Feeling a bit like an obituary writer at the moment, trying to find nice things to say about the season that has just passed.
It's not been all bad. Just some of it. Maybe most of it. Definitely not all of it though.
I've penned a paragraph or two for Inside Left's ongoing series of 2009/10 reviews:
It’s been intriguing and frustrating but it could hardly be called vintage. Half the clubs in the SPL failed to score an average of a goal game. The teams finishing in first, sixth and eleventh have a combined debt creeping towards £80 million. It’s hard to see how that can be sustainable in a country of our size with ever diminishing interest in the game.
Inside Left supremo Seb has had his say as well:
We said it before in another article on this site so we wont go down the road well travelled, but Rangers deserved their title. Despite all their problems, they won the league at a canter. A League Cup would have been matched by a Scottish Cup had it not been for United, and the less said about the European adventures the better, but worthy champions they are. The won the league against a backdrop of financial woes, but with every day bringing news of tax demands, a will-he-wont-he buyer and a bank-induced “buy one, get one free” players sale, it might not all be such plain sailing next season.
And John Hislop has taken a more indepth look at what was a fairly strange season at Easter Road:
Following the Hibs should prepare you for moments like this, but I was still in a state of shock next day. In fact that was probably the reason that a Tory got elected in Scotland, because even now, I have no idea who I voted for, and I suspect most Hibbys were the same.
All the articles above are available at the always reliable Inside Left. Read them!
Showing posts with label Inside Left. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inside Left. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Up and down
This blog is no place for another man's wet dreams.
But I'll point you in the direction of Inside Left's latest post anyway.
Seb - along with dreaming of Aberdeen winning the SPL - has been looking at promotion and relegation over the years.
It dovetails nicely with my post on Old Firm dominance and shows that clubs have struggled to retain their SPL status when promoted.
One of the things that struck me was that Inverness have this year become the first club since Hibs - inspired by Russell Latapy and Franck Sauzee, memories are indeed made of this - to get relegated and bounce straight back up.
I'd say that gives some indication of the strength of the First Division and nudges us towards the idea that an extension of the SPL wouldn't lead to a reduction in quality. (Quality in this instance being an entirely relative term.)
Still disagree with the Inside Left stance on the split, mind!
- In my comment on Seb's post I mention the stadia requirements for the SPL. With clubs struggling to fill their stadiums in the SPL is there not an argument to remove these restrictions to give the whole of the First Division a chance to aim for promotion?
I know this is harsh on the clubs who have had to scrimp, save and pile up debts to develop their grounds. But that argument doesn't change the fact that it is a rule that needs to be rethought. And if scrapping the rule means we save a few more clubs from racking up the kind of debts that would make Colin Hendry weep then that must be a good thing.
But I'll point you in the direction of Inside Left's latest post anyway.
Seb - along with dreaming of Aberdeen winning the SPL - has been looking at promotion and relegation over the years.
It dovetails nicely with my post on Old Firm dominance and shows that clubs have struggled to retain their SPL status when promoted.
One of the things that struck me was that Inverness have this year become the first club since Hibs - inspired by Russell Latapy and Franck Sauzee, memories are indeed made of this - to get relegated and bounce straight back up.
I'd say that gives some indication of the strength of the First Division and nudges us towards the idea that an extension of the SPL wouldn't lead to a reduction in quality. (Quality in this instance being an entirely relative term.)
Still disagree with the Inside Left stance on the split, mind!
- In my comment on Seb's post I mention the stadia requirements for the SPL. With clubs struggling to fill their stadiums in the SPL is there not an argument to remove these restrictions to give the whole of the First Division a chance to aim for promotion?
I know this is harsh on the clubs who have had to scrimp, save and pile up debts to develop their grounds. But that argument doesn't change the fact that it is a rule that needs to be rethought. And if scrapping the rule means we save a few more clubs from racking up the kind of debts that would make Colin Hendry weep then that must be a good thing.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Ground control
Another cracking post from Inside Left with a fairly idiosyncratic guide to the stadium's of the SPL.
The links to Google Street View for each ground are interesting but it's the accompanying text that I enjoyed the most:
The links to Google Street View for each ground are interesting but it's the accompanying text that I enjoyed the most:
Dundee United
I’ve never liked Tannadump; you can’t fucking park anywhere, the away end is tucked away in some stupid corner where you can’t see anything and whenever I’ve been there to see Aberdeen play we always lose
Falkirk
It looks like being one of those stadiums that you find in every town planner and Chief Constable’s wet dream, to wit: out of sight, out of mind. What a dump. And it’s brand new anaw.
Rangers
The Main Stand, designed by Archibald Leitch is one of the few remaining examples of classic stadia construction in Britain. It certainly is something to keep your mind off the urine and other assorted bodily fluids raining down on you from the top deck of the Broomloan Stand while your team is being slaughtered on the park.
Hamilton
The Spice of Life stand. Yes. It’s true. Bad name, dull stadium. Like St Mirren Park, the back of the main stand at New Douglas Park looks like the regional headquarters for a small to mid-size furniture chain.
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