McCurry (or Reverend Michael McCurry). He's a Church of Scotland minister which feverently fuels the Celtic half of Glasgow's paranoia. :LOL:

The "wee teams" outwith Rangers & Celtic cry that the refs favour the Old Firm. And each set of Old Firm fans cry that the refs favour the other Glasgow team. That's how it works in Scotland.

The game you mentioned; yes the ref (and his linesman who incorrectly chopped off a goal as well) had a stinker. But give them a break. It was David Weir's birthday after all! :-pp
 
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And it doesn't go on anywhere else, there are dodgy ref decisons all over.

McCurry is a Ger though............LOL.

FD
 
I remember alot of controversy in a Rangers game a couple of years back against Hearts involving the linesman Andy Davis. Was he a Rangers fan?
 
urbanspy said:
I remember alot of controversy in a Rangers game a couple of years back against Hearts involving the linesman Andy Davis. Was he a Rangers fan?
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/heart_of_midlothian/4319987.stm

Davis denies being a Rangers fan. Hearts were fined £5,000 for the public outburst in the above link, and the shitebag Mikoliūnas was banned for a few games much to the referee's annoyance. The refs felt the original five-match ban should have stood.

Nick Cave said:
Do you get any lower league football in Scotland, who has the TV rights?
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Nope, no-one.
 
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