Penfold

Have always loved Tony Yeboah's strike.

The administrators were set to make the Blue Knights preferred bidders but the Blue Knights refused/couldn't pay the 500k fee for exclusivity. They have pulled out.

Absolute time wasters in it for the press of being heroes.

From Jim Spence on Twitter:

The SFA is considering setting up a Scottish national league to replace the SPL and the SFL. full story on Sportsound 810 mw 6.10pm

Fantastic news and what fans have wanted all along. One league set up ran under one body. Hopefully this has some truth in it.

Did McGhee really have that much time at Aberdeen to create a year and a half's worth of backpeddling?

Yes.

His first game in charge put us year backwards. Brown's job is far from done, and today was fucking shite and I'm fucking sick at it, but it's on it's way.

Sick. Fucking bottlers. 2 mins in and one goal down. Fuck off aye.

Anybody up to much this weekend?

6/1 for a pen shootout looks good value.

I'm not sure if a NewCo would need to re-sign all the players. I read yesterday that the SPL/SFA would recognise a NewCo as the same club so they could use the same name, badge and would retain their title history so I don't know if the same would apply to player registrations. (And it brings a whole load of other problems with HMRC if they are willing to be recognised as the same business).

In either case, if they went to Div 3 they would have a significantly different squad with a massively reduced budget and of course the fact they are in Div 3. I could maybe see Lee McCulloch staying on and maybe a return for Davie Weir. Other than that it would be youths and players they picked up from the other lower division clubs who they would still be able to outspend.

Aye top quality stuff.

"Ye hiv tae let us in cause we tak thoosands ti yer grund each year"

"Oh aye an we're boycottin awa gemes."

"Wearrapeple"

Fantastic. Rangers fans are threatening to boycott away games if these NewCo rules are brought in.

That should put any argument that clubs need their away fans to bed then. Enjoy Division 3 (after you apply for it with Cove Rangers).

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/rangers/303335-rangers-fans-group-threaten-away-boycott-if-spl-rule-changes-approved/

There are however a couple of questions I have, I'm not sure if anyone can help me out here:

 

• Sportsound suggested these resolutions don't change the fact that any NewCo would still need the approval of the SPL "Board" to get back into the SPL.  Is this correct?
  
• Would a NewCo be excluded from Europe for the first 3 years?  My understanding is that UEFA require ?3yrs of audited accounts for a club to be able to enter Europe.  That along with 75% reduction in Prize Money would be a significant handicap
  
• If Rangers are still in Administration at the start of the season will they face a further points deduction?  And if so what date counts as the new season? (with the proposed rules they could have 20+ pts deduction)
  

Yes, Yes and Yes although not sure of the date. Logic would suggest it's the day the 12/13 fixtures are announced but who knows. There will a date set somewhere which dictates exactly when Ross County become an SPL member.

If NewCo Rangers are allowed in with points and financial penalties and find themselves struggling at the bottom of the league will we find the SPL rushing to make changes to the rules to prevent them being relegated?

If the league so badly needs Rangers then they will. A league so dependant on one club that it cannot allow that club to be relegated is not a sporting league. Get Rangers to fuck and let the whole of Scottish football realign. If that means some clubs to into administration (unlikely) and others cut back then so be it. Scottish football will be stronger for it in the long run as fans will come back and watch a competitive league, which will then allow clubs to gradually spend more again improving the standard of football across the board and not just at 1 club in Govan.

I think it needs to be made clear to clubs just how many fans will become (even more) disillusioned if they allow Rangers back in. They need to be aware it will happen while they still have a chance to do the right thing.

From day 1 they've looked for any opportunity to delay this process.

I wouldn't see the point in Scottish Football, and therefore Aberdeen FC. I'd still follow as much football as I do with no allegiance to another team.

I suppose the fact that we have two separate leagues, spl and sfl, makes this more problematic.  NewCo could be sent down a couple of divisions if we were all in one league.  If NewCo however are kicked out of the SPL there is no where for them to go.  The SPL is the 12 Clubs, therefore be definition they will be wanting to preserve the clubs.

What should happen is an extra  club from the SFL is promoted to the SPL and a new club enters the bottom of Div 3. Rangers  Newco can apply alongside any other club like Cove Rangers etc. Of course the SFL would let them in because of the large support they would bring.

It would have been really interesting if Gretna had gone out of business while still in the SPL.

This "transfer of SPL shares" thing opens up the possibility that a small club (i.e a Gretna) could purchase an SPL clubs share (i.e place in the league) for money, skipping the need to promote themselves through the SFL.

If Rangers are liquidated the "shares" should be transferred back to the SPL and given to the next team in the first division.

There is no way in hell we'd be seeing these same plans if this were Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Hearts, Aberdeen etc. in the position of potential liquidation.

He looked as good as he ever did for us when he came on against United. If he's fit he has to play.

Brown

Jack Considine Reynolds Robertson

Megginson Fyvie Arnason Clark

Vernon Fallon

If Anderson fit enough then drop Robertson (or maybe play him on the wing instead of Clark) and move Reynolds to LB.

9-3 means 4 clubs would have to vote against something. The current set up is 11-1, not 10-2.

Aye it's the list of teams to have made it to a final since we last did which is woeful. Falkirk, Ross County, Queen of the South, Gretna, Ayr? etc all in.

Well Rae can't play, so Arnason will come in. If fit I'd like to see Fyvie start before Hughes. Looks like Considine might be out so Anderson can come in. If Considine is fit I'd play them both and move Reynolds to LB. Possibly even then playing Robertson left mid instead of Christina Clark.

Also quite like to see Jack at right back instead of McArdle, but I don't know who'd replace him in midfield.

When Rangers are liquidated, they won't have a vote anyway. So to put it in Topping's language

"On the basis that it appears likely the resolution will achieve the 11 votes in favour that it requires when Rangers are no longer SPL members and there is now some damage being done to the league's commercial prospects and, by implication, your own club's potential future distributions, I would ask you to consider whether you would, especially given current circumstances and uncertainties, wish to withdraw your opposition to the resolution.

Police are investigating over claims a Premier League footballer was racially abused on Twitter.

 

The tweet, believed to be from a 17-year-old Liverpool fan, was posted after Newcastle United defender James Perch clashed with another player in a match against Liverpool on Sunday.

In or Oot: In

Pre-Matcher: Bus doon then whatever pub we can find open

Match: West Stand

Post Matcher: Party Suicide Bus home

Prediction: Hmm