Mad Mac

Start with just about anyone signed by McLeish and go from there. We'll exempt Owen Coyle, but any idiot could have been praised for signing him as he'd scored goals wherever he'd been.

Interesting to see this opinion expressed. For those of us old enough to recall the 'original' reconstruction in 1975, one of the justifications was the elimination of 'meaningless' games. Fact is, more people were turning out to watch these 'meaningless' games in poorer amenities. However, you're going to have a hard time convincing clubs to vote for what's perceived as two larger paydays per season when they presently get three or four. As to pricing, I did some analysis of this a few years ago. Factoring in general inflation and the improvement in amenities, I believe we're paying 2-3 times what we actually should be based on prices some 40 years ago. If anyone has a convincing argument otherwise, I welcome it.

http://www.scottishleague.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2372

Just to clarify, what was at stake that day was avoiding a promotion/relegation playoff (remember them?) with our good friends Airdrieonians FC of Cumbernauld. We had won at Ipox the previous Monday to turn things on their head and leave Hibs needing a better result than either ourselves or Kilmarnock. In the event, all three teams in the mix drew (Raith had been relegated some weeks previously following a 5-0 hounding at FP) and Hibs went into the playoff.

What's probably going on is that they count the seasons on a "week-to-week" basis and pay the VAT the same way. That way, they bank the interest from the season ticket VAT payments over the course of the season. Given the numbers involved, it's worth their while to do so.

For the more...."retro" among us, how about something like this:

It was about 49,000 before the seats went in at one end, so about 47,000 at a guess.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ME:B:EF:GB:1123 Any info on this fellow from the historians among us?

Latest at Betfair.com: Falkirk 1/6 Inverness 9/5 St. Mirren 16/1 Interestingly, you can still bet on the mathematically impossible relegation of Kilmarnock or Accies!

Events today now leave our friends from Paisley safe, barring a Falkirk win at Inverness coupled with a St. Mirren defeat by three more goals than Falkirk win by. No odds as yet....

Best we could have hoped for in the circumstances. Presumably not many down from the North?

On a sort-of related note, it appears (from some rough calculations) as though Accies are now safe. It looks like any combination of results would leave someone beneath them even if they lost all three remaining games - if that is the case, it would be the first time they've managed two straight top-flight seasons since before World War 2! In any event, I think our results will have a big bearing on just who does take the drop. Should be clearer after Wednesday night.

[OOR_WULLIE]Jings, Crivvens & Help Ma Boab!![/OOR_WULLIE] I hadn't realised just how much land the Parkneuk pits took up. This means that the Stadium didn't exist until after WW II. I know a fellow who lived in the house next to mine and one across the road, he might recall it being built.

There was a large bing between the Stadium and the railway - it was removed in the 60s (IIRC, post-Aberfan), so there may well have been one on the actual site.

Ah, the Gay Gordon (try calling a boozer that these days)! Bit of a rough shop. One local character got stabbed there one Friday night, was taken to the Law and duly patched up with the intent being that he would be detained overnight for observation. Having declined to make a complaint, he signed himself out, returned to the scene of the crime and exacted retribution. Those were the days.....

Actually, here's a question...how long has the present East Stand structure been there?

Where you've got the 'A' on your map is more or less on top of the house I grew up in. I have a vague recollection of being told by someone that the club actually considered moving to the Stadium rather than building the current main stand. I believe the Stadium was owned by a family called Reid (there was a house on the corner of Milton Street and Morton Street which they lived in).

This may not be as much of a victory as it seems. My understanding is that to all intents and purposes, a civil judgement in a UK court can't be enforced in the US - there is no "reciprocal agreement" due to the fact that the individual states in the US make their own law with regard to debt, and a state can't enter into an agreement with a sovereign nation. If Spencer goes back to the UK to live (I don't know what his immigration status in the US is), then Boil/MFC/whoever won the case can take action to enforce it. Similarly, if Spencer has any assets in the UK, they could be sequestered. If he remains here, there's not a lot that can be done. Then again, if that was the case, why would he defend it? Out of interest, does this judgement include any payment for the car that Taggarts refused to take back from lease due to the state the little sh--e left it in?

"We would like to request of our fans, and other spectators on the day, to please refrain from coming on the pitch and attempting to take any of the fixtures and fittings from the stadium." Eh...they forgot one thing. They're in Paisley.

How many did we take over there? By the look of that attendance, it was 1500 at best. 22 quid is a lot of cash in the run up to Christmas, especially with economic times not that great at the moment. Clubs have to start realising that they're competing with a lot of other forms of entertainment and show some initiative to get more people in.

We should have lamped the fecker when we had the chance, son.

How many did they bring tonight?

Even John Hendry scored more than he did......