In the world of football, are we now classed as a small club?

[Gazza_8 233]

I believe we are.

 

Domestically there's no doubting that we're king of the castle but in europe we're no more than a club who plays in a dreadful league with dreadful teams.

 

I don't think last nights aggregate loss to Malmo was embarrassing because at the end of the day we're probably on a par with them but our home performance was dreadful and the players looked like all they had to do was to quote a famous song "step up and play". They had an advantage because they're fitter than us. As Ian said in the Malmo match thread, if we played them again in a month or two then we'd have beaten them. However, we're out of the CL before it even started.

 

European footballers don't particularly want to sign for us because they see us as a backwards step or at best, a sideways step. They know we're not the big club our fans seem to think we are, not in europe anyway. Our best bet of european football is now the Europa League and even then we might not make the actual competition. If we are dumped from that competition then out signings will need to be domestic footballers like Jamie Murphy and european footballers who have been round the circuit a few times and are wanting an easy life before they retire.

 

It's time people realise we're a small club in the grand scheme of things.

[johnnyk 158]

IMO ever since Uefa decided to put more than one team from each league/country in the CL, teams such are ourselves in smaller leagues don't have much of a chance of getting anywhere near the latter stages anymore and the rich are just getting richer which is what they want and the rest they don't give a toss about really.

 

Leagues starting at different times with different summer/winter breaks etc also doesn't help, in the first leg Malmo looked much fitter match wise and have played quite a few games in their league, that was always going to be against us.

 

Clubs in England even in the lower leagues have so much money for wages, apart from a few clubs in the SPL no one can match them and as far as I am aware there are quite a few Scottish players in the Championship and below, and there is a few in the EPL also.

 

We were fighting for a good prospect in Goodwillie but lost out, we couldn't match the wages or even their offer depending on who you believe. Goodwillie IMO will hardly get a game down south which will hamper his progress but it's his choice. The whole game up here needs to be revamped and rethought but we've known that for decades and nothing has been done about it in anyway.

[Guest craigeee]

We're being priced out of being a force, English Championship sides now have more money to spend than us. Football is all about money and sadly we aren't in a good enough league to ever bring in anything close to the sort of cash these sides have.

[laudrup11 0]

I think we are a big Club in a small League and imo it is the League what is holding us back. however I agree on a European stage we are now looked at as minnows.

 

Until something drastic happens like an Atlantic League or something similar happens we will stay as we are looking at the best of domestic market and cheaper alternatives on the continent like Ortiz.

 

I don't think we will ever see the days of a Numan or Van Bronckhorst signing again and by that I mean Quality players with there best years ahead of them.

 

I don't blame the club for position we are in because if I were a foreign player of decent standing I wouldn't want to play in SPL against same teams 3 and 4 times a season.

[Gazza_8 233]

I forgot to add in my OP, summer football is the way forward as it'll stand us in good stead for the CL qualifiers and group stages. By the time the knockout stages come of the CL we'll already be out.

 

It'll improve our chances.

[Gers4Life 0]

That's just how uefa find us though, big club small league! It pisses me right off that small clubs in Europe seem to get the better deal yet we are continually over looked!

[der Berliner 3,246]

I forgot to add in my OP, summer football is the way forward as it'll stand us in good stead for the CL qualifiers and group stages. By the time the knockout stages come of the CL we'll already be out.

 

It'll improve our chances.

 

Summer football? It is quite interesting that in one thread you denounce the Swedes and their ability, ignoring their vastly greater playing experience this season. While in the other you speak about us being better prepared if we would play summer football? The solution is pretty simple: UEFA should pair teams from leagues with summer football for these qualifiers, and teams who have just started pre-season. Even better, UEFA should just drop this Champions' League rubbish, use the co-efficient or even more better, the ranking of each relevant team in Europe, and start a real Europa League with 3 divisions, playing in midweek. As it is now, and it will be for years to come - UEFA uses the big and grand nations and their teams to get money ... and feed crumps tp the rest. And do not assume that the rest solely includes us and some no-hopers. We are in good company of about 70% of Europe's footballing nations.

 

BTW, just in case you forgot, summer football is really fine. We would be prepared to each CL qualifying season ... up until November. Then we'd have a winter break and play bounce games to keep ourselves sharp for any CL or Europa League games (ask Trondheim et al how they do this.). Now imagine we manage it all the way to the final stages in May, when the league season in sunny Scotland would start anew. Playing football all year long, no breaks for the players. THAT will be fun ... for the first year and the fans ...

[Bluedell 5,329]

We are a big club playing in a small, unattractive league without the income streams that clubs playing in bigger leagues have.

 

We are still a big club, just a big club that doesn't have much cash.

[26th of foot 5,833]

I have follow followed the Bears in Europe for over 40 years.

 

I realised a long time ago that we may take a comparitively large travelling support wherever we go; however, that is rarely reciprocated by the local opposition support. In short, Rangers are NOT a BIG draw.

 

There's an interesting aspect to this for the big 3 Italian clubs. AC, Inter, and Juve often play in half empty stadiums in the home legs of CL matches. When any of these three roll into Buckfcuk, Bulgaria, Finland, Lithuania, ... etc; those grounds are groaning at the seams. They are a big draw, as well as Barca, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Bayern.

[der Berliner 3,246]

BTW, a week ago Real Madrid played a pre-season friendly against Hertha Berlin (just promoted to the BL) over here. The Olympiastadion was sold out (nigh 75k), and thousands of Real-jersey-clad Germans invaded the place.

 

That said ... Real or the like has not been hereabouts for decades ... and most likely won't be again for years to come. Thus, there should be no surprise if people stream into the place and want to watch the "glamour" team with all their stars once in their lifetime.