Thread: Scottish Supporters call for change

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...em/8638789.stm

I also want change.

Moving out of Scotland to play elsewhere.

Originally Posted by RK

I also want change.

Moving out of Scotland to play elsewhere.

what? because of a few "honest mistakes"!? you paranoid Tim.

would fuck Subo twice to get into any league other than the SPL.

I pretty much agree with the entire article, I'd love to see those changes implemented.

Originally Posted by metrobhoy2

Move to another League?

Let's get our club fixed and able enough to beat the First Division sides again before more embarrassing requests to move to England or whatever.

At a time like this we don't need any distractions but I'm well up for the 18 team League. It's a step in the right direction imo.

That's exactly what I've been crying out for... 18 team league where you play everyone at home then away - 34 league games a season would be ideal.

We’d only play the Scum twice, which would be shit IMO.

Those are the game I look forward to.

I don’t think an 18 team league is the way forward, it's just papering over the cracks. It didn't work before and I doubt it will work now.

i'd rather play the filth 4 times than partick thistle and dundee twice

Old F**m games are becoming stale affairs these days

The best ones we've had in the last 5 years were the 2 we w2on at the end of the 3IAR year then when the huns beat us 4-2 it was also a good game

Twice a season for 2 or 3 years to try it would be good imo.

Originally Posted by metrobhoy2

I honestly couldn't care less if I missed Celtic v Rankers match now knowing that I'll see the next ones or whatever.

Name me another League where teams play each other up to 6 times a season. I doesn't work.

I would like to play lesser teams giving our younsters a chance. It worked but in the 60s and 70s which also made us and Scotland better teams.

That’s the point though, it doesn’t work, nor does the 18 team league which we abandoned to go with this pishy 12 team set up. Nothing works, it would just be papering over the cracks.

I find some of the games against Hamilton, Falkirk etc really dire. To think we could be seeing even more of those shitty teams makes me feel physically unwell.

Best games in the past 5 years have always been against hibs I think.

When we first started sharing a book I swaped OF games for hibs games as I knew they'd be better

Until of course pantylinen came along for them

if there were 18 teams good enough to play in the SPL there would already be 18. cant see the smaller clubs currently in the SPL being too keen on the Old F**m coming to town once instead of possibly twice. they rely on us and the manky mob.

Originally Posted by metrobhoy2

Falkirk have given us a right run for our money this season. The gap is closing every year.

Ross County gave not only us but the SPL a real showing up. There's nothing in it between them and the likes of St Johnstone never mind the teams below them.

Aye but Tony Mowbray was in charge during those games.

A team of 11 David Murray’s could have given u a run for our money during that retards tenure.

I don’t think it does anything for the game.

If we’re stuck playing an extra 6 first division sides each season, it can only be worse for the SPL’s overall appeal.

1 Inverness CT
2 Dundee
3 Queen of Sth
4 Dunfermline
5 Ross County
6 Partick Thistle

would all compete in the spl imo

plus if they are all of a standard against each other - the new teams coming up - then even if they are not up to the full spl status they own't be left out stranded at the bottom of the table.

Scottish football is "underachieving, under-performing and under-funded" according to a major report into the game by a former First Minister.

Henry McLeish has recommended a £500m investment in facilities for youth and talent development.

And his 74-page document also recommends an introduction of summer football for children and creating a new performance director.

McLeish says "things can't continue as they are".

Scotland are currently ranked 41st in the world and have failed to qualify for the last six major international competitions.

And former East Fife defender McLeish made 53 recommendations for improvement in part one of a three-part report on Scottish football commissioned by the Scottish Football Association in May.

Part one of Henry McLeish's Scottish Football Review focuses on the grassroots of the game.

And he urges the SFA, Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League to work together more closely.

He calls for summer football to be piloted at youth level and for the SFA to appoint a performance director to oversee a new network of academies and the development of youth and elite players.

"I have been greatly encouraged by the strength of feeling and diversity of opinion encountered during the process of producing this report," said McLeish.

"I hope that the recommendations will strike a chord with football fans throughout the country."

McLeish said he consulted a broad range of football interests, including those involved at the grassroots of the game, with questionnaires sent out to all professional clubs and 32 local councils, as well as meetings with government ministers, departments and agencies.

He also visited six SPL and three SFL clubs, the Dutch FA and Sporting Lisbon - and held discussions with SFA, SFL and SPL administrators and supporters.

McLeish described Scotland as "an astonishing football-loving nation" with one of the most fervent and loyal fan bases in the world but suggested that greater effort was required to match the country's ambitions.

His report highlights "serious weaknesses in our current approach which prevent the identification and development of talent and the tapping of this potential to produce world-class footballers and elite athletes."

"There is also evidence to suggest that a great deal of world-class activity is taking place in our recreational and youth development, especially in terms of the excellent approaches to coaching," said McLeish.

"But this is not reflected in either the provision of facilities and football infrastructure, the structure and governance of the game surrounding it, or any real sense of what a talent recognition and development model really needs.

"There has been considerable progress in grassroots, recreational and youth development over the last few years.

"Despite these significant achievements, it is clear that our national efforts still fall short of what is happening in other successful countries and against our own understandable ambitions.

"We are not tapping the potential and, as a consequence, there is a talent gap between the youth development at grassroots level and the performance and quality of players coming through to national and club level.

"In modern Scotland, the present provision is shocking relative to our ambitions for our national game and to the provision in other countries.

"In addition to the serious lack of overall provision and state-of-the-art facilities throughout Scotland, we have problems of availability, cost of use, poor quality, the chronic lack of access to school facilities outwith school hours and holidays and a crisis in relation to the lack of indoor facilities.

"Some progress has been made with new facilities in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Ravenscraig, but this is not enough."

McLeish calls for SFA, SPL and SFL administrators to embrace change and a closer relationship with government.

The former MSP says that, at present, there seemed "little sense of urgency" in the systems for spotting talent and that much of present government support was designed to encourage social activity rather than helping mainstream football.

When it came to football in schools and communities, "comparisons with other countries leave us with a mountain to climb".

The report was published only days after the surprise resignation of Gordon Smith as chief executive of the SFA citing family problems as one of his reasons.

President George Peat has assumed Smith's responsibilities until a replacement is found and he welcomed McLeish's report.

"I would like to thank Henry McLeish for dedicating his time to publishing part one of his Review of Scottish Football," said Peat.

"The Scottish FA realises the importance of improving the overall football landscape in this country.

"With Henry's guidance, we will help drive the implementation of key recommendations outlined to enhance the standard of our national game."

The second and third parts of McLeish's review, which include his look at the professional game, will be published at a later date.

agree with change all the way through scottish football! iv said on umpteem times that we need to change the set up? and now by the sounds of things the radical shake up of the scottish game is now looming! about fucking time.

How the fuck did mcLeish end up doing this report anyway?