Hello, Norwich fan venturing over the border.... Following a discussion on another board, I have the following question for fans of the Old Firm. It is totally hypothetical but your feedback would be appreciated. ok, the question is - If both Celtic and Rangers were to leave the SPL for any reason would Scottish League football suffer as a consequence? or would the others teams left competing in a league manage just fine as the SPL & Cup competitions would become more competitive?
They would suffer dramatic financial abyss, no one cares about Aberdeen V Dundee Utd let alone the rest, more competitive yes, ****ter - definitely any scottish fan saying different is lying, Wales being the perfect example.
MD - how about if Celtic & Rangers folded (again totally hypothetical of course as it's never going to happen). In your opinion, would fans of those 2 clubs start following another team? would you? For example many fans of the Old Firm live in other Cities or towns, so a Bhoy living in Aberdeen for example, would he start to follow Aberdeen do you think?
Possibly for those who don't live or are originally from Glasgow its possible that a lot of the fans would switch allegiance to nearby clubs or the next successful club - however personally i think a lot of the born into it fans would just not support another team and definitely not in the same way that they support rangers or celtic (going to matches, buying merchandise etc) although i think a lot of the smaller Glasgow clubs would see a rise in attendance due to the OF folding.
we would start a new team before we supported anyone else. being an old firm fan is born into you. you dont choose a team, you support either rangers or celtic the moment you're born
For once I agree with you Trevor, your born into being a ger or a Celt , the only other Scottish team I support is the one that is playing Rangers that weekend , no doubt your the same with supporting Celtic opposition every week
Aye but unlike a lot of old firm fans I dont really give 2 ****s when celtic are playing in europe, It would benefit us the more games you play
I accept the allegiance when born malarkey and must admit I did not take that in to consideration when asking about supporting another team. Going back to MD's first point - They would suffer dramatic financial abyss The 1st, 2nd & 3rd division teams survive year in and year out although I am not sure just how some of them manage it. It has always been a mystery how long term teams in the bottom division, such as East Stirling or Alloa Athletic, keep going. They attract perhaps 300 people most Saturdays (educated guess). If these teams can keep going then surely there would remain in place a league of sorts, all be it not a very good one? Some of the remainder of the SPL teams I guess would implode under the scenario outlined in the OP but would other teams not be either elevated from non league to make up the numbers or even new teams being formed from the rubble left by the SPL teams that did implode. I would like to think the likes of Hearts, Dundee Utd, Hibs, Aberdeen, Motherwell etc could just about survive (have a liking for Hearts from the days when I lived in Fife)
None of those teams would survive they depend far to much on away support from the OF, Dunfermline have just shut one of their stands because its cheaper to close it than keep it open for fans and when you consider the amount of people that travel to OF away games they just can't tolerate having such dramatic drops in attendance, if you look at say Hearts V Motherwell then theres no way thats going to be a sell out crowd its hard enough for the OF to sell out to smaller teams because the whole of Scottish footballs in tatters really. I'm sure a lot of the other clubs fans would disagree but i really can't see them surviving at all and I'm quite unbiased on the matter (one of the reasons I'm against a move to EPL) and with teams like Aberdeen, Hearts, Dundee Utd, Motherwell, Hibernian, Kilmarnock going bust then theres not really any point in promoting the rest of the teams because the death of Scottish football has already begun - for teams from the biggest cities to disappear from the top tier would be dire, the amount of interest in Scottish football would plummet. Theres not any clubs in Scottish football in good financial terms really.
Celtic and Rangers should be allowed to play their under19 teams in the lower divisions , help the youths come through and generate more cash a nd interest at lower levels
I know Scottish football is on a downer , but did you read about the Irish fan who never had a ticket for the game in Estonia , put on an Estonia track suit , got a security pass and ended up on the Estonia bench sitting next to their manager !!
I have often heard or briefly read about the current state of Scottish League football but I did not realise things had got so bad As well as having a soft spot for Hearts I used to go to watch Raith Rovers ( about the cup final, I was well chuffed when they won it ) with my uncle. A small club that seemed to punch above their weight in Div 1 (most of the time) but never got wind of financial problems and it appeared the average attendance of that time (about 1300-1800 depending on opponents) was enough to sustain them year after year. I am shocked to know the Pars have closed one of their stands! That does speak volumes and is a very sorry state of affairs
I work with someone that played for Airdrie, Stenhousemuir and Elgin. He plays for Bathgate now and gets paid more than any the professional clubs paid him.
It's about time Scottish Football had a Pyramiad structure - including the Juniors - with regionalisation for "smaller" teams ... say, from DIV3 downwards. Top League and a Second Division of 16 teams. 2 down, 2 up with 3rd bottom v 3rd top play off. Some teams also need to join together or die... How many teams in Stirling? Fife?
Norwich fan fu.. off and mind your own business. U would be better spending your time checking the routes to Championship venues for next season. Every thing you have aske has been asked repeatedly, if you did not know that then you cannot have had an interest for two long. Maybe you should be discussing what happens the league, you are in for one year, when the tv money runs out. The ruling by Europe in that wee woman from Southampton could could end that source very quickly. English Welsh Premiership may no longer be the honey trap for illegal money from all over the world.
