Ecce Romanov Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I meant to post this earlier, but I heard him say on Sportsound on Sat that if Rangers and Celtic left Scottish football what remained would be no bigger than the League of Wales or the Irish league. I nearly threw my radio out the window (but it's a posh DAB one so I decided against it! ). Where does he get off? It is arrogant and condescending in the extreme that the Ugly sisters are all that is between the SPL and obscurity. I wish they both would bu**er off to the Johnstons paint league (South division), so that we could get on with things.... ....and relax! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le Tissier Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 No thanks dnt want either of them near st marys. Had sellick dwn few seasons ago just utter chaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givememychoice Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 ignoring the domestic situation, we are ranked above wales, and below ireland and northern ireland. I dont think he is that far from the truth though with regards the domestic situation. But it does serve as a discredit to the welsh and irish leagues. and at least they arent being shamed on the UK news.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecce Romanov Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 ignoring the domestic situation, we are ranked above wales, and below ireland and northern ireland. I dont think he is that far from the truth though with regards the domestic situation. But it does serve as a discredit to the welsh and irish leagues. and at least they arent being shamed on the UK news.... Yes, but that doesn't reflect the standing of their home leagues. NI, Ireland and Wales have some great players, but almost none of them are playing in their domestic leagues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 No thanks dnt want either of them near st marys. Had sellick dwn few seasons ago just utter chaos I assume thats a familiar story all over Englandshire as far as the OF are concerned. I remember reading "The Mag" an NUFC fans magazine. The match report for the testimonial game of their hero, Alan Shearer (agaist re sellick) was literally half filled with the writer complaining about the Celtic fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.J Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I think he'll be a big player for us in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsfc_fan Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I meant to post this earlier, but I heard him say on Sportsound on Sat that if Rangers and Celtic left Scottish football what remained would be no bigger than the League of Wales or the Irish league. I nearly threw my radio out the window (but it's a posh DAB one so I decided against it! ). Where does he get off? It is arrogant and condescending in the extreme that the Ugly sisters are all that is between the SPL and obscurity. I wish they both would bu**er off to the Johnstons paint league (South division), so that we could get on with things.... ....and relax! Not sure how he works that one out when you consider the crowds in the Welsh leagues are only about a few hundred people per game(and that goes for all teams). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmmgcycbwc Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Not sure how he works that one out when you consider the crowds in the Welsh leagues are only about a few hundred people per game(and that goes for all teams). Because Smith, along with most of the SFA and almost all media people, believes that the rest of us only watch football to be associated with the reflected glory emanating from the OF. They really DO think this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givememychoice Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Not sure how he works that one out when you consider the crowds in the Welsh leagues are only about a few hundred people per game(and that goes for all teams). yikes, hadnt quite realised just how small the welsh teams were. Ok, he is talking total b**loc*s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsfc_fan Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 yikes, hadnt quite realised just how small the welsh teams were. Ok, he is talking total b**loc*s The Welsh Premier is probably on par with the 2nd Division in Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest juvehearts Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 he talks utter shite heres one for you, why not do a season long trial. see how many, arrests, death's, stabbings, domestic disturbances, drunken disorders, breach of the peace(s) there ae in the space of that season compared to one with the glasgow clubs in it. If the uglies wernt in the league & say partick & Falkirk were in their place these clubs would have double their attendances every game. ok maybe thats wishful thinking, after all the majority OF fans are just glory hunting bigot barstewards that blight every city in Scotland & the ireland(s) cut of the head & it cant hurt you anymore. these clubs are the cancer of scottish football Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot since 86 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 he talks utter shite heres one for you, why not do a season long trial. see how many, arrests, death's, stabbings, domestic disturbances, drunken disorders, breach of the peace(s) there ae in the space of that season compared to one with the glasgow clubs in it. If the uglies wernt in the league & say partick & Falkirk were in their place these clubs would have double their attendances every game. ok maybe thats wishful thinking, after all the majority OF fans are just glory hunting bigot barstewards that blight every city in Scotland & the ireland(s) cut of the head & it cant hurt you anymore. these clubs are the cancer of scottish football Well said juve, uglies GTF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Bateman Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I love it how people think 'moving them down south' would involve some sort of geographical shift. The cancer will still remain; the only solution to this, and there needs to be, is a final one. Kill the Old firm. Force them to merge and play as 'Glasgow United' - Frankly, the subhumans amongst their support won't change until this is seriously proposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eckauskas Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Yet another attempt at deflecting from the fact that England don't want them. 'Aye, they'll be staying here for the sake of Scottish football.' My arse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 No thanks dnt want either of them near st marys. Had sellick dwn few seasons ago just utter chaos You've nothing to worry about. If they did go down the england they'd be playing in the EPL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Dale Cooper Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 To be honest I'd be more than happy for the status of the SPL to plummmet to that of Eire or Wales, if that were the consequences of the gruesome twosome jumping ship. They are a blight on this country and we would be better smaller but happier! Screw the coefficient and average TV deals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavySlaveJambo Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 ok maybe thats wishful thinking, after all the majority OF fans are just glory hunting bigot barstewards that blight every city in Scotland & the ireland(s) I have been told that it is not the case in the Republic of Ireland. There more into the Man Utds, Liverpools etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainy Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I would agree maybe the local people around Scotland would start supporting their local team. I found it interesting watching the football years on Friday that Rangers only had 6000 season ticket holders in 1986 when we had that famous season. Once Souness comes in and buys high profile players that is when they started getting the glory hunters rolling through the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dipped Flake Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have been told that it is not the case in the Republic of Ireland. There more into the Man Utds, Liverpools etc. When I was over in Dublin for the Scotland game last month found that nobody really cared about celtic or rangers anymore. They were only concerned with english football. Talked to a taxi driver about it and he said there has been a huge shift away from celtic in the last 10-15 years. Unfortunately the same is taking place in Scotland now (Don't mean about not bothering about the of but more folk talk about english football than Scottish) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Thor Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Doesn't say a huge amount Gordon Smith's tenure running Scottish football if after his time in charge he feels the nations game would go down the pan without the old firm. A more accurate summation would be to say that the discredited former SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith was given a job he wasn't fit for and left Scottish Football and the national team in a worse state than when he found it (which is a remarkabkle achievement in itself) He's now back doing what he does best. Being paid for talking out his arse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamboinglasgow Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 The scary thing was this is the view of a man who was head of Scottish Football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4marsbars Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 It would be interesting to see what SPL attendances would be for the likes of us, Hibs, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Killie, Well if we were playing in a competition we had a chance of winning every once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecce Romanov Posted March 8, 2011 Author Share Posted March 8, 2011 It would be interesting to see what SPL attendances would be for the likes of us, Hibs, Aberdeen, Dundee United, Killie, Well if we were playing in a competition we had a chance of winning every once in a while. I reckon they'd definitely go up. You used to be guarenteed a full house when the OF came calling, but nowadays (mainly cos of live TV) that's just not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambovambo Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I don't care. I'd rather have Scottish football without the OF than with them, even if it means readjusting expectations etc. The last thing I'd want is the OF to be shut down or whatever, because their ghastly fans would start following someone else in Scotland. No, they can *** off to Europe or England and leave us to it. "Gonna get along without you now" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Albert Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I meant to post this earlier, but I heard him say on Sportsound on Sat that if Rangers and Celtic left Scottish football what remained would be no bigger than the League of Wales or the Irish league. I nearly threw my radio out the window (but it's a posh DAB one so I decided against it! ). Where does he get off? It is arrogant and condescending in the extreme that the Ugly sisters are all that is between the SPL and obscurity. I wish they both would bu**er off to the Johnstons paint league (South division), so that we could get on with things.... ....and relax! Someone posted on here a couple of months ago average attendances in European leagues. Outside the big 4 European leagues SPL attendances compared very favourably with other leagues, even if you stripped out OF attendances and an estimate of their contribution to away crowds. From memory the SPL on this basis was comparable with for example the Czech and Danish and even Russian leagues. The leagues of Ireland and Wales are tiny in comparison. Gordon Smith is as usual speaking out of his arse, and what's worse getting paid by us to do so. Shows appalling disrespect to Scottish football outside the OF. But then he is only the ex-Chief Executive of the OF Football Association. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 this is a common theory. at best it's a semi-educated guess at how the league MIGHT go in the future... at worst it's an ignorant myth which has been peddled for so long now that it has seeped into the collective beliefs of scottish football. what is it based upon? has it been verifiably demonstrated by comparing it to the time when the old firm (or similar equivalents) upped sticks and left the irish league, or the welsh league? of course not. in truth nobody knows for sure to what extent - if any - the scottish league set-up would suffer after they left. my personal guess is that it would be a slightly devalued overall product but that the positives of being rid of the old firm would outweigh the negatives. the trouble is that it's not a subject that has ever been subjected to serious examination and debate. we are simply told what to believe. just like everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 On Five Live before the St Liedown/Rangers game on Sunday, the reporter quoted a St Liedown offical saying that up to 800 home season ticket holders don't go to the old firm games because of the bagage the old firm fans bring with them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I am happy if we are - no bigot brothers - fairer refereeing - sensible kick off times - more competitive league - chance of Champions League football (even if only qualifiers)- less policing and stewarding costs to off set lost revenue - possibly bigger crowds since we would be competing for something and not on tv at a stupid time - less embarassing incidents. Bring it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpy rebus Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 this is a common theory. at best it's a semi-educated guess at how the league MIGHT go in the future... at worst it's an ignorant myth which has been peddled for so long now that it has seeped into the collective beliefs of scottish football. what is it based upon? has it been verifiably demonstrated by comparing it to the time when the old firm (or similar equivalents) upped sticks and left the irish league, or the welsh league? of course not. in truth nobody knows for sure to what extent - if any - the scottish league set-up would suffer after they left. my personal guess is that it would be a slightly devalued overall product but that the positives of being rid of the old firm would outweigh the negatives. the trouble is that it's not a subject that has ever been subjected to serious examination and debate. we are simply told what to believe. just like everything else. Here's a theory! Initially the gates and TV money would reduce. But the gates would recover quite quickly when fans realised they weren't going to "brutalised" both on and off the pitch by the uglies. Fans will return to watch their team winning (or at least more often) and Max Power's post covers the other bit. Slowly, the TV money would recover, because a competitive league would become a draw for them. At the moment only two teams are reckoned to have a chance of winning it, whereas without the OF, us, Hibs, Aberdeen & Dundee Utd would expect to be challenging, with teams like 'well, Killie etc also putting up the occasional challenge. This is pure "gut feeling" and guesswork, but I reckon the league could recover most of it's "appeal" within a decade, but without the cancer that is killing it just now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosanostra Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 He's a complete and utter dick who has taken the quality of the Scottish football leagues and the national team backwards in his reign as chief. I'd just like to reiterate how much of a dick this guy is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brow Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Welsh football is on the TV down here all the time. Its ******* shyte with a very low standard of skill and rubbish stadiums. If Gordon Smith thinks Scottish football without the Old Firm is akin to the Welsh Premier League, then he's a ******* idiot. I played in a decent Saturday league at district level down here and theres a few players that used to play in the Welsh League (lads about 21/22 who have played for Bala, Newtown etc), they dont even stand out that much! Lee Trundle plays for Neath but thats about the only remotely famous player. He's a fat useless waster though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmaroon Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Smith is just another boil on the backside of Scottish football!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Albert Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Latest average attendance figures I could find are Welsh Premier League 339 (a record high by the way!) League of Ireland 2044 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trotter Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Here's a theory! Initially the gates and TV money would reduce. But the gates would recover quite quickly when fans realised they weren't going to "brutalised" both on and off the pitch by the uglies. Fans will return to watch their team winning (or at least more often) and Max Power's post covers the other bit. Slowly, the TV money would recover, because a competitive league would become a draw for them. At the moment only two teams are reckoned to have a chance of winning it, whereas without the OF, us, Hibs, Aberdeen & Dundee Utd would expect to be challenging, with teams like 'well, Killie etc also putting up the occasional challenge. This is pure "gut feeling" and guesswork, but I reckon the league could recover most of it's "appeal" within a decade, but without the cancer that is killing it just now. Sort of agree with this and most of the other thoughts on here. But just supposing that the Infirm did leave us alone (or we boot them out, either or), I reckon some tighter regulations are needed in terms of % foreigners in team, equally split TV money etc, or what's to stop for arguments sake, us and Dundee United taking over where the Uglies left off and creating a whole new duopoly, and then in ten years time everyone wanting us out? graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horatio Caine Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Welsh football is on the TV down here all the time. Its ******* shyte with a very low standard of skill and rubbish stadiums. If Gordon Smith thinks Scottish football without the Old Firm is akin to the Welsh Premier League, then he's a ******* idiot. I played in a decent Saturday league at district level down here and theres a few players that used to play in the Welsh League (lads about 21/22 who have played for Bala, Newtown etc), they dont even stand out that much! Lee Trundle plays for Neath but thats about the only remotely famous player. He's a fat useless waster though. Is that his photo in your avatar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsfc_fan Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Latest average attendance figures I could find are Welsh Premier League 339 (a record high by the way!) League of Ireland 2044 Didn't realise the Welsh league was that bad. More similar to the Scottish 3rd Division then Even the majority of Scottish 1st Division clubs get more than 2,044 at home every week. Football is well supported in Scotland (in terms of population ratio) just a shame there is a slight inbalance over the City of Glasgow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearts151 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Id rather they were in the spl and beaten properly by one of two teams for several years. Which fiancially would bring more balance (as they would severely struggle finishing 3rd or 4th for more than two seasons nowadays). If they went to england i reckon there overall sectarianism would die down slightly as they would no longer be each others main rival for sucess. Therefore children growing up now without already die hard family member encouragement would no doubt take to following rangers or celtic, i mean they r going to be more enticing to follow with them playing man u, chelsea etc most weeks than another Scottish team playing one another. They will still be in glasgow, in scotland, media coverage in papers and news will be all epl, spl will be like 5th back page. I reckon if they moved and managed to somehow survive several years in epl then the lack of media coverage of spl and the fact that people would only need to travel to glasgow to watch some of the best teams in the world play each week would slowly kill spl support wise. Never mind fiancially. (More speaking generation wise 10yo+ now probably wont change allegiances now but for 10yo in 10yrs time, rangers and celts will be very appealing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CF11JamTart Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Welsh football is on the TV down here all the time. Its ******* shyte with a very low standard of skill and rubbish stadiums. If Gordon Smith thinks Scottish football without the Old Firm is akin to the Welsh Premier League, then he's a ******* idiot. I played in a decent Saturday league at district level down here and theres a few players that used to play in the Welsh League (lads about 21/22 who have played for Bala, Newtown etc), they dont even stand out that much! Lee Trundle plays for Neath but thats about the only remotely famous player. He's a fat useless waster though. Agreed. Gordon Smith bumping his gums without having any insight into wht he's talking about. If you pick up one of the South Wales papers, the priority coverage is... Cardiff City / Swansea / EPL / National rugby / Club rugby (order depends upon what's happening at the time) and way way down the priorities is Welsh Premier League. I.E. No-one is that bothered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Id rather they were in the spl and beaten properly by one of two teams for several years. Which fiancially would bring more balance (as they would severely struggle finishing 3rd or 4th for more than two seasons nowadays). If they went to england i reckon there overall sectarianism would die down slightly as they would no longer be each others main rival for sucess. Therefore children growing up now without already die hard family member encouragement would no doubt take to following rangers or celtic, i mean they r going to be more enticing to follow with them playing man u, chelsea etc most weeks than another Scottish team playing one another. They will still be in glasgow, in scotland, media coverage in papers and news will be all epl, spl will be like 5th back page. I reckon if they moved and managed to somehow survive several years in epl then the lack of media coverage of spl and the fact that people would only need to travel to glasgow to watch some of the best teams in the world play each week would slowly kill spl support wise. Never mind fiancially. (More speaking generation wise 10yo+ now probably wont change allegiances now but for 10yo in 10yrs time, rangers and celts will be very appealing This is all based on the idea that Rangers and Celtic would be constantly competitive and in the top flight and that's quite an assumption. It also ignores the fact that lots of people already simultaneously follow a SPL side, a Premiership team and maybe even another club for the Champions League. Indeed even within the English league set up there are people who are "attending supporters" of relatively humble local teams like Plymouth Argyle but "armchair fans" of one of the premiership big guns like Arsenal. Rangers or Celtic might have more glamorous opponents in such a situation but they already have had regular Champions League football for ages anyway and at least they wouldn't be in quite such direct competition for custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CF11JamTart Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 On Five Live before the St Liedown/Rangers game on Sunday, the reporter quoted a St Liedown offical saying that up to 800 home season ticket holders don't go to the old firm games because of the bagage the old firm fans bring with them!! Yeah I heard that. Roddy Forsyth was talking about it. He said that, when the OF play: 1. the match is often on telly 2. St Liedown are likely to lose BUT... emphasised that as these individuals had already paid for their season ticket, a big big reason was: 3. It's really quite unpleasant when the OF come to town. I also said that the St Leidown official was the latest in a chain of officials from other clubs to say that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CF11JamTart Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 This is all based on the idea that Rangers and Celtic would be constantly competitive and in the top flight and that's quite an assumption.It also ignores the fact that lots of people already simultaneously follow a SPL side, a Premiership team and maybe even another club for the Champions League. Indeed even within the English league set up there are people who are "attending supporters" of relatively humble local teams like Plymouth Argyle but "armchair fans" of one of the premiership big guns like Arsenal. Rangers or Celtic might have more glamorous opponents in such a situation but they already have had regular Champions League football for ages anyway and at least they wouldn't be in quite such direct competition for custom. I remember watching The Saint and Greavsie back in the mid/late 80s when there was the whole "OF too big for Scottish football" thing going on. Jimmy Greaves's words were "Think you're big fish in a small pond? Come on down here and be minnows". The EPL could be a rude-awakening for the OF. And they would miss the regular Champs League. I can't see them ever being top 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stupid Sexy Flanders Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Id rather they were in the spl and beaten properly by one of two teams for several years. Which fiancially would bring more balance (as they would severely struggle finishing 3rd or 4th for more than two seasons nowadays). If they went to england i reckon there overall sectarianism would die down slightly as they would no longer be each others main rival for sucess. Therefore children growing up now without already die hard family member encouragement would no doubt take to following rangers or celtic, i mean they r going to be more enticing to follow with them playing man u, chelsea etc most weeks than another Scottish team playing one another. They will still be in glasgow, in scotland, media coverage in papers and news will be all epl, spl will be like 5th back page. I reckon if they moved and managed to somehow survive several years in epl then the lack of media coverage of spl and the fact that people would only need to travel to glasgow to watch some of the best teams in the world play each week would slowly kill spl support wise. Never mind fiancially. (More speaking generation wise 10yo+ now probably wont change allegiances now but for 10yo in 10yrs time, rangers and celts will be very appealing They would never be allowed to go straight into the EPL, the clubs in the Championship ( ) and the rest of the EFL would never allow it. And if they didn't start in the EPL, there's absolutely no guarantee they'd ever get there at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2NaFish Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 They would never be allowed to go straight into the EPL, the clubs in the Championship ( ) and the rest of the EFL would never allow it. And if they didn't start in the EPL, there's absolutely no guarantee they'd ever get there at all. There's no way they'll be allowed to go to england. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Le Clos Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I despise both Celtic and Rangers, but I'm not one for seeing them go down south. Like it or not, regardless of where some of their fan base come from, they are Scottish teams and that should be the end of it. Hearts have won the league before when Rangers and Celtic were in it. And although we're further from winning it than a lot of people think, we're not that far behind them anymore. If Rangers and Celtic were to leave and Hearts won the league, while I'd be happy it would still seem like a hollow victory. With a bit of investment from Romanov I genuinely believe we can challenge them in a couple of years. Secondly, Rangers and Celtic moving to England would benefit them financially in the long term. I don't want to see this. Regardless of how poor the OF are at the moment, they are still good enough to make it into the EPL, where the massive TV windfall coupled with guaranteed full houses would see them far better off than they are now. Meaning they'd be signing decent players again, meaning the glory hunting fans who some think would boost our, Hibs, Dundee Utd, Killies etc attendances would be right back to Darkheid and Ipox. One of Hearts strong points recently has been signing young players and developing them. A strong OF playing in the EPL would see them take in more young players attracted by their enhanced status, and the OF would then loan these players out to smaller clubs in much the same way a lot of English teams do now. This would seriously work against Hearts. While the OF now are bad for Scottish football, simply hoping they will move to England isn;t going to solve the problem. They would still play each other. Their moronic fans would still be in Scotland. Can you see a jakeball Rangers fan stumping up the cash to travel to watch them play Southampton, Plymouth etc? I think it's more likely they'd tag along to a Hearts game and try to link up with the equally, albeit minority moronic element of our own support who wave union jacks and red hands. The solution to solving the problem with the OF in Scotland is simple. A tougher stance on sectarianism; banning the fans, punishing the clubs and an equal split of TV money to make a more competitive league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmaroon Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Do you seriously, for one minute, think that the EPL want or need these pariahs??? It's a day dream for the Uglies and a potential nightmare for the EPL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpy rebus Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Got another theory. How about a two-tier SPL. Tier one is Celtic and Rangers and they play each other 36 times. Don't police the games and let them kick the shit out of each other. Then we have a 12/16/18 team tier two, where we all play a normal league, under normal conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swarlos Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 You could argue that them moving down south would mean even lower attendances for other Scottish clubs as it would give people an excuse to watch EPL football. Couple that with the obvious loss of TV revenue and away ticket sales and it could be very bad for some clubs. Couldn't be much worse than the monotonous stranglehold the uglies have over scottish football I suppose. Never going to happen anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Albert Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 This is all based on the idea that Rangers and Celtic would be constantly competitive and in the top flight and that's quite an assumption. It also ignores the fact that lots of people already simultaneously follow a SPL side, a Premiership team and maybe even another club for the Champions League. Indeed even within the English league set up there are people who are "attending supporters" of relatively humble local teams like Plymouth Argyle but "armchair fans" of one of the premiership big guns like Arsenal. Rangers or Celtic might have more glamorous opponents in such a situation but they already have had regular Champions League football for ages anyway and at least they wouldn't be in quite such direct competition for custom. i agree it is a dubious asumption. in assessing the size and potential of the OF it is overlooked that economically their home base of Glasgow and its environs, compared to Chelsea or Arsenal or even Manchester United, is relatively speaking a third world country (or at best a poorish East European one). Neither of the OF could compete on the level of revenue from match tickets, merchandising, or hospitality, even if they maintain crowds for games they more frequently fail to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fc1874 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I meant to post this earlier, but I heard him say on Sportsound on Sat that if Rangers and Celtic left Scottish football what remained would be no bigger than the League of Wales or the Irish league. I nearly threw my radio out the window (but it's a posh DAB one so I decided against it! ). Where does he get off? It is arrogant and condescending in the extreme that the Ugly sisters are all that is between the SPL and obscurity. I wish they both would bu**er off to the Johnstons paint league (South division), so that we could get on with things.... ....and relax! He needs to be asked to elaborate, but I suspect that he would not come out with this shit if there was someone there to pull him up for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabienleclerq Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 i agree it is a dubious asumption. in assessing the size and potential of the OF it is overlooked that economically their home base of Glasgow and its environs, compared to Chelsea or Arsenal or even Manchester United, is relatively speaking a third world country (or at best a poorish East European one). Neither of the OF could compete on the level of revenue from match tickets, merchandising, or hospitality, even if they maintain crowds for games they more frequently fail to win. Chelsea have home capacity of only 40,000 . parkhead holds 60,000 the same as the emirates (ibrox not far off).Once they made the EPL (which they would walk to given that any potential investor can see 30 mill tv money etc so would throw money getting there) they would spend a few years catching man u etc on the pitch but tickets, merchandising and hospitality would only be rivalled by few english teams. imo man utd,arsenal,liverpool are the only ones who could match/exceed the OF on that front. All theories but am afraid they're goin nowhere and no-one will put an end to their nonesense. we hear them on tv, radio and at games singing unlawful songs, yet the police do nothing and the sfa dont stop the game.(which they have the power but not the balls to do so) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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