The Mantis

Terrible supporters too imo.

So, with us apparently doooooomed, what does next season look like down the divisions? Most of the answers will be known in the next 10 days or so, with some being settled this weekend. First, the bottom of SPFL2. With one game left, Cowdenbeath are 3 points adrift of Clyde and Berwick, and face a trip to Elgin, who still have a chance of a playoff spot. If Cowden fail to climb off the bottom this Saturday they will play off against East Kilbride or Buckie, who are tied at 2-2, but EK have home advantage and play on the plastic. At the top, Arbroath will be champions if they win at Stirling or at least match Forfar's result at home to Annan. SPFL1 is where we begin to take an interest. Livi are champions (insert vomiting smiley here) and Alloa, Airdrie and Brechin should make the playoffs. East Fife have a slim chance of sneaking in, for those of us who are too young to remember our only visit to Bayview Stadium in 1998. In the Championship Ayr appear to be doomed like us, so we will not get a nice trip to the Ship Inn . Yogi's Raith Rovers may need to survive the playoffs, but they can finish 8th if they beat Ayr and St Mirren lose at Hibernian. I'd much rather see The Midden go down but this is unlikely since Jack Ross took over. ICT will get a first ever visit to Dumbarton's stadium, whatever it's called these days. Obviously Hibs will pass us on the way up and that leaves a playoff involving Falkirk, Utd, Morton and team 11 from the Premiership. So: prediction time. We are doomed and the Championship next season will comprise : ICT Falkirk Morton Utd Livi Alloa (but possibly renewing hostilities with Yogi at Stark's Park instead) St Mirren DAFC QoS Dumbarton

Todd Lumsden and his assistant Steven Hislop have been sacked by East Superleague club Linlithgow Rose.

Hmm, Tuesday already. Been struck dumb since Friday night. The haggis pies were lukewarm too.

Ah but did the 3 goals all cross the line

Apart from carrying the worries of his home town club I always felt Charlie suffered from the stress of the public scrutiny while we were bottom of the SPL (as was). I'm sure he'd do a more than decent job in the Championship.

Don't think I've been at a game since that awful night in Hamilton but hey ho, it's the Derby so here I come. Get the malt dusted off Caley100, you must have got something decent for your big birthday

Foran on STV

Just to be pedantic, they were actually only a draw away from the SPL. If Hissy hadn't scored for us with 11 minutes left, they would have been champions. You're right though, the club is a shambles from top to bottom. As it is, I think they'll finish above 10th because Cowden have a harder finish. Cowden have potential champions Forfar at home then Elgin away, so even if Clyde and Berwick lose their remaining fixtures, Cowden are unlikely to catch either of them.

One of the benefits of being an old git is being able to bore people about how things used to be. Back in the 90s you had Stenhousemuir playing at Ochilview, and East Stirlingshire at Firs Park. So over the years I’ve seen Stenny with the old stand shown below, which is opposite where the new 626 seater Norway Stand is. The old “Doll’s House” stand had 310 bench seats and was built in 1928, 7 years after the Warriors joined the League, to replace the old wooden stand which had burned down. They say the external stairs were an afterthought as the architect forgot to put them in. Ochilview in 1992 The first time I was there was 1992 to see Caley in the Scottish Cup. At that time there was a covered terracing opposite the stand with railway sleepers and cinder, which was quite common back then in football grounds. The photo above was taken from the large Tryst Road terracing behind the goals, which was covered in 2004-5. Nowadays the Tryst Road terracing is used for the away support, but for East Stirlingshire matches in the Lowland League, and U20 Development matches, it is closed. The other two sides of the ground are no longer in use. Also gone is the McCowan’s toffee factory which produced Highland Toffee, Wham bars and Irn Bru bars. Norway Stand Tryst Road End Over the years, Stirling Albion and Falkirk have both groundshared at Ochilview, and currently East Stirlingshire are tenants. Indeed Stenhousemuir themselves might have moved back in 1992 and Ochilview might have been replaced by a supermarket if not for planning difficulties. There is now a synthetic pitch which helps Stenhousemuir to raise much needed revenue. In 1949-50 Ochilview held a record 12500 for a Scottish Cup tie against East Fife, and in 1951 the floodlights were first used in a match against Hibernian, and paid for by Tommy Douglas the butcher. In 1964, Rangers formulated a plan to remove the Warriors and 4 other small clubs from the league, but this failed and they are still alive and kicking, having won 2-1 at Ibrox in the League Cup in 1972 just to rub it in. Anyway, back to January 1992. Caley came to town in a Scottish Cup round 2 tie. The pre-match comments of Warriors boss Dennis Lawson showed that he was less than confident about the outcome, with Warriors struggling near the bottom of the old second division. Inverness bookmakers had Caley at 7/4 but the large travelling contingent were delighted to see that in Larbert, Caley were being offered at 11/4… Stenny had their highest gate for 3 years, around 1500, and went ahead after Caley had lost key midfielder Danny MacDonald to a serious injury. However the second half was all Caley as they struck four times, and finally Warriors centre-half Stevie Prior was sent off after a kick at Charlie Christie. Another significant match was in 1999 when the Warriors gained a 1-1 draw at Rosewell against Whitehill Welfare. Much to the disgust of the Whitehill faithful, the two goals which decided the replay at Ochilview were scored by a young whippet called Kenny Miller. Kenny was on loan from Hibs and it is said that Stenny paid Hibs £8000 to allow him to play in the Scottish Cup, as the reward would be a tie against Rangers… The Ochils in sunshine: Shire v Whitehill in the Lowland League Since 1992, the Warriors have had a hard core of about 100 supporters in Norway, who own 5% of the club. In 2008, Falkirk’s ‘other’ club, The Shire, vacated their home at Firs Park after 87 years, and began groundsharing at Ochilview. They had been at Firs Park since moving from Merchiston Park in Bainsford in 1921. That year, Firs Park held its record crowd of 12000 for a cup match against Partick Thistle. Shire have long been held up, even ridiculed, as an example of a club which nobody needs, and indeed when the SPFL introduced a playoff system, Shire were the first victims, being relegated to the Lowland League in 2016 by Edinburgh City. A young Alex Ferguson started his management career there in 1974 but the high point of their history is probably being promoted as champions to the top tier of Scottish Football in 1932. But Shire are nothing if not survivors and their hardy band of volunteers and supporters have survived worse, including a merger with Clydebank Juniors which briefly produced the club ES Clydebank, playing out of Kilbowie Park in 1964. Hidden Away up Firs Street When I first visited Firs Park, people were free to wander around all sides of the pitch. There was a decent sized terracing at the North End, and another covered shelter along the side. The decaying barrel-roofed main stand had been replaced by a smart 200-seat replica in 1992. By the time Shire left, things were a bit more restricted and there was a huge wall at the south end with no access. The photos below are from a friendly against Chester City in 1992. Later that season I witnessed a 3-2 extra-time win over Vale of Leithen on a freezing, foggy night in the Christmas holidays. The next time I visited Firs Park was a historic one, as it was the first competitive match for Caledonian Thistle, later ICT, who won 2-0 in a League Cup tie on 9/8/94. Caley legend Wilson Robertson opened the scoring and the attendance was 899. Earlier I referred to Shire as Falkirk’s other club, but in fact their tannoy announcer always made a point of saying ‘welcome to Falkirk’s Premier Football Club’. Unfortunately I don’t have his name, but he was a legend. One match against Ross County took place on a Sunday in 1995. When it came to half time he apologised that he had no half time scores to read out as it was the day’s only fixture, so he proceeded to go through the entire card from the day before. My final game at Firs Park was in January 1998 when Shire met Edinburgh City, then of the East of Scotland League, in the second round of the Scottish Cup. The game ended 1-1. The replay at Meadowbank was goalless and Shire went out 4-3 on penalties. City went on to be humbled 7-2 by Dunfermline at East End Park so maybe they did the Shire a favour. Shire left Firs Park at the end of 2007-8 as the cost of upgrading the stadium would have been ruinous. The final match was a 3-1 win against Montrose, which spared Shire the embarrassment of finishing bottom for the sixth time in a row. By this time the ground capacity was a mere 1800, including 200 seated. Some match footage from 1994 Some match footage from 2008 Even More Footage View the full article

One of the benefits of being an old git is being able to bore people about how things used to be. Back in the 90s you had Stenhousemuir playing at Ochilview, and East Stirlingshire at Firs Park. So over the years I’ve seen Stenny with the old stand shown below, which is opposite where the new 626 seater Norway Stand is. The old “Doll’s House” stand had 310 bench seats and was built in 1928, 7 years after the Warriors joined the League, to replace the old wooden stand which had burned down. They say the external stairs were an afterthought as the architect forgot to put them in. Ochilview in 1992 The first time I was there was 1992 to see Caley in the Scottish Cup. At that time there was a covered terracing opposite the stand with railway sleepers and cinder, which was quite common back then in football grounds. The photo above was taken from the large Tryst Road terracing behind the goals, which was covered in 2004-5. Nowadays the Tryst Road terracing is used for the away support, but for East Stirlingshire matches in the Lowland League, and U20 Development matches, it is closed. The other two sides of the ground are no longer in use. Also gone is the McCowan’s toffee factory which produced Highland Toffee, Wham bars and Irn Bru bars. Norway Stand Tryst Road End Over the years, Stirling Albion and Falkirk have both groundshared at Ochilview, and currently East Stirlingshire are tenants. Indeed Stenhousemuir themselves might have moved back in 1992 and Ochilview might have been replaced by a supermarket if not for planning difficulties. There is now a synthetic pitch which helps Stenhousemuir to raise much needed revenue. In 1949-50 Ochilview held a record 12500 for a Scottish Cup tie against East Fife, and in 1951 the floodlights were first used in a match against Hibernian, and paid for by Tommy Douglas the butcher. In 1964, Rangers formulated a plan to remove the Warriors and 4 other small clubs from the league, but this failed and they are still alive and kicking, having won 2-1 at Ibrox in the League Cup in 1972 just to rub it in. Anyway, back to January 1992. Caley came to town in a Scottish Cup round 2 tie. The pre-match comments of Warriors boss Dennis Lawson showed that he was less than confident about the outcome, with Warriors struggling near the bottom of the old second division. Inverness bookmakers had Caley at 7/4 but the large travelling contingent were delighted to see that in Larbert, Caley were being offered at 11/4… Stenny had their highest gate for 3 years, around 1500, and went ahead after Caley had lost key midfielder Danny MacDonald to a serious injury. However the second half was all Caley as they struck four times, and finally Warriors centre-half Stevie Prior was sent off after a kick at Charlie Christie. Another significant match was in 1999 when the Warriors gained a 1-1 draw at Rosewell against Whitehill Welfare. Much to the disgust of the Whitehill faithful, the two goals which decided the replay at Ochilview were scored by a young whippet called Kenny Miller. Kenny was on loan from Hibs and it is said that Stenny paid Hibs £8000 to allow him to play in the Scottish Cup, as the reward would be a tie against Rangers… The Ochils in sunshine: Shire v Whitehill in the Lowland League Since 1992, the Warriors have had a hard core of about 100 supporters in Norway, who own 5% of the club. In 2008, Falkirk’s ‘other’ club, The Shire, vacated their home at Firs Park after 87 years, and began groundsharing at Ochilview. They had been at Firs Park since moving from Merchiston Park in Bainsford in 1921. That year, Firs Park held its record crowd of 12000 for a cup match against Partick Thistle. Shire have long been held up, even ridiculed, as an example of a club which nobody needs, and indeed when the SPFL introduced a playoff system, Shire were the first victims, being relegated to the Lowland League in 2016 by Edinburgh City. A young Alex Ferguson started his management career there in 1974 but the high point of their history is probably being promoted as champions to the top tier of Scottish Football in 1932. But Shire are nothing if not survivors and their hardy band of volunteers and supporters have survived worse, including a merger with Clydebank Juniors which briefly produced the club ES Clydebank, playing out of Kilbowie Park in 1964. Hidden Away up Firs Street When I first visited Firs Park, people were free to wander around all sides of the pitch. There was a decent sized terracing at the North End, and another covered shelter along the side. The decaying barrel-roofed main stand had been replaced by a smart 200-seat replica in 1992. By the time Shire left, things were a bit more restricted and there was a huge wall at the south end with no access. The photos below are from a friendly against Chester City in 1992. Later that season I witnessed a 3-2 extra-time win over Vale of Leithen on a freezing, foggy night in the Christmas holidays. The next time I visited Firs Park was a historic one, as it was the first competitive match for Caledonian Thistle, later ICT, who won 2-0 in a League Cup tie on 9/8/94. Caley legend Wilson Robertson opened the scoring and the attendance was 899. Earlier I referred to Shire as Falkirk’s other club, but in fact their tannoy announcer always made a point of saying ‘welcome to Falkirk’s Premier Football Club’. Unfortunately I don’t have his name, but he was a legend. One match against Ross County took place on a Sunday in 1995. When it came to half time he apologised that he had no half time scores to read out as it was the day’s only fixture, so he proceeded to go through the entire card from the day before. My final game at Firs Park was in January 1998 when Shire met Edinburgh City, then of the East of Scotland League, in the second round of the Scottish Cup. The game ended 1-1. The replay at Meadowbank was goalless and Shire went out 4-3 on penalties. City went on to be humbled 7-2 by Dunfermline at East End Park so maybe they did the Shire a favour. Shire left Firs Park at the end of 2007-8 as the cost of upgrading the stadium would have been ruinous. The final match was a 3-1 win against Montrose, which spared Shire the embarrassment of finishing bottom for the sixth time in a row. By this time the ground capacity was a mere 1800, including 200 seated. Some match footage from 1994 Some match footage from 2008 Even More Footage View the full article

Did you not go and watch Preston Athletic once when you were down at Gordy's

Yes that's what I meant.

Just to pick up on something that was said on pie & bovril. In giving Richie a 4 year deal, it would have made obvious sense to have a relegation clause in it.

What, Del Boy would have suggested performance related clauses in his own contract?

**** *** *** ************* *****!

I want gates of Delirium

Kingsmills has already indicated that personal abuse is not tolerated. If you object to anything else feel free to use the 'report' button.

I'm not really comfortable with this interweb thingy. If I tell you the size and colour, will you find a fleece for me?

I'll get in before Bannerman does. We weren't partly relegated Good work in Nutmeg btw

Dunfermline away at Kelty next Tuesday at 2pm. Probably head over to this assuming no lorries overturn on the FRB Postponed

Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja is quite a mouthful so I’ll be referring to them as ÍBV from now on. I had been to Iceland twice before and caught a glimpse of these islands off the south coast. I managed to persuade my missus to go back to Iceland in September of 2016 and we spent four nights in Vestmannaeyjar, or the Westman Islands as everybody calls them in English. Apparently the West Men were the Irish. To get to Vestmannaeyjar is not the easiest task. You can get to the ferry by car but we decided to use public transport this time. From central Reykjavík you make your way to a bus station at Mjódd in the south east of the city. From there it is a 2 1/2 hour run to the new ferry terminal at Landeyjahöfn in the south, and a 40 minute crossing aboard the ferry Herjólfur. This takes you to Heimaey, the main island with a population of 4000. Although the new harbour at Landeyjahöfn makes for a very short crossing, it is vulnerable in certain weathers. When the weather is not suitable the ferry goes from the old terminal at Þorlákshöfn and takes 2 3/4 hours, although Þorlákshöfn is much nearer Reykjavík so the bus journey is short. So after piddling around Reykjavík for most of the day, we got the bus from Mjódd at 4.30 and got to Landeyjahöfn around 7pm. By the time we sailed, our introduction to Heimaey was in the dark. Luckily our hotel was only a couple of hundred yards from the ferry. Heimaey is only about 7km long and has an area of about 13 sq km so there’s no problem getting around. The first view we got when we looked out of the window next morning was Eldfell, 200m high. Eldfell and Helgafell This mountain only appeared in 1973 after a volcanic eruption which buried about 400 houses in lava and ash, and added about 2 sq km to the east side of the island. The islanders had to evacuate. Helgafell (227m) is the neighbour of Eldfell but is positively ancient at 6000 years. Today, the lava forms a visible barrier to the east of the town, and it is easy to climb up 10m or so and overlook the town from it. If you carry on and climb Eldfell, maybe, like me, you can stand on a mountain which is younger than you Meanwhile, back in 1973, the harbour was saved by pouring billions of gallons of seawater on the lava which threatened to envelop the whole harbour area. This harbour accounts for over a third of Iceland’s fish catch. During our 4 days on Heimaey we got around a fair bit despite the poor weather, including a walk to the lighthouse at Stórhöfði at the south end, which claims to be the windiest place in Europe. We climbed Eldfell, where it is red-brown basalt gravel underfoot, and apparently if you were to dig down 1 metre it would be about 800 degrees C. ÍBV are the island team. They have won the Icelandic championship, or Úrvalsdeild, currently known as the Pepsi Deild, in 1979, 1997 and in 1998, when they did the double. I knew that ÍBV had a fixture arranged for Thursday 15th, against Stjarnan from Reykjavík. Stjarnan had faced Celtic the previous season and after we returned to Reykjavík I was able to catch one of their games at the Samsungvöllur before we went home. Stjarnan were to finish second to FH in the league. ÍBV had faced Hearts in 2000 but the Hásteinsvöllur had no stand and was not suitable at the time so the game was played at the national stadium in Reykjavík where only 815 turned up. The stadium was renovated in 2012 so I assume that’s when the covered stand was built. The capacity of the Hásteinsvöllur is listed as 2834 with 534 seated. Man of many clubs, goalkeeper David James, was player-coach at ÍBV in 2013 before retiring. At the risk of stating the obvious, the Samsungvöllur experience didn’t come near the magical heights that the Hásteinsvöllur reached. On the Thursday afternoon I sauntered up to the Hásteinsvöllur for the 5pm kickoff, taking advantage of a welcome break in the weather. To my dismay there was a board on the way to the ground which, with my limited knowledge of Icelandic, seemed to be saying that there was no game. I saw the home team having a training session and had a chat with one of the players. The Stjarnan team had not been able to make it due to ferry disruption. The good news was that the game would be played on the Friday evening instead. So the following afternoon it was take two. The weather was even better so I mostly retook all the photos from before. The game was played out in heavy showers alternating with blinding sunshine. Stjarnan, in blue, led in 16 minutes through Guðjón Baldvinsson, who celebrated with a small knot of away fans. After much pressure and many missed chances, the home team finally equalised after an hour through Aron Bjarnason. The home fans took heart from this and for a while it looked like their team might go on and grab the winner, but their hopes were dashed in 72 minutes when Baldvinsson restored the Stjarnan lead with a lob from outside the box. The crowd was given as 403 on the excellent Soccerway website. The white shirts of ÍBV pushed for a point but it wasn’t to be. Full time ÍBV 1 Stjarnan 2. I can’t leave ÍBV without a short report on the fan experience! Admission was free. During my trip i went to 2 other Pepsi Dield matches in Reykjavík where the admission was 1500 ÍKR (about £11). On the way in you could help yourself to laminated ‘clappers’ which had a team photo on one side and a club badge on the reverse. These concertina-ed to make a noisy clapping aid and again were free, so I brought back a few for the mates There was one fan who was completely driven by his passion for the team and started the same frenzied chant every few minutes. To me it sounded like ‘eBay Vuff’ till I realised that’s how they pronounced ÍBV… You can just about see the clapper in the photos: We were sorry to leave Heimaey on the Sunday morning ferry at 8.30. We’re used to crossing the Minch in all seasons, but although the sea didn’t seem rough, the conditions were unsuitable for landing at Landeyjahöfn, and so we had the longer journey to Þorlákshöfn on the mainland. It was a fine autumnal morning with great views to the Eyjafjallajökull glacier on the mainland, and back to the magical island of Elliðaey. View the full article

Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja is quite a mouthful so I’ll be referring to them as ÍBV from now on. I had been to Iceland twice before and caught a glimpse of these islands off the south coast. I managed to persuade my missus to go back to Iceland in September of 2016 and we spent four nights in Vestmannaeyjar, or the Westman Islands as everybody calls them in English. Apparently the West Men were the Irish. To get to Vestmannaeyjar is not the easiest task. You can get to the ferry by car but we decided to use public transport this time. From central Reykjavík you make your way to a bus station at Mjódd in the south east of the city. From there it is a 2 1/2 hour run to the new ferry terminal at Landeyjahöfn in the south, and a 40 minute crossing aboard the ferry Herjólfur. This takes you to Heimaey, the main island with a population of 4000. Although the new harbour at Landeyjahöfn makes for a very short crossing, it is vulnerable in certain weathers. When the weather is not suitable the ferry goes from the old terminal at Þorlákshöfn and takes 2 3/4 hours, although Þorlákshöfn is much nearer Reykjavík so the bus journey is short. So after piddling around Reykjavík for most of the day, we got the bus from Mjódd at 4.30 and got to Landeyjahöfn around 7pm. By the time we sailed, our introduction to Heimaey was in the dark. Luckily our hotel was only a couple of hundred yards from the ferry. Heimaey is only about 7km long and has an area of about 13 sq km so there’s no problem getting around. The first view we got when we looked out of the window next morning was Eldfell, 200m high. Eldfell and Helgafell This mountain only appeared in 1973 after a volcanic eruption which buried about 400 houses in lava and ash, and added about 2 sq km to the east side of the island. The islanders had to evacuate. Helgafell (227m) is the neighbour of Eldfell but is positively ancient at 6000 years. Today, the lava forms a visible barrier to the east of the town, and it is easy to climb up 10m or so and overlook the town from it. If you carry on and climb Eldfell, maybe, like me, you can stand on a mountain which is younger than you Meanwhile, back in 1973, the harbour was saved by pouring billions of gallons of seawater on the lava which threatened to envelop the whole harbour area. This harbour accounts for over a third of Iceland’s fish catch. During our 4 days on Heimaey we got around a fair bit despite the poor weather, including a walk to the lighthouse at Stórhöfði at the south end, which claims to be the windiest place in Europe. We climbed Eldfell, where it is red-brown basalt gravel underfoot, and apparently if you were to dig down 1 metre it would be about 800 degrees C. ÍBV are the island team. They have won the Icelandic championship, or Úrvalsdeild, currently known as the Pepsi Deild, in 1979, 1997 and in 1998, when they did the double. I knew that ÍBV had a fixture arranged for Thursday 15th, against Stjarnan from Reykjavík. Stjarnan had faced Celtic the previous season and after we returned to Reykjavík I was able to catch one of their games at the Samsungvöllur before we went home. Stjarnan were to finish second to FH in the league. ÍBV had faced Hearts in 2000 but the Hásteinsvöllur had no stand and was not suitable at the time so the game was played at the national stadium in Reykjavík where only 815 turned up. The stadium was renovated in 2012 so I assume that’s when the covered stand was built. The capacity of the Hásteinsvöllur is listed as 2834 with 534 seated. Man of many clubs, goalkeeper David James, was player-coach at ÍBV in 2013 before retiring. At the risk of stating the obvious, the Samsungvöllur experience didn’t come near the magical heights that the Hásteinsvöllur reached. On the Thursday afternoon I sauntered up to the Hásteinsvöllur for the 5pm kickoff, taking advantage of a welcome break in the weather. To my dismay there was a board on the way to the ground which, with my limited knowledge of Icelandic, seemed to be saying that there was no game. I saw the home team having a training session and had a chat with one of the players. The Stjarnan team had not been able to make it due to ferry disruption. The good news was that the game would be played on the Friday evening instead. So the following afternoon it was take two. The weather was even better so I mostly retook all the photos from before. The game was played out in heavy showers alternating with blinding sunshine. Stjarnan, in blue, led in 16 minutes through Guðjón Baldvinsson, who celebrated with a small knot of away fans. After much pressure and many missed chances, the home team finally equalised after an hour through Aron Bjarnason. The home fans took heart from this and for a while it looked like their team might go on and grab the winner, but their hopes were dashed in 72 minutes when Baldvinsson restored the Stjarnan lead with a lob from outside the box. The crowd was given as 403 on the excellent Soccerway website. The white shirts of ÍBV pushed for a point but it wasn’t to be. Full time ÍBV 1 Stjarnan 2. I can’t leave ÍBV without a short report on the fan experience! Admission was free. During my trip i went to 2 other Pepsi Dield matches in Reykjavík where the admission was 1500 ÍKR (about £11). On the way in you could help yourself to laminated ‘clappers’ which had a team photo on one side and a club badge on the reverse. These concertina-ed to make a noisy clapping aid and again were free, so I brought back a few for the mates There was one fan who was completely driven by his passion for the team and started the same frenzied chant every few minutes. To me it sounded like ‘eBay Vuff’ till I realised that’s how they pronounced ÍBV… You can just about see the clapper in the photos: We were sorry to leave Heimaey on the Sunday morning ferry at 8.30. We’re used to crossing the Minch in all seasons, but although the sea didn’t seem rough, the conditions were unsuitable for landing at Landeyjahöfn, and so we had the longer journey to Þorlákshöfn on the mainland. It was a fine autumnal morning with great views to the Eyjafjallajökull glacier on the mainland, and back to the magical island of Elliðaey. View the full article

Not really a fair comparison is it? Comparing a once in a lifetime event to a run of the mill league game, so it's hard to see what point you're making. My local side Bonnyrigg Rose (average home crowd 200) got 1500 v Dumbarton recently. This week they play Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in the last 8 of the Scottish Junior Cup. There'll probably be a couple of thousand there. The problems facing Scottish football are no different from the problems facing other small nations in light of the corporate greed and globalisation of the sport encouraged by satellite tv. The attendances per capita have been discussed on here before, but stand up well against similar small nations. I was at 3 games in Portugal recently and their attendances are shocking compared to ours, and they have 11M people. BTW I've seen South Shields this season - favourites for the other final place in the Vase.