lady-isobel-barnett

To be more exact, it's been decades. Maybe well over a century.

Always thought the popularity of flares was mainly down to it being easier to tuck a half bottle down your sock and get it into the dancing undetected.

In agreement with you on that. There was once myself and two other Jags supporters in my local. Scary times Glad to hear the Station Bar is under new management (ownership?). I felt quite dirty knowing I had drank in there lately (albeit only once).

I'm one constantly going on about the repetitive boring nature of our leagues yet I intend to attend all three (Falkirk is relatively close for me and I'm a season ticket holder). Due to the two late call offs that will make it NINE times this season I'll have left home to watch us play Falkirk . Assuming there's no more late postponements.

I take it you're joking.

He is tho' correct when he says "it was good telly viewing at times. Maybe not the football, but certainly the passion and all that. That's what they're saying TV wants". How many folk not that interested in tennis would watch McEnroe just in the strong likelihood they'd see him have one of his tantrums? Same can be said for boxing when TV could show endless re runs of rammies at the end of fight (eg Brian London v Richardson or Mintner v Hagler).

I was on old forums but never knew of that. Is it still under the same owners as there's been a lot of money spent on it?

I've said before as long as we're clear off the bottom two I'd rather sacrifice league position and blood the youngsters than continue to play with folk that won't be with us next season. That's all theory of course till we get enough points to be sure of safety

I suppose it all makes for "good" television, which we're told is just about the be all and end all for senior football in Scotland. Should we all rejoice?

It's an incredible response. Considering we've maybe only on average about 1800 fans that can be bothered to turn up for a football match and only a couple of dozen or so for a meet the manager (or a social night with a free pint) but over 1400 can be bothered to complete a lengthy online survey. Quite honestly I don't know what to make of that. I find a lot of things in this world increasingly strange.

Had a pint in there not long ago. Is that not where the city centre fans bus leaves from?

Don't believe you'll get a clear answer to that, hj. As I said before all we'll hear about is the quick fix money not whether it's sustainable over a longer term. For instance has anyone seen any clarification about the proposed SPL2 league of 12 clubs? Is the proposal to play 11 teams 4 times each? If so would punters be expected to pay over 20% extra for a season ticket? Is anyone seriously suggesting, given the current financial climate, that overall attendances will increase with 8 more league games a season?

It's probably the correct decision tho' the lack of a suitable cheap option may have forced our hand in any case. I can't see us being drawn back into the play offs so better to keep what little we have for next season. Not sure tho' why the two loanees we have are in positions reasonably well covered.

He played the full 90 mins on Saturday. Gotta assume he's injured. Just hope if he is it's nothing to do with his previous injury.

As Willjag says his family has had it tough of late. Sincerely hope Dick makes a quick recovery.

I'd hate to see where we'd be in the league without Rowson.

Re reading my late night rant I seem to come across as unsympathetic towards SFL clubs further down the pecking order than ourselves. That wasn't my intention, it's the SFL as an institution rather than individual clubs that appalls me. Most of the clubs below us run their finances a lot better than us but that's largely to do with the fact they've rarely or never tried to operate outside their comfort zone. Call it lack of ambition or plain realism it doesn't matter but, thru sheer numbers of these clubs within the SFL, they've stifled at every opportunity any prospect of opening up the leagues. It's all very well us harping on about the SPL only allowing one club to join it by promotion every season but that's one more than the SFL allow. It then stands to reason that with no exit (ie some sort of pyramid system) a larger bottom division may not have the same appeal as the idea of larger leagues do elsewhere. That imo is mainly why we're stuck with three divisions of ten. In defence of this we're told by a mystery 3rd Div chairman the other week that he detects no real appetite from non senior clubs wishing to join the SFL. That might be so, tho' I seriously doubt it, but that's still no excuse for operating a closed shop. The opportunity for successful non senior clubs to join the SFL should always be in place. My main gripes re the SFL are twofold. Firstly this tail wag the dog-pro status quo-3 leagues of ten attitude that more or less guarantees the maximum amount of tedium for us fans. Secondly the SFL's inability to sail it's own ship with even the slightest modicum of professionalism.

If the SFL were thinking of two larger leagues instead of three pitiful divisions of 10 I'd be more concerned about all this. Just about anyone and their granny agrees that three bodies running Scottish football is too many. The SPL by definition are a breakaway outfit so they'll not be for disbanding and the SFA are the legislative body. So if any lot have to disappear it'll have to be the SFL. I for one wouldn't shed any tears over the loss of the SFL who are by far the least competent of the three incompetent organisations. From a Jags point of view we've more in common, least while we remain a full time club, with the SPL than with much of the SFL. If the status quo is to remain we will in no time at all have more in common with the likes of Albion Rovers & Stenhousemuir than we'll have with St Johnstone and ICT. I remain completely against the repetitive small leagues of 10 or 12 teams but very much in favour of a single organisation for our leagues. In any case I believe it's almost beyond comprehension that any replacement could be as inept as the SFL/

I know the feeling all too well.

My dug prefers Guinness.

I'm assuming it'll be a youngish team out tonight at Hampden. McCall in the past has put Bannigan straight into the 1st team squad on the strength of a stand out performance in the reserves. Let's see what tonight brings.

I know they're cheats but they still only get 1pt for a draw.

A petit point but well made. Fancy yourself as a bit of a pattern merchant, then?

Agree, but I'm still worried we'll go down this route for a quick money fix. Most of us know or at least suspect that the small league set ups, which fly in the face of what fans want, is unsustainable. Imo all we're getting presented with is a catch22. Well strictly speaking not a catch22 but Football needs Fans & TV, Fans need larger leagues, TV require smaller leagues and as I say not really a catch22 but just as unfathomable. My gut feeling is we'll go down the SPL/Doncaster road for a quick financial fix. A season or so down the line we'll be back where we are now. TV will have lost interest or more likely devalued their interest. Meantime fans will have continued to drift away due in no small way to the repetitive tedium of the small league system. I suppose, as I've complete contempt for the SFL, I should be in favour of amalgamation. Plus we can hardly call the SPL the "self preservation league" if they preside over all 42 clubs. I just fear that the changes prescribed offer not one modicum of a long term cure. Back to where I agree with HJ. Beggars can't be choosers so if given the choice we'll go for it.

I guess the most famous guy to play in Scotland would be Gordon Greenidge at Greenock. Got a good story that involved Omar Henry at Stenhousemuir but couldn't really do justification putting it on print on here. To put things back on a football footing maybe following club cricket is the way we should go. By that I mean the whole squad employed on a part time basis but for one player, the club pro, some supa dupa player from overseas. What's that Argie guy Lionel someone or other doing these days?