Aberdeen v Gretna - OFF?

[Guest swaddon]

Ptreey much fit I've been saying past couple of days, despite on Monday predicting a comfortable win for us. Just think Gretna will have so much to prove they'll be really fired up for this

 

We just need to get our manager to fire the team up even more for this one.

 

No, I can't see it happening either. He'll probably just tell the players not to be so schloppy before they leave the dressing room.

[TheChimp]

If we haven't got a + goal difference by the end of tomorrow then I winna be happy.

[SWA]

How can they have a shortage of players when they haven't sacked anyone yet?

 

They've only got sumin like 10 players willin tae play.  Think they only need 7 on the pitch for the game tae kick aff? 

[SWA]

A load of questions need to be answered by the SPL.

 

Are they going to strip clubs of the points already gained versus Gretna?

 

If so, are all cautions and ordering off's going to be recinded too? In Aberdeen's case, this would mean Lee Miller in the Pittodrie match and Ricky Foster in the away match. In Millers case, due to the totting up system, he received a suspension. Does this put the SPL at risk of legalities being that Miller was suspended for an important league match when the record's will show that he wasn't in fact over the totting up limit after all?

 

Are AFC likely to receive compensation for all losses incurred due to Gretna's ceasing of business?

 

When the league splits, the bottom 6 (now 5) shall have 1 match less to play resulting in even more loss of revenue for the bottom sides, not to mention players of all sides losing out on bonuses etc, suppliers such as bakers, printers, security companies. How do the SPL propose to make up for that? Surely they can't allow the top 6 sides to profit while the bottom 6 (5) lose out?

 

There are probably a load more questions to be asked and the SPL would be advised to be cautious with their decision on the matter or they could be faced with legal challenges from a number of clubs.

 

 

And followin on fae that, fit will the ESS-PEE-ELL do if Gretna go under efter this weekend and een o our players is either a) injured during this game, b) sent-off/booked as a result of this game?

 

Whit aboot the fans?  Forkin oot for a game that might count for nuthin at the end.

 

How dee they intend tae compensate?

 

Complete fuckin farce

[Guest Caroline B]

I'm a little bit fed up reading and hearing all this sympathy for Gretna. I may come across as a hard nosed cow for saying this but who cares.

 

Gretna were admitted into the SPL under the same guidance and rules given to clubs such as St Mirren, Falkirk and Inverness. In Falkirk's case they were denied promotion because their ground wasn't up to standard.

St Mirren had to invest heavily in their ground by building new stands. Inverness of course had share our ground till their own was upgraded.

All these clubs were told that they had till the end of March of their promotion season to sort it out. Even Dundee had to upgrade or be thrown out on their ear. They too went bust. Partick Thistle too come into the frame for such a fate.

 

Here is the rub...................Gretna, up until this point, haven't so much as laid a single brick at their ground. They also have not attempted to lay any undersoil heating. The SPL have to take a large share of the blame for even allowing Gretna to step up in the first place given that planning permission wasn't even given when they did start the season in the top flight.

 

Of course it goes without saying that I do have sympathy with the players and staff of the club because they, like the rest of us have bills to pay. I also hope that Brooks Mileson makes a full recovery from his illness. I also hope that he isn't allowed near a football club again after leading the Gretna juggernaut to the top on an obviously empty tank. Egotism on his behalf seems to have played a part.

 

Lets hope that Gretna can complete the season to stop our little league looking like a total farce.

 

SPL, get your act together and either let teams up without conditions (not preferable) or deny any team entry to the top league unless the meet the conditions as at the time they actually acheive promotion. You know it makes sense.

 

Gretna............After tomorrow, never darken our doorstep again!

[Ajja]

Not sure its quite as simple as saying that because previous clubs have been treated differently then Gretna should have to follow the same rules. These rules that force small clubs to meet what is quite a tough standard in order to enter our top league are generally perceived as out of line with common sense and the SPL are under a lot of pressure to change them. Its  difficult to then say that if they are set up as the rules at one point then for the rest of time they must be adhered to.

 

Also think that teams who 'buy their way' to success are looked upon in some shady light but at the end of the day why shouldn't they be able to do it, it's their risk ? If you go setting 'rules' to stop clubs from structuring their finances a certain way as well as their stadiums then where does the discipline stop ? Who decides what these financial rules are. If football goes down the road of barriers to entry based on rich benifactors bank rolling clubs then welcome to a Scottish football league with about half a dozen clubs in its top 2 leagues ? A large number of football clubs are only viable due to the financial support of an individual or collection of. Gretna have been guilty of over cooking the thing by some impressive amount. I am not saying I feel sorry for Gretna or that I applaud how they have gone about things, just think we need to step back a bit and think.

 

If anyone deserves the finger being pointed its Mileson. What a clown that man has been to take the club where it is knowing full well the withdrawal of his support would only leave the club and the SPL in one place. Utter moron playing boyish games where peoples lives are affected.

 

Must be time for the Lithuanian State Circus to roll into town again for some top notch entertainment 

[Guest Caroline B]

Not sure its quite as simple as saying that because previous clubs have been treated differently then Gretna should have to follow the same rules. These rules that force small clubs to meet what is quite a tough standard in order to enter our top league are generally perceived as out of line with common sense and the SPL are under a lot of pressure to change them. Its  difficult to then say that if they are set up as the rules at one point then for the rest of time they must be adhered to.

 

It may be a tough standard that is set, but lets face it, Gretna knew about the rules 3 seasons in advance and did bugger all to upgrade their ground meanwhile. They set themselves up for a heavy fall by buying players and paying them wages well over the amount they were taking in. If you are a Gretna fan right now, how foolish does that now look?

Clubs in the first division know that they will have to meet the criteria, which by the way, has been changed to allow clubs with just 6000 seats to enter the league. The rules have been the same for ALL clubs apart from the ground size for the last few years. They all knew this including Gretna 3 years in advance.

It's fine for individuals to bankroll clubs......as long as they stick to the rules that are set out clearly in advance and they don't cheat the fans of that club by "playing god" with it.

[Harcus]

Not sure its quite as simple as saying that because previous clubs have been treated differently then Gretna should have to follow the same rules. These rules that force small clubs to meet what is quite a tough standard in order to enter our top league are generally perceived as out of line with common sense and the SPL are under a lot of pressure to change them. Its  difficult to then say that if they are set up as the rules at one point then for the rest of time they must be adhered to.

 

Also think that teams who 'buy their way' to success are looked upon in some shady light but at the end of the day why shouldn't they be able to do it, it's their risk ? If you go setting 'rules' to stop clubs from structuring their finances a certain way as well as their stadiums then where does the discipline stop ? Who decides what these financial rules are. If football goes down the road of barriers to entry based on rich benifactors bank rolling clubs then welcome to a Scottish football league with about half a dozen clubs in its top 2 leagues ? A large number of football clubs are only viable due to the financial support of an individual or collection of. Gretna have been guilty of over cooking the thing by some impressive amount. I am not saying I feel sorry for Gretna or that I applaud how they have gone about things, just think we need to step back a bit and think.

 

If anyone deserves the finger being pointed its Mileson. What a clown that man has been to take the club where it is knowing full well the withdrawal of his support would only leave the club and the SPL in one place. Utter moron playing boyish games where peoples lives are affected.

 

Must be time for the Lithuanian State Circus to roll into town again for some top notch entertainment 

 

Indeed. I think his illness, which he is now at home recovering from, has deflected a lot of flak from him. He has left a football club high and dry, as Ajja points out, knowing full well the consequences. No matter what he has invested so far, I feel he should have had a plan in place to at least see Gretna through to the end of the season, where they could have been wound down.

[Ajja]

Irish consortium lead by the Carlisle manager now looking to rescue them.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/7295175.stm

 

 

Think again fool.

[Kowalski]

Irish consortium lead by the Carlisle manager now looking to rescue them.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/7295175.stm

 

 

Think again fool.

 

WTF do they see in Gretna that is worth investing in!?  Sheer lunacy.

[Ajja]

What happens if Gretna fold after the split and it changes who would have been in the top and bottom six when gretna's games for the season are removed?!?

 

What a (predictable) SPL shambles!!!

 

"That's another fine mess you've got us into!"

 

 

 

If they make it to the split everyone will have played them 3 times and so it would be considered back to a level playing field I think. No adjustments required ?

[SWA]

If they make it to the split everyone will have played them 3 times and so it would be considered back to a level playing field I think. No adjustments required ?

 

But they canna hiv teams gettin points fae Gretna games if they're removin Gretna fae the equation?

[Northfield Quine]

Yes everyone would have played 3 games but not everyone would have picked up same points and as the rules state all games would be void so could still change top/bottom league positions.

[SWA]

bad point well made 

 

[Ajja]

Yes everyone would have played 3 games but not everyone would have picked up same points and as the rules state all games would be void so could still change top/bottom league positions.

 

Lets be honest. The SPL will clutch at any straw to ensure they don't have to face the embarrassment of readjusting points. If Gretna make it to the split I'm certain they will consider it parity, just because they can.

[Northfield Quine]

Lets be honest. The SPL will clutch at any straw to ensure they don't have to face the embarrassment of readjusting points. If Gretna make it to the split I'm certain they will consider it parity, just because they can.

 

Agreed it would be an embarrassment for the SPL having to reduce all the points. Someone within Gretna and SPL must have knew how bad the whole situation was before it came out over night and should have been dealt with before it got totally out of hand. 

[Kowalski]

Interesting to see the odds for Gretna's scorers:

 

http://www.willhill.com/iibs/EN/relatedbets.asp?couponid=FB2021014&section=1&dateblock=1&event=1&CouponChoice=FB2042727

 

So that's how they've managed to get 11 players!

[Cowie]

Are we loaning them JDV for the game too?  Or his he going to bang in o.g.'s for us?

 

 

notice he has the lowest odds aswell...

[mizer]

I see gretna seem to have a full squad according to the BBC

 

Aberdeen: (from)  Langfield, Mair, Maybury, Diamond, Considine, Bus, McNamara, Foster, Walker, Severin, Aluko, Miller, Maguire, De Visscher, Touzani, Mackie, Lovell, Soutar.

 

Gretna (from): Krysiak, Barr, Naughton, Hall, Meynell, Easton, Skelton, Faulds, McGill, Kissock, Buscher, Mathieson, Makinwa, Collin, Shultz-Eklund, Wilkinson, Baldacchino, Griffiths.

[Nespa]

Gretna (from): Krysiak, Barr, Naughton, Hall, Meynell, Easton, Skelton, Faulds, McGill, Kissock, Buscher, Mathieson, Makinwa, Collin, Shultz-Eklund, Wilkinson, Baldacchino, Griffiths.

 

Hoi Baldrick are u getting a game today!!?

[Millers Tache]

Mackie?! Thought he was out for weeks? 

[mizer]

Aberdeen's game with Gretna this afternoon goes ahead despite the doubts that surrounded the fixture this week. There are a few unfamiliar names included in the visiting squad but Aberdeen will be concentrating on their own need to pick up the three points leaving Gretna with their own problems to ponder as the season winds towards a conclusion.

 

Jimmy Calderwood makes only one change to the side that drew with Celtic in the Scottish Cup last weekend. The suspended Barry Nicholson returns to replace the injured Jamie Smith while Mackie, Lovell and McNamara return from injury to take their place on the bench. Joining them on the sidelines are Langfield, Mair, Aluko and Walker. Today's referee is Douglas McDonald and the full starting line up is:

 

Aberdeen Soutar, Maybury, Diamond, Considine, Touzani, Foster, Severin, Nicholson, Miller, Maguire, de Visscher.

 

Gretna : Krysiak, Griffiths, Naughton, Hall, Meynell, Wilkinson, Osman, Deverdicks, McGill, Baldacchino, Makinwa.

[BobbyBiscuit]

Pretty strong bench for today's game. Bit surprised to see both Severin and Touzani start, but I suppose both did well last week.

 

Maguire straight through the middle then?

[mizer]

Jimmy Duffy is only talking about how bad we are

 

So far described our team as: Lethargic, flat, sloppy, indifferent, poor, poor, poor.........HOLY SHIT BEBO HAS SCORED  :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

 

1-0

[Kowalski]

Just in, pretty dreadful game.  Not sure if the players thought the game was won before kick off.

 

Hardly any good performances.  Aluko only played 45 minutes and I thought he was our best player, most of the rest didn't seem interested.  Still, its 3 points.  Bit disappointing that Falkirk won.

 

Bebo scored but he was awful up to then.  Not sure if he was hooked at half time for an injury or not though.

 

If Mackie had missed the sitters Lovell missed today then there would be a witch hunt after the game!