Mr Bunny Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Conversely, we do have one of the best away supports in the league. Maybe says something about the 'Firhill experience'? Maybe it means we are getting down to core support so that our home support is no longer much bigger than our away support? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Peebles Tackle Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Maybe it means we are getting down to core support so that our home support is no longer much bigger than our away support? Maybe, but in my experience away days are more 'fun' than going to Firhill. No idea why, just seems to be & I know other people think the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Can think of plenty wrong with Firhill but it's been in the same state for a good while now. Just why fans decided to walk during one of our much better seasons beats me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfaelivi Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Liked the comment by Gary Peeble's Tackle regarding a young team against the Ugly Sisters. Yes, Scottish football is really absurd with the financial discrepancy between Celtic (and their twin when they can get things done legally) and the rest. Was it Gordon Strachan yesterday who said that it was like a team of twelve year olds playing an under eighteen team? He WAS right. I just fail to understand what pleasure or sense of success Celtic can feel playing the likes of us who operate on a completely different planet. It has been proved in the past that fans WILL turn out if there is some competition involved and if their team has a reasonable chance of success. Imagine what Scottish football would be like without the Bigot Brothers. We, for a start, wouldn't be going along feeling that it was the equivalent of a fourth tier English team facing a Premier League outfit in any game. And it DOES feel like that three or four times every season. As for success /lack of success against Celtic, it can be traced back to Stein's time. Things improved big time for them from then on. Look back before that time and we beat them as often as we lost(or nearly). Their crowds were not impressive and quite often they finished a bit down the league. There is a bit of a rewrite of history to suggest they were always the giant they view themselves as now. Even after that when the other arse cheek had nine fat years they were less than wonderful until the wee man wi' the bunnet came in to put them on the right track. I have a season ticket and and BT Sports as well. I got up in the morning and thought why should I go to home game where we are outnumbered and you have almost got to creep around to avoid antagonising their loonies. Yes, they've got good fans too but I can't imagine what fun they get going along week in week out and winning easily. I for one would welcome a cleansing of Scottish football and that would mean getting rid of both of them. That won't happen and all I can see is a slow death for Scottish football, our great wee club with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Peebles Tackle Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Liked the comment by Gary Peeble's Tackle regarding a young team against the Ugly Sisters. Yes, Scottish football is really absurd with the financial discrepancy between Celtic (and their twin when they can get things done legally) and the rest. Was it Gordon Strachan yesterday who said that it was like a team of twelve year olds playing an under eighteen team? He WAS right. I just fail to understand what pleasure or sense of success Celtic can feel playing the likes of us who operate on a completely different planet. It has been proved in the past that fans WILL turn out if there is some competition involved and if their team has a reasonable chance of success. Imagine what Scottish football would be like without the Bigot Brothers. We, for a start, wouldn't be going along feeling that it was the equivalent of a fourth tier English team facing a Premier League outfit in any game. And it DOES feel like that three or four times every season. As for success /lack of success against Celtic, it can be traced back to Stein's time. Things improved big time for them from then on. Look back before that time and we beat them as often as we lost(or nearly). Their crowds were not impressive and quite often they finished a bit down the league. There is a bit of a rewrite of history to suggest they were always the giant they view themselves as now. Even after that when the other arse cheek had nine fat years they were less than wonderful until the wee man wi' the bunnet came in to put them on the right track. I have a season ticket and and BT Sports as well. I got up in the morning and thought why should I go to home game where we are outnumbered and you have almost got to creep around to avoid antagonising their loonies. Yes, they've got good fans too but I can't imagine what fun they get going along week in week out and winning easily. I for one would welcome a cleansing of Scottish football and that would mean getting rid of both of them. That won't happen and all I can see is a slow death for Scottish football, our great wee club with it. Put the games against them down as a dead rubber, play youth & get on with the season without being distracted by an ill-conceived notion that we can be as good as them. We can't. Perhaps in a one off cup game or something, but in the league? Why bother. I'd be DELIGHTED if the club took this approach. Some may say it's just lying down to them but I'd wholly disagree & see it as a protest against the farcical situation we're in and a chance to give our youngsters some valuable experience against strong opposition in front of a big (ish) crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 I think GPT is on to something. When i suggested to Celtic fans the reasons i don't go, they laughed. Normally when you express being made to feel uncomfortable, the other party feels some remorse. I reckon we should these games to experiment and the manager should be explicit why. we've no chance of winning. Since 75-76, how many times have we beaten Celtic at Firhill in league? Once? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hankey Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Can I have a non Celtic season ticket then please? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rid Skwerr Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Even allowing for TV money, I still say that this huge imbalance in funding can be traced back to the decision to end the split of gate money for league matches. For one thing it meant that the ugly sisters got 50 or 60,000 times the entry fee every two weeks and the likes of Thistle got 2 or 3000 entry fees, plus it reduced the incentive for away fans to attend because their team got no share of the income. I understand that it must have caused a bit of admin, but the split gate shared out the wealth of the league a lot more fairly. I believe that no team outwith the OF has won the league since then and none ever will until that decision is reversed. So there .... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Was initially surprised but after a wee bit reflection it seems more or less proportionate to our poor home attendances of last season. *Match televised *Largely unpopular KO time *Fans that want to attend but can't for a plethora of reasons but mainly as they've other commitments on a Sunday. And it is supposedly Summer. *Parents not wanting to expose their kids to what's traditionally a bigotfest. So fewer kids turn up and less parents into the bargain *Matchday experience greatly reduced (General distaste of games against OF and the additional hassle that accompanies them) I've not even mentioned the enforced move and the pricing. I've every sympathy with the Board/Club in at least attempting to do something to earn us more cash. Mistakes have been made no doubt but learning from them and rectifying them is all important. The real sore one tho' is that these matches require much closer to sell out to make real money for the Club. Unlike other visitors the stewarding, staffing and general infrastructure has to be set for near a full house. So I can see why the gate price is raised. I just wonder tho' when say we play Hearts or Aberdeen on a Saturday 3pm if the net takings will be that much lower than yesterday. In short I can see why the home attendance was so low yesterday. It's purely relative to low home attendances in general. However if circa 4000 Jags fans turn up for the Killie game then that'll be a different matter. Somehow i don't think that's likely. Looking at those bullet points we should see decent crowds for the games between now and the end of the year as they are not televised, are at 3pm on a Saturday (the traditional kick off time and what I always hear fans say they want in any survey about increasing crowds). Everyone is back in the seats/stands they want to be in, Celtic are not involved and we are playing teams that we know from over the last 2 seasons we can take points against so why not turn up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potty trained Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Being in separate stands from them I didn't feel any intimidation at all. The club can at least be applauded for removing that concern. Hopefully those who didn't attend, for that reason will return. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 I think GPT is on to something. When i suggested to Celtic fans the reasons i don't go, they laughed. Normally when you express being made to feel uncomfortable, the other party feels some remorse. I reckon we should these games to experiment and the manager should be explicit why. we've no chance of winning. Since 75-76, how many times have we beaten Celtic at Firhill in league? Once? How many times have we beaten St Johnstone at Muirton/McDiarmid since 75-76? Never? Maybe we should not try to beat them either and send our Development Team instead. If the club adopts a diddy club mentality, it will not be surprising if we end up with a diddy club level of support. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Peebles Tackle Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 How many times have we beaten St Johnstone at Muirton/McDiarmid since 75-76? Never? Maybe we should not try to beat them either and send our Development Team instead. If the club adopts a diddy club mentality, it will not be surprising if we end up with a diddy club level of support. Not really the same thing is it? All I'm saying is that since we've been promoted, we've been tanked from Celtic on pretty much every occasion, as have most of the league. The league is a farce and if we can benefit the youngsters whilst highlighting this, I don't see any reason why not. Not like we're going to lose any points from doing so. I'd also LOVE to shut up the gloating Celtic fans - honestly, on my Facebook yesterday you would've thought they'd just beaten Barcelona in the Champions League final! They don't seem to grasp that there is NO competition. Fair enough I suppose, but it'd bore the life out of me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Peebles Tackle Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Not really the same thing is it? All I'm saying is that since we've been promoted, we've been tanked from Celtic on pretty much every occasion, as have most of the league. The league is a farce and if we can benefit the youngsters whilst highlighting this, I don't see any reason why not. Not like we're going to lose any points from doing so. I'd also LOVE to shut up the gloating Celtic fans - honestly, on my Facebook yesterday you would've thought they'd just beaten Barcelona in the Champions League final! They don't seem to grasp that there is NO competition. Fair enough I suppose, but it'd bore the life out of me... Oh, and we might have more important players available for more important games. Bets on Osman missing a critical game due to his cards mounting up? I'm not one to be defeatist, but the more I watch this league, the more of a joke it is becoming - duff referees, duff pitches, generally pretty duff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Being in separate stands from them I didn't feel any intimidation at all. The club can at least be applauded for removing that concern. Hopefully those who didn't attend, for that reason will return. I totally agree with this PT. I only saw one incident in the main stand where a Celtic supporter celebrated their 2nd goal and a few Jags fans got upset. Don't know if there were others. This is in complete contrast to the last few games at Firhill where there were pockets of Celtic fans throughout the JHS and MS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Being in separate stands from them I didn't feel any intimidation at all. The club can at least be applauded for removing that concern. Hopefully those who didn't attend, for that reason will return. Good point. I was in the south end of the Main Stand and did not see any probs and going by the posts here I don't think there were any issues on a scale of the last 2 seasons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Not really the same thing is it? All I'm saying is that since we've been promoted, we've been tanked from Celtic on pretty much every occasion, as have most of the league. The league is a farce and if we can benefit the youngsters whilst highlighting this, I don't see any reason why not. Not like we're going to lose any points from doing so. I'd also LOVE to shut up the gloating Celtic fans - honestly, on my Facebook yesterday you would've thought they'd just beaten Barcelona in the Champions League final! They don't seem to grasp that there is NO competition. Fair enough I suppose, but it'd bore the life out of me... I don't think anyone will disagree with your point about the League being a non-competition - with the disparity in resources and the pressure on officials not to give decisions against them, Celtic are a certainty to win the League every year...but it's like being the Prom Queen at the Ugly Bug Ball...not much of an achievement. I have less interest in our games against Celtic than any other team and I wouldn't be disappointed if we never played them or their Govan counterparts but it doesn't change the fact that our record against them is pathetic...all the other teams have wins and draws against them in recent years. We have the misfortune to share a city with them and that makes it important that we don't just get rolled over by them every time without some semblance of a fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Passenger Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 The glory hunters we picked up during the promotion season have disappeared. I still see the same faces I've seen week-in week-out fir the past 15 years. I've even seen some supporters I thought we'd lost to the Campbell years. They know we've rarely had it so good. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 The glory hunters we picked up during the promotion season have disappeared. I still see the same faces I've seen week-in week-out fir the past 15 years. I've even seen some supporters I thought we'd lost to the Campbell years. They know we've rarely had it so good. What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Peebles Tackle Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 If the worst should happen and the other cheek are promoted this season (probably quite likely), then clubs like Thistle (hopefully?) will have a minimum of 6 games against the 'OF'. Who wants that?!? I know I don't. They'll be like Dundee on steroids, buying 'success' again. Nobody else, bar Celtic, can compete, making an already tiny top league smaller. Previous posters have said they care less about Celtic games than any others - fair enough, but add their ugly sister to the mix and that's another 3 games minimum that folk won't care about - that's a dangerous percentage of games in a compact league. It's a horrid thought, but one we will in all likelihood be facing next season. However, the other clubs DO have some power. The 'OF' need teams to play against and the sooner the other clubs, Thistle included, realise this power, the better shape the game in Scotland will be. We cannot keep pandering to them or the 'sport' in Scotland is dead. Honestly? I'd rather play Morton, Falkirk, Dunfermline - even Airdrie - than them every week. At least that way there's a degree of competition and not the current race to come second (or soon to be third) that currently exists. Play the youth, force their hand, level the playing field. For me, it's the only way we, and every other club, will ever be able to compete in the long run. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Even allowing for TV money, I still say that this huge imbalance in funding can be traced back to the decision to end the split of gate money for league matches. For one thing it meant that the ugly sisters got 50 or 60,000 times the entry fee every two weeks and the likes of Thistle got 2 or 3000 entry fees, plus it reduced the incentive for away fans to attend because their team got no share of the income. I understand that it must have caused a bit of admin, but the split gate shared out the wealth of the league a lot more fairly. I believe that no team outwith the OF has won the league since then and none ever will until that decision is reversed. So there .... Nail on head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgow Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Good point. I was in the south end of the Main Stand and did not see any probs and going by the posts here I don't think there were any issues on a scale of the last 2 seasons. There seemed to be one away fan at the North end of the Main Stand who was "found out" when the 2nd goal went in. While I agree the scale of the intrusion into the home area was minimal for this game, it was an early season one with nothing major at stake. The previous game was the one where they could clinch the title and should those circumstances ever present themselves again then I would expect that we will be surrounded again. When I first start going, segregation was not that commonplace and OF fans simply stood everywhere at Firhill. Even slightly later, despite making a big song and dance about only selling Home end tickets to Thistle fans, the 1989 Scottish Cup game saw what is now the Bing crudely cordoned off to allow away fans in the Home end. Edited August 11, 2015 by mgow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagman1876 Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 When both old firm teams are in the premier it'll increase the amount of their away support at Firhill I would imagine because I think they will be not wanting to drop as many points as normal - Ceptic know they can afford to drop more at the moment but they won't be able to drop as many next season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy davie Posted August 12, 2015 Report Share Posted August 12, 2015 It's the games against Celtic that the team needs us the most. I don't care if they disappoint every single time, I'll be there for the next one. That's the one we'll win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Atmosphere was defo better than last few games vs them at Firhill. They sung a few songs about Ireland and Depeche Mode ditties but nowhere near the venom of earlier games. Also 7008 is a noticeable increase over last season's best of 5776 against the same mhob. Sadly the increase was all 'away' fans but if we can look at the pricing perhaps we can perhaps get towards a few hundred more fans in the homestands. I think the main thing is the lack of any real hope of getting even a point synergised with some of the other reasons aforementioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo Posted August 15, 2015 Report Share Posted August 15, 2015 Many reasons, price too expensive, good players have been transferred with us receiving nothing again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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