Winning trophies

[Willie Wastle]

So a team that was in the Highland League until a little over two decades ago has won the Scottish League Cup.

I have a family connection to Dingwall, but even I feel no particular affinity with Ross County. When the likes of them, and the other wee clubs that have won trophies in the last 20 years - ICT, St Johnstone, Livingston, Raith Rovers - celebrate, all I feel is envy. And a sense of wonderment that a club like ours, that has spent over 140 years in Scottish football, has never yet won a major trophy.

We may now be the biggest club in Scottish football that has never won a proper trophy. And no sign of that changing any time soon. Is it not time for our owners to prioritise the cups more?

[Euan]

Well done to Ross County, but I don't see us emulating them any time soon.
29 years since Ibrox and that was only a third round win...not a single significant cup win since.
Even our run to the quarters when we lost to Dundee was an shambles with replays against lower league teams (Alloa and Brechin?) needed to get there.

[redandwhite1874]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

[Willie Wastle]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

How many have Livingston got? Or Raith Rovers?

[redandwhite1874]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

How many have Livingston got? Or Raith Rovers?

Think they had more than that when they won ?

[Stevie Clarke]

Jimmy Nicholl's success from 1992 onwards put about 1000 onto Raith's crowds. Went there many times prior to that and their crowds were no better than ours.
Livingston had decent crowds from memory while they were top 6. If we are competing at the top level of our game I'm not sure if crowds are a big issue in this, we should be capable of at least getting to a semi and crowds would come out of woodwork then.

[Alexander the Great]

Only club to have reached two finals and lost twice, reached the quarters 3 times in the last decade Dundee, rangers and Falkirk that's been about it and reached the challenge cup final 4 times winning twice that wads over twenty years ago.

[YeOldeHamiltonian]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

You sure you aren't Canning/Les/Ronnie with that defeatist guff?

FWIW,the disconnect between fans and board is widened every year by our refusal to take Cup Ties seriously.Hibs will win the Scottish Cup before we even get to a Semi-Final in all likelihood.

If we did get to a Cup Final,it would surprise folk how many would go.The whole of Hamilton would be there if playing a non Old Firm team.We used to get five figure crowds at big cup ties in years gone by,the support would be there.

[PrideOfLanarkshire]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

What has the number of fans got to do with how well a team can do in a cup? unbelievable

[redandwhite1874]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

What has the number of fans got to do with how well a team can do in a cup? unbelievable

Just asking if what people are moaning that we should do has EVER been done before (apparently not) - thereby putting into some context the level of the 'ask' or expectation of some.

I don't doubt glory hunters would come out if we to get to a final - but some of them attending more regularly would make the occasion more likely.

[Willie Wastle]

Have any teams with circa 1500 regular fans won a major trophy?

What has the number of fans got to do with how well a team can do in a cup? unbelievable

Just asking if what people are moaning that we should do has EVER been done before (apparently not) - thereby putting into some context the level of the 'ask' or expectation of some.

No, you just set up a straw dog, that only teams with big supports win trophies.

As I pointed out, Livingston and Raith didn't have bigger supports than us when they each won the League Cup, other than in the run-up to the final and its aftermath, which would happen for us too. These are historically teams with comparable supports to ours, in Livvy's case, arguably less.

Ross County have been doing well for the past year or so, but prior to that their gates were comparable with ours. Small clubs with small fanbases can win major trophies. Why shouldn't we aspire to do the same? Why shouldn't we set the target of a cup run, and prioritise cup ties?

[redandwhite1874]

Well one posters thinks Raith had bigger crowds before the win as a result of success in the league presumably; and I think Livi might likewise have - for example a quick check shows their average attendance in 99/00 was over 3500 when they finished 4th in the first division and well over 7000 2 years later in the SPL.

[Willie Wastle]

Well one posters thinks Raith had bigger crowds before the win as a result of success in the league presumably; and I think Livi might likewise have - for example a quick check shows their average attendance in 99/00 was over 3500 when they finished 4th in the first division and well over 7000 2 years later in the SPL.

Suppose you're right and they had slightly bigger crowds? What difference do you think it makes? I don't think they did, but I think it's a pointless argument.

For me, the key issue is being used to competing in the top league. It's rare (not unknown) for lower league teams to win major trophies. But what characterises most of the wee team triumphs is a spell of a few seasons in the top flight, even challenging near the top. We're hovering thereabouts at the moment: 3 SPL seasons and a record 7th place finish under Billy Reid, top six football for half a season under Alex Neil, and a brief flirtation with top six earlier this season under Martin Canning. Other teams have converted that sort of competitiveness into cup runs and wins - my beef is that, far from doing the same, we seem to regard cup ties as holidays from competitive football.