Scottish Football In Decline

Jack_Glass · June 25, 2011

Well I'm getting right pissed off with not only the state of our football, but the state of people running it and the clubs in general.

1. The whole world knows about the bigotry & sectarianism now, it's embarrassing.

2. Lennon sent threats and attacked on the field, players will see this and think f**k going to Scotland.

3. Ref's spitting out the dummies, going on strike for more cash because they can't handle being pulled up for being crap at their jobs (e.g. Rangers v Dundee Utd)

4. Mad Vlad continually making incredible remarks at everyone bar Hearts.

5. Hearts caught up in the Rix and now Thompson sex scandals.

6. Hibs with their coke heads.

7. A stupid league split that can see a 7th place club have more points than a 6th, but lose out on a top 6 finish and the chance of Europe.

8. The SFA, a bunch of bungling old firm supporting bend over and take it up the ass clowns running our league.

9. Ref's being forced to resign or retract statements from games were they manipulated match reports. Dodgy emails between refs n members of the SFA being highlighted publically.

The list is endless. Can the SPL get some respect back after all this carry on or is this just the beginning?

What next?

buzz15afc · June 25, 2011

Well I'm getting right pissed off with not only the state of our football, but the state of people running it and the clubs in general.

1. The whole world knows about the bigotry & sectarianism now, it's embarrassing.
2. Lennon sent threats and attacked on the field, players will see this and think f**k going to Scotland.
3. Ref's spitting out the dummies, going on strike for more cash because they can't handle being pulled up for being crap at their jobs (e.g. Rangers v Dundee Utd)
4. Mad Vlad continually making incredible remarks at everyone bar Hearts.
5. Hearts caught up in the Rix and now Thompson sex scandals.
6. Hibs with their coke heads.
7. A stupid league split that can see a 7th place club have more points than a 6th, but lose out on a top 6 finish and the chance of Europe.
8. The SFA, a bunch of bungling old firm supporting bend over and take it up the ass clowns running our league.
9. Ref's being forced to resign or retract statements from games were they manipulated match reports. Dodgy emails between refs n members of the SFA being highlighted publically.

The list is endless. Can the SPL get some respect back after all this carry on or is this just the beginning?

What next?

tip of the iceberg there!!!

OF getting everything they want, tv moneys etc

games with less attandees than 4th tier engerlish leagues

im sure there are hundreds more but cant think off top of my head

E-P-K · June 25, 2011

Well I'm getting right pissed off with not only the state of our football, but the state of people running it and the clubs in general.

1. The whole world knows about the bigotry & sectarianism now, it's embarrassing.
2. Lennon sent threats and attacked on the field, players will see this and think f**k going to Scotland.
3. Ref's spitting out the dummies, going on strike for more cash because they can't handle being pulled up for being crap at their jobs (e.g. Rangers v Dundee Utd)
4. Mad Vlad continually making incredible remarks at everyone bar Hearts.
5. Hearts caught up in the Rix and now Thompson sex scandals.
6. Hibs with their coke heads.
7. A stupid league split that can see a 7th place club have more points than a 6th, but lose out on a top 6 finish and the chance of Europe.
8. The SFA, a bunch of bungling old firm supporting bend over and take it up the ass clowns running our league.
9. Ref's being forced to resign or retract statements from games were they manipulated match reports. Dodgy emails between refs n members of the SFA being highlighted publically.

The list is endless. Can the SPL get some respect back after all this carry on or is this just the beginning?

What next?

While the list you posted is warranted, I'm sure a list of similar negative points can be directed at any league in the world.

perthshirered · June 25, 2011

tip of the iceberg there!!!

OF getting everything they want, tv moneys etc
games with less attandees than 4th tier engerlish leagues

im sure there are hundreds more but cant think off top of my head

When you have massive places like Bradford and Swindon etc in the 4th tier its hardly surprising that they get bigger crowds is it?

Are you expecting St Johnstone from the massive conurbation that is Perth to be drawing in more punters than a team like Bradford who come from a place that is at least 6 times bigger?

Not sure if its still the case but Scotland was in the top 3 in Europe for crowds in relation to population. Its a small country and if you compare it to any other country with a similar population then our attendances piss on every single one of them.

8.2k posts · June 25, 2011

Keeps it interesting, most of the stuff off the pitch is more entertaining than the sh*te that's on it

Jack_Glass · June 25, 2011

When you have massive places like Bradford and Swindon etc in the 4th tier its hardly surprising that they get bigger crowds is it?
Are you expecting St Johnstone from the massive conurbation that is Perth to be drawing in more punters than a team like Bradford who come from a place that is at least 6 times bigger?
Not sure if its still the case but Scotland was in the top 3 in Europe for crowds in relation to population. Its a small country and if you compare it to any other country with a similar population then our attendances piss on every single one of them.

I take it you have evidence to back up those stats because I've no idea what crowds are like in any other league. SPL's are in steady decline or so it appears, so I'd like to know out of interest what the average top league crowds are like in other countries as a comparison.

Many of these so called smaller countries have better training facilities than in Scotland and regularly dump our top league sides out of Europe at the early stages. Only pointing that out because bigger/lesser crowds don't always mean better players, as many of these countries concentrate on home grown talent. Europe is full of quality foreigners, but sadly our players are nowhere near good enough for top sides any more. Go back to the 70's or 80's and we arguably had real quality Scottish footballers playing in Europe's top sides.

Add to that season 2010/2011 has been horrendous in terms of PR for the SPL. Not sure if it's just me, but the amount of things that went wrong during 2010/2011 on and off the field just seemed more damaging than any previous season I can remember. Either that or the press are just getting better and catching folk out.

E-P-K · June 25, 2011

I take it you have evidence to back up those stats because I've no idea what crowds are like in any other league. SPL's are in steady decline or so it appears, so I'd like to know out of interest what the average top league crowds are like in other countries as a comparison.

Many of these so called smaller countries have better training facilities than in Scotland and regularly dump our top league sides out of Europe at the early stages. Only pointing that out because bigger/lesser crowds don't always mean better players, as many of these countries concentrate on home grown talent. Europe is full of quality foreigners, but sadly our players are nowhere near good enough for top sides any more. Go back to the 70's or 80's and we arguably had real quality Scottish footballers playing in Europe's top sides.

Add to that season 2010/2011 has been horrendous in terms of PR for the SPL. Not sure if it's just me, but the amount of things that went wrong during 2010/2011 on and off the field just seemed more damaging than any previous season I can remember. Either that or the press are just getting better and catching folk out.

The SPL has infact the highest average attendance per population in Europe.

http://www.scotprem.com/content/mediaassets/doc/SPL%20Community%20Report%202011%20Final%20proof%20low%20res.pdf

Jack_Glass · June 25, 2011

The SPL has infact the highest average attendance per population in Europe.

http://www.scotprem.com/content/mediaassets/doc/SPL%20Community%20Report%202011%20Final%20proof%20low%20res.pdf

Must admit that report does paint a more positive picture than I imagined. It's good to see how much AFC do for the community, especially during times were many clubs are accused of distancing themselves from the fans and local community. Also gives me a better perspective of were our finances are going.

Personally I think AFC are doing everything they can do reverse years of neglect. It takes years, but it has to start somewhere. By the time we have a new stadium our youth policy should be in full swing. Hopefully Trumps new golf course will further add to the pull of joining Aberdeen as a player. Who knows, maybe Trump will pop in for a few matches n take to the club and city then who knows. Wishful thinking I know.

Don't know about anyone else, except for a few posts I've read from various folk, but there's a much more positive vibe this time around. Let's see if it stays this way by XMAS.

Cmon u Reds!!!

E-P-K · June 25, 2011

The SPL has infact the highest average attendance per population in Europe.

http://www.scotprem....20low%20res.pdf

The SPL is actually 3rd in Europe, but 1st in the major leagues.

The complete lists is -

So 1 in 373 Scottish people attend top flight football.

Iceland... 310

Cyprus... 357

Scotland... 373

Norway... 607

Denmark... 668

Montenegro... 685

Switzerland... 704

Netherlands... 849

Belgium... 922

Portugal... 1,038

Austria... 1,061

Luxembourg... 1,089

Sweden... 1,429

Greece... 1,484

England... 1,506

Spain... 1,607

Israel... 1,846

Germany... 1,924

Northern Ireland... 1,938

Bosnia-Herzegovina... 2,003

Czech Rep... 2,181

Croatia... 2,217

Slovakia... 2,256

Finland... 2,415

Italy... 2,421

Slovenia... 2,422

Eire... 2,773

Macedonia... 2,793

Serbia... 3,057

France... 3,126

Hungary... 3,426

Moldova... 3,890

Kazakhstan... 3,968

Bulgaria... 4,131

Belarus... 4,193

Romania... 4,480

Lithuania... 4,628

Latvia... 4,758

Azerbaijan... 4,835

Ukraine... 5,131

Armenia... 5,669

Georgia... 6,124

Poland... 7,279

Estonia... 8,375

Wales... 10,866

Russia... 11,586

Albania... NA

Turkey... NA

No entries for Andorra, Faroes, Malta, San Marino.

Jack_Glass · June 25, 2011

The SPL is actually 3rd in Europe, but 1st in the major leagues.

The complete lists is -

So 1 in 373 Scottish people attend top flight football.

Iceland... 310
Cyprus... 357
Scotland... 373
Norway... 607
Denmark... 668
Montenegro... 685
Switzerland... 704
Netherlands... 849
Belgium... 922
Portugal... 1,038
Austria... 1,061
Luxembourg... 1,089

Sweden... 1,429
Greece... 1,484
England... 1,506
Spain... 1,607
Israel... 1,846
Germany... 1,924
Northern Ireland... 1,938
Bosnia-Herzegovina... 2,003
Czech Rep... 2,181
Croatia... 2,217
Slovakia... 2,256
Finland... 2,415

Italy... 2,421
Slovenia... 2,422
Eire... 2,773
Macedonia... 2,793
Serbia... 3,057
France... 3,126
Hungary... 3,426
Moldova... 3,890
Kazakhstan... 3,968
Bulgaria... 4,131
Belarus... 4,193
Romania... 4,480

Lithuania... 4,628
Latvia... 4,758
Azerbaijan... 4,835
Ukraine... 5,131
Armenia... 5,669
Georgia... 6,124
Poland... 7,279
Estonia... 8,375
Wales... 10,866
Russia... 11,586
Albania... NA
Turkey... NA

No entries for Andorra, Faroes, Malta, San Marino.

Sweet, cheers for that...kinda cheers me up in a way. If we can just get our home grown players up to scratch through good facilities n good modern continental coaching methods, we might stop the early Euro exits. First we need to bring in summer football and be more match fit for Europe.

dervish · June 26, 2011

Basically agree with the frustration. But for a small nation with the very serious health problems we have, it's a surprise that any b*stard is fit enough to play football.

baconman · June 26, 2011

Scottish fitba has been in decline for years. Facilities are crap, the way we teach the game is crap, the attitude of players and officials is crap, attitude to fitness is crap, and the development of players is crap.

We are 15 to 20 years behind the rest of europe and this will only get worse if drastic changes happen at grass roots all the way to how the clubs are run and the national side. At least things seem to be happening at the National level and i hope their plans work.

buzz15afc · June 26, 2011

The SPL is actually 3rd in Europe, but 1st in the major leagues.

The complete lists is -

So 1 in 373 Scottish people attend top flight football.

Iceland... 310
Cyprus... 357
Scotland... 373
Norway... 607
Denmark... 668
Montenegro... 685
Switzerland... 704
Netherlands... 849
Belgium... 922
Portugal... 1,038
Austria... 1,061
Luxembourg... 1,089

Sweden... 1,429
Greece... 1,484
England... 1,506
Spain... 1,607
Israel... 1,846
Germany... 1,924
Northern Ireland... 1,938
Bosnia-Herzegovina... 2,003
Czech Rep... 2,181
Croatia... 2,217
Slovakia... 2,256
Finland... 2,415

Italy... 2,421
Slovenia... 2,422
Eire... 2,773
Macedonia... 2,793
Serbia... 3,057
France... 3,126
Hungary... 3,426
Moldova... 3,890
Kazakhstan... 3,968
Bulgaria... 4,131
Belarus... 4,193
Romania... 4,480

Lithuania... 4,628
Latvia... 4,758
Azerbaijan... 4,835
Ukraine... 5,131
Armenia... 5,669
Georgia... 6,124
Poland... 7,279
Estonia... 8,375
Wales... 10,866
Russia... 11,586
Albania... NA
Turkey... NA

No entries for Andorra, Faroes, Malta, San Marino.

take out the old firm and there Oirish based fans, then our 3rd place would change dramatically

muttonhumper · June 26, 2011

The SPL is actually 3rd in Europe, but 1st in the major leagues.

The complete lists is -

So 1 in 373 Scottish people attend top flight football.

Iceland... 310
Cyprus... 357
Scotland... 373
Norway... 607
Denmark... 668
Montenegro... 685
Switzerland... 704
Netherlands... 849
Belgium... 922
Portugal... 1,038
Austria... 1,061
Luxembourg... 1,089

Sweden... 1,429
Greece... 1,484
England... 1,506
Spain... 1,607
Israel... 1,846
Germany... 1,924
Northern Ireland... 1,938
Bosnia-Herzegovina... 2,003
Czech Rep... 2,181
Croatia... 2,217
Slovakia... 2,256
Finland... 2,415

Italy... 2,421
Slovenia... 2,422
Eire... 2,773
Macedonia... 2,793
Serbia... 3,057
France... 3,126
Hungary... 3,426
Moldova... 3,890
Kazakhstan... 3,968
Bulgaria... 4,131
Belarus... 4,193
Romania... 4,480

Lithuania... 4,628
Latvia... 4,758
Azerbaijan... 4,835
Ukraine... 5,131
Armenia... 5,669
Georgia... 6,124
Poland... 7,279
Estonia... 8,375
Wales... 10,866
Russia... 11,586
Albania... NA
Turkey... NA

No entries for Andorra, Faroes, Malta, San Marino.

Reads a bit unfairly on Russia.

Fxcking squillions o' them must be thoosands and thoosands o' miles fae ony top league fitba o' ony description.

zander · June 26, 2011

Would be some cracking away ties a week aff work if your a Spartak Moscow fan gan oer ti Vladivostok ti 2nd round o the league cup.

muttonhumper · June 26, 2011

Would be some cracking away ties a week aff work if your a Spartak Moscow fan gan oer ti Vladivostok ti 2nd round o the league cup.

:dance:

:laughing:

True_Don · June 26, 2011

On a more positive note...we do have 2 midfield players that would pretty much walk into the majority of EPL clubs - Fletcher and Adam.

Adam has set an example...leaving rangers resulted in a change of focus and a more proffesional approach...it should send the message to young Scottish players that they can play at the top level...and that there is no place for all this boozing and poor behaviour.

SFA have just appointed the new performance director...hopefully will improve our technical standards.

Money and investment will always be an issue for Scotland. Simply, the commercial reality of our product (SPL) cannot compete with other major leagues because no Scottish clubs have the finances to compete, revenues are limited due to population and the government is unable to support community programmes for youth football with clubs because of the general economic situation.

Producing young, world class talent is the key. Everyone is aware of that. Mentalities need to change, we have no choice.

In the meantime, I believe Scottish football will become more competitive...clubs in England cannot sustain the current debt and operational losses they have experienced over the last decade.

The football world has yet to hit it's recession. There needs to be a readjustment, lower wages and transfer fees.

If Scottish clubs are financially astute, the may find themselves able to compete with Championship clubs in terms of wages in the next few years.

Thus meaning a greater standard of player becoming more accessible.

But the best outcome will be for Scotland to produce world class players and for the general standard to improve so that we become self sufficient.

In the meantime, can some call Trump and sell him the benefits of investing in AFC as a way to gain local support for his nee venture. Surely at least a shirt sponsorship deal should be possible!

Scarface · July 25, 2011

BUMP!

Talk about killing our national sport... the "curtain-raising" opening weekend and there's only two games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday, what total sh*te.

SFTS · July 25, 2011

Hello all,

Apologies if this has already been discussed (as i'm sure it has, didnt want to start a new topic on it) but as someone that's just done a piece on the early start to the SPL season, it'll be great to hear your views on the subject.

Do you think it's the right decision to begin in July? Or is 10 weeks simply not long enough for a summer break in order for clubs to finalise their squads?

You can let me know your views either on here or on the page of the article itself, which I won't post on here (know only too well how annoying spam can be!) Hope to hear from as many of you as possible

Shouts From the Stands (now in association with Footy Bunker)

Mikeyboy1903 · July 25, 2011

SKY Sports said that our attendance is down 2000 people from last season on the first day.......

Doesn't surprise me all that much tbh

Dynamo · July 25, 2011

SKY Sports said that our attendance is down 2000 people from last season on the first day.......

Doesn't surprise me all that much tbh

The club are mugs if they are surprised by this.

Red Dragon · July 25, 2011

The club are mugs if they are surprised by this.

Dynamo · July 25, 2011

Pretty sure the early kick-off of the season has much to do with it - many folk still on holiday.

Add a few hundred on to the total then, still pathetic.

SheepieBaaBaa · July 25, 2011

The SPL has infact the highest average attendance per population in Europe.

http://www.scotprem.com/content/mediaassets/doc/SPL%20Community%20Report%202011%20Final%20proof%20low%20res.pdf

Haven't read all through that so might be talking sh*te, but is it not going to be 50k punters each the old firm get every week pulling the SPL average up?

A lot of the teams in the SPL only have capacities of a few thousand (Inverness for example).

As a direct comparison, Switzerland has about the same population as Scotland and they have decent crowds turning out across the board, and not just for the Young Boys Bern and Grasshopper Zurich.

I'm not saying that the overall league has higher per capita attendance, just saying that it's spread more evenly.

Scottish Football In Decline

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