"Relaunched Rangers could face penalty under SPL proposals Rangers could start the next two seasons with a 10-point deduction, if they are relaunched as a new company. The Scottish Premier League will consider new proposals for financial fair play at a meeting on 30 April. Currently in administration, Rangers could face liquidation and may transfer their assets to a 'newco'. Under the SPL's new proposals, clubs who enter administration would be docked at least 15 points instead of the current penalty of 10. If passed, clubs who suffer an insolvency event would invoke a penalty of the greater of 15 points or a third of the their total of points from the previous season." Another point deduction!? I really feel sorry for them, because we've been there and they are (some will disagree) a good club with history. I really hope they don't go under.
Yes, but notwithstanding Celtic, they've lorded it over the rest of the Scottish League for a fair old time, without a cloud on the horizon. It won't do them any harm being a little bit humbled.
No sympathy what so ever. They`ve been cheating for years all the other clubs in Scotland who have been playing fair. and battling on despite not having two pennies to rub together. Meantime they`ve been funding their `success` with money that was theirs.
Absolutely. The SPL suffers from the same sickness as the Premiership, La Liga, and every other league where one or two teams are allowed hoover up all the resources, only up there the disease looks terminal.
Scottish football seems really pointless in it's current state and it has been fascinating to read reports that suggest that Celtic are likely to also suffer financially as a consequence of their bitter rivalry being consigned to history if Rangers cease to exist. However, I think that the whole point of sport is that all teams entering a competition should have some chance of winning it or at least different permutations being possible where the fortunes of the less dominant clubs wax and wain. In Scotland this does not seem to be allowed to happen. The Scottish Premier League is a bit of a joke - 2 dominant teams who unbalance the rest of the comptition whilst at the same time perfoming week in and week out at a level which makes them also-rans in European competition.
A radical move would be to for the stronger teams in the SPL to create a kind of VIKING League with the best from Norway, Denmark and Sweden who have clubs that would challenge the "Old Firm" much more than other teams in Scotland but I doubt the rest of Scotland would countenance the move due to the loss of income those two provide (or should do in Rangers' case)
Depends on your point of view - for a country with the same population approx as Norway or Finland for example, it could be argued that Scottish sides had been over-achieving. Simply we have no TV or other major sponsorship money, and our infrastructure with small population and few large centres of population makes a wealthy league impossible. Upside is that now young Scottish players are getting their chance early, which will benefit the national team eventually. Scottish football isn`t pointless - if you come from, say Perth, then you will be a StJohnstone supporter - real fans can`t pick their team - it picks you, no matter how poor the fare on offer. A marriage from which there is no divorce, until death us do part. I`ve lived in Aberdeen and Soton, and I have no choice in the matter who I support. Plenty people thought me and my son were wierdos last season paying good money to travel the length of the country to watch the likes of Tranny Rovers. If it was pointless, we`d be ManU or Chelsea `fans`. COYS - see you all on the pitch after the Coventry game !
As someone else pointed out on here, Talksport did an interview with a former head of the FA [or FL, I can't remember], and he revealed to them that talks were well under way to bring both Celtic and Rangers into the Football League, back in 2000 or so. The other Scottish Football League clubs were well in favour of the move as they wanted to have a greater level of competition in their leagues. The stopper on the whole deal was the English PL who didn't want the two Scottish clubs coming in and adding to their competition levels, despite there being clear rules on Celtic and Rangers that they would enter at either Championship or League One level [then still to be decided] and not be promoted for the first two seasons, whatever their league positions. They could be still be relegated however. I do think the other Scottish clubs would still like Celtic and Rangers out, and I notice that the other members of the SPL board are making things hard for Rangers. They don't want a return to the Old Firm.
Not pointless, it's just most of the points go to the same two teams each year! That's Boring. As a closet Falkirk fan (long story involving a wedding, a dirk, some dancing and a movie camera) I'd say apart from the 2 biggies there is 3-4 other teams who given the chance of success could get the support (= money) to challenge the status quo. Aberdeen and Hearts come to mind, but with a league which splits half way through just so the top two can play each other more often, sustainable success ain't going to happen. Ian's right in that there waxing and waning thing needs to happen to maintain interest and push Celtic & Rangers out of the comfort zone.
if the spl continue to play hardball with rangers then i can see the gers fans organising boycotts of away games. dunfermline missed out (temporarily) on payment for a match and struggled to pay theyre players. now imagine that for all the spl clubs for the season. they might regret theyre stringent financial rules when other clubs who rely on the old firms cash injection start going to the wall. yes rangers management have been either daft or duplicitous, but for that the spl are looking to continously stick the boot in. hope they dont live to regret it.
Frankly, I do not see the point of the SPL; its existance is to sustain Celtic and Rangers, the whole system seems rotten to the core. Both teams stifle the aspirations and opportunities of all other sides, so do not have alot of sympathy for Rangers.
Whilst this is yet another example of individuals treating a football club as a plaything to the detriment of the fans, it is also another example of just how poorly Scottish football is run. The SPL format is already a joke. As mentioned above, the league splits at a certain stage. Whilst various arguments were given for the split, the real reason was to incorporate more old firm matches. This was not for the benefit of the old firm though, it was in an effort to retain TV money for all clubs in the competition. Interest was already waning and the money on the table was significantly reduced from the previous rights sale. The split was made so that TV companies could show four old firm matches instead of two. Even though this failed and the contract was lost, the split remains which not only really rams home the loss of gate receipts for the clubs caught below the line but also leaves the competition unbalanced as teams do not play the same number of home and away games as each other. For me, this simply undermines the credibility of the competition. Now, the same people who presided over this loss of income for the smaller clubs are proposing greater sanctions for administration and further legacy points deductions for teams that reform if they do go bust! Let's be clear, they are trying to make a law that suits what punishment they want Rangers to suffer but in the process are making the disappearance of smaller clubs an inevitability.
