I know this sounds defeatist at the start of the new year but ICT being relegated might help clear out some of the dead wood for good (both in the squad and within the board etc etc)!!

I know I am not the only one out their that longs for some entertainment at matches (remember when the Caledonian Stadium was a fortress and we scored for fun!), a season in the 1st Division would provide us with matches we can at least hope to win. We would also be able to clear out some of the dead wood which we all know exists in the current squad and at least give those on the periphery a chance to show what they can do (Sutherland,Gillespie spring to mind!). Cheaper season tickets for a year would be great with a few derbies thrown in during the season. All in all one season in the first division could potentially breathe new life into the club!

The above would of course be the ideal scenario I know how hard it is to go straight back up but its only a thought!! Does anyone else agree?

Div1, even for only a season, would be financial suicide. Part of the reason we have these young guys looking to make the break into the first team squad is because we're able to sustain a reasonably decent Youth programme....this would be one of the first things to go if we were relegated.

Div1, even for only a season, would be financial suicide. Part of the reason we have these young guys looking to make the break into the first team squad is because we're able to sustain a reasonably decent Youth programme....this would be one of the first things to go if we were relegated.

How is the Youth Programme funded - I always thought that it was predominantly self-sufficient as monies were raised through sponsorship and fundraising. I would assume the club have a budget for the Youth setup but I don't know how generous it would be.

Div1, even for only a season, would be financial suicide. Part of the reason we have these young guys looking to make the break into the first team squad is because we're able to sustain a reasonably decent Youth programme....this would be one of the first things to go if we were relegated.

Div1 even if only for a season?

Where do you see us going after that?

That reminds me of an old Tommy Docherty quote many years ago, after he'd been sacked by Wolves....

"I don't know why they (the board) are so upset" "I promised them, when I took the job on I'd get them out of Div2"

dont think for a minute that you would go straight back up in the 1st season down, some good teams who know what the division is like already there, it is a completely different league altogether

it is a very under estimated league from the spl's view

One for our stattos

Which team was the last to be relegated from the top league in Scotland then promoted back the next year and when?

One for our stattos

Which team was the last to be relegated from the top league in Scotland then promoted back the next year and when?

Hibs cant remember the season 92/93 maybe?

One for our stattos

Which team was the last to be relegated from the top league in Scotland then promoted back the next year and when?

Hibs cant remember the season 92/93 maybe?

Relegated in 1998 returned in 1999 when it was SFL Premier league of 10 teams.

We're not going down

Still got half a season to go

Once we get a new manager a new Defender & quality striker we're Sorted !

We're not going down

Still got half a season to go

Once we get a new manager a new Defender & quality striker we're Sorted !

It's like Chinese water torture on here these days.

We're not going down

Still got half a season to go

Once we get a new manager a new Defender & quality striker we're Sorted !

It's like Chinese water torture on here these days.

Well no harm in trying to be a little positive !

If only they'd do away with second halfs to games :thumb04:

We're not going down

Still got half a season to go

Once we get a new manager a new Defender & quality striker we're Sorted !

It's like Chinese water torture on here these days.

Well no harm in trying to be a little positive !

If only they'd do away with second halfs to games :thumb04:

I agree with the sentiment - First Division football was a feck of a lot more enjoyable than what we're seeing just now. It was a 'we're going to score one more than you' attitude which made for some great spectacles. As long as you're not dicing with relegation to the Second (and that seems to be fairly easy to bounce back from) it's tailor-made for crowd-pleasing footy. But it's a bugger of a league to win. You'd get worse odds on Shergar making a come-back than on us bouncing straight back to the SPL. A number of factors, on the pitch and off it - not least Tulloch and their chairman - came together at just the right time to get us there by the skin of our teeth. That perfect alignment might not come for another ten years, if it ever does. Part-time football at the Bught is breathing down your neck. If there's anything to be done to avoid it - and there are clearly some things which can be done - then now is the time.

Wouldnt care any less than I do right now!

Somebody come wake me up when Brewster, Grassa and those pulling the strings have stopped milking what little life is left in this club

Division 1 for a season might have a superficial attraction but the cost, which would be in the region of one and a half million would cripple the club for years to come.

It would be a disaster for the club , playing in front of 1400 for a home game , we'd go into freefall and God knows where we'd land !!!

It would be a disaster for the club , playing in front of 1400 for a home game , we'd go into freefall and God knows where we'd land !!!

We'll land in Div3 unless the board take off their blindfolds and install a new management team...

It would be a disaster for the club , playing in front of 1400 for a home game , we'd go into freefall and God knows where we'd land !!!

We'll land in Div3 unless the board take off their blindfolds and install a new management team...

I dont think a new management team would have enough time to turn things around this season , we're too small a squad as it is with very little experience . I'm afraid we're doomed .

It would be a disaster for the club , playing in front of 1400 for a home game , we'd go into freefall and God knows where we'd land !!!

We'll land in Div3 unless the board take off their blindfolds and install a new management team...

I dont think a new management team would have enough time to turn things around this season , we're too small a squad as it is with very little experience . I'm afraid we're doomed .

You sound like Sgt Fraser on Dad's Army!!

No... I disagree with you... If they were to appoint the right person within the next week or so, it would give the players such a badly needed lift, which would soon see them beat the likes of Hamilton, Falkirk etc..

I've yet to see any of the players show they have the fight in them to avoid relegation under Brewster and i cant see that changing under a new man .

If we go down, it certainly won't be just for one season. Look at the track record of teams relegated from the SPL. Only St.Mirren have come back and it took them five or six years to do it.

Relegation=pain and massive financial restructuring. We don't want to go there. At all.

I've yet to see any of the players show they have the fight in them to avoid relegation under Brewster and i cant see that changing under a new man .

I disagree, much the same squad has shown great battling qualities inn the past. My view is that Brewster has all but completely lost the dressing room in much the same way as he did at Tannadice and that a new man would, at this stage at least, make all the difference.

If we somehow stay up this season with losing Black and prob Cowie it would take a miracle to stay up next year with this squad.

If we go down, it certainly won't be just for one season. Look at the track record of teams relegated from the SPL. Only St.Mirren have come back and it took them five or six years to do it.

Relegation=pain and massive financial restructuring. We don't want to go there. At all.

Absolutely right.... That's why it's vital that Brewster should go right now, and someone with experience and proven motivational skills is appointed straight away... even if just till the end of the season, when the post can be advertised and the best possible long term appointment can be made.

If we go down this season then I fear we may never make it back up. Treading water in the First Division on pitiful attendances and massively reduced revenues would be a major challenge in itself. Looking at the way in which the club is being managed at the moment I feel that relegation and subsequent oblivion is in fact the ulterior motive in certain quarters.

The first divison ain't as easy as it seems. they are a lot of good teams now a days. We will also lose good players. and a lot of money. It won't be easy.

Just an observation, Brew and Elvis played together for a season in Division 1 before Brew headed to Greece.

Steven Pressley..........................He was transferred to English side Coventry City in 1994 for ?630,000. He only lasted a year in England, where he had problems with his form and disciplinary record, before returning to Scotland with Dundee United for a fee of ?750,000. He helped United to promotion back to the Scottish Premier League in his first season, followed by a third place finish in the top flight in season 1996-97.

Craig Brewster.........In 1993, Brewster returned to Dundee United, signing for the Tannadice club for a fee of ?250,000. After a slow start in which he struggled to adapt to Premier Division football, Brewster's first season at Tannadice culminated in his greatest moment as a player, scoring the winner for United in the 1994 Scottish Cup Final against Rangers. However, the club was relegated a year later. Brewster helped them towards promotion back to the top flight in 1995?96, scoring four goals in one match against Dumbarton, but when his contract expired at the end of the season he decided to further his career elsewhere.

My personal view is that relegation will be a disaster if it happens. Certainly in some games this season we have looked relegation material but equally we have still played some good football and I include Sunday's first 60 minutes. First Division football is very competitive and there are some fine players in that league including quite a few at Partick. However, playing in the SPL is special given the opposition, their grounds, TV coverage and press and other angles.