John Boyle’s

[underboyleheating]

BBC

 

Daily Record

[Motherwell Seagull]

Am bored of this recurring news story.

 

If the OF wish to leave Scottish Football they are welcome. They may well bring added revenue to the Scottish game, but they certainly make sure that they keep the Lion's share!

 

Most folk in England that I speak to quite like the idea of the OF playing down here, but then you can see them thinking a bit and realising all the baggage that comes with them.

 

If truth be told, I like Boyle's attitude on this - if it is indeed good enough for the OF, then why not Motherwell? IMHO, we are good enough currently to play in (and do quite well in) the Championship, and we manage this on a fraction of the money that the Championship clubs enjoy. Quite galling then that we loose players to League One!

 

Appreciate that this would in effect be the end of Scotland as a footballing nation - but is it no just us provincial clubs that care about such things now anyway?

[steelboy]

john boyle's been smoking crack!

 

if we were going to join a another league make it the spanish one. fuck going to barnet when we could just as easy jump on a flight over to spain.

 

he should also investigate some sort of super league with us, ajax, barcelona, mallorca, 1860 munich, hamburg and every club in prague.

[Motherwell Seagull]

john boyle's been smoking crack!

 

if we were going to join a another league make it the spanish one. fuck going to barnet when we could just as easy jump on a flight over to spain.

 

he should also investigate some sort of super league with us, ajax, barcelona, mallorca, 1860 munich, hamburg and every club in prague.

 

Sounds like a business plan for a budget airline to Zoom all us fans about the place

[the cobra]

"If we're talking about clubs going into English football, Motherwell might apply to be in the second division,"

 

This quote really annoyed me yesterday, we would have been SPL champions last season without the old firm in the league and we would have been looking forward to champions league qualifiers! We might even fluke it one year into the champions league proper (like aalborg this season). I would love to see a competitive SPL were we might be in with a shout of winning every couple of seasons - much more attractive than going to see Motherwell v Aldershot in the english league 2. I hate the lack of ambition shown by boyle, long term it will be good for Motherwell and great for Scottish football as more young scottish players will be exposed to european football each season. Who knows in 10 years time we could be celebrating the double and looking forward to european football, while down south the old firm fight it out like the dugs they are at the bottom of the english premier league!

[the fox]

I think John Boyle is along the right lines people need to realise IF this happens something must happen which will keep interest strong and i am sure that Scotland v England clashes would ensure some sort of tv revenue.

[numpty]

I hate the lack of ambition shown by boyle, long term it will be good for Motherwell and great for Scottish football as more young scottish players will be exposed to european football each season.

Or we could just turn into another Ireland, where thousands more people leave the country every weekend to watch games in England and Scotland than stay at home to watch their own top league, and any Irish player who can stand upright and kick a ball can't wait to go and play elsewhere either...

[weeyin]

Ireland has to compete with Gaelic Football and Hurling, though, (not to mention rugby) which historically are much more popular sports.

[Big Stall]

"If we're talking about clubs going into English football, Motherwell might apply to be in the second division,"

 

This quote really annoyed me yesterday, we would have been SPL champions last season without the old firm in the league and we would have been looking forward to champions league qualifiers! We might even fluke it one year into the champions league proper (like aalborg this season). I would love to see a competitive SPL were we might be in with a shout of winning every couple of seasons - much more attractive than going to see Motherwell v Aldershot in the english league 2. I hate the lack of ambition shown by boyle, long term it will be good for Motherwell and great for Scottish football as more young scottish players will be exposed to european football each season. Who knows in 10 years time we could be celebrating the double and looking forward to european football, while down south the old firm fight it out like the dugs they are at the bottom of the english premier league!

 

 

Without the old firm we would very quickly lose our champions league places

[weeyin]

Without the old firm we would very quickly lose our champions league places

Why? Every country is entitled to a champions league place and if the OF moved out, we would have much more chance of taking it.

[Andy_P]

Why? Every country is entitled to a champions league place and if the OF moved out, we would have much more chance of taking it.

 

I'm sure Big Stall's school of thought is that working on the basis that the co-efficient would drop, it would result in the loss of automatic group entry and potentially end up (if the co-efficient is sufficiently poor) with one place in the Champions League which starts in the First round of CL qualifiers.

 

Another potential consequence is that if the co-efficient were to drop you would lose out on Europa league places too.

 

Its up to each individual how important Europe is to you but I suspect if they did go there would be much more scope for investigating things like summer football, league reconstruction and the like and more chance of such things happening. Again up for debate as to whether they would be of benefit or not.

[weeyin]

While we might lose a place or two, the OF wouldn't be taking the top 2 places every season, so I think we would be pretty close to the situation we are in now (except we would actually have a shot at a Champions League place once in a while).

[Cakes]

The Scottish game would suffer financially but in my view it would still be better off without the OF. I'd trade the riches and the quality (and I use those terms loosely) we have just now for a league, which may not have "big names" and probably wouldn't set Europe ablaze but would be a damn sight more competitive than the current set-up. In any given season, almost any club would be in with a chance of winning the league or realistic shot at a cup, we could go back to splitting the the gate money rather than the OF's greedy keep-your-home-gate stance, any money coming into the game could be split evenly rather than the OF pocketing the bulk of it between them. There'd be no need for the (daft) split either because there'd be a hell of a lot more to play for than there is now, no need to manufacture the tension.

 

I really don't give a monkey's about the Champions League, if we were in it I'd be delighted but I'd rather have a competitive domestic league with a level playing field (no FP pitch jokes) for all the teams involved. A league where we're not fighting each other to be "the best of the rest" but for the title itself.

 

That and I'd be glad to see the back of their venomous bile.

[SuperCC]

The Scottish game would suffer financially but in my view it would still be better off without the OF. I'd trade the riches and the quality (and I use those terms loosely) we have just now for a league, which may not have "big names" and probably wouldn't set Europe ablaze but would be a damn sight more competitive than the current set-up. In any given season, almost any club would be in with a chance of winning the league or realistic shot at a cup, we could go back to splitting the the gate money rather than the OF's greedy keep-your-home-gate stance, any money coming into the game could be split evenly rather than the OF pocketing the bulk of it between them. There'd be no need for the (daft) split either because there'd be a hell of a lot more to play for than there is now, no need to manufacture the tension.

 

I really don't give a monkey's about the Champions League, if we were in it I'd be delighted but I'd rather have a competitive domestic league with a level playing field (no FP pitch jokes) for all the teams involved. A league where we're not fighting each other to be "the best of the rest" but for the title itself.

 

That and I'd be glad to see the back of their venomous bile.

 

Absolutly spot on and these comments should be "bound" in a nice folder and handed to the SFL as the strategy for the future of Scottish Football. Ditch the SPL shite and streamline the organisations that run our game and as Weeyin also pointed out, we may lose out on some places in Europe but we already lose out on 2 every year by having the old scum take them.

I look forward to the day we have a decent scottish league without them and I think we will be a lot better off as a nation if we could actually relocate them somewhere else as well!!

 

In other words, they can F@CK OFF any time they want

[Malky79]

For all the risks I'm willing to give it a try. I'll even help them pack.

[David]

When the subject of television revenue was brought up, I actually wonder if it would make such a huge difference to us?

 

The deal that was signed in 2008 with Setanta was for a rumoured £125 million over 4 seasons (£31.25 million per season), which we shall go with for arguments sake.

 

It was reported when the original deal was signed in 2004 that the top two teams in the SPL would recieve 32% (£10 million) of the total money between them, so the OF take 16% of the cash every year whilst the rest get around 6.8% each.

 

That leaves 68% of the money (£21.25 million) to be shared out between the remaining 10 teams, which would work out at around £2.1 million each if the money is distributed equally, although I think it increases slightly for the teams higher up the table and decreases for the teams at the bottom.

 

Would an SPL without the OF not be able to find a television deal worth around £20 million per season?

[steelboy]

we could go back to splitting the the gate money rather than the OF's greedy keep-your-home-gate stance, any money coming into the game could be split evenly rather than the OF pocketing the bulk of it between them.

 

why should hearts, hibs or aberdeen fans subsidise motherwell? `

 

i'm quite happy paying my money knowing that it is going towards us putting a team on the park. i wouldn't be very happy knowing that half my season ticket money was going out to other clubs.

[du_du_dubordeaux]

These two are going nowhere

 

Funny how this has been recycled just as: rangers plunge further into financial abyss; sellicks oirish mob don't turn up at the mhank dome anymore; and as setanta are about tae say cheerio to the SPL . A well fabricated way of deflecting the buns/dhims attention away from the fact that their clubs are shite and will be for quite some time. Give them a wee bit of hope maybe that one day soon they will join the big boys and start earning big boy pocket money.

 

Forget it, no one will have them.

 

This gartside character seems to be the only one biggin up EPL 2. Why dont they combine SPL 2 with EPL 2 then that would sort aw the problems

 

Shite

[weeyin]

The OF should set up their own 2-team league. They can play each other 10 times at home, and 10 times away (half of which can be played in Ireland to help cut down on the fans' traveling expenses). OF supporters can subscribe to their own pay-per-view service (Sectanta?) to watch every game. They can have their own cup competition - the winner of which gets automatically put out of Europe.

 

Then they can see how well they manage without the support of other clubs.

[Tweed]

I think Boyle was being flippant with his mention of English division 2 or whatever it was he said. Because the source of this story is in England this time the story has a different momentum behind it as the belief from our numbskull media and cretinised (that a word?) OF fans is that it is more likely to happen. It won't. I can't see the top four in England wanting it and apart from a bit more telly money I don't see PL2 being much more than a restricted entry Championship - why would West Brom, Hull, Stoke or Birmingham want it? More chance of being in the 2nd tier and less chances of moving up to play the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool and co.

 

I think the quality will dip. I'm sure some of the better players in the SPL put up with it because they get some exposure for progression when we play the OF. Someone like Andy DOrman can get noticed then - I don't see people noticing him because St Mirren v Morton is the big telly game. Therefore I think a lot of our (SPL) better players will end up plying their trade at the likes of Gillingham.

 

The TV companies will disappear or reduce their input. Sure Setanta would be quick to renegotiate without the OF as the product changes and its clear from last week's fiasco that the contract with them is as solid as a runny pooh.

 

Although our attendances v the OF have dropped they are still by far the biggest we get and I doubt a Championship chasing Hearts would bring as many.

 

Only plus side for Scotland is their paranoid, violent and bigoted fans will disappear and the league may be more competitive. Taking out the fact they're bastards and we don't like them its better for Motherwell if they stay. Wish it was different.

[fatcalf]

The OF should set up their own 2-team league. They can play each other 10 times at home, and 10 times away (half of which can be played in Ireland to help cut down on the fans' traveling expenses). OF supporters can subscribe to their own pay-per-view service (Sectanta?) to watch every game. They can have their own cup competition - the winner of which gets automatically put out of Europe.

 

Then they can see how well they manage without the support of other clubs.

You sure you don't read OSB

Seriously that's my kind of thinking, when the Diddy Ten chairman were threatening to pull out a few years ago that's what should have happened, the TV companies widnae be long in deciding the 'biggest game in the world' had lost it's appeal halfway through their campaign. They need us more than we need them, our chairman just haven't realised it yet.

[Malky79]

why should hearts, hibs or aberdeen fans subsidise motherwell? `

 

i'm quite happy paying my money knowing that it is going towards us putting a team on the park. i wouldn't be very happy knowing that half my season ticket money was going out to other clubs.

 

If you even remotely give a toss about the greater good and scottish fitba as a whole then you should be fine with it. As it is a Well fan our club would likely be a net beneficiary.

 

I'd be over the moon if the clubs went back to splitting gate receipts. As well as more equitable sharing of TV money. The bigger clubs would still be able to generate extra commericial revenue over the smaller ones but with gate/TV money split more evenly throughout the game I think we'd have a much more level playing field and a better competition.

 

As mentioned further down, it takes more than 2 teams to make a league and our league as it is it dying on its arse.

[Steve Diggle]

I think we're missing the point - The only reason the OF as big is that they're aligned to the big religions. So it's not more teams in the league we need or the OF pissing off. We just need to align more of our clubs with religions.

 

If we're in quick we could pick either Muslim or Jedi

 

You can just imagine it eh? Buses of stormtroopers coming from perth, Dunfermline, Falkirk Inverness, Fort William etc every Saturday to cheer on the Well.

 

C'mon the Jedis!

[Malky79]

I dunno I think moving to a clear secular path to attract the growing athiest market, away with potential fundamentalists of any religious persuasion!!! Also apparantly loads of police claim to be jedi's, they really run done that ones credibility! :-)

[du_du_dubordeaux]

Imagine seein celtic and rangers 10 - 15 years without a trophy.

 

That would make my life complete.

 

Would also be interesting to see who would come out top of the two. If they were to move, all the joint sponsorships etc would end and it would literally be down to who is the best run club.

 

As for the scottish league. It would continue, however, it would need to be completely re-jigged. Everything from gate prices to players wages to sponsorships and to the league structure etc would need to be looked at. If every club downsized - which they would have to with no TV money - then, in theory, it would be "as you were" although I don't think it would happen as smoothly as that.