I’ve never known so many people to be keen to get to a game involving Motherwell as there are for tomorrow’s encounter at Celtic Park. Most of us haven’t been to a game since the marginally entertaining 3-3 Champions League draw last month.
Motherwell head a pack of six clubs all within three points of each other, with bottom of the table Partick Thistle just one point further behind at the bottom of the table. They are still in touch with fifth-placed Newco Rangers, who the Lanarkshire club could overhaul if results go their way this weekend, but the table is starting to look like a top five and bottom seven fight.
Each of the top four clubs, Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and St Johnstone, are at home against opposition no higher than 6th place Motherwell, so there’s every chance the leading group will extend their advantage.
You and I have been speaking about a European League since 2004. During that time the remoteness of the possibility has come and gone but it’s back on the agenda, with Copenhagen director, Anders Horsholt talking about the proposed league between Danish, Dutch, Scottish, Belgian, Swedish and Norwegian clubs.
This proposal would be enormously beneficial for all involved, the only thing that’s needed is sufficient will on the part of clubs to make it happen, but even within this group of potential beneficiaries there are sub-interests which could pull focus in different directions.
Celtic’s interests would be best served with access to a European-wide league, replacing domestic weekend leagues. They would be able to compete and grow into one of the world’s biggest clubs in this scenario. The same would be true of the bigger Dutch clubs, less so for the Danish, and even the Belgians.
What we now have for the first time is a consensus that some change needs to happen among the disenfranchised. I’d bite your hand off for a scenario along the lines of what Horsholt discussed, but you have to consider this possibility in context of what’s happening at the moment with the financially elite European clubs.
They too want change. A meritocratic-ally-earned Europe-wide structure replacing domestic leagues falls short of their mooted closed-franchise system, but not by much. And it’s a lot more deliverable.
This is all horse-trading for now, but there’s a lot of money sitting on the table, so change is inevitable.
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Gordon
Tierney Gamboa jozo Erick
Brown Henderson Sinclair forest Armstrong
Dembelle
Eye on Wednesday ?
Gamboa, Henderson & Armstrong in starting eleven.
Looks like Lustig & Bitton nursing knocks as reported earlier in week.
Good to see Liam getting a chance.
VFR800
Sair foot? I suspect gout.
whatsupdocCSC
Gftb
Saw that earlier. The barge? Right about Willie Henderson though.
HH
I’d have gone with Dembelle and Griff up front, it’s only the Asda bigots we’re playing !!!!
Neganon2
I’m not ignoring your big picture I’m setting out mine.
I recognise that sectarianism plays a part but it’s the bait to catch money not the reason things are as they are.
For your picture to be true the whole of Scotland needs to be immersed in sectarianism. My experience is that it’s not. It exists ok but I don’t believe it is the driving force you attribute to it.
For my picture to be true you only need a few greedy human beings to use the sectarian bait to haul in the cash and I think in numbers terms that is a more realistic picture.
Either way the result is distasterous for the good of the game and society.
You know times are good when the BBC celebrate sevco going third in the league.
Back to the real football now- off to the game.
Having ignored demands from a parking company for a private parking fine I now get one from an English debt? collection agency. What should I do
Stairheedrammy
Where did the alleged parking offence take place?
Neganon2
To make my point I don’t think attempts at keeping Rangers from insolvency in 2011 were driven by a sectarian SFA/SPL but by the fear of the financial impact of the loss to Scottish football of 50k customers and lower TV income.
What pulls on 50k is sectarianism but that does not mean football authority is sectarian of itself.
My point was the core belief of Scottish
football industry that sectarianism pays.
Events since 2011 more than suggest it doesnt and a new model/culture if you will, needs to be found on which to sell the game to the world.
Playing entertaining football seems to be a crowd puller so why not start to use that as an objective and do everything we can to develop entertaining footballers?
Stairheedrammy Stay calm and do nothing,not legally enforcable. For peace of mind go to a CAB office or afree legal place but do not engage with the debt collection agency or the parking ticket issuer,hope this helps. H H Hebcelt