Scottish Premiership.......does anyone care?

[fatchers]

I don't want their religious bigotry hatred anywhere near our leagues. The Romans had the right idea . Build a wall or they will come. They don't even want to be a part of the UK.

Edited May 16 by fatchers
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[Glen hump]

10 minutes ago, fatchers said:

I don't want their religious bigotry hatred anywhere near our leagues. The Romans had the right idea . Build a wall or they will come. They don't even want to be a part of the UK.

Rangers fans don’t want to be apart of the uk ‘ you sure about that 

[Silvio Dante]

45 minutes ago, Baba Yaga said:

Going off on a tangent here but since you went to Belfast I saw that there was a cup final there a couple of weekends ago which was the highest attended cup final there since the late 1970's, only a crowd of 15k but for them that's as good as it ever gets. I didn't know there was a nationalist team in their leagues but it was a team adopted by them anyway vs the very unionist Linfield (lots of dislike in the crowd and observing the national anthem was rather mixed ). And the underdogs Cliftonville won the cup for the 1st time in 40 something years, was watching some of the matchday vlogs and thought it was interesting seeing football in a region I know very little about.

 

When I was there I wanted to try and take in a game - Glentoran, Crusaders and Linfield all at home but I had a work thing and the only one that was strikeable in time was Windsor Park (Linfield). However the game was only open to members of Linfield - originally was supposed to be behind closed doors - as I understand it, flares being let off and sectarian chanting - so that was a no. There is still some undercurrent.

If you are staying in Belfast though, it’s easily runnable from the centre to all three grounds so I did that on the mornings. It is a bit mental running through the loyalist/unionist areas where all of a sudden tricolores give way to red white and blue kerbstones. Feels safe enough but you can sense the history.

Few pics:

[Glen hump]

14 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

When I was there I wanted to try and take in a game - Glentoran, Crusaders and Linfield all at home but I had a work thing and the only one that was strikeable in time was Windsor Park (Linfield). However the game was only open to members of Linfield - originally was supposed to be behind closed doors - as I understand it, flares being let off and sectarian chanting - so that was a no. There is still some undercurrent.

If you are staying in Belfast though, it’s easily runnable from the centre to all three grounds so I did that on the mornings. It is a bit mental running through the loyalist/unionist areas where all of a sudden tricolores give way to red white and blue kerbstones. Feels safe enough but you can sense the history.

Few pics:

Been on the shankill rd a few times’ certainly a eye opener 

[22A]

14 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Assuming things go as forecast on Sunday, Man City will have won 6 of the last 7 PLs. Prior to this year, Bayern Munich had won something like 11 Bundesliga titles on the trot. In La Liga, other than the odd Atleti, it’s Barca or Real.

In Wales TNS have won all of the last seven seasons; this year about thirty three points clear of second place.

Over in NI for years it was Linfield or Glentoran. Then Crusaders, another Belfast club, broke the mould and won. Then came the big surprise, little Larne won the title in 2022/23 and did so again this season. A gripe of mine is that the Welsh and NI champions have to start playing qualifying matches in July for the Champions League whereas the teams finishing third in larger countries go straight into the lucrative group stage.

Returning to Scottish football, the quality isn't so good, but more interesting to watch the Lowland and Highland Leagues.

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, Glen hump said:

Been on the shankill rd a few times’ certainly a eye opener 

Indeed, the open bus tour is a must, the Falls & Shankill Roads the Titantic & H&W area, Stormont, definitely worth it, Belfast is a great visit but definitely still with an excitable under-current of danger

[TV Tom]

13 hours ago, Robbored said:

I couldn’t give a shit about the SPL - it’s entirely predictable with one of the Glasgow clubs always win it  and it’s very very boring………..

Considering you “you don’t give a shit” about the SL you don’t half post a lot on the subject, whenever someone brings up the SPL you always have plenty to say about it !!!
Personally on the many topics on this forum that “I don’t give a shit about” I stay out of it

[Robbored]

3 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

Celtic and Rangers should play in the English Prem. They have the history and support world wide. It would be excellent for the brand. 
 

Iirc the possibility of the two Glasgow club joining the English league was discussed some years back but it soon became clear that there were several problems.

One was that if both club left the SPL and moved south the SPL would lose an enormous amount of income and lower the already crap quality of Scottish football even further.

Another stumbling block is in what English league would they they enter? Clearly with 92 English and Welsh clubs already which two clubs would make way to accommodate them?

It’ll never happen.

[Robbored]

8 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Considering you “you don’t give a shit” about the SL you don’t half post a lot on the subject, whenever someone brings up the SPL you always have plenty to say about it !!!
Personally on the many topics on this forum that “I don’t give a shit about” I stay out of it

Like everybody else Tom I’m entitled to express my opinion.

As for my view on Scottish football is that it’s crap and that’s opinion that I’ve held for many decades.

[Silvio Dante]

26 minutes ago, 22A said:

In Wales TNS have won all of the last seven seasons; this year about thirty three points clear of second place.

Over in NI for years it was Linfield or Glentoran. Then Crusaders, another Belfast club, broke the mould and won. Then came the big surprise, little Larne won the title in 2022/23 and did so again this season. A gripe of mine is that the Welsh and NI champions have to start playing qualifying matches in July for the Champions League whereas the teams finishing third in larger countries go straight into the lucrative group stage.

Returning to Scottish football, the quality isn't so good, but more interesting to watch the Lowland and Highland Leagues.

Little Larne is probably not totally correct - it is historically but they’re kind of an Irish Man City (or Blackburn under Jack Walker more accurately). It’s not a Leicester City miracle thing, but more a financial thing.

About five years ago they were bought by the founder of Purplebricks who has pumped a lot of money (by NI standards) into the club. The current squad has a lot of English league experience including Cian Bolger (Leicester) Ro-Shaun Williams (Shrewsbury) and Levi Ives, once memorably and bizarrely of this parish.

The Linfield and Glens fans I spoke to in Belfast weren’t particularly complimentary of them!

[Silvio Dante]

37 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Indeed, the open bus tour is a must, the Falls & Shankill Roads the Titantic & H&W area, Stormont, definitely worth it, Belfast is a great visit but definitely still with an excitable under-current of danger

Been over a load of times with work (and to further tangent this thread - it’s the off season - if you haven’t watched “Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland” on iplayer it’s phenomenal) - there is loads to see and it’s a direct flight from Bristol at 7am even doable in a day.

Favourite running route is to go out of the centre and through Sandy Row then head up the “Balls on the Falls” roundabout to go past the hospital and end up on the Falls Road itself, past Sinn Fein HQ and the Bobby Sands Mural before heading back in. As I said earlier, the juxtaposition of the areas is quite something. The UVF murals off Sandy Row are quite stark, and what was notable while I was there last month was that unionist areas were resplendent with Israeli flags but loyalist areas had Palestine flags everywhere. It’s part of the tension and undercurrent as you say - there is a fracture still on a lot of stuff.

[grifty]

3 hours ago, Robbored said:

F1 is pretty much the same. Blokes racing around in elaborate circles and whichever firm has the quickest car and best engineers wins. Drivers are two a penny.

I find F1 about as thrilling as basketball.

At least in the SPL you apparently get some occasional exciting bits………..

You play bowls chief so I'd calm down about calling other sports boring if I were you...

[BigTone]

52 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Indeed, the open bus tour is a must, the Falls & Shankill Roads the Titantic & H&W area, Stormont, definitely worth it, Belfast is a great visit but definitely still with an excitable under-current of danger

As is Derry.  In fact I always felt safer in Belfast.  Have family in Banbridge, Newry & Castlewellan which can also be a tad on edge at times.

[BigTone]

4 minutes ago, grifty said:

You play bowls chief so I'd calm down about calling other sports boring if I were you...

I actually think he has a point

[BigTone]

15 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

there is a fracture still on a lot of stuff.

And there always will be

[Major Isewater]

3 hours ago, Robbored said:

F1 is pretty much the same. Blokes racing around in elaborate circles and whichever firm has the quickest car and best engineers wins. Drivers are two a penny.

I find F1 about as thrilling as basketball.

At least in the SPL you apparently get some occasional exciting bits………..

 

[Welcome To The Jungle]

Dislike threads like this belittling other leagues and clubs. Every football club is relevant and every league is relevant so long as there are fans who care passionately about it. Just because the standard of football is lower, or the league less competitive, shouldn't allow people to take shots. Now of course you don't have to like Scottish football, but to start and unprovoked thread bashing it, with others piling in seems odd to me.

I'd rather spend an afternoon at Rugby Park than The Emirates or Old Trafford. Real football and real fans. And as for Celtic and Rangers, they are and always will be bigger than 99% of English clubs. And far more passionate too.

[TV Tom]

2 hours ago, BigTone said:

As is Derry.  In fact I always felt safer in Belfast.  Have family in Banbridge, Newry & Castlewellan which can also be a tad on edge at times.

I used to travel there a few times around the turn of the century on my way to Donegal, you're right about Derry, the Bogside is something else, i wouldn't suggest wearing anything red white and blue either in South Armagh either, it was known as bandit country for a reason and it was somewhere the British troops dreaded going !!!

[ExiledAjax]

Merge it all. One country one league.

[BigTone]

54 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

I used to travel there a few times around the turn of the century on my way to Donegal, you're right about Derry, the Bogside is something else, i wouldn't suggest wearing anything red white and blue either in South Armagh either, it was known as bandit country for a reason and it was somewhere the British troops dreaded going !!!

Absolutely

[BigTone]

55 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

I used to travel there a few times around the turn of the century on my way to Donegal, you're right about Derry, the Bogside is something else, i wouldn't suggest wearing anything red white and blue either in South Armagh either, it was known as bandit country for a reason and it was somewhere the British troops dreaded going !!!

Wife is Irish and the family own a pub in Shercock, Co Cavan which is near the border to the north.  They seem to delight in regaling me with the stories of the Boyo's (IRA) hiding in their cellar when being hunted by the Black & Tans !!  One day over a pint I will tell you a few stories / experiences best not shared on here.

[transfer reader]

11 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

Merge it all. One country one league.

They can keep their sectarian shit.

No place for the religious bigotry.

[TV Tom]

12 minutes ago, BigTone said:

Wife is Irish and the family own a pub in Shercock, Co Cavan which is near the border to the north.  They seem to delight in regaling me with the stories of the Boyo's (IRA) hiding in their cellar when being hunted by the Black & Tans !!  One day over a pint I will tell you a few stories / experiences best not shared on here.

I can also tell you a story from my family how Oliver Cromwell's troops threw one of my distant relatives into an oven !!! 

[BigTone]

1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

I can also tell you a story from my family how Oliver Cromwell's troops threw one of my distant relatives into an oven !!! 

Sounds like it will be an interesting pint !!!!

[sglosbcfc]

5 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Been over a load of times with work (and to further tangent this thread - it’s the off season - if you haven’t watched “Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland” on iplayer it’s phenomenal) - there is loads to see and it’s a direct flight from Bristol at 7am even doable in a day.

Favourite running route is to go out of the centre and through Sandy Row then head up the “Balls on the Falls” roundabout to go past the hospital and end up on the Falls Road itself, past Sinn Fein HQ and the Bobby Sands Mural before heading back in. As I said earlier, the juxtaposition of the areas is quite something. The UVF murals off Sandy Row are quite stark, and what was notable while I was there last month was that unionist areas were resplendent with Israeli flags but loyalist areas had Palestine flags everywhere. It’s part of the tension and undercurrent as you say - there is a fracture still on a lot of stuff.

You mean Republican/Nationalist areas had Palestine flags and Unionist/Loyalist areas flew Israeli flags

[TV Tom]

32 minutes ago, sglosbcfc said:

You mean Republican/Nationalist areas had Palestine flags and Unionist/Loyalist areas flew Israeli flags

Republicans/Nationalists have been flying the Palestinian flag for many a year and a long time before it became fashionable

[Robbored]

6 hours ago, grifty said:

You play bowls chief so I'd calm down about calling other sports boring if I were you...

People who don’t understand cricket see the wonderful game as boring when those of us that do understand it appreciate the complexity of the game.

The same applies in bowls. I wouldn’t expect anyone that hadn’t played the game at a decent level to understand the complexity of the game or to appreciate what’s actually going on.

Edited May 16 by Robbored

[GrahamC]

9 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Little Larne is probably not totally correct - it is historically but they’re kind of an Irish Man City (or Blackburn under Jack Walker more accurately). It’s not a Leicester City miracle thing, but more a financial thing.

About five years ago they were bought by the founder of Purplebricks who has pumped a lot of money (by NI standards) into the club. The current squad has a lot of English league experience including Cian Bolger (Leicester) Ro-Shaun Williams (Shrewsbury) and Levi Ives, once memorably and bizarrely of this parish.

The Linfield and Glens fans I spoke to in Belfast weren’t particularly complimentary of them!

So are you saying that the Larne owner pushed the boat out in order to sign Levi Ives?

[Silvio Dante]

37 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

So are you saying that the Larne owner pushed the boat out in order to sign Levi Ives?

 

[Glen hump]

11 hours ago, Robbored said:

People who don’t understand cricket see the wonderful game as boring when those of us that do understand it appreciate the complexity of the game.

The same applies in bowls. I wouldn’t expect anyone that hadn’t played the game at a decent level to understand the complexity of the game or to appreciate what’s actually going on.

You can play bowls wearing slippers and smoking a pipe’ how complex can it be.