Discussion of all things Scottish football: Celtic, Rangers, SMNT, Ayr United, mediocrity, heartache, and the loss of God. The usual.
Didnt realize Robbie Fowler was still playing. Missed that transferDiscussion of all things Scottish football: Celtic, Rangers, SMNT, Ayr United, mediocrity, heartache, and the loss of God. The usual.
Nice steal and assist by Malik Tillman (USMNT) there.Rangers take a one goal lead against PSV. Hold this and they are in the CL.
Come on, they don’t have Jordan Pickford!Rangers are wasting time at damn near Portuguese levels of skill. More good corner work than flopping, but healthy doses of the latter as well.
It was pure admiration on my part, they managed those 8 minutes incredibly well.Come on, they don’t have Jordan Pickford!
You can bet your ass there is now going to be a flurry of activity in the transfer market by Rangers with 40M or so guaranteed . But only a week to get things done.I'm genuinely pleased for Rangers and tonight's implications for Scottish football, but my goodness...the guff coming out of the mouth of the BT Sport commentator in Eindhoven after the final whistle (and in the lead-up to it) is so, so over the top.
I got Rangers in a group with Liverpool, Porto and Leverkusen, and Celtic in a group with Tottenham, Bayern and Shakhtar. Two Battles of Britain on the cards?
We’re due a Battle of Britain . I think one is at least on the cards.I got Rangers in a group with Liverpool, Porto and Leverkusen, and Celtic in a group with Tottenham, Bayern and Shakhtar. Two Battles of Britain on the cards?
Group CI got Rangers in a group with Liverpool, Porto and Leverkusen, and Celtic in a group with Tottenham, Bayern and Shakhtar. Two Battles of Britain on the cards?
Really? Ye hink say? Was it the hyperbole or the revisionist history? It's the irish guy in't it? He's a Ger though, (pretty sure he's a Ger) so it was to be expected.I'm genuinely pleased for Rangers and tonight's implications for Scottish football, but my goodness...the guff coming out of the mouth of the BT Sport commentator in Eindhoven after the final whistle (and in the lead-up to it) is so, so over the top.
For a start, I'd have tried to not sound like a bad imitation (with a much less plummy voice) of the Archie Macpherson impersonator on "Only An Excuse?" episodes when the show was at its peak. All that was missing was a reference to the Britannic Majesty of the Gers. I know it was a big night for the club...but they won an away match in Holland, and he sounded like they'd won the quadruple or something. Shut up and let the moment breathe a bit!What would you have done differently?
Aw man...i just watched it again. I love your critique by the way. As a Scot though, i love a bit of over emoting, hyperbole, a commentator getting somewhat carried away...I don't think the Scots mind that too much. I wonder how Martin Tyler would have handled it.For a start, I'd have tried to not sound like a bad imitation (with a much less plummy voice) of the Archie Macpherson impersonator on "Only An Excuse?" episodes when the show was at its peak. All that was missing was a reference to the Britannic Majesty of the Gers. I know it was a big night for the club...but they won an away match in Holland, and he sounded like they'd won the quadruple or something. Shut up and let the moment breathe a bit!
That's the bit which really prompted my original comment. Yeesh.But now Rangers can feast at the very top of the European canape, gorging Uefa's most lucrative fruit'
You can't invent fans for the non-Old Firm teams out of whole cloth. To get a good third Scottish team in the current financial environment, you need an angel investor who won't care about balance sheets or Fair Play regulations - and there aren't enough people in Scotland to attract the Middle Eastern oil barons. Apart from that, it's not as though Hearts or Hibs or Aberdeen would ever draw 40,000 fans to every home match even if they were top of the league and had stadiums in which to put everyone. Ever since the European Cup became the Champions League, finances have dictated that the top Scottish division would have two good teams and a bunch of diddy teams; nothing is ever going to change that. (Which is why I struggle to give a toss about the SPFL.)Maybe this is somethng we can talk about here...how do we get a better 3rd best team in Scotland. There's a lot of money in Edinburgh, and Aberdeen. These clubs; Hearts Hibs and Aberdeen should be doing better. For a city the size and wealth of Edinburgh (i mean it's only a matter of time before the working class get banned from edinburgh city centre) - there's no excuse, Hibs and Hearts need to get better. They need to figure it out. Aberdeen are in an oil rich city...sort it out. be a Bourmouth, not a Sheffield Wednesday...(sorry Justin.)
If "the Scottish game as a whole" includes the national team, then yes, having Celtic and Rangers in the Champions League is a good thing.Here, BBC Scotland looks at whether having two clubs in the group stage will really help the Scottish game as a whole.
I said 'better' - how do we, the royal we, that is those that give a hoot, which in this case isn't you. I'm not talking about 40k at the home games. I'm talking about 'better' - which given the general standards of the 3rd best team in Scotland over the years, is a pretty low bar which i am sure you, who careth not, would agree.You can't invent fans for the non-Old Firm teams out of whole cloth. To get a good third Scottish team in the current financial environment, you need an angel investor who won't care about balance sheets or Fair Play regulations - and there aren't enough people in Scotland to attract the Middle Eastern oil barons. Apart from that, it's not as though Hearts or Hibs or Aberdeen would ever draw 40,000 fans to every home match even if they were top of the league and had stadiums in which to put everyone. Ever since the European Cup became the Champions League, finances have dictated that the top Scottish division would have two good teams and a bunch of diddy teams; nothing is ever going to change that. (Which is why I struggle to give a toss about the SPFL.)
If "the Scottish game as a whole" includes the national team, then yes, having Celtic and Rangers in the Champions League is a good thing.
I watched the game, as you say, Hearts in full control in first half, a little bit more composure and they could at minimum have been 2 up at the half. Probably the most one sided half I've seen this season without the dominant team scoring. They were there for the taking and I'm pretty sure Zurich gained confidence by getting to the half without conceding. Don't get me started on diving for a penalty, it's all too prevalent in the modern game. I hate it. But the game is more namby-pamby than when I played regularly. We certainly didn't go looking at diving in the box. My manager would have killed any player looking to cheat. Since I'm on that topic, it's now become more acceptable to take a player out as a professional foul. Taking one for the team as they say. Rarely do you see anyone given a straight red. It used to be an automatic red if for example, a player is racing away and you clipped the player's heel when you had no chance of getting the ball, you were off. For the most part now it's just a yellow. Now having said that, there is no consistency. Did you see the games last week? If not, crank up BBC iPlayer and you will see exhibit A, B , C D etc. Lunstrom was sent off and in my view it was correct, he had no chance of getting the ball and did the professional foul and took the player down. People act surprised that it was a straight red....in my day it was a no doubter, early shower. But my point is you compare to that horrific Ross Callachan professional foul in the Ross County game, he only got a yellow. He was like Vinny Jones on beserker mode. Jack Baldwin had an X-certificate tackle and only got a yellow. Again lack of consistency by refs, it's a joke. Go back the week before and most of the punditry on Sportscene was again centered on the lack of consistency with refs.Frustrating result in the Europa League play off last night. Hearts 0-1 Zurich
Hearts were well in control of the on field goings on for about 60 minutes until Jorge Grant got a dumb (erally dumb) second yellow for diving. I was surprised how on top Hearts were, they had most of the ball, were making decent chances where just a tad more quality and composure would have got them on the scoresheet. I reckon most folk watching at home or at Tyncastle felt a goal for Hearts was coming - as long as they keep the heid, which tends to mean keeping all 11 players on the field.
The sad thing for me was Grant did not need to go down. He didn't need to gamble. The ref was starting to get his cards out, and if you're on a yellow, why take the chance. Hearts were dominating, which was a pleasant surprise.
The sending off effectively killed the game and then BBC Scotland, that bastion of everything that is shite about Scotland, lost the broadcast for about 10 minutes, instead of musaz they went for birds chirruping. When they finally found the 50p for the meter, it was 0-1 to Zurich.
After the match the Hearts boss felt it was not a second yellow for Grant and he wa proud of his players, and at last they have Conference League to look forward to. Hearts could have stuck 11 traffic cones on the ptich and got the same outcome.
Once again Scottish teams not Celtic or Rangers showing whoever gives a damn how off the pace they are in Europe.
Maybe this is somethng we can talk about here...how do we get a better 3rd best team in Scotland. There's a lot of money in Edinburgh, and Aberdeen. These clubs; Hearts Hibs and Aberdeen should be doing better. For a city the size and wealth of Edinburgh (i mean it's only a matter of time before the working class get banned from edinburgh city centre) - there's no excuse, Hibs and Hearts need to get better. They need to figure it out. Aberdeen are in an oil rich city...sort it out. be a Bourmouth, not a Sheffield Wednesday...(sorry Justin.)
Contracting the number of teams has always been my first choice, we've had this discussion over the years. Far too many for the population of Scotland, contract and unite some teams in the same geographic areas. I understand this won't be popular etc, club history and all that....I said 'better' - how do we, the royal we, that is those that give a hoot, which in this case isn't you. I'm not talking about 40k at the home games. I'm talking about 'better' - which given the general standards of the 3rd best team in Scotland over the years, is a pretty low bar which i am sure you, who careth not, would agree.
Back to the original post where i said, Edinburgh is a big city with lots of money...which it is. I'm just not prepared to believe that Hearts or Hibs have maxed out on their revenue potential - or Aberdeen for that matter. Nor am i prepared to beleive that any of those teams could not improve their on field performances via youth/player development and better coaching and other sundry marginal gains that don't include a rich saviour. That's why i mentioned Bourmouth, who i think most would agree punch above their weight.
I think it's fine per se not to give a toss about the SPFL...but this is a Scottish fitba thread.
If anyone who does give a toss about the SPFL would like to chime in that would be cool.
Just curious. Is part of you’re not giving a shit related to the obvious sectarianism in Scotland. Obviously I’m talking mainly about Celtic and Rangers. But I know if I was an American living in Scotland that would turn me off immediately. Or is it purely about product on the field?You can't invent fans for the non-Old Firm teams out of whole cloth. To get a good third Scottish team in the current financial environment, you need an angel investor who won't care about balance sheets or Fair Play regulations - and there aren't enough people in Scotland to attract the Middle Eastern oil barons. Apart from that, it's not as though Hearts or Hibs or Aberdeen would ever draw 40,000 fans to every home match even if they were top of the league and had stadiums in which to put everyone. Ever since the European Cup became the Champions League, finances have dictated that the top Scottish division would have two good teams and a bunch of diddy teams; nothing is ever going to change that. (Which is why I struggle to give a toss about the SPFL.)
If "the Scottish game as a whole" includes the national team, then yes, having Celtic and Rangers in the Champions League is a good thing.
Purely about the product on the field. I mean, the sectarianism is awful, but my issues with the SPFL as a sporting entity are entirely down to the lack of parity. I like watching the underdogs hang with and occasionally get results against the Old Firm - e.g., when I saw that Rangers were down to 9 men against Hibs last week, I tuned into the end of the match and greatly enjoyed watching Hibs eventually get the equalizer. (I would have felt the same feelings if that had happened to Celtic, FWIW.) But generally, there just aren't any storylines in the league that I as a neutral can sink my teeth into, and the quality of the football never shines enough for me to want to watch it relative to all of the other leagues I have available to me on Sky and BT Sport. If there were ever a third team threatening the dominance of the Old Firm, then I would absolutely tune in...and the times when I tend to be most interested in the SPFL are times when we get to November and December and Rangers or Celtic is in 3rd in the table. But the recent Rangers relegation-and-revival period aside, you have to go back to 2005/06 to find a season in which both Rangers and Celtic were absolutely expected to finish in the top two but one of them didn't...and Hearts still finished 17 points behind Celtic. And you have to go back to 1993/94 to find a season in which a non-Old Firm team had a real chance to win the title. And of course you have to go back to 1984/85 to find a season in which a non-Old Firm team actually won the title. That's just not the sort of competitive balance that gets my juices flowing.Just curious. Is part of you’re not giving a shit related to the obvious sectarianism in Scotland. Obviously I’m talking mainly about Celtic and Rangers. But I know if I was an American living in Scotland that would turn me off immediately. Or is it purely about product on the field?
This is 100% legit mate.Purely about the product on the field. I mean, the sectarianism is awful, but my issues with the SPFL as a sporting entity are entirely down to the lack of parity. I like watching the underdogs hang with and occasionally get results against the Old Firm - e.g., when I saw that Rangers were down to 9 men against Hibs last week, I tuned into the end of the match and greatly enjoyed watching Hibs eventually get the equalizer. (I would have felt the same feelings if that had happened to Celtic, FWIW.) But generally, there just aren't any storylines in the league that I as a neutral can sink my teeth into, and the quality of the football never shines enough for me to want to watch it relative to all of the other leagues I have available to me on Sky and BT Sport. If there were ever a third team threatening the dominance of the Old Firm, then I would absolutely tune in...and the times when I tend to be most interested in the SPFL are times when we get to November and December and Rangers or Celtic is in 3rd in the table. But the recent Rangers relegation-and-revival period aside, you have to go back to 2005/06 to find a season in which both Rangers and Celtic were absolutely expected to finish in the top two but one of them didn't...and Hearts still finished 17 points behind Celtic. And you have to go back to 1993/94 to find a season in which a non-Old Firm team had a real chance to win the title. And of course you have to go back to 1984/85 to find a season in which a non-Old Firm team actually won the title. That's just not the sort of competitive balance that gets my juices flowing.
It's getting that way mate. I was over to check out Medea at the fringe and It was 4 parts posh English to 3 parts American Tourist; 2 parts A N other tourist and a smattering of Jocks who passed the sift.I thought everyone was banned from Edinburgh not just the working class.
Thank you - this is incredibleThis is fuckin hilarious. Rangers TV edited highights of today's humping. Edited by a Celtic fan of course.
View: https://twitter.com/aboutceltic/status/1566111960927805440?s=20&t=TwTOy5GdSZeVYcPRRo4tEA
Nothing beats “ Whits the goalie daein Tam !!!”This is fuckin hilarious. Rangers TV edited highights of today's humping. Edited by a Celtic fan of course.
View: https://twitter.com/aboutceltic/status/1566111960927805440?s=20&t=TwTOy5GdSZeVYcPRRo4tEA
In't it just though. You can sense the fella beelin as he supresses all his range to verbally document the event, as he must, as that is a key part of his job. And the joy is in how we imagine he'd sound of his beloved and mighty Gers were the scorers of those goals.Thank you - this is incredible
Agreed.
I've been walking around Govan and there's not that many Union Jacks, fluttering outside windows. Ok there's one next door to me and another acorss the street and one round the corner.,..but they're perma jacks, they never leave.It's been a helluva fortnight for Rangers fans.