Scottish football

[Ragnarak]

someone briefly describe how the league format works now, with 12 teams playing 38 games and the splitting etc

ta

[Deffeh]

12 teams play each other 3 times each

thus 33 games are played

then the league splits into a relegation group, and a championship group

Relegation group of 6 plays each other once, thus 5 games, taking them up to 38 games played

Same with the championship group

[Deffeh]

oh, and if you finish 7th with more points than whoever finishes 6th, you are still 7th. Drag, huh.

The benefits of it is that when the title run in is as close as it is this year, celtic and rangers have the hardest possible run ins (well, it is the SPL after all, but even still some teams are more likely to capitulate than others).

[Ragnarak]

ta

[Leshy]

Celtic and Rangers are off to the British First Division then?

[JC]

Originally posted by Leshy
Celtic and Rangers are off to the British First Division then?

No.

[Deffeh]

no, apparently welsh teams are allowed in the english leagues, but we are not

[JC]

Originally posted by Deffeh
no, apparently welsh teams are allowed in the english leagues, but we are not

Thats different and you know it. Cardiff and Wrexham did not suddenly get put into the Prem or Div 1.

[Deffeh]

i sense the FA will reject a request to put the old firm in any english league.

[LHC]

Originally posted by JC
Thats different and you know it. Cardiff and Wrexham did not suddenly get put into the Prem or Div 1.

they are crap though

[JC]

Originally posted by LHC
they are crap though

So are Burnley but thats no just reason to throw them out of the league.

[LHC]

Originally posted by JC
So are Burnley but thats no just reason to throw them out of the league.

I meant that is why they are in the lower leagues.

[Deffeh]

its going to happen eventually anyway, and ill predict how.

The FA are already starting to tighten up on clubs going into administration. Sooner or later, clubs are going to start going bust left right and center. Football is a sport is very sick atm (i blame the high wages, the glory hunters, and the ridiculous number of teams)

The FA will have a complete shake up of the league system. Some clubs will dissapear, some will merge. There will be either one less league, or all the leagues will have less teams. Celtic and Rangers will not be restricted in joining / taking the place of teams that have gone bankrupt.

My opinion.

[JC]

I dont know the whole story of how Cardiff and Wrexham came into the English leagues, but i believe they started off in the lower leagues, how low exactly i dont know. This imho means they have in some way earned their right to be in the english league. Rangers/Celtic being put straight in at a high league would not be fair on every other team already in the English leagues. If they came in at the conference or something and worked their way up i wouldnt have such a big problem with it, howevetr it seems UEFA dont want this to happen.

UEFA probably didnt want Welsh teams in the English league either, but back then UEFA had no power over the English FA so couldnt enforce it and removal of the Welsh teams now would be pointless.

[Kurashima]

Originally posted by JC
I dont know the whole story of how Cardiff and Wrexham came into the English leagues, but i believe they started off in the lower leagues, how low exactly i dont know. This imho means they have in some way earned their right to be in the english league. Rangers/Celtic being put straight in at a high league would not be fair on every other team already in the English leagues. If they came in at the conference or something and worked their way up i wouldnt have such a big problem with it, howevetr it seems UEFA dont want this to happen.

UEFA probably didnt want Welsh teams in the English league either, but back then UEFA had no power over the English FA so couldnt enforce it and removal of the Welsh teams now would be pointless.

The story of Clydebank may give you a better idea of how the most likely method of Rangers/Celtic entering the premiership would come about.

Clydebank's owner was a tax exile millionaire called Dr John Hall. After buy the club for a pittance , selling the stadium to a supermarket group, and promising to build a new , multi million pound stadium for the club , he ran it for a couple more years at a loss , then declared he didnt want it , it was up for sale, and if he didnt get any offers , he would just fold the club.

Aroundabout the same time , Airdrieonians went into administration. After a year or so working to prevent the club folding , the administrators eventually gave up and wound the club up.

So some local businessmen in Airdrie went to Dr John Hall , and said "Sell us Clydebank" , which he did for a small sum. The businessmen then sacked the entire playing staff (all 3 of them, clydebank released all their full time players at the end of the previous season), relocated the club to Airdrie, renamed it "Airdrie United" , and hired all the old Airdrie players.

Celtic and Rangers have the financial backing that they could easily purchase a "Fallen Giant" in the english league , rename them , and put out their first team squad there, leaving what would be essentially "Celtic/Rangers Reserves" to play in the SPL if they so wished.

The logistics of home games at parkhead/Ibrox on saturdays would be resolved by Sky scheduling games on Sunday/Monday if necessary.

Thoughts?

[Deffeh]

Originally posted by Kurashima
The story of Clydebank may give you a better idea of how the most likely method of Rangers/Celtic entering the premiership would come about.

Clydebank's owner was a tax exile millionaire called Dr John Hall. After buy the club for a pittance , selling the stadium to a supermarket group, and promising to build a new , multi million pound stadium for the club , he ran it for a couple more years at a loss , then declared he didnt want it , it was up for sale, and if he didnt get any offers , he would just fold the club.

Aroundabout the same time , Airdrieonians went into administration. After a year or so working to prevent the club folding , the administrators eventually gave up and wound the club up.

So some local businessmen in Airdrie went to Dr John Hall , and said "Sell us Clydebank" , which he did for a small sum. The businessmen then sacked the entire playing staff (all 3 of them, clydebank released all their full time players at the end of the previous season), relocated the club to Airdrie, renamed it "Airdrie United" , and hired all the old Airdrie players.

Celtic and Rangers have the financial backing that they could easily purchase a "Fallen Giant" in the english league , rename them , and put out their first team squad there, leaving what would be essentially "Celtic/Rangers Reserves" to play in the SPL if they so wished.

The logistics of home games at parkhead/Ibrox on saturdays would be resolved by Sky scheduling games on Sunday/Monday if necessary.

Thoughts?

Logical. And topical. Just this week Man united announced they are buying a welsh club to be their "representative" in wales from which to suck up welsh talent.

[Rommel]

i doubt you'll see Beckham & co playing in a Welsh league tho.

edit: also have some sort of similar agreement with Antwerp in Beglium, some club in South Africa and close to announcing one with Sporting Lisbon afaik.

[Rommel]

"Wrexham joined the Combination League in 1890 and apart from two seasons in the Welsh League, have always played their football over the border. A switch to the Birmingham League in 1905 lifted the standards at the Racecourse and led to election to the new Football League Third Division (North) in 1921. Continuous membership of this division ended with reorganisation in 1958, when the Robins scraped into the new national Third Division".

from their website - so have always played in England apart from 2 years.

[Deffeh]

what difference does it make when they were added?

[Rommel]

They were added when the league was being formed perhaps. Go back and form whatever league you were talking about forming with some Dutch clubs, unless you want to start in like the Dr Martens Western Division 2 or something :P

[Deffeh]

Originally posted by Rommel
They were added when the league was being formed perhaps. Go back and form whatever league you were talking about forming with some Dutch clubs, unless you want to start in like the Dr Martens Western Division 2 or something :P

so if the league was "reformed", thered be no problem.

[Nodrog]

Originally posted by Kurashima
The story of Clydebank may give you a better idea of how the most likely method of Rangers/Celtic entering the premiership would come about.

Clydebank's owner was a tax exile millionaire called Dr John Hall. After buy the club for a pittance , selling the stadium to a supermarket group, and promising to build a new , multi million pound stadium for the club , he ran it for a couple more years at a loss , then declared he didnt want it , it was up for sale, and if he didnt get any offers , he would just fold the club.

Aroundabout the same time , Airdrieonians went into administration. After a year or so working to prevent the club folding , the administrators eventually gave up and wound the club up.

So some local businessmen in Airdrie went to Dr John Hall , and said "Sell us Clydebank" , which he did for a small sum. The businessmen then sacked the entire playing staff (all 3 of them, clydebank released all their full time players at the end of the previous season), relocated the club to Airdrie, renamed it "Airdrie United" , and hired all the old Airdrie players.

Celtic and Rangers have the financial backing that they could easily purchase a "Fallen Giant" in the english league , rename them , and put out their first team squad there, leaving what would be essentially "Celtic/Rangers Reserves" to play in the SPL if they so wished.

The logistics of home games at parkhead/Ibrox on saturdays would be resolved by Sky scheduling games on Sunday/Monday if necessary.

Thoughts?

What on earth would the gain be from a business perspective, rather than just buying over an english premier side and throwing money at it? Most of the squad would have to be replaced if they wanted to compete, so the only tangible benefit would be an established fan base (which wouldnt travel to away games, and which might not be guaranteed to support the new club anyway; Rangers and Celtic are pretty codependant, so if one of them relocated to the premiership, they may well both find themselves losing supporters at a rapid rate). I cant really think of any reason why a semi-competant businessman would want anything to do with that scheme; I mean surely if the "money men" at Rangers wanted to break into the premiership, theyd be as well selling off the club and using the money they gained to buy a stake in an already existing one.

[Rommel]

Originally posted by Deffeh
so if the league was "reformed", thered be no problem.

They've reformed the non-league, i don't think Celtic or Rangers were invited or something? :P

Wrexham, and probably Cardiff too, were in the English League more or less from when it started, they've played their football in England more or less since they existed. What part of that don't you understand?
Maybe there wasn't a Welsh League at the time?

You're the ones ruining your own league up there by buying all the best players from other teams on the cheap because the other teams need the money. Sort out your problems up there before running away to the Premiership to play better football or whatever, because more likely that not it won't happen.

[Chrism]

There was no Welsh league when these clubs (Wrexham, Swansea, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil (sp?) etc.) formed so they joined the English leagues. UEFA have been moaning about it for years but Merthyr fought a court case when they tried to have them thrown out the league and won.

[lokken]

Why would Celtic/Rangers want to give up the chance of an easy champions league spot?

The only answer would be Sky money, but they could easily recoup that from the champions league anyway if they are as good as they claim to be. Plus, it's way too far to travel.

[Torz]

Originally posted by Nodrog
so the only tangible benefit would be an established fan base (which wouldnt travel to away games

oh dear.

[Amoruso]

Originally posted by Kurashima
The story of Clydebank may give you a better idea of how the most likely method of Rangers/Celtic entering the premiership would come about.

Clydebank's owner was a tax exile millionaire called Dr John Hall. After buy the club for a pittance , selling the stadium to a supermarket group, and promising to build a new , multi million pound stadium for the club , he ran it for a couple more years at a loss , then declared he didnt want it , it was up for sale, and if he didnt get any offers , he would just fold the club.

Aroundabout the same time , Airdrieonians went into administration. After a year or so working to prevent the club folding , the administrators eventually gave up and wound the club up.

So some local businessmen in Airdrie went to Dr John Hall , and said "Sell us Clydebank" , which he did for a small sum. The businessmen then sacked the entire playing staff (all 3 of them, clydebank released all their full time players at the end of the previous season), relocated the club to Airdrie, renamed it "Airdrie United" , and hired all the old Airdrie players.

Celtic and Rangers have the financial backing that they could easily purchase a "Fallen Giant" in the english league , rename them , and put out their first team squad there, leaving what would be essentially "Celtic/Rangers Reserves" to play in the SPL if they so wished.

The logistics of home games at parkhead/Ibrox on saturdays would be resolved by Sky scheduling games on Sunday/Monday if necessary.

Thoughts?

The Steedman family were the ones who sold new Kilbowie to Asda + Co, John hall stepped in and merely delayed the death of the club, he ran it for a few years at a loss and when the bottom of the TV deals started to fall out of football he decided enough was enough and he sold the club to the scum. Also honerable mention to Wet Wet Wet who kept the club going for a few seasons with shirt sponsership.

i used to go to Clydebank home games when Rangers were'nt playing at Ibrox, it was a 2 min bus ride and only £2 in.