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Topic: 40 Years
1. Author: DunfyDave Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 07:35 It has been 40 years since any team other than the Old Firm have won the Scottish Premiership title. You have to go all the way back to 1985 when Aberdeen won the league. Since then both Rangers and Celtic have dominated Scottish football. Something has to change. If this was business, I am sure the Monopolies & Mergers Commission would be involved. What are Pars fans thoughts? And how best to go about remedying this situation? DunfyDave Reply
2. Author: GG Riva Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 08:12 We can think all we like, Dave, but sadly, it looks like this unhealthy situation will continue. Unfortunately, the other clubs painted themselves into a corner down the years, by agreeing to every demand Celtic and Rangers made. Keeping home gate monies, smaller leagues, 4 games per season, skewed voting structure and TV/sponsorship payments.... Perhaps clubs were afraid that these clubs would carry out their threat of moving to England, but I think they were sold on the idea that they could become richer in a 10 team "Super League". Even the Pars voted for it but failed to make the cut and ended up playing in the bottom tier of 3 divisions. It took us over a decade to find our way back to the top flight and we`ve never been able to establish ourselves there in the way that Motherwell have Not your average Sunday League player. Reply
3. Author: vasco Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 09:02 Doesn’t help when one of clubs is liquidated and the league tries to shoehorn its replacement straight into the top division. Reply
4. Author: vasco Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 09:03 Scottish football needs a strong Rangers they said. Reply
5. Author: kevc007 Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 10:43 We should just ignore them and break away to form a new league without them. It would create interest from the media and create competition which would be a much more level playing field. Reply
6. Author: DunfyDave Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 15:10 kevc007, Mon 16 Feb 10:43 We should just ignore them and break away to form a new league without them. It would create interest from the media and create competition which would be a much more level playing field. ^^^^ I suspect sooner or later this is what`s going to happen with the exception that they will be the teams to break-away with promoting their Colts to replace them. DunfyDave Reply
7. Author: Stanza Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 19:40 Scotland isn`t unique in having a league that is dominated by a few clubs. Portugal has had 91 years of league football, with 89 of them won by Benfica (38), Porto (30) or Sporting (21). Spain has had 94 years of league football, with 75 of them won by Madrid/ Real Madrid (36), Barcelona (28) or Atlético Madrid (11). In 64 of the seasons, one of these three clubs finished second. In Germany, Bayern München have won 33 Bundesliga titles, with 29 being won by all the rest - no other club has won more than 5. In Turkey, since the Süper Lig started in 1959 (67 seasons) it has been won 57 times by Galatasaray (24), Fenerbahçe (19) or Beşiktaş (14). Greece has had 89 years of league football, with 81 of them won by Olympiakos (48), Panathinaikos (20) or AEK (13). There are similar stories of dominance in other countries, large and small - and the trend is towards the rich becoming richer (eg in England only a handful of clubs now have a realistic chance of being champions.) What perhaps makes Scotland unique is that the long-lasting Old Firm dominance is fuelled by religious tribalism that seeps into nearly every aspect of Scottish society. But whether that is any "worse" than nationalist and social rivalries such as Madrid/Barcelona, Galatasaray/Fenerbahçe, Boca Juniors/River Plate I don`t know. _________________ Support Dunfermline Athletic Disabled Supporters` Club (DADSC) when you shop online with one of 8000 firms: http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/dadsc[ Reply
8. Author: AdamAntsParsStripe Date: Mon 16th Feb 2026. 20:13 It stands to reason Celtic and Rangers have dominated the league so long. Even aside from usually having 3 times as many supporters inside their stadiums than their biggest challengers, they have that mass of armchair supporters too who will buy their merchandise worldwide. Traditionally they would also snap up the best players from the opposition to widen the gap even further. Hearts have bucked that trend this season and may do so again in the next few years having a rich owner. They can stand on their own two feet so to speak now and that’s something we haven’t seen in quite some time in Scotland. Motherwell are having a brilliant season this year but they won’t be able to sustain that for long. Their manager will be lured away (perhaps Celtic) so we will be left with three teams instead of the usual two for the foreseeable future. Zwei Pints Bier und ein Päckchen Chips bitte Reply
9. Author: Leamington_sPAR Date: Tue 17th Feb 2026. 09:28 GG Riva, Mon 16 Feb 08:12 We can think all we like, Dave, but sadly, it looks like this unhealthy situation will continue. Unfortunately, the other clubs painted themselves into a corner down the years, by agreeing to every demand Celtic and Rangers made. Keeping home gate monies, smaller leagues, 4 games per season, skewed voting structure and TV/sponsorship payments.... Perhaps clubs were afraid that these clubs would carry out their threat of moving to England, but I think they were sold on the idea that they could become richer in a 10 team "Super League". Even the Pars voted for it but failed to make the cut and ended up playing in the bottom tier of 3 divisions. It took us over a decade to find our way back to the top flight and we`ve never been able to establish ourselves there in the way that Motherwell have Did Motherwell not avoid relegation TWICE due to the ridiculous 10K minimum capacity requirement? Falkirk being one of them if I recall. Reply
10. Author: TrancePar Date: Tue 17th Feb 2026. 10:49 Unfortunately it looks like the Hearts bubble is bursting and the ugly 2 are gonna finish 1st & 2nd again. Realistically, what would happen to Scottish football if Rangers and Celtic were to go to the EFL? I know its highly unlikely but I`m just curious on what it would mean for the rest of us if they did. Life is made of small moments like these Reply
11. Author: DunfyDave Date: Tue 17th Feb 2026. 13:12 Stanza makes a valid point (above) and did a superb job analysing data from several leagues Europe wide over the years. I for one think that it may be worth considering if the two top teams in each of these dominated leagues bugger off and form their own league then perhaps what remains of us will be more attractive, competitive and saleable to a wider audience. DunfyDave Reply
12. Author: Rusty Shackleford Date: Tue 17th Feb 2026. 16:13 Worth saying that before the top 6 was a thing, the magnificent Bert Paton had us 5th (above Hibs, Aberdeen & Motherwell) in 1997 and not whilst racing 100mph towards insolvency. Reply

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