Butcher's Comments

Terry Butcher says the SPL starting time is farcical-

Inverness manager Terry Butcher has branded the early start to the Scottish Premier League campaign as "farcical".

Ahead of this weekend's fixtures, the former England captain says most clubs are not ready.

"We're off and running again on Saturday and we are three weeks ahead of most other leagues and teams and countries," he said.

"You look at the squads that have been assembled by clubs in the SPL and they are nowhere near complete."

He added: "We weren't consulted as managers.

"Maybe the directors and chairmen were consulted but we certainly weren't and everybody is in the same boat that I have spoken to, that we are starting too early."

The Highland club get their season under way against Motherwell on Saturday, but Butcher believes supporters aren't pleased with the re-start.

"I think it's a little bit farcical and it does short-change the public and our fans because our fans want to see our squad complete.

"But they are very much in the dark because they don't know who's going to come in."

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Would fans on here agree with his sentiments or do you see it as not a particularly big issue?

Far too early to have it started.
I'd quite like to see a debate though on whether the SPL would be better off running through the better months of the year rather than the horrid winter months.
I can't see any reason for it running through the winter, given how bad the last few have been.

super_realist wrote:Far too early to have it started.
I'd quite like to see a debate though on whether the SPL would be better off running through the better months of the year rather than the horrid winter months.
I can't see any reason for it running through the winter, given how bad the last few have been.

I finally agree with something.

super_realist wrote:Far too early to have it started.
I'd quite like to see a debate though on whether the SPL would be better off running through the better months of the year rather than the horrid winter months.
I can't see any reason for it running through the winter, given how bad the last few have been.

Agreed, it's stupid.

I think Scotland would be better running from March-November and take advantage of our best months (April-August) however for a traditional season we are starting way to early, some players are just back from Holiday yet almost all our teams began pre-training the week commencing June 21st, no footballer in their right mind would want to sign that early

Last night is the perfect example as to why the SPL needs to switch to summer football.
Like it or not the SPL has fallen to a level where the likes of the Swedish, Danish, Norwegian leagues are our direct competition for European qualification.
These teams are halfway through their season, in peak condition and despite Malmo having a poor season so far were unlucky not to be home and hosed in this tie. They are in a far stronger position going into the match in terms of fitness, sharpness and preparation, even if myopic Rangers fans thought they just had to turn up and they'd turn them easily over because for some inexplicable reason they still see themselves as a "big" team that has some sort of divine right to beat these teams.
Given the atrocious winter weather, numerous cancellations /frozen pitches and sheer unpleasantness of sitting for 90 minutes in a drafty, cold and often wet stadium watching second rate athletes struggle against appalling weather and the opposition is no way for our league to improve and return to consistent qualification.
The other issue is that with it running concurrently with the likes of the EPL etc interest in watching live games or even highlights on television the SPL is likely to come off second best in favour of people preferring to watch better football. Interest is dwindling, borne out by Ibrox barely being half full last night.
Given the stubborn nature of the SFA with the likes of the moronic George Peat in lofty positions, it will probably never change and the SPL and our teams will continue to fall down the pecking order.
You have to wonder how much worse things will get if the best that our teams can do is get knocked out in the stage before the play off for the group stages.

super_realist wrote:even if myopic Rangers fans thought they just had to turn up and they'd turn them easily over because for some inexplicable reason they still see themselves as a "big" team that has some sort of divine right to beat these teams.

While I actually agree with most of your post you once again have to have a wee dig.

Do you not think it is a justified and honest appraisal?
Old Firm fans are still hopelessly deluded in their opinion of their standing in European football and are still terrible and over-sensitive when it comes to accepting warranted criticism.
Despite the capacious stadiums and (sometimes) large gates they get they are still not as good as they think they are.
Until they (and the club) realise this then they'll continue to suffer on that particular stage.
If they carry on at this rate, the only thing they'll be competing for will be the SPL, Europe will just be a brief flirtation and they'll be "home before the postcards" as Tommy Doc would say.

No I do not. Yes we were confident but perhaps we should all be like you and drag our feet and moan about things like a grumpy Disney character. I can accept criticism about Rangers, they played gash last night. Totally played off the park and if it wasn't for McGregor pulling off a few saves I wouldn't have been surprised to see 3 or 4 nil.
And the OF is big as far as Scotland is concerned, which you are aware of as you like to blame their dominance for your teams poor performance.
As for our Euro status, if I found a Rangers fan who thought we were in for a chance of being the success story this year I'd have them committed.

You need to realise that fans who actually support their teams are not always "hopelessly deluded" and stop being on such a downer all the time. I spend most days like some insane labrador until a read one of your comments then I go all mopey, listen to MCR and write in my journal about how dark the world is. Remeber super the world is a wonderful place. And that wonderful place theirs a wonderful league called the SPL. Just open your heart Super!!

Tiptoes.
I think you might be missing my point. I don't believe that Rangers fans believe they will have European success, only an idiot would expect that, but the impression that I get is that they believe that the very least they "deserve" is to be in the group stage.
The harsh reality is that they have to negotiate two rounds before that reality can be realised, however they came up against a team far more prepared, and like the fans, I think the club underestimated Malmo, and overestimate where they stand in European football.

The Old Firms Scottish dominance may not be good for other teams in the league, but it's pretty clear that it isn't very good for them either.

Rangers do deserve to be in the group stages, its called the CHAMPIONS League, Rangers are CHAMPIONS.

User, That's a very tired argument. Everyone knows that it's a very generic name and doesn't really accurately describe the product.
Malmo are champions too, but due to the low cofficient of their league they have to pre-qualify as do Rangers.

Imagine how bad the CL would be if it only had league champions in it?

I think they should change the name though, because it does seem to contravene trades description.

Lol thanks User I had to totally wipe my comment after you posted before I could. You can't tar us all with the same brush mate. I think that we need to go through the qualifiers because if we didn't we'd be totally unprepared for the group stages.

Tip, I agree that many are probably realistic in terms of Rangers and the CL, but I still think there are a sizeable section of the media/supporters who are a bit unrealistic, living in the past and believing the hype of Rangers having some sort of standing in Europe.
You just have to look at the misplaced confidence on this very forum suggesting that Rangers would cruise this tie to know that the general misconcetion that many think they are better than they actually are is rife amongst supporters.

I've seen reports and forums saying thing like Rangers were "embarassed" or "shocked" or generally alluding that Malmo are somehow are lesser team.
If they had things in perspective there wouldn't be such surprise or incredulity about this result. Rangers deserved nothing from it, and were lucky to get away with 1-0 defeat.

Scottish football has dropped a few levels in the past 5-6 years. It would be nice if people could adjust their expectations accordingly.

A change to summer football could be just what the SPL needs to regain some of the credibility that it's lost as it would improve the chances of European qualification.

Its all the other dross in Scotland that has got us needing to go through qualifyers.

User Name wrote:Its all the other dross in Scotland that has got us needing to go through qualifyers.

The basis for the calculation of UEFA coefficients is the performance of teams in European Competition. The Old Firm have hardly covered themselves in glory lately and are as much to blame (if not more given the number of opportunities they have) as all other teams which fail to get through qualification.

Given that the CL places are with one exception competed for by Celtic and Rangers then they are most significantly responsible for the number of qualification rounds they face by continual poor performance.

super used a smiley!! And it was facepalm aswell. Good to see you being a little childish for once like the rest of us

User Name wrote:Its all the other dross in Scotland that has got us needing to go through qualifyers.

need to disagree with you here mate, while my team haven't exactly helped out in that department lately Rangers have only one win in the last 22 European games, so I'd suggest that while you've hung in you've hardly gained many co-efficient points, I also think SuperRealist is extremely wrong, the winners of the 16 top European Leagues should be automatically placed in the CL, it matters not how strong these teams and their league is, they're a member club and should be treated the same as any club from a bigger league, European Football also shouldn't be seeded, its unfair and designed solely to protect bigger clubs, Cup Football should be about many things and 'luck of the draw' is something that has always been important and something that makes cup football unpredictable.

Michel Platini wants to make European Football fair, give Champions their rightful automatic place in the Champions League and stop the unfair seedings of clubs, which 9 times out of 10 see the seeded clubs protecte and keep their spots at the top of the food chain, open it up to the rest.

to be fair it wasnt a very long break lol

Gaffer, the CL makes too much money in it's current form and they won't do anything which will diminish the quality of the product, meaning they'll never let diddy teams from poorly ranked leagues in without prior qualification, besides even if they did, they'd still be home before the postcards.
I don't see much wrong with the current set up (despite the name) except that SPL teams are poorly prepared because the idiots in charge insist on playing during the most unsuitable months of the year when all other similar countries in Europe do it the right way around.

Would any TV companies really be interested in ties like Rangers or Celtic V FK Rejkjavic in any event?

I'd actually prefer if they had all Champions in it like "the good old days", that's IF they insist on the ridiculous name of Champions League, but I just can't see it happening as it would financially cripple the tournament. It would be Turkeys' voting for Christmas.

Diddy teams as you call them would have a chance to grow and expand with the money and experiance being automatically granted access allows, Look at Rosenborg, they had as great a Champions League pedigree as anyone in the first decade of it but through time Uefa have deemed them and their ilk teams they can do without, the Champions League for me is one of the worst things to happen to football and has killed the dreams of the little man

I agree Gaffer, but like it or not in a Champions League context teams like Copenhagen, Rosenborg, Grasshoppers, AIK Solna, Brondby, Rapid Vienna, Rangers and Celtic are by definition and their lack of success in the CL- diddy teams, or in other words simply there in the past to make up numbers.

Like you, I'd prefer it to revert to a more equitable format, (although the current format is fine so long as you don't support a team from a minor league) say the top 2 from each league, drawn in a knockout format, but the current setup makes far too much money and UEFA simply cannot square the circle of profit and helping the smaller clubs become more competitive through increased income. So I fear that it will continue as it is and we might never see a Scottish team in the group stages ever again.

I just don't like what the Champions League has evolved into, Uefa took a competition that was all inclusive and made it an exclusive competition, whether teams are rating draws or not the only thing that should matter is if they earned the right to be involved and winning a domestic league regardless of strength for entitles teams to participate, 'diddy' teams will never grow as long as the odds are stacked against them, that for me is what ruins the Champions League

I agree Gaffer, but sadly cash is king and UEFA are eternally greedy, so we'll have to get used to looking at things from the outside looking in.

I also think a % of Champions League money should be distributed to the league they participate in to be equally divided among the other clubs in their National League, i.e the team participating would get 50% with the other half going to the other teams in the league

Not a bad idea gaffer. In my opinion it would be better if all leagues had some sort of "shared revenue" where the clubs keep a certain amount of the profit they make with the rest being shared equally amongst the rest of the league and, importantly, being invested into grassroots for the good of the game.

Unfortunately money has corrupted the game and while I see summer football as being the way forward I can't see it happening. Although I'm not going to blame the old firm's dominance on all the SPL's problems it certainly dosen't help, regardless a lot of people follow success and there are a lot of people in Scotland who follow the old firm rather than their local club. Now you can't force people to do this (I'm a perfect example myself!) but a wee bit more financial equality to reduce the gap and I think fans will come in numbers to support other clubs. A more competitive league will be good for everyone imo, including the old firm.

.....turkey's don't vote for christmas though...