Gabby

I have alsways said that if it wasn't for professional sport, the unemployment benefits budget in any country would at least double and we would have to build more jails.

HT" 0:0 FT: 0:1 1st scorer us: Tade 1st scorer them: Sandaza Crowd: 3172 1st yellow: Tokely

I would def have Bingham in the top 5, he was immense to get us promoted. He scored goals for fun that seaosn. Maybe he isn;t held in such high esteem for chasing a bigger contract elsewhere (Gretna from memory)

I think it is also worth mentioning.... 5. An very short close season that has made the effects of the other 4 reasons worse

HT: 0:0 FT: 1:0 1st scorer us: Foran 1st scorer them: Thompson Crowd:3672

I've had a bit of luck with the crowd exact number. I think I have guessed correctly 2 times.

HT 0:0 FT 3:0 1st scorer us: Tade 1st scorer them: Hooper Crowd: 44 172

HT: 0:0 FT: 1:0 1st scorer us: Tade 1st scorer them: Daly Crowd: 5872

One or two quiet ales. it's important to keep the fluids up before a game.

HT: 0:0 FT: 1:0 1st scorer us: Foran 1st scorer them: Templeton Crowd: 4172

HT: 0:0 FT: 1:0 1st scorer us: Foran 1st scorer them: Heffernan Crowd: 3745

There were 18 teams in the old Scottish First Division when Celtic won the European Cup in 67 though you may be referring to the fact that there are only 10 teams in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shamrock Rovers' turnover is also less than 2% that of the Old Filth which helps to put the scale of the failure of the OF in perspective. Their failure diminshes Scottish Football and we will all suffer the consequences of that. Interestingly Shamrock Rovers' leading scorer is a Scot called Twigg. It seems there is very little incentive for talented young Scots to ply their trade in Scotland these days. Let's hope the national team can restore a bit of pride and give the game the boost it so desparately needs. It's not the same game it was in 1967. TV money means that other leagues are able to develop and attract quality players. My point is, and always has been, that the small amount of money generated by Scottish football is spread way too thin. I am certainly not saying this so just Celtic and Rangers can compete in Europe. Would it not be good for Scottish football is Hearts and other SPL teams could be playing European football in December? It is your last point that hits the nail on the head, there is no incentive for young Scots to ply their trade in Scotland and drastic changes are required before this will change.

This highlights the need for a 10 team SPL, without it Scotland out of Europe by August will be the norm instead of the exception.

HT 0:0 FT: 0:3 1st scorer us: Tade 1st scorer them: Moffat Crowd: 890

HT: 0:0 FT: 0:1 1st Scorer us: Tansey 1st scorer them: Sutton Crowd: 8429

The Rangers game was the first time I have seen Tade and quite frankly he got no service in 90 mins. In the rare opportunity he got, he held the ball well and looked for opportunities. Why can't we pass out of defence? This long ball game just makes Tade the front defender becasue as soon as we get posession, we kick it long to the opposition defenders. Tudor-Jones is in the same boat. he is probably a good midfielder, trouble is we don't know because the ball sails over his head. I don't think the players are the problem, the tactics or lack thereof are the problem.

I agree, the Tokely decision was terrible. We got punished twice first with the send off, then with the penalty. Second one was a penalty, it was soft and he just didn't need to do it. In saying that we were never in the game. How can we expect any of the midfielders to have an impact when the defender constantly kick the ball over their heads? Some of them even went past Tade's head. We were pish and the sad we should have had a draw as Rangers didn't create anything either.

However, their TV audience is probably growning as fans watch the game at home or at the pub. This makes broadcasters very happy. You insist of confusing bums on seats at the stadiums with income derived from TV rights that are dispersed by the SPL. These 2 income sources are not related. In fact it could be argued that Celtic are already paying the price of reduced attendances because reduced attendences affect their bottom line only. You also said that you would doubt if Celtic would even notice. I'm sorry but I do not know a single businessman that wouldn't notice a reduction in revenue and wouldn't be doing their best to retrieve it. You are asking one businesses to give up their competitive advantage over another business. That is quite naive.

HT: 0-1 FT: 1-3 1st scorer us: Hayes 1st Opp: Naismith Crowd: 6,883

We are are talking about 2 completely seperate income streams here. The money distributed to Clubs by the SPL is largely generated from broadcast contracts. Like it or not (and I don't) Broadcasters will only get a return on their investment by showing Rangers and Celtic games. As a result, these clubs have been able to successfully argue that since they are responsible for generating the income, they should receive the lion share of it. This is a completley different issue to bums on seats at venues. This is a Club issue, as shown by the ability for the Clubs to charge different prices for admission. If attendance was centrally controlled then tickets would be the same price for each club. As a result it is a folly for anyone to suggest that money should be distributed to Clubs on the basis of rising/falling attendances. It would result in Clubs fiddling attendance figure such as Ross County ALLEGEDLY does for Cup ties. In saying that, it would be nice if Rangers and Celtic saw the ethical argument of helping the league is helping themselves but at the end of the day all Clubs are businesses competing against each other for trophies and revenue

We have a winner - that's gold

HT: 0:0 FT: 0:1 1st scorer us: Tade 1st scorer them: Kirk Crowd: 3830

HT: 0:0 FT: 2:1 1st scorer us: Tade 1st scorer them: O'Connor Crowd: 4426

HT: 0:0 FT: 0:1 1st scorer us: Ross 1st scorer them: Murphy Crowd: 5448