Kmcalpin

No worldbeater but a loyal servant who always gave of his best and a perfect gent to boot. He deserves a good send off. He'll be in our hall of fame.

A question for everyone here. If Rangers cease to play in the SPL next season would our crowds and those of other SPL clubs increase? By my reckoning Rangers bring about 8,000 fans to FP every season. Now say they pay a mix of £23 and £15 - average £20. By my reckoning that brings in £160,000. Off that we have to deduct VAT and we'd be left with about £124,000. Fans of a replacement club would also bring revenue. OK they buy snacks and drinks etc but we have to pay police and stewarding bills. A very crude calculation but its not a fortune is it? Would we make that up in increased home gate receipts? Whatever the economics, I don't think gate receipts are the issue.

Thats what I'll be doing - every little helps the club. Hopefully we'll get a decent attendance and a great atmosphere with both sets of fans in party mode.

Difficult to answer precisely Iain, as I don't have all the legal and financial facts. Are the situations the same though? Other things being equal though I'd undoubtedly say yes.

You do not know that. Motherwell FC could easily vote to kick out Rangers on the basis of incomplete or downright wrong information in the name of sporting integrity. However its the SPL which would have the final say on the basis of other votes in addition to ours. If Rangers were kicked out/heavily punished/whatever on the basis of incomplete or downright wrong information then the SPL and possibly MFC could be sued for millions. Its one thing to want to deal with Rangers in a just way (I certainly do) but you can't just go ahead and do it without checking the facts first. Remember there's nothing in the SPL rules about this situation, although there should have been. The shareholders of any company, including MFC, would be extremely unhappy if the Directors acting on principle, albeit just, took illegal action which exposed the company to very costly litigation. Neither the SPL or our club are rich enough to simply bash ahead regardless with no thought to any legal or other costs involved. Its simply my take on a very complicated situation.

You might be disappointed if you received one tonight. Its quite possible that the official statement would read something along the lines of "We are awaiting clarification on a number of legal/financial points before coming to a decision". That could indeed be the club's position, who knows? As I posted in another thread does anyone know the legal remit of the Club's Directors, or indeed the Directors of any company? This could be a crucial factor

Yes. Irrespective of how any vote goes there's always at least one party with an axe to grind who leaks information, in the name of transparency. Just think of the secret vote which took place over Falkirk's attempt to groundshare at Airdrie. Any Board vote, if there is one should be adjourned today. The decision has to be taken by all the SPL members and not on a 11-1 or 10-2 basis either. If a Board vote is taken and its in favour of letting a Rangers Newco straight back into the SPL it will be all too easy for clubs not on the Board to say to their fans "Nothing to do with me Guv...a big boy done it and ran away". Result - they may get what they want and their own fans are satisfied their rep wan't to blame. Win - win?

X 2. I've been saying this for ages. Setting aside the Rangers Newco issue, fans on here have been complaining bitterly for long enough about odd kick off times to suit TV. Maybe time for action - cancel Sky + ESPN. For me the TV companies are at the heart of this debate. The issue for non OF clubs is not gate money - Rangers might generate an extra £120k per year for us plus sundries like food & drink but minus policing/stewarding costs. Its the TV money thats at the crux of this issue.

I asked the very same question a few days ago and didn't really receive any clear cut answers. My understanding, and its only that, is that some posters would still walk away as their gripe is against the SPL irrespective of MFC's position; others would continue to visit Fir Park as their focus is MFC's position. In short I guess there's a range of views and positions amongst those who would walk away.

Sorry I simply can't agree with that.

I can't understand this at all. The Society hasn't been formally constituted yet but when it does, hopefully soon, its the vehicle for fans to influence the club, the vehicle for us to have a big say in the running of the club ......... where's the benefit in walking away and giving up our right to have a say? Two wrongs do not make a right. It would be tantamount to us cutting off our nose to spite our face. If we take such action it'll simply benefit Rangers by making them all the stronger. The way to fight this injustice is to join up not walk away.

I must admit I am too. That said I'd never try to dissuade anyone from supporting our team, but given the amount of folk threatening to walk away from Fir Park next season I'm a bit puzzled. I'd rather deny Rangers our hard earned cash than deny it to our own club.

Our budget will dictate what players are offered, as it should. Other clubs, with the sole exception of Celtic, are cutting back too. You can't cut the salary of players midway through their contracts - thats not an option. In the main players will achieve their highest salary when aged 28 - 30. Don't forget Stevie will be 32 in 2 years time or 33 in 3 years time - in all likelihood past his peak. The club will know what we can afford and I'm happy to go by what our Directors say. I for one would not be prepared to put our club's entire future in jeopardy in order to keep individual salaries at the same level or indeed to increase them. Many workers outside of football have had to accept wage cuts or freezes - its a sign of the times.

FC is 100% right. At the end there was a melee of bodies all rushing and bumping into/falling over each other. It was reported as fact that Wallace had been deliberately kicked but he didn't actually see anything and there was never proof.

Great idea. It'll be a fine occasion on which to celebrate with no pressure as the job's done. Hope the club and the young lads plan something special.

Tempting though it may be to hold a pitch invasion I'd far rather spend the cash on players than paying a fine to the authorities or in increased policing bills next season. Its a no brainer.

Presumably contract negotiations will resume now that we have got other minor distractions out of the way!

OK Jay, you have my permission to start on Saturday

We've done it. Time to celebrate and its going to be quite a party a week on Sunday. Well done to all the club.

Yes, he has more than earned a new deal. A bit hot headed at times but he has come in and done a great job.

X 2. He certainly played his part tonight - a very difficult opponent to play against.

A great perfomance from the team tonight and a fanstic atmosphere. A good all round team performance and it was significant that Randy hardly had a save to make. Higgy's rapport with the crowd near the end was something to behold. He deserved it after his well taken goal. Have to disagree with a few posters about Brian Winter - whilst he got no major decisions wrong he got quite a few minor ones wrong. Two absurd fouls on Chris Humphrey went unpunished and a few Hearts players were guilty of diving. Mr Winter's control of free kicks was laughable - Hearts took them wherever they fancied. Still it was a great night and ahuge result but we have achieved nothing yet. The champagne is on ice.

A great support and atmosphere tonight.

You might well be right, I don't know. However, if these guys are established first team players or even fringe players then serious questions need to be asked of those who run the first division clubs in question, or their judgement questioned.

Many Hibs players are earning between £3k and £5k basic which is way above our level - I'm not 100% sure what it is but am confident its well below £2.5k.