Too right. If a club isnt run properly then the consequences have to faced. Its good that its happened to a big team too.
What have the fans got to do with anything? Say a family member had committed a crime or something and had to go to prison. Is it justifiable that they shouldn't go because his/her family will miss them?
When running a company, the fans dont really come into it. If they did then clubs wouldnt be a sucess at all. Pandering to the fans isnt a good way to run a club, bringing sucess is. But if you do it irresponsibly then you have to accept the punishment when things go wrong. If Rangers werent put into div 3 it would set the precedent that you can run a club unsutainably and unlawfully and get away with it. Its happened to pompey in england and rangers up there. It needs to happen in order to make the game fairer and more competative.
Not really an apt analogy. The criminals are the business men who did the scams, not the club as a whole. In a way I do agree with them getting sent down to Division 3, as you need to set an example so others don't do the same. But all I'm saying is it's unfair that the fans should have to suffer, as well as the thousands of innocent people involved with the club, that had nothing to do with the crimes, have to suffer, for the ****ty actions of a few criminals.
So the family unit as a whole does not suffer? Hmmm. I was only highlighting how the guilty peoples actions have consequences to those without any involvement. I summing the entire situation up.
Anyone is going to be sympathetic towards the fans, hell, even some Celtic fans are going to be sympathetic and a whole load of them will be desperate for an Old Firm derby after a few months without one. The bottom line is, there's no room for sentiment where business is concerned. The fans of every football club know that now more than ever there's a thin line between success and failure and if your owners make a few irrational decisions it could be curtains. It's the modern day risk of any football fan, due to the money spend in today's game, but on the other hand we've just witnessed probably the greatest ever Premier League season finale as a result of mega-spending, so there's obviously good and bad sides. Rangers fans are lucky that they have been allowed into the third division, so no need for too much sympathy - Gretna FC got sent for a permanent dirt nap only a few years back, remember.
Spot on Terry. Facts are that this new company is not Rangers, it's effectively a new club formed and taking the 'Rangers' great, famous old name. In effect, getting into the 3rd is quite fortunate, as generally teams have to apply several times from the Highland League etc to do so. In effect, it's like a billionaire buying some land, putting up a 50k stadium, and asking for entry to the Premier League, it simply wouldn't be considered. It would be wrong to completely exclude Rangers, as they are one of the best supported teams on the whole continent, but it would have been wholly unfair on teams in the lower leagues battling to pay there bills to have seen a newco right off it's debts and join with a fresh slate, Terry's above point to Gretna is a casing point as to how in reality they COULD have been told to reform as an amateur club, Gretna were SPL right before there demise. They'll be back in the SPL in 3 years, a stronger club for it financially, I'd consider a few Rangers fans will enjoy the ride, and regardless of the 'newco' status, a few lower league clubs are going to see record crowds which will be a big help to them.
Sympathy for the fans of course, they have been lied to for so long but this is totally fair, not even a 'punishment'. Newco are a completely new football club with no history, no reputation. Any other club applying for a position for the league would start in the third division, this is normal practice. Not being allowed in Europe for three seasons isn't punishment either, it's common practice for a new club with no filed accounts. A transfer ban on signing over 18s WOULD be punishment, just about right too considering the shame they have brought to the Scottish game. AFC Wimbledon, Gretna 2008, possibly Portsmouth soon, The Rangers are just another phoenix club starting from a lower division. No great injustice other than to the businesses still owed by old Rangers. Watch the SPL2 be created and Newco conveniently shoehorned into the second flight of Scottish football. Funny how no one bent the rules for Gretna...
It will hopefully (maybe I'm clutching at straws) create a 3rd team in Scotland, providing Uefa doesn't strip Scotland of one of the CL places as a result of Rangers' bad behaviour. All that is required for a 3rd team to muscle in is financial investment and an owner who isn't going to spoil it like that Hearts owner did by making Hearts his playtoy. Revenue from Champions League football for a side like Motherwell/Dundee (assuming they draw a relative minnow and qualify) could possibly make the SPL a whole load more interesting by the time Rangers newco enter it.
Mush Motherwell are going into the 3rd round of qualifying for the CL. I'll be hoping they can pull it off just for a bit of a change for Scottish football but they'll more than likely get thrown to the sharks.
Hmm. I think it's a big ask for them to make the groups, and even if they did, are they likely to be able to grow the club? Just went to have a look at Wiki for there stadium info (13,500 capacity...) and the thing that struck me was that Motherwell College comes up before Motherwell FC. I'm afraid that kinda says it all, maybe a Hibs, Hearts or Dundee United or Aberdeen could grow, but I just can't see how Motherwell can get to that level. If they were to pull out say, a Croat or Russian qualifier, they get pasted, and that's before the likes of Arsenal, Malaga, Lille & Udinese are even considered.
If Motherwell lose their first game, they drop down into the Europa. If they win teir first game and lose their second, they drop into the Europa. Reading what Motherwell fans think and it's mainly just excitement to be in Europe at all and fair play to that. No one's expecting them to be a success but it's a great opportunity for their supporters. Motherwell are a club with a small fanbase, I don't see this as a platform to the bigtime, however with a guaranteed CL spot for a non-OF club for at least three years its a grea opportunity for a club like Aberdeen or one of the Edinburgh clubs to step up as they can soak up some of the young un's who up until now have blindly followed Rangers. The CL spot is not at risk, the Scottish coefficient has some way to go before that happens so it's a great opportunity to create a third 'big club' in Scotland, if any Qataris are watching...
Hearts always seem to look like they could step up, then some madcap act happens! Aberdeen are probably the biggest realistic hope of a genuinely decent 3rd club, but they are ****e at the minute, way off even without Rangers.
