maineflyer 0 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Oh come on, really! I've given a load of analysis and reasoning in this thread and this is what comes in return. Apart from being highly ironic even in isolation, would you care to dip your toe into the actual debate? Surely with a comment like that you now need to produce a well thought out rebuttal from a humble point of view? Come on, use your great wisdom and intelligence to persuade me my thinking is flawed. Surely such a poor one line, put down is an insult to your intellect? Go on, make it balanced, well argued with great logic and reasoning, without being arrogant or holier than thou in a way that gives me an enlightening epiphany... Should I be holding my breath? What I think is that you need to calm down a bit. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Time to exhale, eh? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totti 0 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) How anyone can use us not being far off a dire Celtic side as a positive note is beyond me. Both the old firm are so gash that they basically prop each other up. As I said in a previous post its getting to the point where there's little point complaining anymore but what I will say is anyone who thinks things aren't all that bad should watch Saturdays game again. And that was not a one off. Edited November 30, 2009 by Totti 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 When was the last time you felt that a team outside the OF could win the league ? This season the OF have been so poor that there is a chance it could happen - very unlikely as we all know, but the OF are dropping the points just like all the other teams. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I've been saying for the last couple of years that the Old Firm cannot afford the players that will crush what is basically the cream of Scottish football. Just think about it. Usually in any given year, the SPL outside the OF is mostly made up of the best talent Scottish football can offer outside about the best 15 to 20 or so players. Since 1986, Rangers and then both the OF have been recruiting Scottish players in the top 10 plus foreign players who are much better than the rest of the best of Scottish football. This is basically what the top 4 in England are now doing. Basically we've had teams that contained players that were among the best in the UK. Now we're recruiting a much lower level of player, and while they are still a cut above what you'll find in the SPL but not of a level that is such a huge gap as before. We don't have the Butchers, Laudrups, Gasgoignes, Larssons, Suttons, De Boers, Kanchelkises, Van Bronkhursts etc. Their equivalents all now play in the Premiership. We also don't have those top Scots that were such a cut above the rest like Gough, McCoist, McCall etc. The gap is less as we're now competing with the Championship for players rather than the top or even upper half of the Premiership. Our players may be more expensive but is a 2M Whittaker or Naismith a huge leap in quality from the best of the rest of the SPL? The gap is smaller as a 2M players is not 10 times better than a 200k player or 100 times better than a 20k player. Of course the OF are not racking up over 100 points in a season any more, give them Liverpool's resources and it will probably happen again, or even Tottenham's spending money. But even then there's been plenty of years when the non-OF teams have kept up or even been ahead of an OF team for the first half of the season, only to disappear after Christmas. Even then, it's not that long ago that Hearts were second in the league and does no-one remember George Burley's run with Hearts? A bit of competition before Christmas give absolutely no suggestion that neither of the OF will win the league. In fact does anyone want a very large bet on it? The quality that the OF can afford is being squeezed down the ladder every year. The extra quality however, will show through and I confidently predict an OF 1-2 and then a gap for third. The huge domination of the OF has actually been a short-lived period of time and even Souness finished third as well as non-OF teams pushing us for the title in the late 80's and early 90's before the huge difference in money kicked in. Those who don't get why we're not finding it as easy as we used to, really need to wake up to the financial reality the OF have to face. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 How anyone can use us not being far off a dire Celtic side as a positive note is beyond me. Both the old firm are so gash that they basically prop each other up. As I said in a previous post its getting to the point where there's little point complaining anymore but what I will say is anyone who thinks things aren't all that bad should watch Saturdays game again. And that was not a one off. Have you read anything I've posted at all? I don't really know what point you're making as Saturday was certainly a one off so far this season. It's the only domestic game we have lost. It will happen a few times throughout the season, if you're looking for an unbeaten season, then you're going to be very disappointed. As for not being far off a dire Celtic side, I think I posted something about that... I don't remember saying it was all that positive , in fact I thought it was a result of a very depressing period in Scottish football. However, unless things change dramatically you might have to get used to it, whether you like it or not. We're not getting any richer and the EPL are not getting any poorer and I don't see a resurgence of local talent anywhere on the horizon. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totti 0 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 When was the last time you felt that a team outside the OF could win the league ? This season the OF have been so poor that there is a chance it could happen - very unlikely as we all know, but the OF are dropping the points just like all the other teams. I've been saying for a few seasons that if one of the Edinburgh clubs were as good as they were a few seasons back, they could quite easily make a strong challenge. If the right manager came along it really wouldn't be hard to build a side as good as Rangers or Celtic. We're full of players like McCulloch, Miller etc who are worth nothing. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totti 0 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Have you read anything I've posted at all? I don't really know what point you're making as Saturday was certainly a one off so far this season. It's the only domestic game we have lost. It will happen a few times throughout the season, if you're looking for an unbeaten season, then you're going to be very disappointed. As for not being far off a dire Celtic side, I think I posted something about that... I don't remember saying it was all that positive , in fact I thought it was a result of a very depressing period in Scottish football. However, unless things change dramatically you might have to get used to it, whether you like it or not. We're not getting any richer and the EPL are not getting any poorer and I don't see a resurgence of local talent anywhere on the horizon. The shocking performance wasn't a one off. We consistently play dire football under Smith. Nor is dropping points away from home a new concept either. His away record is abysmal. Banging head against brick wall comes to mind. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza_8 233 Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Is it true we've only scored 4 away goals this season in the league? What an achievement, total success! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,356 Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 On other other hand, Saturday was the first time we had lost an away fixture in all competitions for a year. :fish: :devil: 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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