TOPIC: Utd v QotS

I know a lot on here are anti Scottish football but given, even though they were only friendlies, that Queens have got the better of us the last couple of times we have met. Does anyone think that they are of a similar standard to us football wise.

pacirv wrote:
No not really , loads of factors to add in here , we were nowhere near full strength , had a friendly the day after, this was more of a fitness thing ,if we played a competitive fixture against them we would win 4 times out of 5

I watch a fair bit of Scottish football (Dunfermline and Annan) and watched both of our friendlies against QOS. Queens played both games in a much more competitive manner than Carlisle. However, I do agree that in a properly competitive game, Carlisle would win more often than not. A lot of it comes down to finances. Carlisle get bigger crowds and probably make more money from other areas such as sponsorship. Logically, they can afford to sign better players and coaches.

I've watched Queens a fair few times over the last few seasons and the year before last Queens had a much better team than us.... they would have beaten us 9 times out of 10. Last season Queens weren't as strong but I still think they had a better team than us and would beat us 6 or 7 times out of 10. From what I've seen the Scottish Championship is a consistently higher standard than League 2.... it's probably mid to bottom half of League 1 standard. Some of the football I've seen Queens playing over the last few years is far better than anything I've seen us play. There are some very good technical young players in the Scottish Championship who will be on lower wages than those that we have.... I'm a big advocate of us sourcing players from Scotland.

Scottish League 1 is nowhere near better than L2. We've played friendlies against several Scottish teams in recent years and never been embarrassed...

Off top of my head, Hibs, Hearts, Killie, Falkirk, QotS, Partick...

Yes only friendlies, but played at a decent pace etc.

If Carlisle played in the Scottish League, I think they'd be somewhere between mid table Premier League and near the top of the Championship. It's hard to prove anything unless they revive the Anglo-Scottish Cup. That's not to say Scottish football isn't entertaining. I certainly enjoyed most of the Dunfermline games I went to last season more than most of the Carlisle games I was at. There was ten times as much hoofball at Brunton Park than at East End Park.

Yeah that's about the level I'd have us at. Only really the Old Firm, Hearts, Aberdeen and a couple of others who'd cause us problems.

That QotS team of the other year was ripe for plundering IMO, hopefully McKee the first of a few from up the road who can do a job for us. A lad I know watches a lot of Scottish football and knows a few folk, apparently wages are very poor at the moment and he reckons with our location and the number of players based in the 'Central Belt' that are an easy commute to us, we should be cherry picking for fun...

I'd rather a revival of the Anglo-Scottish Cup compared to the shan the FLT Trophy has turned into.

Faissal el-Bakhtaoui still hasn't got a club. Just saying.

SeepBladder wrote:
Surprised by that, unless he's asking silly money?

An offer from Dunfermline is still on the table but his agent is trying to get more money elsewhere, according to rumour.

CCU wrote: I agree Scottish L1 isn't... but the Scottish Championship is better than L2 in my view. I'm basing that on watching about 20 QOS league games over the last two seasons, and obviously watching virtually all of our games. Obviously it's all subjective... but remember I'm a Carlisle fan, not QOS... I'm more likely to be biased towards Carlisle than against them. Friendlies are utterly meaningless for any kind of comparison, no matter what pace they are played at. Two seasons ago the football QOS was exceptional at times... banging the ball around first time, loads of movement and creativity.... at the same time and we were launching 60 yard punts into the sky hoping for a flick on. Last season the gap was much closer... I'd have gone for QOS as our defence was woeful at times. We may have a better team this year who knows? If you want to judge the relative levels then get yourself along to a few league games at QOS when we are away from home. I've found it a very friendly, well run club and have enjoyed the football there way more than at BP in the last two seasons.

I meant to say Championship, not L1, but my point remains.

I do pop to Annan and QotS occasionally, good little trips out...

pacirv wrote:
You couldn't actually call it a friendly match. It was just a glorified training session fron what I could see.

The standard in the Scottish championship was very mixed last season. You had Rangers, Falkirk and Hibs who were decent and then Dumbarton, Livingstone and Alloa pretty dire to be honest. With Queens, St. Mirren etc somewhere in between.

nobbyblue wrote: I didn't see the Alloa side last year, but the year before they were a very well organised and workman like team, and they would have beaten us that year too. The Rangers, Hibs and Falkirk teams I saw last season would have beaten anybody in L2 and a lot in L1 comfortably.

The standard of the sides in the Scottish Championship fluctuates quite a bit due to finances... they normally only tie players down to short contracts, so if a team like QOS does really well they tend to lose a lot of their better players in the summer, as happened a couple of seasons ago. One thing that has surprised me about Scottish football was that the majority of teams really look to pass the ball on the ground, unlike many in L2 England. Even Berwick played decent passing football when I went to see them. They might not have been footballers of the highest standard but at least they were trying to play entertaining passing football.