Kmcalpin

Well Society membership also brings with it a 5% discount which always helps too. I'll be renewing again.

I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments behind this - I would be mightily disillusioned myself if a newco was to be allowed back into the SPL its just that I think our depth of feeling could be directed better in some way to the SPL/SFA. The current online fans petition is being given little attention by the media and that worries me. I'm just not sure how the individual clubs and these two august bodies are viewing this groundswell of opinion. Are they treating it as an empty threat or worried sick about it? Perhaps if fans turned up to games but protested outside in their thousands? Say for example 12,000 Dons fans turned up for a match at Pittodrie but refused to go in and protested outside. If that was mirrored at every other non OF ground including those of SFL clubs then we'd make a very big impact indeed. The SFL clubs and their fans have a huge role to play here but have remained largely silent so far. I suppose what it boils down to is whether fans want to act or react? Apologies if thread is going off on a tangent.

OK Al - assuming everyone who is threatening a boycott/will become uninterested in Scottish football etc etc takes this course of action IF a Rangers newco was formed and IF it was voted back into the SPL then the voting position of MFC is pretty much irrelevant its the actual outcome that folk are focused on? That I can understand. Thanks for clarifying.

The clubs are in a no win situation here. Fortunately some, like Hearts, have already sold quite a few season tickets and so any boycott won't hurt them to the same extent. I'm still confused though about this threatened boycott of season tickets. Who exactly is it aimed at? Under what circumstances would it take effect? IF the situation of a newco arose and a vote was taken in secret with a majority of clubs/members in favour of allowing a Rangers newco back into the SPL would you boycott our STs without knowing what way we voted? Likewise if MFC voted against allowing a newco back in automatically but the vote went against us would you still refuse to buy a season ticket? The way I see it if a boycott took place only Rangers and SFL clubs would benefit as all other clubs would see a drop in ST sales. By default if most SPL clubs were hit hard financially then SFL clubs would gain in strength on the basis that they weren't involved in any vote - a bit hit or miss. Still confused.com

Don't know about that. All clubs have gripes with refereeing decisions. We were knocked out fo the CIS Cup due to a perfectly good goal being chalked off. On our last visit to Tannadice we were denied a stonewall penalty late on. Had that been awarded and IF we'd scored we'd now be some 2 points better off and United 1 point worse off. If anything United been very fortunate in the last month or two.

Agreed. I don't know why the club did it but it worked. The south end of the POD was far more civilised. Perhaps there was lack of demand - the South Stand din't look full to me and the attendance figures would seem to bear that out.

Fear not - thats something that Mr Lennon has banged on about in the past when the title has gone to the wire. He reminded all SPL managers that they had a duty to play their strongest side at all times in the interest of fairness.

Michael Higdon for me. He did everything that was asked of him - winning balls in the air, knock downs, but we can't blame him if his collegaues wouldn't support him. Its limited what a lone striker will achieve when heavily outnumbered. Jenno had a decent first half but disappeared in the second. Looked a bit rusty. Chris Humphrey has had worse games and posed what little threat we had although he shaded in the second half. His finishing was good but not great and a decent striker would have scored two goals with his shots on target. The others had games they'll want to forget.

Some interesting comments on a few players. Stuart Carswell? Like one or two others I can't quite see what SM sees in him. Maybe its the type of player he is - a Marc Fitzpatrick sort who does the routine unglamorous cleaning up/tidying up, feeding others role. Looked out if his depth yesterday but we did play worse after he left the field it has to be said. Michael Higdon: he's one dimensional but he does what he does well. The problem is that Stuart McCall is playing a system that doesn't suit him, especially 4-5-1. He's not mobile but he won a lot of ball yesterday but didn't do much with it due to complete lack of support. John Sutton was exactly the same last season. Jamie Murphy: the lad has been played out of position this season and his confidence suffered. Hardly beat his man at all yesterday and its plain to see a requirement to help out in defence doesn't suit his talents. He put in a stuttering / hesistant / ill at ease performance when he came on yesterday. A few round about us questioned the wisdom of this particular substitution and I have to agree.

Good post. In my book though it was damage limitation from kick off. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that we'd put the wrong team on the park playing the wrong tactics.Have we not learnt anything since last year? A 4-5-1 formation just doesn't work. I also thought that playing Omar Daley in a wide midfield role had been tried several times and been completely discredited. Apologies for sounding like a broken record, but Michael Higdon (my MOTM incidentally) found himself totally isolated up front. The 2 wingers were playing far too far away to link up and our central midfield seemed reluctant to push forward. He won ball after ball with knock downs and flicks but there simply wasn't anyone near him to take advantage. Even on the attack, we struggled to get bodies in Celtic's box. Higgy often found himself on his own in the box and marked by 3 defenders when waiting for a cross to come in. Playing a cautious game we gave Celtic far too much respect and they looked far hungrier and determined than we did. Playing so deep you run the risk of every error being punished and the rest is history. We missed Keith Lasley badly, and the inexperienced Stuart Carswell found the going at this level just too tough. However, we missed him when he was taken off to be replaced by an out of form Jamie Murphy, who seemed determined to play at left back. Jenno tried to do the work of two in the first half but buckled after the break. Our two full backs had games they'll want to forget. Time to look at other options if we're hit by absences again. If we play as badly next week we'll take another beating. A big change in attitude is required. In short a team challenging for 3rd spot and a CL place simply didn't look up for it.

I'd agree up to a point. Defence needs bolstering and I'd be tempted to reintroduce Steve Saunders IF he's ready. Tom Hately is going through a dodgy patch just now as is Steve Hammell. I think Keith Lasley is almost an automatic pick but I'd bring back Henrik, not Jamie Murphy to replace Omar Daley. It has to be a 4-4-2 formation. If Henrik is not favoured then Bob McHugh. Jamie has lost his confidence and that was plain to see today. Stuart McCall has a big job to boost morale before next weekend. We must respect St Johnstone and assume that our every error will be punished - they simply can't be allowed to get anywhere near Darren Randolph. The players must know that a 1-0 win is simply not good enough ...we have to go out and crush them. However he does it, SM needs to really fire the squad up.

Indeed. I overheard a largish party of young men being given "official" advice about how they constituted "a family" outside the POD Stand.

Lest not get too downbeat yet. However IF we don't make third spot the critical factor for me would be Stevie O'Reilly's refusal to give us a stonewall penalty late on in our last game at Tannadice. No guarantee we would have scored of course but thast could have made a 3 point difference. Hopefully that decision won't be cast up later.

Very much so. Didn't expect Hearts to lose today and although they can still overhaul us its looking increasingly unlikely. St Johnstone too will be disappointed especially losing Sandaza early - its possible he may miss our game but that remains to be seen.

As far as I recall we never called for someone's head - we were too concerned with saving the club. Pat Nevin resigned voluntarily. I'm not saying it was all Pat Nevin's fault because it wasn't but he must shoulder some of the responsibility. At least John Boyle stuck around to help sort things out and ensure our survival.

Do you know something we don't ? I'm sure our Chief Executive can speak for herself and I very much doubt if the majority of Well Society members would invite any newco back into the SPL. I might be totally wrong though.

Quite a few administrative procedures to go through before we reach that stage ie selecting Board members. Its come too late for the impending SPL vote but its the long term answer. Perhaps though, the current SPL debate about a Rangers Newco may encourage more to join

Statistics big man, statistics. We are also more likely than most SPL fans (after Dunfermline, Aberdeen and Dundee Utd) to give up watching our club if a newco is admitted to the SPL. I quite accept that there is a groundswell of opinion against a newco being shoed into the SPL, and I'm dead set against it myself but I'm sceptical of the results of this survey. What could we do? I suppose the best long term approach is to join the Society to ensure our voice is heard within MFC. The Society is our golden opportunity to shape the future of the club. However that will not address the issue of the SPL.

Amazing results from the poll. If the results are to be believed Aberdeen would lose about 2/3 of their 10,000 support. That would leave them playing in front of about 3,300 fans. We'd be playing in front of about 1,600 fans. Dramatic stuff and quite a few SL clubs, including ourselves, would be in financial freefall.

Good post. I've been saying the same thing for years mate and been castigated for it. At our level we can afford talented players OR big strong "athletes" but not both. Big fast players don't equate to hammer throwers or cloggers, as many think. If Whittaker challenged Steve Hammell for a 50/50 ball there would only be one winner and it wouldn't be Stevie. A physically strong player in my book is someone who is going to win more than his fair share of balls in the air, win more than his fair share of 50/50 balls and can hold the ball when battered by hulking defenders or strikers. The Juke was what I would call a physical player - he could look after himself but was never dirty or a hatchetman.

Yes, but Steve Jennings, Tim Clancy, Shaun Hutchinson, Michael Higdon and co aren't.

So how do this weekend's semi final results affect the Euro slots?

That for me is the major issue. If such a protest ever takes place be sure about one thing - it'll hurt and seriously damage clubs like us, Aberdeen and St Mirren. It'll feed and support Rangers and indeed Celtic who will grow ever stronger as a result. SFL clubs too might benefit if non OF SPL clubs wither. Cancelling Society membership will damage our (the fans) influence on MFC. Is that what we want? Talk about cutting our nose off to spite our face. I'm dead set against allowing a Rangers Newco to waltz straight back into the SPL, as are most of us, but I'm not about to damage my own club to prove an academic point. I think some kind of horse trading is inevitable and I hope that the 10 non OF clubs will use Rangers current weakness to renegotiate voting rights and distribution of cash - that is the sensible and pragmatic way forward. Picture this scenario if you will - an even stronger Rangers and Celtic winning virtually every game 4/5/6 - 0. Non OF clubs playing in front of attendances say 25/30% down on what they are at the moment. Poorer squads. Clubs like Falkirk, QOS, Hamilton gaining slightly in strength. Little or no say in the running of MFC. The only good thing about it would be that we could say "Its nought to do with me Guv" / "I don't support the corrupt SPL etc etc. Is that what we want?

I don't think they do Jay. I agree its quite likely/possible that attendances would drop, but these surveys are not scientific. We don't know if there's been duplicate voting for example. Is membership of this forum or Pie and Bovril representative of all SPL fans? Are those with strong views in favour of a boycott more likely to post? What would happen if our club voted against a newco being given automatic entry but lost the vote and Rangers 2012 were readmitted - would you boycott all our games in protest, but at whom?

Sky and their media bedfellows plough a bit of cash into the SPL, but demand more than their pound of flesh in return. Most arguments against punishing Rangers put forward by the SPL centre on the TV cash that would be lost to clubs if Rangers were turfed out of the SPL. It would be great if the fans were to tell the likes of Sky and the SPL that if Rangers weren't punished and were allowed back into the SPL they could expect a fair drop in income - hit them where it hurts in their pockets. Up until now the media companies rightly believe that they can bleed OF fans dry, treat them like s**t and get away with it. Time to put that right. On a related subject many of us moan and groan about ridiculous KO times dictated by the TV companies but many of us still subscribe to Sky or ESPN.