The Real SPL Website

[+MrCaleyjag]

I personally don't care too much for this site and that doesn't mean I am wrong, it's merely my opinion like everyone elses but there are clearly other agendas with the site other than just being a 'fantasy league' to see what it would be like without the OF. Look at the thread above and how much the OP changes his mind on what the site is about, why was this? I reckon because he was questioned about it and couldn't back it up so had to change it. Why have it in the first place if you don't want a league without the OF.

Rather than try and see where other teams would be in the league without the OF why not start questioning your own teams abilities and ambitions and ask them why they are in the position they are and not fantasize what life would be like outwith the OF. This to me is merely masking the problems that our game has and our clubs have. Like it or not they are not all down to the OF, the demise of Aberdeen is not the OFs fault, the inability of other teams to challenge is not down to the OF, the shoddy way the SFA is run is not the OFs problem, the lack of youth investment is not down to the OF, the list is endless.

I personally would rather come on here and talk all things ICT that actually will make a difference or are worth talking about.

This idea started a week ago and was added to with many people's contributions from there! have a look at the original thread if you do not believe me.

http://boards.footym...&mid=2117748807

As with most ideas - it evolved! There is no agenda.... this would presume that we were organised.... . What you can see is an idea being discussed in an open forum, many people putting views towards it and it evolving in both the threads and on the site.. As the people who are running a "community" forum I would have thought that you would have backed that.... instead of using it as evidence of some sort of secret agenda!

As for spam? Usually, you get spam from a commercial site that is trying to make money! (can you tell us what your "commercial rates" are?)

If the site increases interest in the games and gets more people going to them and more revenue into the clubs - surely this is a good thing?

If there are issues that need to be addressed... and most fans in Scotland believe there are, why not instead of criticizing something that is trying to increase interest in the game... go and do something about it?

At what point do you believe this will increase interest in the game, certainly an interest to the level that is needed to help out our game when presumably you are generating interest in your site from coming onto forums like this that have members who are already interested in the game. I don't doubt you have probably used other avenues to promote the site but by using fans sites like this you are not increasing the popularity of Scottish Football, we already know about it hence why we are on here.

In our own way we are all doing something to help the good of Scottish Football, by going to games we are helping our own clubs grow, by giving them money in order to progress and therefore hopefully increasing the level of our game.

I can't see how your site will make anyone that is in authority pay any attention to what fans think, they don't already and have clearly shown that the fans opinion is very low down in their priorities.

[westcoastdon]

At what point do you believe this will increase interest in the game, certainly an interest to the level that is needed to help out our game when presumably you are generating interest in your site from coming onto forums like this that have members who are already interested in the game. I don't doubt you have probably used other avenues to promote the site but by using fans sites like this you are not increasing the popularity of Scottish Football, we already know about it hence why we are on here.

In our own way we are all doing something to help the good of Scottish Football, by going to games we are helping our own clubs grow, by giving them money in order to progress and therefore hopefully increasing the level of our game.

I can't see how your site will make anyone that is in authority pay any attention to what fans think, they don't already and have clearly shown that the fans opinion is very low down in their priorities.

Thanks for your input. You have asked a few questions and made a number of statements which I would like to address.

Q: At what point do you believe this will increase interest in the game, certainly an interest to the level that is needed to help out our game when presumably you are generating interest in your site from coming onto forums like this that have members who are already interested in the game.

A: We are a week old. The reason for coming onto sites like this one is because we have to start somewhere. The forums have a number of fans who are knowledgeable about what is happening in Scottish Football at the moment. We will use a number of techniques to connect with fans and engage with other sections of society but I doubt that trying to initially engage with a book reading club would have much success. We have achieved one thing by coming on this site and that is if we had not then you would not have known about or have been discussing The Real SPL (either positively or negatively).

Q: I don't doubt you have probably used other avenues to promote the site but by using fans sites like this you are not increasing the popularity of Scottish Football, we already know about it hence why we are on here.

A: We will be seeking to use every means available in the coming months. People on forums are interested in increasing the popularity of Scottish Football and we wholeheartedly agree. Discussing things on a forum is fine but we fans have not to date had effective method of pulling this into one single platform. As I said above, we are a week old.... we need a groundswell within fan bases across the country. You may discuss things in your own forum but to date we have seen little evidence that this has changed anything on a national basis.

Statement: In our own way we are all doing something to help the good of Scottish Football, by going to games we are helping our own clubs grow, by giving them money in order to progress and therefore hopefully increasing the level of our game.

Response: Absolutely agree. But as Walter Smith said in an interview with the Sun, Wake up, our game is dying, "All this stuff is going on around the game - and NOBODY is facing the fact that crowds are dropping.". People are turning their back on the game we all love. We need to address this and grow the game once more in Scotland.

Statement: I can't see how your site will make anyone that is in authority pay any attention to what fans think, they don't already and have clearly shown that the fans opinion is very low down in their priorities.

Response: Perhaps if fans spoke with a single voice and we demonstrated our views as a collective then they would take the views of the fans more seriously. If you think that no matter what we do that our opinions will be ignored then we must disagree with you on this point. We just have not been effective in putting a case forward in the past.

It is the easiest thing to criticize, as we have seen more so on this forum thread than some others. This is a shame and if everyone was of the same opinion then we would have stopped the site and gone and cut the grass or just got back complaining on our own fans forums....

However, this is truly not the case. We have received so much support that we will carry on. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the many ICT fans who have connected to The Real SPL on Facebook and those who have sent their private wishes of good luck and offers of assistance. These are all appreciated. With thousands of unique users in the first week and over 600 Facebook connections already in the first week (incidentally almost double the "Likes" of this site), I would respectfully point out that many fans disagree with your views and want a platform to voice their thoughts and concerns with the game. Who knows, we may actually achieve something.

Better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all.

Edited May 1, 2011 by westcoastdon

[ilpadrino]

...>8

However, this is truly not the case. We have received so much support that we will carry on. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the many ICT fans who have connected to The Real SPL on Facebook and those who have sent their private wishes of good luck and offers of assistance. These are all appreciated. With thousands of unique users in the first week and over 600 Facebook connections already in the first week (incidentally almost double the "Likes" of this site), I would respectfully point out that many fans disagree with your views and want a platform to voice their thoughts and concerns with the game. Who knows, we may actually achieve something.

...>8

The "Raoul Moat You Legend" group had thousands of members inside a week. I wouldn't base the rest of my life on that.

By the way, as the site says...

If you agree with us please spread the word, link to us on your own fan's forums, send emails to your friends, text about us, twitter about us, post about us on Social Networking sites, tell people about the site and get the word out to as many fans as possible.

...shouldn't you reset the counters when you change what they may or may not agree with?

[westcoastdon]

I am sure that people will "unlike" us if they disagree with us.

[westcoastdon]

new blog released on the site today:

http://www.therealspl.com/blog.html

[Kirishima]

They seem to have missed a trick here. Many people are looking for a solid, reutable, professional organisation that can unite scottish fans and essentially scare the ivory tower bureaucrats into the realisation that if they chase the money at the expense of the good of the game, they will lose. Boycotts will happen, if a 10 team league goes ahead.

Unfortunately, a boycott needs to be agreed on now so that any club that announces they have accepted a 10 team league do so in the knowledge that it will be playing infront of almost no fans, and having sold a lot less season tickets.

So many petitions and crappy websites are embarassing; typos, amateur designs, etc. All it takes is some people with brains to get everyone on board and present it to the fanbase at large in a professional way.

The RealSPL...yes, it may have double the "likes" of Caleythistleonline, it should be 9 times more not just double, shouldn't it? Have you been in touch with the supporters trust? The moderators? You can just throw up a website, keep changing the "plan" and expect people to follow blithely on, you're not JC, you know.

[PullMyFinger]

blah blah

I don't want to be a part of a forum the founder can't even multiquote.

I'm out.