St Johnstone to start giving Old Firm THREE stands at McDairmid

[Pretty Boy]

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I find anyone supporting the old firm outside of Glasgow weird tbh. There is no reason for it all unless it’s a family thing, and even then it’s weird. Support your local team from grassroots to top level.

I agree, I don't get it.

It's not just a Scottish football issue. The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd have more fans in Abuja and Seoul than they do in their home cities. Where is the joy in following a team that you never see except on a TV screen? It's just so plastic.

[Bristolhibby]

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They only average about 2000 home fans so it probably makes sense. They have done everything they can with amazing family deals etc while maintaining brilliant league positions and actually playing decent football. They may as well make a few extra quid. Sad but the generations of potential St J kids obviously chose the Uglies over their local team.

Not being funny, but 2000 fans isn’t sustainable and should not be in the Premiership.

I’m ready for the “as long as they are doing the business on the park then they have earned it”, but how can they afford to even keep the lights on with 2000 fans every 2 weeks?

J

[bigwheel]

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Not being funny, but 2000 fans isn’t sustainable and should not be in the Premiership.

I’m ready for the “as long as they are doing the business on the park then they have earned it”, but how can they afford to even keep the lights on with 2000 fans every 2 weeks?

J

They’ve no debt...so they are managing to balance the books - they do it by paying 500-600 quid a week to many of their players.. if they get enough points, then they deserve to be in the league. As long as they aren’t racking up big debts - fair play to them..

[Sir David Gray]

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Not being funny, but 2000 fans isn’t sustainable and should not be in the Premiership.

I’m ready for the “as long as they are doing the business on the park then they have earned it”, but how can they afford to even keep the lights on with 2000 fans every 2 weeks?

J

There are only 6 clubs in the whole country with an average attendance of much more than 5,000 fans.

[Billy Whizz]

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There are only 6 clubs in the whole country with an average attendance of much more than 5,000 fans.

That’s because some of our potentially bigger clubs are in lower leagues

[Jones28]

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There are only about 45k people in Perth? They are getting a bigger percentage of the population of Perth than we are managing in Edinburgh I imagine.


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Edinburgh is 2 team city with circa 500k. So if you split it down the middle for arguments sake it would be 250,000 for each team.

Average attendance for us last year was 16,870 - so roughly 6.5%.

Saints had an average attendance of 3938, so nearer 10% of Perth’s population but those figures are skewed by old firm visits that almost double the attendance which isn’t really comparable imo. They only just managed 1000 a couple of weeks ago which is pathetic.

[Sir David Gray]

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That’s because some of our potentially bigger clubs are in lower leagues

Other than the 6 that do, I can't think of many clubs that could get an average of at least 6,000 per game.

Possibly Dundee and Dunfermline but that's about it.

[Onion]

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Not being funny, but 2000 fans isn’t sustainable and should not be in the Premiership.

I’m ready for the “as long as they are doing the business on the park then they have earned it”, but how can they afford to even keep the lights on with 2000 fans every 2 weeks?

J

Biggest problem with smaller clubs opening up stands for the OF is that they start to rely on that extra income to run their clubs - higher wages, bigger overheads. So when it comes to voting for changes that could help the product in Scotland eg fewer games or playing each team twice a season, they’re unable and unwilling to support change. The likes of Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen effectively get shafted by both ends of the league who want things to remain just the way they are !

[Billy Whizz]

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Other than the 6 that do, I can't think of many clubs that could get an average of at least 6,000 per game.

Possibly Dundee and Dunfermline but that's about it.

Dundee Utd and possibly Falkirk, they would have much bigger home and away fans than, County, St Johnstone, Livvi and Hamilton
Partick Thistle in the Premiership, would average this as well

[Jonny1875]

I think some Hibs fans really need to look at what they are saying here about St Johnstone.
We rarely sell out our own stadium, even against the OF. Usually there's about 25% of Hibs end seats free and we are supposedly one of the big three outside of the OF.
St Johnstone also for their budget have been just as successful as us in recent years, we haven't finished third even in 10+ years. For so many on here to laugh at and criticise St Johnstone is laughable.

[Smartie]

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I think some Hibs fans really need to look at what they are saying here about St Johnstone.
We rarely sell out our own stadium, even against the OF. Usually there's about 25% of Hibs end seats free and we are supposedly one of the big three outside of the OF.
St Johnstone also for their budget have been just as successful as us in recent years, we haven't finished third even in 10+ years. For so many on here to laugh at and criticise St Johnstone is laughable.

Until Hibs propose handing 3/4 of our ground over to fans of Celtic and Rangers I think we should laugh and criticise as much as we like - and make it known in no uncertain terms how damaging we think such moves are for the health of the game in this country.

FWIW I have loads of respect for St Johnstone as a club and in many ways admire them for their recent good results against us. They have been an example to other Scottish clubs in terms of achieving on field success whilst managing to live within their means.

[Jonny1875]

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Until Hibs propose handing 3/4 of our ground over to fans of Celtic and Rangers I think we should laugh and criticise as much as we like - and make it known in no uncertain terms how damaging we think such moves are for the health of the game in this country.

Or you could look at how St Johnstone are doing so well with their limited fan base and resources. Hibs could and should do better with a lot larger fan base and resources. We haven't even finished third in years.

[Sir David Gray]

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Dundee Utd and possibly Falkirk, they would have much bigger home and away fans than, County, St Johnstone, Livvi and Hamilton
Partick Thistle in the Premiership, would average this as well

Dundee Utd are one of the six that I was referring to that already average well above 5000.

Falkirk didn't average any more than around 5500 when they were last in the top league 10-15 years ago and even more recently the pull of having the likes of Rangers, Hibs, Hearts and Dundee Utd in the Championship didn't pull in an average of more than 5000.

[Sir David Gray]

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Dundee Utd and possibly Falkirk, they would have much bigger home and away fans than, County, St Johnstone, Livvi and Hamilton
Partick Thistle in the Premiership, would average this as well

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Dundee Utd are one of the six that I was referring to that already average well above 5000.

Falkirk didn't average any more than around 5500 when they were last in the top league 10-15 years ago and even more recently the pull of having the likes of Rangers, Hibs, Hearts and Dundee Utd in the Championship didn't pull in an average of more than 5000.

Also Partick Thistle never averaged above 5000 the last time they were in the top league either.

[Billy Whizz]

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Also Partick Thistle never averaged above 5000 the last time they were in the top league either.

5000 or so is still decent

[Allant1981]

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I find anyone supporting the old firm outside of Glasgow weird tbh. There is no reason for it all unless it’s a family thing, and even then it’s weird. Support your local team from grassroots to top level.

Plenty of non edinburgh folk support hibs, do you find that weird as well, not everyone has a local team or had a local team when growing up.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

St Johnstone have been in the SPL for the last ten years. In that time they have qualified for Europe four times in a row, had some notable results and also they won the Scottish Cup all on a fan base of 3,000. Are we deliberately swerving the irony of that compared to us, or choosing not to look?

[Jonny1875]

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St Johnstone have been in the SPL for the last ten years. In that time they have qualified for Europe four times in a row, had some notable results and also they won the Scottish Cup all on a fan base of 3,000. Are we deliberately swerving the irony of that compared to us, or choosing not to look?

100%. Outside of the Scottish Cup win Hibs have had a shocking decade.

[Smartie]

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Or you could look at how St Johnstone are doing so well with their limited fan base and resources. Hibs could and should do better with a lot larger fan base and resources. We haven't even finished third in years.

Not going to argue with that really, as I agree.

If I were to really stick my neck on the line, I'd say the biggest problem Scottish football has had in the past 30 years has been the decline of the biggest clubs immediately below Rangers and Celtic. The underachievement of ourselves, Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee United has been criminal. When we start regularly making the group stages of the Europa League or the national team qualifies for another major tournament then I'll start to think Scottish football is on the mend. I couldn't care less what Rangers and Celtic do.

Clubs like St Johnstone and Ross County have in many ways been an example to us and an impressive Scottish success story - how to do so well with minimal resources whilst living within your means.

We could do with getting a bit more from Dunfermline, Falkirk, Dundee, Morton etc who I have always considered to be fairly big clubs.

[we are hibs]

Anyone supports celtic or rangers is a weirdo regardless if they are a weegie or not.

[Sir David Gray]

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5000 or so is still decent

It's not bad in comparison with the wider Scottish attendance figures but the original suggestion was that there were quite a few teams outwith the Premiership that have the ability to pull in 6000+ fans on a regular basis and the only reason they don't is because they're not in the Premiership, when that just isn't really the case.

There are probably no more than 3 or 4 teams outwith the top league that could reach an average of 6000 fans or more.

[Smartie]

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100%. Outside of the Scottish Cup win Hibs have had a shocking decade.

Hibs started the decade in the middle of a horrendous decline, which was only arrested after relegation and the appointment of LD.

Whilst we can have no excuses for the relegation, we were a bit unlucky to go down when we did, as emerging from the Championship was harder than ever given the teams who found themselves in there (for various reasons).

The start of the decade, whilst in that decline, was actually punctuated by some relatively decent cup performances.

Since relegation we've generally been on an upward trend with a couple of notable (and predictable) bumps in the road.

I'm not unhappy with where we've ended the decade and the direction of travel presently.

Not sure I'd call it a shocking decade - the 3 years in the Championship were abject, but the Scottish Cup did make up for it.

Put it this way - I don't think the last 10 years were any worse than any other set of 10 during my 42 years on the planet, with the usual peaks and troughs.

[lord bunberry]

Maybe if every game they play against the ugly sisters wasn’t on tv and moved to a Sunday or Saturday morning these teams might have more of a chance of getting bigger crowds in. It used to be that more home fans turned up for the bigger games, but that’s not the case anymore for most teams.

[jacomo]

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Hibs started the decade in the middle of a horrendous decline, which was only arrested after relegation and the appointment of LD.

Whilst we can have no excuses for the relegation, we were a bit unlucky to go down when we did, as emerging from the Championship was harder than ever given the teams who found themselves in there (for various reasons).

The start of the decade, whilst in that decline, was actually punctuated by some relatively decent cup performances.

Since relegation we've generally been on an upward trend with a couple of notable (and predictable) bumps in the road.

I'm not unhappy with where we've ended the decade and the direction of travel presently.

Not sure I'd call it a shocking decade - the 3 years in the Championship were abject, but the Scottish Cup did make up for it.

Put it this way - I don't think the last 10 years were any worse than any other set of 10 during my 42 years on the planet.

Not shocking only because it wasn’t unexpected.

Hibs are serial underperformers sadly.

[MWHIBBIES]

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100%. Outside of the Scottish Cup win Hibs have had a shocking decade.

Yes, outside of the greatest moment in the clubs history it has been poor.

[sambajustice]

Dunno if it's already been said but hibs should give Celtic and rangers the east stand.

More fans = more money!

[CentreLine]

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St Johnstone have been in the SPL for the last ten years. In that time they have qualified for Europe four times in a row, had some notable results and also they won the Scottish Cup all on a fan base of 3,000. Are we deliberately swerving the irony of that compared to us, or choosing not to look?

Added to that they have maintained a good playing surface, on grass, and managed their finances very well indeed. There may be critics of them making financially sound decisions but there are clubs much more worthy of criticism than St J. Where exactly do we get the clubs to make up a competitive league without the likes of St J, St Mirren, Dunfermline and such? I’d ditch the plastic pitch brigade long before a decent club like the Perth Saints.

[Hibbyradge]

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Dunno if it's already been said but hibs should give Celtic and rangers the east stand.

More fans = more money!

You're obviously trolling, but I'll play. How would giving a stand which already sells out for the bigger games to our opponents bring in more money?

[Brightside]

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Plenty of non edinburgh folk support hibs, do you find that weird as well, not everyone has a local team or had a local team when growing up.

Yes. Everyone has a local team. Please tell me any town in Scotland and I’ll give you the local team.

[The 90+2]

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I find anyone supporting the old firm outside of Glasgow weird tbh. There is no reason for it all unless it’s a family thing, and even then it’s weird. Support your local team from grassroots to top level.

Correct. Unfortunately there’s loads of excuses why they get supported, through religion to glory hunting.