Well, understandably, pretty dead here these days. So what are everyone’s thoughts on 4th? Prize money what was set out at the start of the year? Based on form and the season, I’d say 4th may well be better than we’d have ended up!

 

Plus, now that the league is over, is the cup done too? And to end, which free agents are we now going to be linked with?? What’s everyone’s take on the upcoming windows given so many teams are financially fucked?

Now lets have a look at the school and Uni sports situation in Scotland (or even the UK as a whole). 

 

I have NCAA clients so I know how it works out there but we can't diss every European uni in every sport. For example, Stirling University are reigning European Champions in golf. Not only that, the men's team have won the last 4 or 5 and their women's team have won the last 3 out of 4 or possibly 4 out of 5, no mean feat given that the tournament is held every two years and so they're winning with totally different personnel. They had 4 golfers in the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings and contributed two golfers to the Walker Cup the second last time at home so they're clearly doing a lot right. The best UK pro woman golfer may well come out of that uni when she graduates in a couple of years time, a hugely talented young Scot.

Ideologically that sounds nice but I can't see it working due to competition for players from the leagues down south. I don't know how the NFL draft works exactly so if I've got it totally wrong please correct me. But if your a promising Scottish youngster and you have the option to go into a draft system where you could shine and yet end up playing for Hamilton or you got the option to join a mid sized championship club I'd imagine you'd take the latter. I presume it works in the NFL because there are no other competing leagues and because every club there is of a decent size.

 

I don't disagree at all but if the cream of the crop end up going down south then so be it, it just makes room for other players to come through. I think at first we'd see exactly what you've suggested but over time, if the system works, players would be quite happy to spend a couple of years of guaranteed playing time whether it's with Hamilton or whoever and then move on, especially if they get paid the same at Hamilton as Celtic or whatever.

As far as I'm aware a big aspect of the draft system is to ensure the top teams do not just take all of the best players and therefore just keep winning

The team which gets first pick in the draft is the one which finished last/ bottom of the table whilst the team which finished first is the last to pick.

 

For that to actually work you need to serious level the financial playing field and also completely revamp the league to ensure each team is made up of mainly 'home' players - One of the claims as to why the scotland national team is so bad is the best young scottish players are hoovered up by the Tic & Sevco and then left to rot in the youth and reserve teams before eventually getting let go. Some might carve out a career in the lower leagues but many end up quitting.

See in terms of European football.  Does this quarantine thing mean clubs would have to be in some other country a fortnight before their away leg??

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52797428

 

Strachan not messing about.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52797428

 

Strachan not messing about.

 

A lot of what he says is true.  We all know that there are too many pro clubs in Scotland. A lot of them are well run mind, but something needs to change. Easy for me to say, given that our club isn't one that really needs to change. Although his use of county was out of order. Great professional community club. They have had a well run academy.

100% of what Strachan said there was true. Respect.

 

Here's another true statement.

 

Strachan was an infuriating footballer and employee.

 

Ferguson found this. And he was right.

 

Wee Gordon was one of many who had problems with SAF.

 

And there's no smoke without fire.

 

SAF was right then and the bitter ging er is right now.

 

Swings. Roundabouts. Stop and go.

Some of it is also very contradictory.  "All that happens is Celtic and Rangers get stronger", yet he does not want to watch Livingston v Ross County on TV. 

 

"If they can't deal with it financially, then they can go and play in the junior leagues".  That coming from a man employed by DUNDEE???  Did he miss their period of administration?

 

"Two hundred people a week to a game, is that really professional football?"  Is he suggesting we introduce a minimum crowd level now or clubs cannot take part?

 

Also cannot remember him complaining about the old firm getting stronger when he was managing Celtic? Funny that.

 

Remarkable how our top clubs complain about the Champions League's biggest clubs wanting a closed shop but in reality that is exactly what they all want in Scotland.  A top division with all the "biggest" clubs and no risk of any of them being relegated.  But with sporting integrity included, of course.

 

Agree with the above. If some club with 200 fans runs their affairs well enough to be solvent,and gain promotion then they deserve to be there,(though I'd rather be doing battle againsts club similar size to ourselves like),but generally speaking,tough tits if you canna run your affairs properly,fairs fair at both ends of the spectrum

In the SPL case the power has shifted so far in the Duopoly favour,I would rather some sort of amnesty between the clubs in the top league and restructure/level the playing field,if not tell the OF to do one(preferred). We hold the aces if we'd just show some balls,(or self belief).I don't understand why weve accepted our fate without a fight for so long

Part of the problem with Scottish Football is that most fans don't want to support there local team. They usually choose one of the old firm and it has a detrimental impact on the smaller clubs. Even up here the amount of locals that support Rangers, if they supported Aberdeen you would think our attendances would be better.

42 clubs for a country our size would be too many at the top of the game but given that there are thousands of clubs all over the UK, it's not a problem to have this many in the bigger spotlight. England have 92 clubs in four divisions as their recognised top flights so 28 teams in our top two divisions seems like a logical extension, with a third division providing promotion and relegation to and from both division 2 and below that e.g. Edinburgh City and Cove Aberdeen and before that ICT and Ross County.

 

Given that we only have 22 full-time professional clubs, the second division would have roughly half full time and half part time but it's up to them how ambitious they are to progress and they have to be good enough to stay in that division and not slide into obscurity.

 

The bigger issue is the development and management of our game in Scotland. It's not been working for a very long time and change is well overdue.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.scotsman.com/sport/football/separate-league-full-time-clubs-says-strachan-1577947%3famp

 

At least Strachan is consistent! Shows how far we haven't come anyway. I have a lot of sympathy for the full/part time issue, I'd have hoped that we could muster 26-28 teams of full timers but it's maybe a stretch. However the notion that teams who have a wealthier benefactor (and I'd question where he got his facts on Milne) should have a greater say is pathetic at best.