Tonight I’m off to watch Celtic take on Hamilton Accies to extend their lead at the top of the table to six points. Here’s what’s going to happen: either we’ll win, and I’ll go home thinking about 5-in-a-row, or we’ll drop points at home to Accies, again, and there will be a joyless walk along London Road. There would be no compensation whatsoever in the latter, no matter how bravely Accies defend their 18 yard line. The former will provide limited joy, as despite previous results, I’ve already anticipated a positive outcome.
Hamilton Academical are a remarkably successful community football club. They are a fraction the size of Dunfermline, St Mirren or Hibs, who languish in the lower leagues, not to mention Dundee United, but no matter how admirable, they are not box office material.
The prospect of league reconstruction – creating a 14 or 16 team top flight, bringing in clubs unable to match Accies on the field, at the cost of games against top 12 teams, is enormously unattractive and unwelcome.
We abandoned an 18 team top flight in favour of a top 10 in 1975 because we are a tiny country who cannot support more than 10 competitive teams (or even that many). Football fans turned up in huge numbers for games against genuinely top clubs, but attendances against semi-professional clubs were as lousy as you would expect them to be.
My first objection against the last reconstruction was use of the word “Professional”. The SPFL includes professional, semi-professional and amateur clubs. The four division league was tarted up as something it’s not. We can, at best, support two leagues of genuinely professional clubs, with two leagues of semi-professional clubs below them.
A professional group of 20 clubs, separated into two divisions, should be created, with only marginal drops in commercial income distribution as you go down the gradient. Semi-professional clubs should acknowledge that status and organise their game accordingly. Set participation criteria, objectives, partnering and commercial plans to suit their needs. They should be free to formally partner with professional clubs, share resources, including expertise and youth development objectives.
There should not be automatic promotion and relegation between the professional and semi-professional leagues. At most, there should be a one up, one down, play-off. This would give teams who drop quickly, like St Mirren, a floor from which they can bounce off, instead of having to take unplanned or worse, un-budgeted, action mid-season to remain in tier two.
I love the prospect of a Scottish Cup game at East Kilbride, but that anticipation required the immediacy of the Cup. No sport survives by creating more mismatches games than it already has.
But this is Scottish football, so I suppose we should expect the worst from Hampden this afternoon.
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Paul.
Scottish football will never prosper as long as we have a situation where because of a disparity of assets, one club, can at will, tear the guts out of another as we recently did with DU.
To protect some, you advocate limiting automatic promotion and relegation.
In the same spirit, should clubs like DU not be protected from situation I outlined above?
JFH
If he was coming from Sunderland, he would not fly. It would be a 2 hour drive in the Bentley or Lamborghini.
JFH
I be willing to bet, that while Steven Fletcher took a flight to Glasgow.
His Lambo drove itself up the road, and was waiting outside the airport for him:)
He will be signing for Sevco in a shock swoop of epic proportions.
HH
QUONNO on 19TH JANUARY 2016 4:42 PM
Been longer Brahms and Lizst than TD was suspended.
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/no-sport-survives-by-creating-more-mismatches-games/comment-page-5/#comment-2757111
I knowwwwwwww, it’s shocking, :))
Hravtski
I admit there is some truth in what you say. but I think that, looking at the bigger picture, and longer term, it is the way to go.
If we can show (use of video evidence , etc.) to police what happens at Celtic Park, then we have the ability to ensure that other clubs do the same (including as it relates to our fans, and to protect our fans). I know there is a financial disparity between Celtic and other clubs (except possibly one) … but really that other club is the one that most concerns us. So, if we can do it, then we can in turn expect them to do so.
And even if smaller clubs dont/cant afford it …. it will clean up our own house. Which is what most decent fans want at Celtic Park, I believe.
THE EXILED TIM on 19TH JANUARY 2016 4:51 PM
Evening Timland from a warmish hun free mountain valley.
This is too much, they really are trying to kill the game.
And you can bet your bottom dollar the focus will be on our supporters.
Shocking stuff
Just imagine the reaction of the Murdoch media had such a report emerged from the old Soviet Union.
http://news.stv.tv/politics/1339639-football-chiefs-ask-for-government-help-to-tackle-offensive-behaviour/
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/no-sport-survives-by-creating-more-mismatches-games/comment-page-5/#comment-2757131
NatKnow
I am in that rollover
“..signing for Sevco in a shock swoop”
CQN tongue twister of the day
Welcome Back Mandela Donnelly!! Have you signed any book deals yet! There must be plenty of agents gasping about your exile. Take it easy Tony, don’t bend the knee to no one. Oh and stop insulting the Brotherhood, a lot of Tims on here have joined…just for social outings and that!
THE GREEN MAN on 19TH JANUARY 2016 4:52 PM
JFH
I be willing to bet, that while Steven Fletcher took a flight to Glasgow.
His Lambo drove itself up the road, and was waiting outside the airport for him:)
He will be signing for Sevco in a shock swoop of epic proportions.
HH
Wonder how much he will pay the weans to watch it?
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/no-sport-survives-by-creating-more-mismatches-games/comment-page-5/#comment-2757136
Hebcelt and the turn key roll of honer in the sin bin :))
http://youtu.be/fGH-ncQYoLg
Q
Yip, it’s feckin disgraceful so it is.
HH
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 19TH JANUARY 2016 4:55 PM
NatKnow
I am in that rollover
—————————————————–
I’ve tried it once or twice
And found it rather nice
#4LeafClover
:-))
AULD BERTIE on 19TH JANUARY 2016 4:56 PM
Welcome Back Mandela Donnelly!! Have you signed any book deals yet! There must be plenty of agents gasping about your exile. Take it easy Tony, don’t bend the knee to no one. Oh and stop insulting the Brotherhood, a lot of Tims on here have joined…just for social outings and that!
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/no-sport-survives-by-creating-more-mismatches-games/comment-page-5/#comments
Ain’t that the truth , seems I’v upset a few, ah well Ho hum. I’m back, it is what it is, we all move on.
I did the door on the Brahms and Lizst – great pub
There ain’t no cell strong enough to hold TD#papillion
THE EXILED TIM on 19TH JANUARY 2016 4:57 PM
Q
Yip, it’s feckin disgraceful so it is.
HH
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/no-sport-survives-by-creating-more-mismatches-games/comment-page-6/#comment-2757144
Yup.
Mike
I am in no way saying that a proper evidence process, consistently applied to all clubs, should not be used.
My point was that we should ensure that our fans should adhere to an agreed standard of conduct that means that no-one falls foul of a proper judicial process.
Evidence should protect the innocent but condemn the guilty.
Anyway, need to go now to get ready for the match tonight so bye for now.
tonydonnelly67 on 19th January 2016 4:15 pm
I think this proves that like the judge, MA is not a brother, although I have my doubts with that judge, saying you’re not one makes me think he protests to much (as someone said earlier )
*The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist, same with the craft; it’s only a wee social club. Like Donald duck it is.
Where I grew up there were no LOL, but there was 3 different ludges, they ruled the place, them and their apprentices the BB, and they were very sneaky about it.
I usually find out who were in the craft when their obits are published, it’s not even a shock anymore. The nice wee guy up the road, the nice wee man on the train etc.
I had an acquaintance from Dumbarton, which does have an LOL BTW, who was told by a wash hand basin from Liverpool that there was nothing they couldnae get you off with in court except murder and even then that was debatable.
Steven Fletcher will sign for Celtic…and Sevco.
He will play for us on Saturdays and in Europe, and play for Sevco the rest of the time.
He will turn his Lambo into a ten bed detached mansion/bookies, and park it in the Gallowgate.
The local weans will charge £50 a whip for a personal tour.
Should work out quite well.
And this is the kind of thing you can post….when you are on CQN:)
CQN is like anarchy on wheels.
HH
TET
I think there’s an element of truth in that, but up to now ‘the focus’ is on a specific section of Celtic Park.
95% of Celtic supporters come and go through the Gazebo unfilmed, unchecked, unhampered.
The game as such was killed in 2012 when Sevco got a licence out of Hampden, – the rest of the Celtic story is whether Celtic supporters keep going, and how Celtic decide to map our future.
The Celtic intent seems to me that we sign another great Dane, go out and win.
Hail Hail
Paul67 et al
It just goes to show that you can’t keep a good man down.
And you can’t keep Tony Donnelly 67 down either!
To reiterate my earlier point:
You huns are deid, defunct, destroyed, dodo-ish and delapidated.
I know it, you know it, and anyone I meet with any “saaaacccceeerrrr” education knows it.
In the the absence of a certain contributor, any lurking huns GIRUYs.
I just danced right outa that sin bin :))
http://youtu.be/xlvB4xk4LNQ
BSR
Rasmus Falk?
Could be.
HH
TGM
Tuning into your surrealism and giggling like feck. ;))))
honer??you could’nt make this up -oops wrong
DD
Anarchist/Surrealism
Glad someone gets it:)
HH
Oops, I never read back. Apologies for stealing your line TD67.
Please go easy on me!
:-)
BSR
I agree, but they were never going to let millions just drift away, were they ?
Said for years, let them break the rules all day long, as long as we have a level playing field on the pitch, it really matters not a jot to us, we will prevail on the pitch for as long as their is a Celtic FC.
And if they carry on breaking the rules maybes the other clubs will grow a pair.
Sort the referees, sort the problem.
HH
And I agree that our intent is as you say, I would rather they at least pushed for some sort of reform, but hey ho, it’s like it or feck off it seems.
………………………………………………………….
TD
Play the game and you will be fine.
At the end of the day we are all Tims, we just see things from a different viewpoint.
HH
I had an acquaintance from Dumbarton, which does have an LOL BTW, who was told by a wash hand basin from Liverpool that there was nothing they couldnae get you off with in court except murder and even then that was debatable. – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/no-sport-survives-by-creating-more-mismatches-games/comment-page-6/#comment-2757154
Google William Wilton/ Bill Struth..
DD
One id love to see.
A set to…between the sevco hoardes and the Anarchist Clown Army.
Flans away.
Be right in front, flanning them huns left, right, and centre.
Wouldnt stop laughing for a month.
I mean….where’s the harm in it:)
HH
FLORIDA BHOY
LOL, NICE ONE :)
Right guys that’s me hame, watered and fed , heading down to the brazen for a pint then onto paradise, DONNELLY ! Play nice,
eve nin…………………..TIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
eve nin…………………..TIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IncredibleAccents CSC
Tony Donnelly
Welcome back
I will call in to the Brazen with my Ronny Out petition..
Will ya sign please
TGM
FLAN ARMY!!! :)
Oh, please. “The Law” IS “The Craft”.
And it’s not particular to any Faith.
Symbolism everywhere to prove it.
That’s why the world bank gets away with what it pleases.
Apols to MiT.