2011/2012 Scottish Football Thread

[cogitoergozoomo]

Look for Dundee Utd to follow Rangers out the door shortly. They're f*cked financially now. Not a smart move.

 

Seriously don't think Division 3, or 2, stadiums can handle Rangers coming to town. Have you seen Cliftonhill recently? Jeezo.

 

Division 1 it is no doubt.

 

ADDED: Did you see that they were trying to get the "Glasgow Cup" up and running again so Sky can make some money with an Old Firm game? Sounds awful.

 

Why should that matter? Annualy at least one of the Old Firm make trips to one of the 3rd Division teams in the cups.

 

The Glasgow Cup still exists, although it is limited to under 18s. Rangers are the holders.

[FUM]

Look for Dundee Utd to follow Rangers out the door shortly. They're f*cked financially now. Not a smart move.

 

Based on what exactly? Why do people think every club is "fucked" if Rangers aren't in the league? Voting yes, they lose the Celtic fans anyway so they are in the situation of losing one set either way, may as well keep sporting integrity in tact. I also don't think Celtic fans will be the only ones boycotting teams that vote yes. Clubs have more to gain from a no vote.

[unfitfinlay]

Look for Dundee Utd to follow Rangers out the door shortly. They're f*cked financially now. Not a smart move.

 

Seriously don't think Division 3, or 2, stadiums can handle Rangers coming to town. Have you seen Cliftonhill recently? Jeezo.

 

Division 1 it is no doubt.

 

ADDED: Did you see that they were trying to get the "Glasgow Cup" up and running again so Sky can make some money with an Old Firm game? Sounds awful.

 

Surely Hearts are in more trouble than United? Romanov's statement's funny and everything but he left Hearts in a bit of a mess this year by refusing to pay their bills and honour the agreements he made.

 

I don't think Rangers can get sent down to Division One unless they are first voted into the SPL. The idea was the SPL Clubs would accept the NewCo as "Rangers" and then immediately relegate them to the First as punishment for all the shennanigans.

 

If the Clubs vote against letting them in the SPL (which seems likely now) then Rangers'll have to start in the Third Division at the very least.

 

I'm not sure if Rangers should agree to the Glasgow Cup stuff. It'd be a payday but it might also just cause unneccessary hassle. Will Sky really be up for an Old Firm game that consists of the SPL Champions against a team made up of a mix of promising youngers and third division journeymen? Or would Rangers have to pay stupidly high wages for a level of players that they'd only actually need for one game a season?

[TAFKAC]

Fair enough it is not quite as big in terms of crowd numbers but Stranraer have played Motherwell and Hearts at Stair Park in recent years. As stated, there would be a certain number of tickets and that, I imagine, would be that.

[gary v1]

Fair enough it is not quite as big in terms of crowd numbers but Stranraer have played Motherwell and Hearts at Stair Park in recent years. As stated, there would be a certain number of tickets and that, I imagine, would be that.

 

Stranraer have a pretty decent stadium to be fair. The Motherwell game even had the away fans setting off flairs and a sizable Killie contingent at the game for some reason.

[ClassicsGuy]

I see Rhys McCabe and Sone Aluko are the first Rangers players to legally object to their contracts being transferred to the Newco, and thus according to the Scottish Players Union, are now free agents.

 

McNally in the Mirror says this Thursday will be a pivotal day, as Green has asked all the players to return on that day, and any that do will have far less legal grounds to rip up their contracts. Turning up for work is an indication they support the idea of their contracts being transferred to the Newco.

 

If Rangers do end up in a lower division, there's no guarantee they'll ever be the same force they were again, because all their better players will end up leaving. As McNally writes, good players aren't going to play in Division 3, knowing they are at least 3 years from top flight Scottish football, and at least 3 years from European football.

[David]

I can't even begin to think who would stick with Rangers in division 3. Maybe Lee McCulloch? Broadfoot? Neil Alexander?

 

I don't see many beyond those three.

[Deaq]

I can't even begin to think who would stick with Rangers in division 3. Maybe Lee McCulloch? Broadfoot? Neil Alexander?

 

I don't see many beyond those three.

 

I hear Broadfoot is off to Motherwell?

[gary v1]

Alexander is an odd one. He's clearly a very good keeper and could easily be playing at least Championship football every week if he'd shown a bit of ambition. I can't see him turning out in division 3. He's already thrown a big chunk of his career away sitting ont he Rangers bench and I have to really question his ambition if he's going to throw the next 3 away as well playing at such a low level.

 

McCulloch will stick around as I doubt he'd get many offers above league 2. Not sure he'd be accepted at any other SPL teams.

[TAFKAC]

Fair enough it is not quite as big in terms of crowd numbers but Stranraer have played Motherwell and Hearts at Stair Park in recent years. As stated, there would be a certain number of tickets and that, I imagine, would be that.

 

Stranraer have a pretty decent stadium to be fair. The Motherwell game even had the away fans setting off flairs and a sizable Killie contingent at the game for some reason.

 

Former Killie players in the team?

 

The stadium is decent enough but is it on a par with the SPL?

[David]

I can't even begin to think who would stick with Rangers in division 3. Maybe Lee McCulloch? Broadfoot? Neil Alexander?

 

I don't see many beyond those three.

I hear Broadfoot is off to Motherwell?

Where did you hear that?

[unfitfinlay]

If Rangers do end up in a lower division, there's no guarantee they'll ever be the same force they were again, because all their better players will end up leaving. As McNally writes, good players aren't going to play in Division 3, knowing they are at least 3 years from top flight Scottish football, and at least 3 years from European football.

 

That logic is severely flawed.

 

If Rangers are in Division Three then it won't matter if they lose their better players or not. All they'd have to do is replace them with players of enough quality to win the League, or at least the playoffs. Unless Charles Green really is just another Craig White then I don't see that being a problem, and once Rangers are back in the SPL, it's no longer an issue.

 

I do think it'll be interesting to see how Rangers handle the climb up the Divisions though. I've said before that I think they should concentrate on bringing through youth players with the goal of getting back to the SPL with a strong and settled young squad and a healthy bank balance.

 

I've got a feeling Green won't go for the patient approach though, and nor will the fans let him.

[David]

The latest NEWCO news from Motherwell;

 

Motherwell say they could face administration if they cannot "replace significant amounts of income" once the status of the Rangers newco is decided.

 

Scottish Premier League clubs will vote on whether Charles Green's newco should replace the old Rangers in the league.

 

The Fir Park club expect to lose money regardless of the outcome of the vote.

 

"The club could be facing an insolvency event," fans were told as they were asked to decide how Motherwell should vote on the newco issue on 4 July.

 

"Following new rules recently introduced at [the] SPL, this would lead to a 21 point deduction, being one third of last year's total.

 

"The board is of the view that whatever decision is made on the newco vote by the SPL clubs, the financial position of Motherwell Football Club will suffer.

 

"On a purely financial basis, a 'Yes' vote would likely preserve commercial revenues, however the impact on gate receipts is unclear.

 

"The risks presented by a 'No' vote are slightly easier to quantify insofar as gate receipts are concerned, but even then are extremely uncertain given we do not yet know what the SPL commercial partners will decide.

 

"There are clear risks to the financial stability and very future of this club presented by the current situation."

 

The 'guidance document' which accompanied a ballot paper sent to fans also indicates that prices and attendances may need to be increased should the club face "serious financial difficulty".

 

Though they point out that "all clubs look likely to be reducing their headcount and costs" Motherwell do not expect the issue to have a "net impact" on player trading, adding that they will "consider competitive offers for our players if it is in the interests of all".

 

Should Rangers not feature in the SPL next season, Motherwell estimate they could lose

[SiMania]

How much would Motherwell have got had they finished second place?

[FUM]

Scare tactics to get fans to vote yes. Lot of shite.