macca Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 On a completely separate point, how great did Firhill look today? Lovely green grass, those MacB banners that hang from the flood lights looked good, new goal-nets, and even a large support in the two stands opposite. If we could only get something done with that grass embankment... Guy in my local said there were thousand`s of Celtic fans turned away today,I know the game was delayed by fifteen minutes and there were large queues outside as i made my way in, but i find this hard too believe.Is there any truth in this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erty13 Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 I took my celtic pal and his two boys today, and because one of them was wearing a celtic top we had to go in the main stand. I was embarassed as the organisation was a complete shambles with only turnstiles being opened at the last minute. Most away fans qued for 30 min, but many just gave up and went home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 John Lambie Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) Guy in my local said there were thousand`s of Celtic fans turned away today,I know the game was delayed by fifteen minutes and there were large queues outside as i made my way in, but i find this hard too believe.Is there any truth in this ? Nonsense, main stand turnstiles were shut after 10mins of no-one coming through them, at about 25past 3 I would say. Fans did then come up to behind the JH stand (max 10) as all celtic turnstiles were shut, this was at about 3.35/40. I find it hard to see how they could complain that turnstiles were shut a good 35/40mins after the advertised kick-off. Not sure if they then entered the JH Stand or went home. Just in relation to the other post, some fans may have went home, but they were not turned away. Edited July 16, 2011 by 1 John Lambie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 John Lambie Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 I took my celtic pal and his two boys today, and because one of them was wearing a celtic top we had to go in the main stand. I was embarassed as the organisation was a complete shambles with only turnstiles being opened at the last minute. Most away fans qued for 30 min, but many just gave up and went home. I would say the size of the celtic support was unexpected, but there was not one complaint about anything (wait, disorganisation, inconvenience etc) from all the Celtic fans that came through the turnstile I was operating in the Main Stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Guy in my local said there were thousand`s of Celtic fans turned away today,I know the game was delayed by fifteen minutes and there were large queues outside as i made my way in, but i find this hard too believe.Is there any truth in this ? No they all (4000sh) got in (just not as many as there had in Seville ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemains Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 On a completely separate point, how great did Firhill look today? Lovely green grass, those MacB banners that hang from the flood lights looked good, new goal-nets, and even a large support in the two stands opposite. If we could only get something done with that grass embankment... Agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemains Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 On a completely separate point, how great did Firhill look today? Lovely green grass, those MacB banners that hang from the flood lights looked good, new goal-nets, and even a large support in the two stands opposite. If we could only get something done with that grass embankment... Surely this begs the question about rangers and celtic (hearts n hibs?) b teams playing in the sfl. I know they do it in holland with ajax a and alkmaar a teams - what do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erty13 Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 I would say the size of the celtic support was unexpected, but there was not one complaint about anything (wait, disorganisation, inconvenience etc) from all the Celtic fans that came through the turnstile I was operating in the Main Stand. Everyone in the que around me was not happy. 30 min to get through a turnstyle is unacceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 Surely this begs the question about rangers and celtic (hearts n hibs?) b teams playing in the sfl. I know they do it in holland with ajax a and alkmaar a teams - what do you guys think? I know it's quite an emotive subject but personally I don't see a problem as long as they stay in the bottom tier (ie no promotion allowed) and their squads are not interchangeable on a whim. Perhaps not the time to discuss as there might not be an SFL shortly. Think things could be a bit clearer after next week's SPL meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 The Thistle-supporting Euromillions winner also supports Barcelona. How about a Jags vs. Barcelona pre-season friendly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinyman Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 The Thistle-supporting Euromillions winner also supports Barcelona. How about a Jags vs. Barcelona pre-season friendly! Good plan, plus we take the best of their youth and give them match experience and tell messi,xavi,villa when their gonna retire to pop over to scotland to play for a season or 2 in the red n yellow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartanjag Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 (edited) Everyone in the que around me was not happy. 30 min to get through a turnstyle is unacceptable. Turning up at 5 to 3 and expecting to walk straight in is unacceptable. Not one complaint on the Main stand turnstile I was operating. What did delay the queue moving was people not moving quickly to the seats once inside causing us to have a pause on people coming through the turnstiles. Some idiots happier to shout and sing immediately inside and bang on the operators door, thus blocking access for their fellow fans. On the other hand when I did have to pause, credit to the Celtic fans waiting who could see the jam inside (I couldn't) and were my eyes of the situation. Very understanding and patient. Edited July 17, 2011 by Tartanjag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryHell Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Surely this begs the question about rangers and celtic (hearts n hibs?) b teams playing in the sfl. I know they do it in holland with ajax a and alkmaar a teams - what do you guys think? This was billed their first pre-season freindly in Scotland, after a near two month break from football. They turned out in decent numbers yesterday and the weather/pricing etc. all probably helped as well. OF fans would not turn out in that number unless they were winning games at a canter - they would not want to see their team beaten by Thistle/Falkirk/Raith etc. on a weekly basis, even if it was a reserve/B team they fielded. I'd like to point out the amount of youth that we had in our team as well yeasterday. We used 18 players, from a squad of 20, at least 6 of whom would not get a game in a regular 11+3subs match. Most who came on yesterday looked good, fit, and up for the fight. Haven't seen him mentioned anywhere else, so i'd like to especially mention Bannigan who I thought was brilliant yesterday. I've stuck up for him in the past (i.e. i'm not someone who just criticises for the sake of it) but I thought Greehan was quite poor yesterday. Anyway, it's difficult to judge what the other teams will be like this season, but we look to have a depth that should see us do well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meister Jag Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Surely this begs the question about rangers and celtic (hearts n hibs?) b teams playing in the sfl. I know they do it in holland with ajax a and alkmaar a teams - what do you guys think? Had you asked me that question say two seasons ago I'd have ranted on about this and that and about killing small teams with great histories; why do you not follow your local team blah blah blah ... But yesterday it was good to have a bit of atmosphere at a game and if that means allowing both of the manky mobs to visit with their B teams twice a season then why not. This would certainly help the coffers of most, if not all, SFL teams and might go some way to keeping some teams afloat. I'm now for this suggestion... Bring it on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggybunnet Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Had you asked me that question say two seasons ago I'd have ranted on about this and that and about killing small teams with great histories; why do you not follow your local team blah blah blah ... But yesterday it was good to have a bit of atmosphere at a game and if that means allowing both of the manky mobs to visit with their B teams twice a season then why not. This would certainly help the coffers of most, if not all, SFL teams and might go some way to keeping some teams afloat. I'm now for this suggestion... Bring it on! just a thought, what if they get promoted and are good enough to stay up? that wipes out any good for div 1 and would mean two less plases in the spl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meister Jag Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 just a thought, what if they get promoted and are good enough to stay up? that wipes out any good for div 1 and would mean two less plases in the spl As someone else suggested, no promotion, they get to ply their trade in the SFL and in so doing actually give something back to the game by increasing crowds etc. This would also keep any participating SPL 2nd team of bench-warmers fit and give them some sense of purpose. I mean their heads won't be in the glory of winning SFL titles (even if they do at a canter), it will be about catching the coaching teams eye and pulling on the top for the first team in front of the foaming in-breds. Surely a reasonably busy SFL ground would be better than an empty reserve league ground. (And I know they sometimes get reasonable crowds when paying at either home ground.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Reserve teams should play in reserve leagues. U19 teams should play in U19 leagues. The crowd we experienced yesterday was a one-off and we couldn't get that sort of number if we were to play Celtic regularly, if it wasn't the first Celtic game in Scotland this season, and if it wasn't just up the road. There would still be a decent crowd attending, but no-one really wants to see their reserves play week in week out. The attendances wouldn't be too bad, because you'd have Rangers fans in Alloa checking out their games, and you'd have Celtic fans in Stranraer checking out those games, but I doubt the attendances would improve drastically. Also, I would bet good money on the reserve teams winning the Third Division at a canter. That would mean (generally speaking, this isn't taking into account league reconstruction or anything) that third place would get automatic promotion, and fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh would play in the play-offs. It's unfair on that respect, and I'd expect to see scores like Celtic Reserve 11-0 Montrose. Chances are that score could happen against Berwick, but Celtic wouldn't get promoted, so there's no point in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Reserve teams should play in reserve leagues. U19 teams should play in U19 leagues. The crowd we experienced yesterday was a one-off and we couldn't get that sort of number if we were to play Celtic regularly, if it wasn't the first Celtic game in Scotland this season, and if it wasn't just up the road. There would still be a decent crowd attending, but no-one really wants to see their reserves play week in week out. The attendances wouldn't be too bad, because you'd have Rangers fans in Alloa checking out their games, and you'd have Celtic fans in Stranraer checking out those games, but I doubt the attendances would improve drastically. Also, I would bet good money on the reserve teams winning the Third Division at a canter. That would mean (generally speaking, this isn't taking into account league reconstruction or anything) that third place would get automatic promotion, and fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh would play in the play-offs. It's unfair on that respect, and I'd expect to see scores like Celtic Reserve 11-0 Montrose. Chances are that score could happen against Berwick, but Celtic wouldn't get promoted, so there's no point in that. I agree. It's a nonsensical idea to allow two clubs to play their reserve teams in the SFL. Why just those two clubs? Why not Thistle vs. Hibs Reserves, for example. How exciting a prospect would that be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I agree. It's a nonsensical idea to allow two clubs to play their reserve teams in the SFL. Why just those two clubs? Why not Thistle vs. Hibs Reserves, for example. How exciting a prospect would that be! Hearts clearly could put a reserve side in a fourth tier but there's unlikely to be many others that would have the manpower to lose 16-20 players from their main squad. I doubt whether any club would want to develop their youth players in such a league. A plus side to allowing the ugly sisters to play a second string in a bottom division would be increased attendances. That would be new money coming into the game from the traditional source rather than from unsustainable TV deals etc. Having said that the practicalities might well throw up too many anomalies to make it workable. Just don't think the idea should be dismissed out of hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Third Lanark Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I thought the club was a bit late in advertising hospitality for this game. From where I was sitting I couldnt see the hospitality area, was their much of a take up on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert's Ghost Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 I thought the club was a bit late in advertising hospitality for this game. From where I was sitting I couldnt see the hospitality area, was their much of a take up on this? It was open day in the AR lounge. I partook, as did about 50 others. No free bevvy, but free sandwiches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinny Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 A plus side to allowing the ugly sisters to play a second string in a bottom division would be increased attendances. That would be new money coming into the game from the traditional source rather than from unsustainable TV deals etc. Unfortunately this wouldn't be likely to happen. Yes, a fair number of Celtic fans turned up for the friendly at the weekend, however that was Celtic's first football in Scotland for months and a couple of high profile players were playing. How good would attendances at second string Celtic games in the likes of Berwick and Peterhead be when the first team are playing the same weekend. It would probably be on a par with current div 3 attendances to be honest. I suppose there might be an increase in general interest at lower levels and possibly improved sponsorship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Ann Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 you think there's tactics at work? huvnae sold enough tickets more like and realised it was a daft idea. thought the masses from seville would have been pouring through the gates whereas they're not arsed. if we get 3000 i'll be amazed (and pleased) delighted at the turn out and delighted to be wrong. also don't think too much blame can be aimed at the club for not being ready for such numbers turning up. what could they do? sales of tickets sounded sparse so could conclude that interest was low. more help from celtic to have explained the all-ticket bit to their mob might have helped them. lets hope now that the extra £30k (?) goes into jackie's player budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vom Itorium Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 delighted at the turn out and delighted to be wrong. also don't think too much blame can be aimed at the club for not being ready for such numbers turning up. what could they do? sales of tickets sounded sparse so could conclude that interest was low. more help from celtic to have explained the all-ticket bit to their mob might have helped them. lets hope now that the extra £30k (?) goes into jackie's player budget. Celtic never uttered a word about this game until the day before. If they'd have promoted this even slightly more I reckon we could've near to a full house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamiltonjag Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 you think there's tactics at work? huvnae sold enough tickets more like and realised it was a daft idea. thought the masses from seville would have been pouring through the gates whereas they're not arsed. if we get 3000 i'll be amazed (and pleased) Isn't this roughly the number of shellik fans that turned-up? Outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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