Albion Rovers Director

if the football season is now ended as looks likely, why not help clubs who are in serious financial trouble and offer them money from the top league, and the big clubs take the hit. For one season only, that will show how genuine clubs are about Scottish footballs survival
 
All prize, TV and sponsor money for this season should be split evenly between the 42 teams in the top flight set up to help with this.
 
Sir Sasa Papac said:
Local residents of Glasgow aye? But somehow their local teams can’t come from Glasgow?

You‘re having a nightmare here
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Their local team doesnt come from Glasgow if they have a closer professional team to where they live.

Lanarkshire? Celtic aren't the local team for the residents of Hamilton, Motherwell, Coatbridge or Airdrie.

Ayrshire? Renfrewshire? Rangers aren't the local team for residents of Kilmarnock, Ayr, Paisley or Greenock.

If you need to travel further to Ibrox or Parkhead than you would to your local professional football ground then you're not following your local team.
 
Rickymck said:
How many voted for our demise in the name of sporting integrity?
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Given the utter disdain that the OF has collectively shown towards Scottish football, it's little wonder that fans of smaller clubs aren't happy with Rangers or Celtic. Never used to be the case. It's been getting worse year on year since the mid 90s when heads were turned by the riches on offer down south.
 
Sir Sasa Papac said:
Re

You would reset as if we haven’t kicked a ball this season so Killie Aberdeen us and them

It’s like a game getting abandoned IMO, you don’t carry on, you restart the whole game
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I can’t help thinking that this is their best option.

If they start to second guess the remaining games it will be crazy.

Which of course backs up the whole season being void of course.

It’ll be a real bummer for such as Cove Rangers who have done brilliant.
 
iaatpies said:
If they get paid a wage for playing football under a contract of employment then they're professional.
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That right aye? A 19 year old Stirling Albion player on 60 quid a week who is an 40 hour a week apprentice joiner is in actual fact a proffesional footballer? You embarrass yourself

The Hibs chairman runs the SFA. The Alloa chairman is second in command. Previously the Cowdenbeath chairman held this position. And you think this is a structure which is working?! That Scottish football is heading in the right direction? National team in disarray for two decades, plastic pitches left right and center, falling attendances, awful Referees, the Sevco debacle I could go on and on.

But if you feel Alloa or Cowdenbeath deserve to dictate the game to rangers, Celtic, hell even Motherwell, then you’re just that guy who argues with the wall at parties. I’ll leave you to it
 
iaatpies said:
They wouldn't be stronger. You'd end up with more clubs like Caley Thistle - hated in their areas by people who used to support the separate teams. Football fans don't follow merged clubs. They walk away from football completely.
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This.

Who would merge?
St Mirren/Morton?
Hibs/Hearts?
Partick Thistle/Clyde?
Largs Thistle/Kilbirnie?

Don’t think it would work.

Remember Clydebank East Stirling anyone? How did that work out?
 
iaatpies said:
Their local team doesnt come from Glasgow if they have a closer professional team to where they live.

Lanarkshire? Celtic aren't the local team for the residents of Hamilton, Motherwell, Coatbridge or Airdrie.

Ayrshire? Renfrewshire? Rangers aren't the local team for residents of Kilmarnock, Ayr, Paisley or Greenock.

If you need to travel further to Ibrox or Parkhead than you would to your local professional football ground then you're not following your local team.
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I lived in hamilton when I was in primary school. I was born in bellshill and moved to Clydebank until I was 5. I grew up in the Gorbals.

Who’s my local team?
 
iaatpies said:
They wouldn't be stronger. You'd end up with more clubs like Caley Thistle - hated in their areas by people who used to support the separate teams. Football fans don't follow merged clubs. They walk away from football completely.
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The merged team being shite has as much to do with that as anything. Fans go to success and the clubs have a better chance of being successful with fewer teams to play against. If Inverness wasn't a dreary and remote place to live, more players might be willing to go and play there. You can't honestly also think that having 50 professional footballers in that part of the world being split between Caley Thistle and Ross County is going to raise the standards. Also for the sake of this argument, what attendances were the teams getting prior to the merger versus the attendances now?
 
Grigo Yossarian said:
I can’t help thinking that this is their best option.

If they start to second guess the remaining games it will be crazy.

Which of course backs up the whole season being void of course.

It’ll be a real bummer for such as Cove Rangers who have done brilliant.
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There will be winners and losers but this is a global pandemic there’s no easy answer. Unprecedented.

We’ve already had a precedent set for a season not being extended a decade ago and if you can’t extend the season you can’t finish the games and you can’t award prizes
 
iaatpies said:
Depends on who the closest team were when you started following football.
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That how it works aye?

So if I live in Inverness now I should be following Hamilton out of some misplaced loyalty to a place I lived for 4 year when my main focus in life outside kicking a ball n the street was building Lego?

Fancy the rangers today wee man?
No sorry Da we’re fae Hamilton so I’m a Hamilton fan. Enjoy your day out

Sound mate
 
Disco Deejay said:
Putting it into perspective, he was bemoaning the fact that they are losing out on the gate money from one of their biggest games of the season tomorrow ……… v Queens Park. He says that since they are based only 10 miles down the road they bring one of the biggest travelling supports to Cliftonhill.

It shows how much these small teams must have benefitted from games against us in the lower leagues, when they are depending on the travelling Queens Park support to keep them afloat.

I wonder how many clubs we saved from going under.
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Happily Albion Rovers missed out on a Rangers bonus
Sir Sasa Papac said:
Re

You would reset as if we haven’t kicked a ball this season so Killie Aberdeen us and them

It’s like a game getting abandoned IMO, you don’t carry on, you restart the whole game
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KILLy are 8th so i’m Guessing Motherwell would be passed off. This is impossible to solve equitably
 
Disco Deejay said:
Just been interviewed on Sky, legitimately concerned about having to pay wages etc, with no income for the foreseeable future.

When asked about how this season should be decided, he said that due to players/coaches etc having planned holidays and being out of contract, there is no way in his opinion that the season can be extended and he can see no solution other than the season being declared null and void.

Traffic chaos already reported in Coatbridge, as double-glazing suppliers head to his home looking for his business.
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...... sweet, Coatbridge in meltdown
 
iaatpies said:
No it hasnt.

Queens Park don't dilute the quality of Thistle. Thistle don't dilute the quality of Rangers.

Serious question - if Rangers had folded for good, would you have found another Scottish team to follow or would you have walked away from football completely?

Rangers and Celtic do not deserve better than Albion Rovers or Forfar.
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I would never support another Scottish team, I would have walked away
 
It’s cool, guys! The governing bodies, which everyone pays membership to and swears all holy allegiance to obey by its rules and accept all sorts of frivolous kangaroo court punishments handed out, they'll safeguard members and make sure that in time of crisis we all band together for the greater good.

the SPFL and the SFA, they’ve got this.
 
I'm still not seeing any figures for the merger of the two Inverness teams being a disaster or failure. Is it possible to get the statistics/attendances from their games prior to the merger online anywhere? I'm struggling to find it myself - having given up on the guy who made the point without evidencing anything presenting any facts to support his argument.
 
Some, actually a lot, of small club supporters got carried away with themselves back in 2012, foolishly believing that Rangers' demise would see thousands of fans flocking to support them instead. They of course were myopic in their wish, failing to recognise that just like them, we loved our club for the very same reason that they loved theirs. All this "local team" nonsense they indulged in back then still rankles with me.

Still, all of the clubs in Scottish football (including the snidey ones) mean a lot to their communities and it would be a social tragedy if they went to the wall. As mentioned by others, some of our fans do find their way to the local club in their vicinity, whether Juniors or Seniors, when our own club isn't playing.

So I hope they can ride this out. It rankles, but not enough to wish them ill (with a couple of exceptions). I hope for the bigger picture of Scottish football we get through this crisis with minimum casualties. It will be good to still have these clubs around so they appreciate when The Rangers come to town.
 
I don't agree with the narrative that Scottish football fans don't care enough. I'm in no doubt that Scottish football fans are more passionate about their clubs than most European nations.

To quote a friend from Portugal "We love our football, but for us it's not a matter of life or death. For the Scots, it is". This is a guy that moved here probably 20 years ago and has a lot of interaction with Scottish football fans through his work.

Our game has many flaws but let's not knock it too much. We have a hell of a lot to be proud of when talking about our national sport/obsession.

This article is from 2018 but I doubt the figures have changed much:-

The Scottish Premiership leads Europe in terms of fan attendance figures on a per capita basis.

With an average of 11,436 fans turning up to Scottish top-flight matches, that represents 0.21% of the population.

Switzerland, Norway (both 0.14%) and Denmark (0.12%) are next on the list, with England's Premier League (0.07%) 11th.

The findings are part of the European Professional Football Leagues' (EPFL) second Fan Attendance Report.

The Swiss-based organisation, which represents the interests of 32 leagues in 25 countries, has measured crowds at games over seven seasons from 2010-11 to 2016-17.

Germany's Bundesliga has the highest average gates per game during this period, with 42,388. The Premier League is second on 35,870, with Spain's La Liga nearly 10,000 behind. Italy's Serie A is fourth and Ligue 1 of France is fifth.

The English Championship is seventh on this list on 17,856 - slightly ahead of Bundesliga 2, but clear of Russia's top flight and the Scottish Premiership in 10th place.

Scotland's top flight, however, comes top in terms of the size of the country's population, and that is despite Premiership attendances falling almost 3% over the period.

Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "It is a further sign that our game is in good health and we hope that trend will continue in the years ahead."
 
Papac said:
I'm still not seeing any figures for the merger of the two Inverness teams being a disaster or failure. Is it possible to get the statistics/attendances from their games prior to the merger online anywhere? I'm struggling to find it myself - having given up on the guy who made the point without evidencing anything presenting any facts to support his argument.
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I have no idea what attendances Thistle were getting, but I remember looking into this before and I read Caledonian FC were getting 1200-1400 for average games, 2000 + for games against rivals, in the years prior to the merger. In some cup games they had even crowds bigger than this and had a decent traveling support.
 
rcdingwall said:
I have no idea what attendances Thistle were getting, but I remember looking into this before and I read Caledonian FC were getting 1200-1400 for average games, 2000 + for games against rivals, in the years prior to the merger. In some cup games they had even crowds bigger than this and had a decent traveling support.
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How does that compare with the current team when they're doing well?
 
Papac said:
Do you think those numbers suggest the people going before aren't still going? Or that their children/other people who weren't interested have at least filled the gap?

I'll admit I don't know how much games against us and them are skewing the attendance figures.
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I know there are still people in Inverness who won’t give ICT the time of day. But while there was strong opposition to the merger (on both sides for different reasons) they still voted to merge by over 50% (There was talks of people being bribed but who knows).

It’s been 16 years since I left Inverness, but I remember when growing up in the 90s there being a big push to get the new generation of fans involved in ICT with free tickets etc, but tbh most people my age at the time had already started following other teams or just weren’t interested.

Recently though there seems to be far more younger people supporting them, so while their attendance are back down to around 2500, it may well be more promising for them in the future.

If you took the away crowds out of the equation I would have said when ICT were in the SPL the first time they were prob getting about 3000-3500 home fans. Surprisingly during their 2nd spell in the SPL when they were more successful their home support dropped.
 
Texas ranger said:
That’s my take on it. I think UEFA will decide on the European tournaments and leave the individual F.A’s on how their seasons pan out. If it’s left in the hands of the S.F.A and S.P.F.L and doesn’t go to a club vote, I’m willing to bet we won’t like the outcome.
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the amount of cases going to CAS would be through the roof. No legal way each association can just hand out trophies or relegate teams without finishing fixtures.
 
I generally have the attitude of screw the rest of Scottish football. Have done since 2012. Sure I'm not alone with those sentiments but if other clubs are going to go down the tubes because of this then I think it's a damning indictment of the Scottish Football authorities. The fact they have zero contingency measures in place to tide smaller clubs over in an event like we are currently facing, speaks volumes of just how inept they really are. I suppose that's what happens when your entire infrastructure has been geared towards the benefit of a single club for well over a decade now. An air of selfishness has always prospered in Scottish football and I won't lie or say that I'm not party to it. I'll take no joy at watching smaller sides perish. They are essential to retain our rightful place at the top of the pile. Will I shed tears at certain clubs going under? No, not a chance. Some won't even register a pang of emotion from me but the rest, the rest kind of matter in the grand scheme of things, especially as you move down the leagues.

We all know that one club and one club only would be delighted to be King of the ashes. They let their manager and club captain prove that yesterday. Seems that mobs lust for more tainted titles won't be abated any time soon. Just hope our board stands firm and doesn't let them bully the authorities into giving them it.

Karma has a funny way of showing itself.
 
Small clubs will be having major cash glow problems. Also no player is going to extend their contract by a few months, risking an injury that could make them unemployable in the future.
 
MearnsUnionist said:
Unless you're a supporter of one of these teams mate.

There's people out there who have the same affection for Montrose, Peterhead, QOS etc as we do for Rangers.
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It might well be the small part time clubs that can weather this better as most players will have full-time jobs and the clubs outlay on wages will be relatively small in there budgets.full time clubs on the other hand could be screwed
 
dublinbluenose said:
It might well be the small part time clubs that can weather this better as most players will have full-time jobs and the clubs outlay on wages will be relatively small in there budgets.full time clubs on the other hand could be screwed
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Good point mate.
 
MearnsUnionist said:
Unless you're a supporter of one of these teams mate.

There's people out there who have the same affection for Montrose, Peterhead, QOS etc as we do for Rangers.
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Yeah, its a real fucking shame. So, OK, if you can show me any evidence that any of these clubs lifted a finger to help us, or even showed the slightest sign of sympathy in our darkest hour, then i will spare a thought for them.
 
Ultimately football will be the last thing on the governments mind in the coming months. No money to prop up football clubs while they are trying to keep the country going through this.

The reality is we could loose clubs from bottom 6 SPL all the way to junior folding due to this
 
It is different for us as we have income from season tickets but clubs who rely on gate money will be hit hard. Sponsors, too, may want to renegotiate deals as their names and ads will not be seen now. Even the sponsors of the league and cup will not be happy.

There might be some end of season prize money kicking about that might help a bit.

Of course, if our own season tickets dont go on sale as per usual, we'll feel the pinch.

It will hit paedo fc if they are paying their global superstars more money. How long can that last?

All players will suffer. No games means no bonuses.

This will take a lot of sorting out.
 
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