Richard Nixon

Hubris isn't a good look for Thistle fans ...

Watching the BBC highlights you'd think Motherwell managed to conjure up three goals completely against the run of play ...

Our club is poor relatively to the other teams in the league in which we play, obviously. Does that really have to be pointed out? Oh well, here goes then. We have the second lowest average attendance this season, and as Juan Carlos pointed out in another thread, it is down hugely this season compared to last. Our average attendance was 3516, Hamilton's was 2912. (http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/sco-premier-league-2013-2014/1/) Hamilton of course have an advantage over us: their superb youth system which earns them money - Tony Andreu to Norwich for an apparent million pound fee, for example, as well as Stephen Hendrie signing a pre-contract with West Ham, which presumably will also net the Accies compensation. Consequently, we are second bottom this season when it comes to how much we actually pay our players. Here is the list of average annual pay of the 2014 Premiership clubs from STV - (http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/1321105-celtics-average-wage-bill-is-25-times-higher-than-ross-countys/) Celtic - £901,943 Aberdeen - £140,699 Hibernian - £102,199 Dundee United - £91,538 St Mirren - £78,447 Kilmarnock - £74,981 St Johnstone - £67,999 Motherwell - £67,639 Hearts - £63,999 Inverness CT - £53,690 Partick Thistle - £45,498 Ross County - £36,000 Many posters on this forum have commented on different occasions that Ross County players often receive other benefits in addition to their wages - rent-free accommodation for example - which if true, would feasibly place us at the bottom of this list. With the addition of Hearts and possibly Rangers next season, out average attendance may rise, but that certainly won't mean our wage bill will rise. We've had this confirmed already by Ian Maxwell in the Evening Times - "We are now at a point where there is a plateau because everybody's wages can't keep going up and up." (http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/partick-thistle/jags-will-stick-to-firhill-budget-in-summer-market-207341n.126457702) Every year, the Guardian newspaper publishes a review of the annual English Premier League accounts; studying these, it becomes obvious that on the whole, teams generally finish in the order of their wage bills. The economist Stefan Szymanski drew the same conclusion in the book Soccernomics - "In short, the more you pay your players in wages, the higher you will finish." Obviously there are aberrations - Hearts because of their financial difficulties, St Mirren dropping out because of poor managerial decisions, Inverness finishing higher, etc. - but it's impossible to escape the fact that we are punching above our weight. All things considered, finishing eighth was a superb achievement that exposes the idiocy of those people who clamoured for Archibald to be sacked all season. Three of our first team have been offered new deals and our manager expects them to leave regardless; Conrad Balatoni, Scott Fox, and Kallum Higginbotham. Archibald confirmed this to the BBC - "Those three look like they'll be moving on." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32861042) What are we to make of this? That these players can get paid more elsewhere. Looking at the evidence it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. It also seems that some of our players obviously feel that Thistle aren't going to go any higher - this quote from Scott Fox in the Evening Times clearly indicates that - "They have offered me stuff, but I want to go and challenge myself, push at a high level and try and win trophies. The top half of this league would be a step up." (http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/partick-thistle/scott-fox-ready-to-call-time-on-partick-thistle-spell-207926n.126994598) We're losing a good chunk of our team and we do not have the money to replace it. That's not scaremongering, it's a simple statement of fact. I just want to make sure no-one's being an ostrich about it. Keep dreaming about signing players from Kilmarnock or Dundee United though, guys! Players who are earning double or treble the money we can offer them! You know what's going to be pish? When people start expecting us to be top six next season, or do better than the eighth we managed this season. I hope we can do as well again next season. But I won't be surprised if we're battling it out at the bottom. What's sad is the inevitable arguments that will be raging on this forum yet again - when the same shower will reappear demanding that our manager get sacked, because of pie-in-the-sky dreams of what we're supposed to accomplish.

With the continual reports of how ridiculously poor the club is, I'm not sure how we can expect much more from next season except for a basement battle and a fond look back at this season just finished as a halcyon one.

Yes, you're right, I really meant masochists.

Pity the poor fools who paid cash money to see this ... it's not even worth listening to!

Nine changes to the Motherwell squad. It'll probably be still nil-nil.

Ho ho, you called me a dick, that's very clever of you. I guess putting in a few lines from a Disney movie upset you more than a little - I apologise. I apologise too for getting a bit tired of your Sevco humour; that obviously makes me a Rangers fan as well as a dick, from your witty jibe about advocaat. That was very clever too. I think any observer looking in, however, would conclude the person going to the effort to make up lots and lots (and lots) of image macros about Rangers is the one who is worked up about the subject. The other thread about Rangers on here is positively littered with them, and kept bouncing that topic back to the top of the board long after it should have died a natural death. Personally I can't muster the energy to care that much about the team from Ibrox one way or another, but you seem to have quite the bee in your bonnet about them. Either that or you have too much free time on their hands. Maybe both? You're obviously not going to "let it go" any time soon. Enjoy your image macros, you and lots of others obviously find them hilarious. I'm sorry I suggested it was getting a little stale.

Calling Rangers Sevco is pretty much only for the purposes of winding up Rangers fans. Getting worked up about it and not being a Rangers fan? You really need to let it go. "Let it go, let it go I am one with the wind and sky Let it go, let it go You'll never see me cry Here I stand And here I'll stay Let the storm rage on Let it go, let it go."

When looking at the other clubs who will be playing in the top league next season, there's a clear split between the ones that clearly see the value of advertising and selling their shirts early, before the Summer, in order to maximise sales of the product - and those which are more tin-pot in their methods of maximising revenue. Celtic, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts have all revealed their kits for next season, and are either on sale or about to go on sale soon. Hearts are unusual because their kits aren't released until July, although the new designs are being promoted. Dundee, St Johnstone, Ross County and ourselves all have significant sales on this season's kits, but no indication of when new kits will be announced or on sale. Kilmarnock and Inverness either don't have sales, or a discount of only £5.00, so presumably they don't plan on having a new kit for next season. Hamilton don't even have their own online shop, and who knows what they're doing regarding kits. Clubs which cannot understand that selling a popular item which is best suited for Summer weather as soon as possible are just shooting themselves in the feet financially. If this is down to the suppliers or sellers we must ditch them and get with companies who actually know what they are doing.

This.

Nice to see the forum settle back into it's comfortable, well-worn groove of being absolutely torn-faced.

The death knell of Scottish football. Good to see hyperbole isn't being brought into the discussion.

The season's already petered out. Half the squad's planning the off. There's bugger all money for next season. The good times, they are over.

Do you think calling people stupid or foolish is complimentary? Are you a moron? Serious question.

Let's make changes! But not that one. Other ones. Let's stay in the last century.

Possible contender for dumbest thread of the year, here.

Charming! Tell us how you really feel.

Aw.

Whichever team that is more likely to remain pish next season, simply to provide us with more breathing room - though hopefully we won't be looking down the table, but up.

In terms of actual votes UKIP are now the third party in Britain. Disagree with their policies by all means, but this election (just like every other election) shows the dire need to change the voting system. All these jags fans in Westminster hopefully means unreasonably large subsidies getting sent to Firhill soon!

I don't think anyone should be sacked for taking drugs (within the limits of safety and responsibility that many jobs require). I don't think footballers should be punished for putting bets on football. I don't think one stupid rule should end one young man's career whilst another stupid rule means a different young man can have an early Summer holiday.

If Partick Thistle are going to sack one player for breaking the rules, why aren't we going to sack another for breaking the rules?

Who says they did?

Why would the club support someone with a gambling problem when it wouldn't support someone with a drug use problem?