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Post by Carl LaFong on Jul 31, 2020 13:38:06 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Jul 31, 2020 13:38:39 GMT
www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/jul/31/celtic-chase-a-perfect-10-but-for-how-long-rangers-old-firmCeltic chase a perfect 10 but for how long can a two-team competition continue? Old Firm are the only serious rivals to each other in a Premiership where third place to the rest represents glorious success If we are to assume a suitable element of normality will have returned by May, any Celtic celebration of a 10th Premiership title in succession will be quite the sight. Less is more has never applied to the Old Firm, especially where the making of history is concerned. Celtic will begin their season on Sunday as the legitimate favourites to become the first Scottish club to deliver 10 in a row. Inside Scottish football’s parochial cauldron, that achievement is a key theme to the point where it is already all-consuming. Can Steven Gerrard – who hasn’t won a trophy in two seasons in charge of Rangers – break the run at such a crucial point? All logic would suggest not. Yet if Rangers somehow do win the league, the eruption will be felt in the southern hemisphere. If it seems depressing that yet another season is framed in the context of only two clubs, such is the reality. Celtic are well within their rights to emphasise the significance of the achievement on the horizon, but it would only serve to highlight a broken model. “I want to win 10 in a row,” proclaimed Celtic’s new goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas, signed from AEK for £4.5m and speaking as if the feat is the talk of Athens coffee shops. Since Aberdeen successfully defended the title in 1985, the top prize has been shared between the Old Firm. The full fiscal damage of coronavirus notwithstanding – and that is unclear – Celtic’s on- and off-field superiority is such that they should have eyes on 20 in a row. At what stage do even they encounter tedium? In what may point to the competence or otherwise of Neil Doncaster, the Scottish Professional Football League’s chief executive, 11 months have passed since Ladbrokes served notice it would end its main sponsorship. No successor has been sourced. The blunt reality for Celtic as they push a storyline of recurring greatness is that too many people beyond Scotland’s borders have long since shrugged their shoulders. Any 12-team league in which one club has an 80% chance of success and another 20% before a ball is kicked should not be sustainable on the grounds of competition alone. People buy season tickets to watch a format in which third place counts as success. Germany and Italy have domestic football monopolies but Bayern Munich and Juventus are among the finest sides in Europe. When the Old Firm reached the last 32 of the Europa League, they were one step short of a public holiday being called. Scotland’s national team are still trying to scratch their way back towards relevance. The scale – economic and societal – of the country’s two biggest clubs is such that they can never be hauled in by others. Celtic regularly face league opposition with a 30th of their wage spend. As things stand, the Old Firm have nothing in common with their fellow Premiership clubs other than a fixture list. If Celtic’s Covid-19 loss has reached £20m they can offset it with the sale of one player. Others in that division were wounded by a recent increase in testing requirements which cost £2,500 per week. People in boardrooms at Celtic and Rangers are known to get weak at the knees when the idea of featuring in England’s top flight is mooted. The Old Firm regard themselves as superpowers, constrained by Scotland’s limitations. For years the notion of Celtic and Rangers jousting with England’s best has been laughed off – including by police forces – but plans to merge the Dutch and Belgian leagues have turned heads in Glasgow. There should be a serious debate about whether Celtic and Rangers pursuing their broader ambitions, wherever that may be, can enhance the remainder of Scotland’s game. The sharing of championships and direct access to European money would provide clear benefits. It remains to be seen who would welcome two clubs from Glasgow, but the notion is nowhere near as damaging for the rest as many would portray. Scottish football remains tarnished by the saga that prematurely ended the 2019-20 campaign and handed relegations to Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer. That Hearts and Partick failed with a legal challenge against the sanction is, in some eyes, the end of the matter. It should not be. As the SPFL executive stood back, clubs virtually engaged in open warfare in the midst of a pandemic. The episode served to emphasise the Scottish game’s inadequate governance and a public relations model that Trotters Independent Traders would consider to be hapless. Gerrard has gone public with his desire to add to his squad, as is the wont of any manager. Nonetheless, the former Liverpool captain has presided over significant wastage when it comes to transfer activity. It seems inevitable Alfredo Morelos will be granted his wish of a move. How Rangers replace his goals is one source of intrigue. Gerrard’s commitment to Ibrox is admirable but managers there, even of such high profile, do not tend to survive three trophyless campaigns. In Neil Lennon, Celtic have a manager immersed in the club and its history. It is fitting he is in charge as they pursue their holy grail. To Celtic, and by association Rangers, it undoubtedly is. The bigger picture of how Scotland can possibly and positively remove itself from the same old routine should not be ignored.
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Post by twothousandonemark on Jul 31, 2020 14:31:42 GMT
I like Rangers. I like the Old Firm. But if they did ever join the Premier League, I'm afraid they'd be destined for middle of the pack yes? Part of their aura is their joint dominance I think. If they were to join England & be incapable of top 10's on the regular, then what. Their European vacations would be gone n'est pas... while smaller Scottish sides took their place? lols
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Post by Carl LaFong on Jul 31, 2020 15:10:12 GMT
I like Rangers. I like the Old Firm. But if they did ever join the Premier League, I'm afraid they'd be destined for middle of the pack yes? Part of their aura is their joint dominance I think. If they were to join England & be incapable of top 10's on the regular, then what. Their European vacations would be gone n'est pas... while smaller Scottish sides took their place? lols Hard to say how they’d do in England. They’d presumably have to start off in Division 2. I could see them making it to the top flight but not doing much when they got there. Anyway, I don’t want them playing outside Scotland. They’d just blacken our reputation down there even more!
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Jul 31, 2020 15:53:20 GMT
Well the winner will either be Celtic or Rangers, I predict that Celtic will win it and Rangers will get second place
And i will predict that Aberdeen gets third place.
But the team i would like to win even if its never going to happen is Aberdeen.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Jul 31, 2020 16:14:18 GMT
Well the winner will either be Celtic or Rangers, I predict that Celtic will win it and Rangers will get second place And i will predict that Aberdeen gets third place. But the team i would like to win even if its never going to happen is Aberdeen. Is that because they’re the closest side to Norway? Ever been there?
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Jul 31, 2020 16:29:38 GMT
Well the winner will either be Celtic or Rangers, I predict that Celtic will win it and Rangers will get second place And i will predict that Aberdeen gets third place. But the team i would like to win even if its never going to happen is Aberdeen. Is that because they’re the closest side to Norway? Ever been there? No and No
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jul 31, 2020 17:45:26 GMT
The Dons will win. I'm calling it now. Is this sarcastic? Anyone's guess...
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 1, 2020 7:26:13 GMT
The Dons will win. I'm calling it now. Is this sarcastic? Anyone's guess... As long as The Don doesn’t win!
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 1, 2020 8:44:27 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 1, 2020 8:51:47 GMT
Police Scotland urges fans to stay away on Premiership return Police Scotland has urged fans to "do the right thing" and stay away from stadiums as the Premiership resumes. Matches will be played without fans present because of restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19. Police say supporters must stick to government guidance, and enforcement will be used "as a last resort". Chief Inspector Campbell Crawford, head of Police Scotland's National Football Unit, said it had held discussions with the SFA and SPFL. "We are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of the measures is to aid the collective effort to stay safe, protect others and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading," he said. "Police Scotland would ask that supporters follow the guidance from their respective clubs. "Our officers will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and guidance, encourage compliance and use enforcement as a last resort." SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said supporters had a "pivotal role" in ensuring the league season was not affected by further coronavirus-related disruption. "We've all seen what is happening on the continent and in countries such as Australia - potential second waves of coronavirus are a real danger, so we all simply must protect the integrity of the league by being responsible," he said. "If we all play our part, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the very best of our game, in what promises to be a uniquely compelling season ahead." www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53456646Bit worried about this. The Old Firm in particular have a high proportion of mentally challenged fans who don't care about things like public safety.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 1, 2020 8:52:47 GMT
Sportscene: Scottish Premiership highlights on Saturday early evening slot www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53308309Sportscene will show all of the day's Scottish Premiership goals every Saturday evening this season. The hour-long show - which will return to Saturdays for the first time since 2002 - will be on the BBC Scotland channel from 1 August at 19:30 BST, presented by Jonathan Sutherland. Steven Thompson will helm the Sunday programme, which starts with Celtic v Hamilton Academical the next day. Ross County v Motherwell will also have its own highlights show on 3 August.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 1, 2020 14:47:18 GMT
Rangers top of the league, Aberdeen in the relegation mire!
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 2, 2020 15:45:09 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 2, 2020 16:00:48 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 2, 2020 16:11:57 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 2, 2020 16:39:02 GMT
3-1, a pair now for Edouard. We simply cannot afford to lose this dude.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 2, 2020 16:46:16 GMT
4-1. Edouard bags a hat-trick.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Aug 3, 2020 8:33:05 GMT
Sportscene is as unbearable as ever, so I discovered on Saturday. Killie looked ok-ish, but I'm yet to work up the merest hint of enthusiasm for this season, it may come in time. I preferred it when Michael Stewart and Steven Thompson were the talking heads as I got the impression they hated each other!
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Post by Aj_June on Aug 3, 2020 12:31:58 GMT
Does this season feature Heart of Midlothian? I don't know when I will read the book but it is 3rd in my reading queue.
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