Common "beliefs" that annoy you

Jelle1880

feelingstressed wrote: »

Everton are the Irish Catholic team of Liverpool historically
Kop (as in a stand) means King over Pope

GTFO and go learn some history

Who has ever claimed that's a 'common belief' ?

mikemac

Common belief among my friends and I've heard it quite a few times

That's all I can go on, see the thread title

Iang87

3 things really

1) this odd thing that darren bent is overrated and overpriced, seriously the guy has somethin like 90 league goals in 200 games and hasn't exactly been in teams of superstars to gift him goals.

2) That ryan giggs has been playing "at the top level" for 20 years. This annoys me cos the implication is that he has been playing at a top level for 20 years which just isn't true.

3) Gary neville and any gary neville related anything

3hn2givr7mx1sc

feelingstressed wrote: »

Everton are the Irish Catholic team of Liverpool historically

Didn't Everton welcome the Irish immigrants or something along those lines?
Nearly sure I read something like that before.

Paully D

Helix wrote: »

that darren bent was overpriced

he wasnt. his strike rate shows that. just under 1 in every 4 shots he takes is a goal, while only wayne rooney has scored more premiership goals since august 2005 (by 1)

Correct. He guarantees 20 goals a season and is well worth what you paid for him.

Bare in mind that he was a bit part player for two seasons at Tottenham and he'd be well ahead in those scoring charts.

darragh16

baz2009 wrote: »

Didn't Everton welcome the Irish immigrants or something along those lines?
Nearly sure I read something like that before.

The truth is they were are both formed from methodist (i.e. Protestant) backgrounds. Everton were always seen as the Catholic club though. They had a board member who was a catholic doctor in the area, that drew a lot of the Irish Catholics in the area

They're always seen as the catholic side, wheras Liverpool the protestant side. But that divide went out the window long ago, although there are (as always) very minor breaks.

Keano

A team is too good to go down. Does my nut in. They are in the bottom 3 for a reason

Drumpot

That United get all the ref decisions . .

Even in todays game, United were denied a clear penalty, Blackpools first goal was from a free kick that was very soft and their 2nd goal was offside . . Just aswell it didnt matter . . .

Hulk Hands

That Henrik Larsson was great for Man United in the few months he was there.

He wasn't. He scored 2 goals in 8 or so games and was only in the team due to a bad personnel situation up front for United at the time. He was okay, but I remember being slightly disappointed by his output. He certainly wasn't terrific.

Another is that the FA favors United. After Rooney's bans, especially the one where he barely pushed Ben-Haeim and got 3 games for it, Evra's bans, Ferdinand's 8 months when even the harshest critics thought 3 would be fair,
and the worst of all - Paul Scholes getting a 3 game ban for getting sent off in pre season in a foreign country, should put the myth to bed.

everdead.ie

That Harry Redknapp caused Bournemouths and West Hams financial difficulties.

Bournemouth were in serious trouble financially when Redknapp arrived and he got them a some nice transfer monies which helped to stable there ship while he was there. And while he was at West Ham they were always very tight on cash but it was that Icelandic owner spunking huge money on the likes of Kieron Dyer and inflating there wage bill to over 10m more than spurs on significantly less revenues that caused their current plight!

Chnandler Bong

Mind games!

This year when Pep Guardiola suggested that he has plenty of Jack Wilshere's in the Barca reserves, "experts" suggested he was trying to unsettle Wilshere!

Give me a break FFS!

Also the whole "he needs a rest" really annoys me!

seafood dunleavy

The belief that a shot hitting the woodwork is on target.Have heard some commentators go along with this.The target is between the posts!

CharlesHaughey

I'm not sure if it would be classified as "common" but people holding the view Casillas is less than a keeper than Buffon, or that Buffon is superman.

It may be the price tag that plays on peoples mind, or it may be all those Buffon "Superman suits" that where put up in Juve crowds, but Casillas is better IMO. Euro 2008 medal and World Cup 2010 medal speaks for itself. Casillas winning the European Cup final in 1999 (the youngest ever keeper in a final, need I say a winner) and almost single handedly (no pun intended) keeping Bayer Leverkusen out in the final 2 years later. Yes, he was a bit off form that season, but he was learning.

I hope the score is settled now.

_blank_

CharlesHaughey wrote: »

I'm not sure if it would be classified as "common" but people holding the view Casillas is less than a keeper than Buffon, or that Buffon is superman.

It may be the price tag that plays on peoples mind, or it may be all those Buffon "Superman suits" that where put up in Juve crowds, but Casillas is better IMO. Euro 2008 medal and World Cup 2010 medal speaks for itself. Casillas winning the European Cup final in 1999 (the youngest ever keeper in a final, need I say a winner) and almost single handedly (no pun intended) keeping Bayer Leverkusen out in the final 2 years later. Yes, he was a bit off form that season, but he was learning.

I hope the score is settled now.

you from Cork, man?

jmayo

CharlesHaughey wrote: »

I'm not sure if it would be classified as "common" but people holding the view Casillas is less than a keeper than Buffon, or that Buffon is superman.

It may be the price tag that plays on peoples mind, or it may be all those Buffon "Superman suits" that where put up in Juve crowds, but Casillas is better IMO. Euro 2008 medal and World Cup 2010 medal speaks for itself. Casillas winning the European Cup final in 1999 (the youngest ever keeper in a final, need I say a winner) and almost single handedly (no pun intended) keeping Bayer Leverkusen out in the final 2 years later. Yes, he was a bit off form that season, but he was learning.

Didn't know he played for united.

I wouldn't be counting international teams honours as only true measure here.
As said by other poster, you do know that very many great players never won international honours.
Best, Cruyff, Maldini for instance.

And some very mediocre players have actually won international honours.
The Greek team of 2004 being very good example.

gustavo

premierstone wrote: »

These two statements go top of the list imo comedy gold, good lad!

Truth must really hurt for you

premierstone

gustavo wrote: »

Truth must really hurt for you

Yes of course you're correct I have been deluding myself for years, the SPL and LOI are indeed on a par, sh*t someone better get on to UEFA their co-efficents are obviously all wrong aswell :rolleyes:

*waits for some LOI fan to post link to Derry V Gretna, makes me laugh everytime.

keano_afc

Drumpot wrote: »

That United get all the ref decisions . .

Even in todays game, United were denied a clear penalty, Blackpools first goal was from a free kick that was very soft and their 2nd goal was offside . . Just aswell it didnt matter . . .

But I hope you're not saying all teams get the same treatment/decisions from referees? Utd and Chelsea in particular get the rub of the green a lot more than other teams.

premierstone

keano_afc wrote: »

But I hope you're not saying all teams get the same treatment/decisions from referees? Utd and Chelsea in particular get the rub of the green a lot more than other teams.

Champions league semi v Barcelona?? And considering their owners obsession with the competition it was one of the most important games they ever played and they were robbed no two ways about it.

keano_afc

premierstone wrote: »

Champions league semi v Barcelona?? And considering their owners obsession with the competition it was one of the most important games they ever played and they were robbed no two ways about it.

I was speaking domestically.

J. Marston

"Vidic fears Torres/Torres has Vidic's number."

Absolute. Horse. Shít.

premierstone

keano_afc wrote: »

I was speaking domestically.

I dont see the relevance of where you are

v3ttel

"In Istanbul, we won it five times" as the song says...

No, you've won it once in Istanbul and 4 times in other locations!

Paparazzo

I hate the way people think scholes "mistimes" his tackles. No, he's just a dirty player.

Liam O

that people peddle out facts like 'Referees give United preferential treatment because 90% of penalties at Old Trafford go to United' when United are in the oppositions half about 90% of the time.

The_Kew_Tour

Liam O wrote: »

that people peddle out facts like 'Referees give United preferential treatment because 90% of penalties at Old Trafford go to United' when United are in the oppositions half about 90% of the time.

Yes, if you spend more time in opposition box then they do your going to get more decisions.

losthorizon

premierstone wrote: »

Yes of course you're correct I have been deluding myself for years, the SPL and LOI are indeed on a par, sh*t someone better get on to UEFA their co-efficents are obviously all wrong aswell :rolleyes:

*waits for some LOI fan to post link to Derry V Gretna, makes me laugh everytime.

Actually if you exclude Rangers and include Celtic The LOI and SPL co-efficeents are about the same (thats with Celtic). If you exclude Celtic & Rangers The LOI co-efficeients are higher. Scotland is only showing up higher becaus of Rangers run of a few years ago. If within a few years a scottish clubs doesnt do someting in Europe the LOI will actually pass out Scotland totally. I want going to post up Derry v Gretna I was going to post up a ten man Bohs knocking Aberdeen out after having won the away leg.

bamboozling

Rooney10 wrote: »

"In Istanbul, we won it five times" as the song says...

No, you've won it once in Istanbul and 4 times in other locations!

Do you not understand punctuation?

Dempsey

losthorizon wrote: »

Actually if you exclude Rangers and include Celtic The LOI and SPL co-efficeents are about the same (thats with Celtic). If you exclude Celtic & Rangers The LOI co-efficeients are higher. Scotland is only showing up higher becaus of Rangers run of a few years ago. If within a few years a scottish clubs doesnt do someting in Europe the LOI will actually pass out Scotland totally. I want going to post up Derry v Gretna I was going to post up a ten man Bohs knocking Aberdeen out after having won the away leg.

Gretna were a Division 1 side at the time that match with Derry was played.

Scotland has one of the highest attendances per capita in Europe. Do you really think that LOI could surpass the SPL given the 10x attendance figure in the SPL?

losthorizon

Dempsey wrote: »

Gretna were a Division 1 side at the time that match with Derry was played.

Scotland has one of the highest attendances per capita in Europe. Do you really think that LOI could surpass the SPL given the 10x attendance figure in the SPL?

The poster made a point about co-efficients about which he is ill-informed. Denmark ranks higer than scotland for instance. I pointed out that once Rangers run to the final of the UEfa Cup is discounted from the seedings which is the year after next Scotland will take a massive fall in the table. Irish clubs on the other hand have steadily risen up the co-efficient league over the years and next season every Irish team will be seeded - a first.

I didnt mention Grenta the other Poster did. I mentioned Aberdeen. BTW we cant meet scottish clubs in the first few rounds anymore as UEFA regards us as equals.

Dempsey

losthorizon wrote: »

The poster made a point about co-efficients about which he is ill-informed. Denmark ranks higer than scotland for instance. I pointed out that once Rangers run to the final of the UEfa Cup is discounted from the seedings which is the year after next Scotland will take a massive fall in the table. Irish clubs on the other hand have steadily risen up the co-efficient league over the years and next season every Irish team will be seeded - a first.

I didnt mention Grenta the other Poster did. I mentioned Aberdeen. BTW we cant meet scottish clubs in the first few rounds anymore as UEFA regards us as equals.

Sounds like you dont have a clue how seeding works in European Competitions

K-9

Scotland are due to lose the 2 CL places though?

Dempsey

K-9 wrote: »

Scotland are due to lose the 2 CL places though?

This season coming, Rangers go into UCL qualifiers, Celtic go into Europa League qualifiers.

K-9

Dempsey wrote: »

This season coming, Rangers go into UCL qualifiers, Celtic go into Europa League qualifiers.

That's going to have repercussions, especially with both hardly being in the best of financial health as it is.

Dempsey

K-9 wrote: »

That's going to have repercussions, especially with both hardly being in the best of financial health as it is.

Both clubs are actually fine at this moment in time. Rangers have completed a takeover that clears their debts and Celtic are in grand financial health, the only issue in the last 10 years was the high wage bill and debt incurred by the MON era and Strachan cleaned that up within 3 seasons.

I'd expect both clubs to make it through their respective qualifiers given that the SPL season starts on the 23rd July and both clubs will have virtually completed their preseason regimes compared to other seasons when they were doing qualifiers after 1-2 preseason matches.

The main problem for the SPL in recent years has been collapsed TV deals. 2 in 10 years has had severe knock on effects to clubs, especially outside of Celtic & Rangers.

premierstone

losthorizon wrote: »

Actually if you exclude Rangers and include Celtic The LOI and SPL co-efficeents are about the same (thats with Celtic). If you exclude Celtic & Rangers The LOI co-efficeients are higher. Scotland is only showing up higher becaus of Rangers run of a few years ago. If within a few years a scottish clubs doesnt do someting in Europe the LOI will actually pass out Scotland totally. I want going to post up Derry v Gretna I was going to post up a ten man Bohs knocking Aberdeen out after having won the away leg.

Why would you exclude Celtic and Rangers, are they no longer in the SPL or is it because it suits your manufactured arguement. Why not exclude what ever two LOI teams have amassed the most points in Europe, hurry though if your doing this, the way things are going the clubs in question might not exist by the time you do the calculations

OhNoYouDidn't

Lads, its very simple. Scottish football across the board is regressing at an alarming rate. By and large Irish football is moving forward. The point has been made. Even with Celtic in the rankings, the LoI is higher placed.

The LoI PD is very much on a par with the SPL now. That is the reality of the situation. Would Rovers beat Rangers? Probably not. Would they beat Hibs, Killie, St Johnstone? With ease. Top LoI sides would be competing in the top half of the SPL, don't kid yourselves otherwise

SlickRic

that Fergie plays 'mind games', and that he is the master of them, because of one comment about hoping Leeds, or whoever it was, would 'try' against Newcastle all those years ago.

no, he doesn't.

talking shít and annoying other people is not a mind game.

it's a talent in itself, and if it works then fine, but it's not a 'mind game'.

he's just belligerent, and it annoys some people.

he didn't set out to make Keegan crack that day; Keegan just cracked because he has the mental strength of doormat.

he's just a great manager and motivator; when people start calling him this master of mind games shíte, it just goes beyond farcical.

OhNoYouDidn't

Dempsey wrote: »

Gretna were a Division 1 side at the time that match with Derry was played.

Scotland has one of the highest attendances per capita in Europe. Do you really think that LOI could surpass the SPL given the 10x attendance figure in the SPL?

Irrelevant. The problem with Scottish football is the SFA. At every level the FAI are streets ahead of them.

Do you think Rovers or Derry would be afraid of any non Glasgow team in Europe?

Twice out of two ties in the last 10 years Irish sides have beaten, with ease, Scottish teams.

Paparazzo

SlickRic wrote: »

that Fergie plays 'mind games', and that he is the master of them, because of one comment about hoping Leeds, or whoever it was, would 'try' against Newcastle all those years ago.

no, he doesn't.

talking shít and annoying other people is not a mind game.

it's a talent in itself, and if it works then fine, but it's not a 'mind game'.

he's just belligerent, and it annoys some people.

he didn't set out to make Keegan crack that day; Keegan just cracked because he has the mental strength of doormat.

he's just a great manager and motivator; when people start calling him this master of mind games shíte, it just goes beyond farcical.

Good one, aways thought that too. Fergies "mind games" are like like something a 5 year old would come up with.

jmayo

Paparazzo wrote: »

Good one, aways thought that too. Fergies "mind games" are like like something a 5 year old would come up with.

Always thought his so called mindgames are actually usually just his belligerent nature coming through, his long standing inability to forget grudges and his knowledge that he can get away with sh** that other lesser managers dare not try.

BTW how can one rank a league by removing it's two most successful teams ?
Is removing Celtic and Rangers from Scottish league for ranking purposes not akin to ranking La Liga without Barca and Real ?

OhNoYouDidn't

jmayo wrote: »

BTW how can one rank a league by removing it's two most successful teams ?
Is removing Celtic and Rangers from Scottish league for ranking purposes not akin to ranking La Liga without Barca and Real ?

Thats not what people are trying to do. No-one is claiming that Irish sides are at the level of the Glasgow two. They are saying that they are at the standard of the rest of the SPL. Irish clubs have performed FAR better in Europe than these sides, which is realistically the only benchmark out there.

Dempsey

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Lads, its very simple. Scottish football across the board is regressing at an alarming rate. By and large Irish football is moving forward. The point has been made. Even with Celtic in the rankings, the LoI is higher placed.

The LoI PD is very much on a par with the SPL now. That is the reality of the situation. Would Rovers beat Rangers? Probably not. Would they beat Hibs, Killie, St Johnstone? With ease. Top LoI sides would be competing in the top half of the SPL, don't kid yourselves otherwise

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Irrelevant. The problem with Scottish football is the SFA. At every level the FAI are streets ahead of them.

Do you think Rovers or Derry would be afraid of any non Glasgow team in Europe?

Twice out of two ties in the last 10 years Irish sides have beaten, with ease, Scottish teams.

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Thats not what people are trying to do. No-one is claiming that Irish sides are at the level of the Glasgow two. They are saying that they are at the standard of the rest of the SPL. Irish clubs have performed FAR better in Europe than these sides, which is realistically the only benchmark out there.

Maybe in one off games, over the course of a season is completely different. The SPL would be a significant step up for any club in the LOI. There is a huge gulf in finances and attendances at both leagues, the SPL isn't showing this gulf for a variety of reasons but with the implementation of the McLeish report, this should change quickly.

The LOI is using summer football to boost their UEFA coefficients, the SPL has finally moved back its start date so clubs will have completed most if not all of their pre season for the qualifiers instead of the qualifiers being almost the start date for preseason.

Even as it is, any decent LOI player could be snapped up by a SPL club with considerable ease and offered more money. Currently, even with all the problems in the SPL, St. Mirren (11th) built a new £8m, 8,000 seater stadium, Aberdeen (9th) are in the advanced stages of building a £40m, 21,000 stadium, Hearts (3rd) are mulling over a £20m redevelopment or a £30m, 30,000, new stadium.

Scottish Football is at its lowest ebb in history because of the 2nd collapsed TV deal at the beginning of a global recession and continual failures over the last 20 years to change structures that were crippling the game at grassroots level & senior level. This is all currently in the process of being corrected.

The last 3 years has seen clubs stripping first team squads and removing reserve squads to reduce cost. That process is now complete and finances at nearly all clubs has stabilised. Over the next 5 years, all things considered expect the SPL to move forward at a significantly higher pace than the LOI

Also, you do know what I think of the SFA

jmayo

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Thats not what people are trying to do. No-one is claiming that Irish sides are at the level of the Glasgow two. They are saying that they are at the standard of the rest of the SPL. Irish clubs have performed FAR better in Europe than these sides, which is realistically the only benchmark out there.

Yeah that is true, but you can't just remove certain teams and then claim your league is as good.
If you change the goalposts enough then you can find LOI or any other league is the as good as the best.

I mentioned La Liga but probably a better comparison would be Dutch league without Ajax and PSV.

EDIT:
Dempsey has some very good points about the overall wealth and attendance differences between the two leagues.
I suppose part of that is down to soccer being primary sport in Scotland whereas here it has to compete with GAA.

I think this whole thing highlights a more worrying thing for the Scots.
When I was growing up in the 70s/80s Scottish sport was way more healthy and they had world class sports stars.
They provided a spine to a great Liverpool team. Look at names like Nicol, Hansen, Daglish, Archibald and the great Gary Mackay.
They got to WCs, they had a decent enough rugby team, they had world class competitors in other sports such as motorsport and golf.
Now about their only true world class sportstar is Murray. (no luaghing now please).

OhNoYouDidn't

Dempsey wrote: »

Maybe in one off games, over the course of a season is completely different. The SPL would be a significant step up for any club in the LOI. There is a huge gulf in finances and attendances at both leagues, the SPL isn't showing this gulf for a variety of reasons but with the implementation of the McLeish report, this should change quickly.

The LOI is using summer football to boost their UEFA coefficients, the SPL has finally moved back its start date so clubs will have completed most if not all of their pre season for the qualifiers instead of the qualifiers being almost the start date for preseason.

Even as it is, any decent LOI player could be snapped up by a SPL club with considerable ease and offered more money. Currently, even with all the problems in the SPL, St. Mirren (11th) built a new £8m, 8,000 seater stadium Aberdeen (9th) are in the advanced stages of building a £40m, 21,000 stadium, Hearts (3rd) are mulling over a £20m redevelopment or a £30m, 30,000, new stadium.

Scottish Football is at its lowest ebb in history because of the 2nd collapsed TV deal at the beginning of a global recession and continual failures over the last 20 years to change structures that were crippling the game at grassroots level & senior level. This is all currently in the process of being corrected.

The last 3 years has seen clubs stripping first team squads and removing reserve squads to reduce cost. That process is now complete and finances at nearly all clubs has stabilised. Over the next 5 years, all things considered expect the SPL to move forward at a significantly higher pace than the LOI

Regardless of whether you think in the future the SPL will improve, we aren't actually crystal ball gazing here. And as an aside, what structures are the SFA improving?

I have both a Celtic and Rovers season ticket, and I am telling you, the standard of the LoI and the rest of the SPL is similar.

I don't disagree that stadia are generally, but not always, better, and that most SPL clubs can offer more money than most LoI clubs, but thats not really whats being discussed. The simple question is would Rovers, Pats, Sligo, Derry, Dundalk etc be able to compete in a league with Hamilton, St Mirren, ICT, Hibs, Aberdeen etc. The answer is a glaring yes.

OhNoYouDidn't

jmayo wrote: »

Yeah that is true, but you can't just remove certain teams and then claim your league is as good.
If you change the goalposts enough then you can find LOI or any other league is the as good as the best.

I mentioned La Liga but probably a better comparison would be Dutch league without Ajax and PSV.

Hold on. The question is would LoI clubs survive in the SPL.

If you remove Rangers from the equation, the LoI is on the same coifficent level as the SPL. Remove Celtic and Rangers, the LoI is actually a great deal higher. Simple reality is over the last 5 years INCLUDING Celtic, the LoI have had better European results. The only difference for the coifficent is Rangers Manchester final run.

No-one is removing the Glasgow two from the equation per say, but the above is a compelling argument that the standard of the LoI is similar to the standard of the SPL, with the obvious caveat that no Irish side would win it.

Do you disagree with the statement that the top LoI sides like Rovers, Derry, Sligo and Dundalk would be competing for the top half places in the SPL?

Pepe LeFrits

SlickRic wrote: »

that Fergie plays 'mind games', and that he is the master of them, because of one comment about hoping Leeds, or whoever it was, would 'try' against Newcastle all those years ago.

no, he doesn't.

talking shít and annoying other people is not a mind game.

it's a talent in itself, and if it works then fine, but it's not a 'mind game'.

he's just belligerent, and it annoys some people.

he didn't set out to make Keegan crack that day; Keegan just cracked because he has the mental strength of doormat.

he's just a great manager and motivator; when people start calling him this master of mind games shíte, it just goes beyond farcical.

Fergie has obviously just gotten inside your head. Another one over on Liverpool. Fergie wins the mind-games again!

Dempsey

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

Regardless of whether you think in the future the SPL will improve, we aren't actually crystal ball gazing here. And as an aside, what structures are the SFA improving?

I have both a Celtic and Rovers season ticket, and I am telling you, the standard of the LoI and the rest of the SPL is similar.

I don't disagree that stadia are generally, but not always, better, and that most SPL clubs can offer more money than most LoI clubs, but thats not really whats being discussed. The simple question is would Rovers, Pats, Sligo, Derry, Dundalk etc be able to compete in a league with Hamilton, St Mirren, ICT, Hibs, Aberdeen etc. The answer is a glaring yes.

Not being smart but have you not being following the McLeish Report and who is implementing what from his recommendations? Or are you suggesting that the SFA will do Sweet Fúck All? If I was to put on my cynical cap, I could say the same but I tear shreds out of the FAI/LOI too using the same yardstick.

All the SPL clubs you mentioned in the last few posts all missed the split bar Rangers & Kilmarnock. The main reasons that Killie did finish in the top 6 was because of Alexei Eremenko and he's gone from them now.

Yes I'd think that the top LOI sides could compete in the bottom 6 of the SPL, but the top 6 of the SPL would be a much tougher prospect. Celtic Park, Ibrox, Tannadice, Tynecastle, Fir Park* are all tough places to go to and get anything, even for Celtic in form.

In a league season, most of clubs you mentioned would go the way of Blackpool in the EPL imo, start brightly because every match would be like a cup final but then they would fade and fade badly during and after christmas because squad depth and fitness levels would show.

Also remember that you are comparing Winter football to Summer football, i.e. marked difference in pitch quality. I do believe SPL sides could play more attractive football if their clubs properly maintained pitches. You are comparing SPL sides on poor pitches to LOI that play on decent pitches/artificial surfaces. Even Celtic were poor on poor surfaces this season and we both know how they can play on decent pitches.

* Because its an unbelievably **** surface for 90% of the season

OhNoYouDidn't

Dempsey wrote: »

Not being smart but have you not being following the McLeish Report and who is implementing what from his recommendations? Or are you suggesting that the SFA will do Sweet Fúck All? If I was to put on my cynical cap, I could say the same but I tear shreds out of the FAI/LOI too using the same yardstick.

All the SPL clubs you mentioned in the last few posts all missed the split bar Rangers & Kilmarnock. The main reasons that Killie did finish in the top 6 was because of Alexei Eremenko and he's gone from them now.

Yes I'd think that the top LOI sides could compete in the bottom 6 of the SPL, but the top 6 of the SPL would be a much tougher prospect. Celtic Park, Ibrox, Tannadice, Tynecastle, Fir Park* are all tough places to go to and get anything, even for Celtic in form.

In a league season, most of clubs you mentioned would go the way of Blackpool in the EPL imo, start brightly because every match would be like a cup final but then they would fade and fade badly during and after christmas because squad depth and fitness levels would show.

Also remember that you are comparing Winter football to Summer football, i.e. marked difference in pitch quality. I do believe SPL sides could play more attractive football if their clubs properly maintained pitches. You are comparing SPL sides on poor pitches to LOI that play on decent pitches/artificial surfaces. Even Celtic were poor on poor surfaces this season and we both know how they can play on decent pitches.

* Because its an unbelievably **** surface for 90% of the season

I'm suggesting the SFA will do sfa. They didn't exactly grab the bull by the horns and modernise the refereeing structures this year, did they...

Fitness levels? Really? I would question whether there is any major aerobic fitness difference between any full time pro's.

I think you are making the classic mistake of overestimating the strength of the SPL and underestimating the LoI. If we are down to the level of pitch quality as a factor I think its time for us both to step away from the keyboard.

Dempsey

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I'm suggesting the SFA will do sfa. They didn't exactly grab the bull by the horns and modernise the refereeing structures this year, did they...

Fitness levels? Really? I would question whether there is any major aerobic fitness difference between any full time pro's.

I think you are making the classic mistake of overestimating the strength of the SPL and underestimating the LoI. If we are down to the level of pitch quality as a factor I think its time for us both to step away from the keyboard.

I'm not going down that road because I could equally knock lumps out of the FAI/LOI but its not worth discussing at this point in time

Fitness levels? Look at Paddy McCourt, played in the LOI regularly, doesnt for Celtic. Why? He doesnt have the fitness levels required. I would suggest there is huge differences between fitness levels from league to league at senior level.

I could accuse you of the opposite. With regard to pitches, I'm saying that they affect tactics and how teams try to play the game. Teams do look **** on a **** pitch but look a different prospect on a proper surface, now I dont believe for a second that you think this is false as it was one of the arguments used for the LOI to change to summer football. i.e. better quality pitches more attractive football and it was an argument used when the idea was discussed in Scotland, so was the idea of improving of the UEFA coefficients by being mid season when most of Europe was starting preseason. The LOI has exploited this well but I wouldnt use it as a yardstick for real improvement of the league for obvious reasons.