Boozyuzi Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 First time in history that Scottish clubs have failed to win a game in Europe (I know, Celtic have one game left). A terrible performance and leaves Scotland in danger in slipping from 12th place which gaurantees the winners direct entry into the Champions League + another 4 European places. BTW -don't blame the Old Firm because without them there would have been a few seasons without a win and we would be down at about Irelands level in the co-efficiants. Now is the time for a shake up in club football to make it more competitive - scrap the 12 team team league and lets give a 16 or 18 team league a go. We've never had an 18 team league with 3 points for a win. 2 up and 2 down with play-offs as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flimsy Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 It has been a disgraceful season for Scottish teams in Europe - 3 draws and 10 defeats I think. However, on the flipside last season was excellent - Rangers in the UEFA Cup final, Celtic in the last 16 of the CL for the 2nd season in a row and Aberdeen not only unexpectedly qualifying for the UEFA Group stages but getting through them too. I think this season may be a bit of a blip although I do admit that the standard of the SPL is deteriorating just now. League reconstruction will always be discussed but I'm not sure how it is going to improve results in Europe, Scotland is already ranked highly at 12th, are we really any better than that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 the OF would perform better in europe if they were not afforded such an easy ride in the scottish domestic game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun.lawson Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 It has been a disgraceful season for Scottish teams in Europe - 3 draws and 10 defeats I think. However, on the flipside last season was excellent - Rangers in the UEFA Cup final, Celtic in the last 16 of the CL for the 2nd season in a row and Aberdeen not only unexpectedly qualifying for the UEFA Group stages but getting through them too. I think this season may be a bit of a blip although I do admit that the standard of the SPL is deteriorating just now. League reconstruction will always be discussed but I'm not sure how it is going to improve results in Europe, Scotland is already ranked highly at 12th, are we really any better than that? The answer's no I guess. As things stand, I don't think Motherwell or QoS can be slagged for their results this season: they were as expected, and it's very, very hard for any non-OF side to get into the UEFA groups. What should have been possible, though, was for both Celtic and Rangers to finish 3rd in the CL groups, so parachuting into the UEFA Cup; yet both failed miserably. From next season, it will be awesomely tough for the SPL runners-up to reach the CL, and whether they go on to have a sustained Europa League run is open to question. This is good for competitiveness in the SPL - but bad for European places in the long run. It strikes me that, in a sense, we're now back in the mid-90s. Rangers were dominant domestically, but had average, mediocre sides in 93/4, 94/5, 96/7 and 97/8 which were routinely humiliated in Europe. Now, Celtic are dominant - but for a couple of bounces of the ball here or there, they'd currently be on course for nine in a row - but having looked strong during MON's first four years, and occasionally in Europe under Strachan, they're now very average too. It's a pity: when a class outfit wins the SPL (Rangers 92/3, 95/6 or 99/0; Celtic 00/1, 01/2 or 03/4) it reflects well on the whole league - but now, all is grim mediocrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby8 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 the OF would perform better in europe if they were not afforded such an easy ride in the scottish domestic game. Exactly ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosanostra Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Now is the time for a shake up in club football to make it more competitive - scrap the 12 team team league and lets give a 16 or 18 team league a go. We've never had an 18 team league with 3 points for a win. 2 up and 2 down with play-offs as well. Disagree. Can you explain how bringing 4 or 6 more teams who are not as good as Hamilton Accies will help Scottish teams compete better in Europe? It will just mean the Old Firm getting even more 5 or 6 goal victories and many more nonsense games against nonsense teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JamboRobbo Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Disagree. Can you explain how bringing 4 or 6 more teams who are not as good as Hamilton Accies will help Scottish teams compete better in Europe? It will just mean the Old Firm getting even more 5 or 6 goal victories and many more nonsense games against nonsense teams. indeed. I think we have to accept, to an extent, that for a country of 5Mish people, being ranked anywhere around 10th-12th-15th or so in Europe at football, is pretty amazing. the countries above us are almost all significantly larger countries than scotland, and we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Bill Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I would much prefer an 18 team league. I know there are loads of arguments for and against, but my main reason is that I'd prefer the 'big' homes games to come round just once a year; so that they can become real occasions again. and if that means we're running up three or four goals victories v the likes of St Johnstone then I'll believe that when I see it! Buffalo Bill . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willso86 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 The past seasons have been some of the best for Scottish football for the clubs and National team so I think people are getting a bit carried away with their opinion on how bad it is. The league itself is more competive I think, Hamilton are bottom but are no whipping boys like Gretna last year. 1 bad year out of 3 in Europe for scottish teams isnt as bad as some are making out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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