Coventry Saint Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 15 minutes ago, craigkillie said: Rangers are trying to secure an unbeaten season. An unbeaten league season. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leith Green Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 19 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said: Ross has delivered two shocking semi final performances thus far so if he were to finish 4th or lower his first full season becomes pretty shite Partly correct. On the cups, some (not me) would argue that "you need to get too the semi to give yourself a chance" but I agree with your assessment of the matches - opportunities like these dont come round all the time. 4th is "meh" and he will seal his Mcinnes mkII reputation among many. 5th and he will be removed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennett Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 28 minutes ago, craigkillie said: Rangers are trying to secure an unbeaten season. Celtic are trying to make sure they actually get second and qualify for the Champions League. Only 3rd and 4th are guaranteed Europe, so Hibs, Aberdeen and Livi are all still pushing for that. On top of that, 3rd place will be a guaranteed group stage spot in Europe next season unless someone else wins the cup, so that's a massive incentive too. I don't think so. Get the league won as quickly as possible then start bringing through younger players. We'd that unbeaten nonsense with McCoist years ago, we should have better priorities now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Just now, Leith Green said: Partly correct. On the cups, some (not me) would argue that "you need to get too the semi to give yourself a chance" but I agree with your assessment of the matches - opportunities like these dont come round all the time. 4th is "meh" and he will seal his Mcinnes mkII reputation among many. 5th and he will be removed. Rightly or wrongly Ross will have to live with those semi final defeats. For clubs like Hibs and Aberdeen going into semi's as favourites and not delivering is a huge black mark against a manager. Jimmy Calderwood was never forgiven for QoTS (plus other embarrassing cup defeats) despite decent league performances. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academically Deficient Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 42 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said: Incorrect. Seaside league football commences at tier 3. Give it a couple of years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 17 minutes ago, TheScarf said: Fucking finally a club with f**k all money is coming down. Sick of clubs with millionaire owners being relegated and then buying the Championship. The rest of us might have a chance next season! Yeah, there hasn't been a genuine title race since 13/14. The only season since that there's been fewer than 10 points from 1st to 2nd was Ross County ahead of Dundee United in 18/19 which was a 6 point gap, and even at that they'd been 11 clear in March. Dundee United were also 9 points ahead of ICT. You want clubs coming down who could do anything, could realistically rally and make a title challenge or plummet straight through to successive relegations. As funny as bigger clubs collapsing is, you know a club coming down with a significant financial advantage is likely finishing fourth at worst even if they're managed by a total clownshoe - see both Dundee clubs in recent years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 46 minutes ago, craigkillie said: Rangers are trying to secure an unbeaten season. Celtic are trying to make sure they actually get second and qualify for the Champions League. Only 3rd and 4th are guaranteed Europe, so Hibs, Aberdeen and Livi are all still pushing for that. On top of that, 3rd place will be a guaranteed group stage spot in Europe next season unless someone else wins the cup, so that's a massive incentive too. I'm just basing it off what I've watched of the clubs. Feel like they've all dropped off, even Rangers, over the past few weeks. Feel like this is usually the time of year bottom half sides start racking up points. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coventry Saint Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said: Yeah, there hasn't been a genuine title race since 13/14. The only season since that there's been fewer than 10 points from 1st to 2nd was Ross County ahead of Dundee United in 18/19 which was a 6 point gap, and even at that they'd been 11 clear in March. Dundee United were also 9 points ahead of ICT. You want clubs coming down who could do anything, could realistically rally and make a title challenge or plummet straight through to successive relegations. As funny as bigger clubs collapsing is, you know a club coming down with a significant financial advantage is likely finishing fourth at worst even if they're managed by a total clownshoe - see both Dundee clubs in recent years. Would you class us as having had a significant financial advantage? Genuine question, btw. We certainly almost fitted into the bit in bold those first two years we were down. The most surprising thing for me in our title season was how dominant we ended up being in terms of points. It never really felt that comfortable at the time. I'd say the fact United were down there for three years shows that pure financial muscle isn't always the be-all and end-all. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I think those who are writing off Hamilton do so without factoring in they have 2 games in hand over County (one of them against us - which while I'd like to think we'd win it, is not a foregone conclusion) and that County are managed by big Yogi. That said, for me, the four clubs very much in the mix are Hamilton and County (obvs), Killie and St Johnstone. I honestly think that United have enough in them to pull off a couple of wins which, coupled with their decent points tally already, will see them clear. If they hadn't that cushion though it would be a different story. Killie really need to make the right decision regarding the manager, which is a blindingly obvious comment I know, but it will make or break their season. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranaldo Bairn Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, Leith Green said: Partly correct. 4th is "meh" and he will seal his Mcinnes mkII reputation among many. 5th and he will be removed. Seems very harsh! Obviously Sevco and Celtic are miles ahead of you, and Aberdeen should be comfortably 3rd, but if Hibs finish behind a Livingston side who have performed freakishly well, is that a reason to flush? 3 minutes ago, Coventry Saint said: Would you class us as having had a significant financial advantage? Genuine question, btw. We certainly almost fitted into the bit in bold those first two years we were down. The most surprising thing for me in our title season was how dominant we ended up being in terms of points. It never really felt that comfortable at the time. I'd say the fact United were down there for three years shows that pure financial muscle isn't always the be-all and end-all. You just have to be a little bit better than everybody else though, and if you are consistent with it throughout the season, you can rack up quite a lead. In individual games things will probably be tight and hard fought for the most part. I venture to say this is what your title felt like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coventry Saint Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, Ranaldo Bairn said: You just have to be a little bit better than everybody else though, and if you are consistent with it throughout the season, you can rack up quite a lead. In individual games things will probably be tight and hard fought for the most part. I venture to say this is what your title felt like. Yeah, that's a reasonable way of putting it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 44 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said: Yeah, there hasn't been a genuine title race since 13/14. The only season since that there's been fewer than 10 points from 1st to 2nd was Ross County ahead of Dundee United in 18/19 which was a 6 point gap, and even at that they'd been 11 clear in March. Dundee United were also 9 points ahead of ICT. You want clubs coming down who could do anything, could realistically rally and make a title challenge or plummet straight through to successive relegations. As funny as bigger clubs collapsing is, you know a club coming down with a significant financial advantage is likely finishing fourth at worst even if they're managed by a total clownshoe - see both Dundee clubs in recent years. Yep, for example Dundee have the worst manager in the league but he has the ability to enough throw money at it to get them 4th at worst. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 47 minutes ago, Ric said: I think those who are writing off Hamilton do so without factoring in they have 2 games in hand over County (one of them against us - which while I'd like to think we'd win it, is not a foregone conclusion) and that County are managed by big Yogi. That said, for me, the four clubs very much in the mix are Hamilton and County (obvs), Killie and St Johnstone. I honestly think that United have enough in them to pull off a couple of wins which, coupled with their decent points tally already, will see them clear. If they hadn't that cushion though it would be a different story. Killie really need to make the right decision regarding the manager, which is a blindingly obvious comment I know, but it will make or break their season. Hope they make a ham fist of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Blaze said: Hope they make a ham fist of it. I believe if they go down, they won't come back up. Edited February 4, 2021 by Ric 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumbartonBud Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Saints still need a couple of wins and if they don’t come during the seven! games we have left in February then we will be back in the mix. Any of the bottom 7 are capable of winning 2/3 games or losing 6/7 in quick succession. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 We were outstanding at Tannadice and Celtic Park. The Hibs game was a different scenario, and although disappointed at losing, I was really impressed in the way we continued to press and attack Hibs even with 10 men. I think we will see the same attacking formation on Saturday. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I tipped Ross County to go down from quite early so I'm sticking to it. However, Kettlewell was my main motivation for that shout. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 10 minutes ago, DumbartonBud said: Saints still need a couple of wins and if they don’t come during the seven! games we have left in February then we will be back in the mix. I said before in this thread that the two biggest games for us in the coming weeks were United and Kilmarnock. The United game, as we all saw, was a thing of beauty that turned out far better than any of us could have hoped for. If we can get past Kilmarnock (I wish Celtic hadn't given them such a doing to be honest as that can often sharpen the resolve as much as it can break it) even if it's a tedious 1-0 victory I would take that as a sign we won't be in the relegation fight. Whether we retain our top 6 spot? Well that's really down to luck and injuries imo. It's certainly possible and if it happens then a lot of Saints fans will breathe easier knowing no matter what we can sit back and enjoy the carnage. A luxury that isn't normally afforded us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 2 minutes ago, Coventry Saint said: Would you class us as having had a significant financial advantage? Genuine question, btw. We certainly almost fitted into the bit in bold those first two years we were down. The most surprising thing for me in our title season was how dominant we ended up being in terms of points. It never really felt that comfortable at the time. I'd say the fact United were down there for three years shows that pure financial muscle isn't always the be-all and end-all. Nah, obviously you cantered to the title (and Livingston with probably the smallest full time budget were 2nd as well) while a side with a far bigger budget were there in Dundee United, and there are of course other exceptions such as Hearts (despite having a considerably larger budget than most sides) finishing above Rangers by a mile. There are plenty of cases of clubs with larger budgets making a complete mess of it, but I'd say you're the only winners in that time who haven't been expected to piss over most of the division financially. Obviously it doesn't guarantee anything, and Livingston proved that you can overcome a small budget so there's no use in middling Championship clubs crying about it, but it would be quite refreshing to have a Championship season without a clear favourite before it starts. While I'm all for small clubs staying up and big clubs going down from the Premiership for the sake of schadenfreude and boiling the piss of pundits, if you had for example Hearts up, Hamilton down and Dundee continuing to be managed by McPake then you'd be looking at a Championship where half the division could hope to challenge. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 It's a long season when a Ross County, a Dundee United and a Hearts effectively have the league sewn up before a ball is kicked. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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