I was disappointed for St Johnstone at their exit from the Europa League last night but not for Scottish football, or our coefficient points. Saints are a provincial club in a very rural part of Scotland. You only have to travel through the hills to Perth to realise that pocket of Scotland, with its tractors, knitwear and wellie boot shops, has no God given right to beat a team from any municipality anywhere.
They have done very well for the last couple of seasons, from a tiny catchment area, but managed to reach Europe by pipping Dundee United, who ironically were good enough to have key players poached midseason.
St Johnstone don’t have potential superstars, they are also the oldest team in the league, which gets you through a long campaign but they are never going to sparkle. Or earn Scottish football a hatful of coefficient points.
Dundee United were decimated by the loss of those two players midseason, and were done no favours with the shadow of uncertainty which enveloped backroom and boardroom for months, but they, Aberdeen and Celtic are the only Scottish clubs capable of getting their act together to the extent required to reach European group stages. For everyone else, Europe is strictly a July pursuit, so don’t stress about it, and Tommy Wright is well within his rights to talk up his own club.
If Scottish football wants to get all introspective about last night, we should concern ourselves with concentrating resources on clubs who are independently financially viable: Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hearts, Celtic, Hibs and maybe Dundee. If more of our sponsorship and TV money went to Aberdeen and United and less to the thirty-or-so hangers on, they would be better placed to consolidate their development work and compete in Europe.
Celtic are five days away from their opening competitive game of the season, so I would think tonight’s friendly against Davie Moyes’ Real Sociedad will be the last strenuous exercise the players go through after what will have been a taxing first few weeks of preseason. After this workout it should all be about recovery before the visit of Stjarnan on Wednesday. The usual caveats apply to Nadir Ciftci, if he looks like he couldn’t run upstairs, he’s about where I’d expect him to be right now.
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Barbarous was a St Johnstone fan?
Barbaross = Barabus
Stupid phone.
Away tae watch the tennis.
Gasquet v Murray in the final please.
5?
Wee fact I wheel out every six months to bore everyone- Pontius Pilate was born in Perth.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You might want to update his Wiki page then. It says he was born in Skelmersdale….. :)
This john james chap can’t be a sevconian
No spelling mistakes, profanity or insults
Strange
How dare you destroy my delusion!
up_over_goal
12:31 on 10 July, 2015
Ok fair enough but your own stats show that in most European games he’s been a bit part player and in addition he played either wide left or right in the earlier qualifiers.
For me he’s the most natural goal scorer we’ve got and until Ciftci gets up to speed LG should be an automatic starter.
Burgas Hoops
Turkey cant complain about refugees as they are one of the countries stokeing the war fires in Syria. UK of course is an absolute discrace just taking a couple of hundred when right from the start we’ve been aiding and supporting the extemists rebels.
coolmore mafia…
When my da worked as a coalman his mates nickname was Barabus due to his thieving abilities..:)
Pontius Pilate was born in Greenock!
Ave ave!!
Xaloc apartments in Santa Ponca are private and spacious
Can’t remember who I’m replying too
no work today … heading up to the cottage … sun is shining …80 degrees outside …. watch a bit of the tennis … then the bhoys … life is good.
SoT … to make up, how about I start the Friday night music session early? … one of my favourite concerts… B.B. and Bobby singing That’s the Way Love is.. love it!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7jMfmWwEWg
blantyretim is praying for the knox family
13:41 on 10 July, 2015
Xaloc apartments in Santa Ponca are private and spacious
Can’t remember who I’m replying too
———
Superb!
Roaster!
;-)))
HH jamesgang
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/former-celtic-boss-oneill-backed-to-take-leicester-job.131646429
bhoylo83
Aye skirting is done but now she tells the window frame also needs painted!
Blinkin wummen /-)
We haven’t signed anybody today?
Get a grip.
So they’re having a ‘gathering’ in Hamilton the morra and despite my moniker giving away where I live, I don’t even get an invite!
It’s a clique ah tell ye!!
HAMILTONTIM
Just wait till she tells you the ceiling needs done(!)
MO’N for the Leicester job?!
Nae chance!
Sleekit, shirley?
HH!!
HT,
Let the Battle commence.
It is interesting that Both Nadir and Leigh have been given such Iconic numbers, Celtic wise.
That Leader of Celtic, he spoke to me leaving Edinburgh, Great Stadium and all that, nothing compares to you.
Haunting, Great. As BT says, the Celtic Heart.
HT
This could get you some time off till the Bishop comes to inspect it……
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/217/514020435_55c800321e.jpg
HH jamesgang
Hello again all you young rebels.
The Guinness are in the fridge and i’m sitting here waiting on
the game starting, it will be early morning for us here in Oz
but i’m ready and waiting.
I think we will show a vast improvement to the last game
against Dukla but either way no point in going overboard
whatever the result until the real stuff begins.
The big shifty signing has maybe split the camp a bit, but
i think he will be a sensation, if all you auld codgers think back
to when you played, we all had a big nasty cnut who noised up
the opposition while us silky footballers got on with winning
the game, just my opinion.
Had a good session last night at the wee mhans soccer
training, as usual our bhoys standing out in the hoops plus
another couple of lads who asked us to order them through
the Celtic internet thingy.
With Paul 67 talking about knitwear in his blog header, a big
african lad has started training with us, obviously new to the
country and not great English but a good player but he was
wearing one of those hand knitted jumpers your auld granny
used to give you and when it rained it used to hang down
below your knees and felt as though you were carrying a bag
of coal, just as i thought, the wee fhella was right in there
” whit team dae you support?
the lad just nodded.
” whers yir strip hiv ye no got wan ”
another nod
” dae ye want this wan?
and he lifted his hoops top to reveal his old hoops one underneath,
well it was chilly, but that must be a first, even for me.
and when when he handed it to the big lad his smile would have lit up
Celtic park, so it looks like we have another convert, hopefully a
new Bobo.
Right all thats made me thirsty and the fridge is looking very inviting
so c’mon you bhoys in green.
H.H Mick
Scottish football clubs are the architects of our own downfall:
1) League structure dropped so 4 x celtic/ rangers games for all = boards saying screw competition we want guaranteed money.
2) Relegating 1 of 12 teams in our top league and introducing heavily weighted relegation play-offs in favour of premier team = self preservation rather than fair competition.
3) Negotiating television deals that disrupt football days and kick off times, all fair and well if you’re getting a barrow load of money, we don’t = boards saying we want guaranteed money even if its shite, screw the fans.
4) Celtic and rangers (then) taking a disproportionate slice of the pie = self preservation, not what’s best for competition.
5) No financial fair play so clubs like ranger (then) and hearts winning off of money they did not have = unfair competition.
6) Watching Scottish football clubs being beat in European competitions every season for the last 5 years but refusing to move forward with summer football or even pushing the season forward a month to aid our clubs = lack of progressive thinking, inability to respond to the changing landscape of our football and our clubs.
As far as I can see nothing has changed on any of the above issues and as such, we can all look forward to further decline and the same people that run our clubs coming forward with their pearls of wisdom on us the minions, us the fans you know the ones that actually pay rather an being paid to attend games.
The answer, look at what’s best for the supporters, look to promote competition from top to bottom and respond to the evidence looking straight at you.
Brilliant anti SNP post ,all the bloody fools who voted for them should be ashamed,tartan tories always have been always will be, given all their best members(and there piss poor),are in the scottish parliament, the MPS ELECTED MUST BE THE DREGS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL,SHAME ON SCOTLAND FOR FALLING FOR THEIR SHITE
MELBOURNEMICK
Reading your posts,I dunno who to be more proud of.
You or yer grandson.
Either way,you can be proud of each other.
HH
Thompsontwin…..
I am not and never have been an SNP supporter or voter…
But this…
“1979 – SNP played the LEADING ROLE in the rise to power of Thatcher, Thatcherism, Monetarism and the decimation of industry in Scotland”
…is simply not true!
HH
Jeez the subliterate wee brother of Thomson or Thompson is back
Jimbo67
Looks like I will get to a watering hole before the game tonight. Last Post whilst waiting for my mate to get Paisley. Keep your eyes out for an auld white heided punter with a green top:) :)
“Gasquet v Murray in the final please.”
A forlorn wish, I suspect. Gasquet extremely unlikely and Federer has been looking superb. I can see him winning the whole thing.
JJ
BMCUW
Yer too slow auld yin, already done!
Petec
Ronny’s said that two strikers is a possibility but he wanted the first season to allow the players to become accustomed to 4-2-3-1. I’m hoping he can find a place for both of them.
Jamesgang
That’s just what I was looking for!
DuluxCSC :-)
Melbourne Mick
Magic
Tell yer Bhoy well done and to be as proud
as you are of him.
Coolmore mafia
Barabas was chosen by the “mob” which had been infiltrated by sevconian sympathisers.
Barabas was an EBT recipient and a GASL and later went on to work in Roman media.
I used to work with a guy who got called Barrabas cos he was a lucky b******d!!!!
weleasewoderickcsc
No idea if it is true, but Hearing that not all is well for denayer at city, and he may be looking for a move. Yes please.
MiT
Melbourne Mick
Good post.
MiT
Yes please!!
Hamiltontim
14:16 on 10 July, 2015
BMCUW
Yer too slow auld yin, already done!
Petec
Ronny’s said that two strikers is a possibility but he wanted the first season to allow the players to become accustomed to 4-2-3-1. I’m hoping he can find a place for both of them.
Jamesgang
That’s just what I was looking for!
DuluxCSC :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh Ronny Ronny. ;))
He is an Iron Man, he Listens to everyone.
Superb play by your guid self going for the ball against macjay1.
thumbsup big stylie.