I'll give it another 15 years and our Prem will be just like them and our "rich" clubs will be looking for alternatives.
The situation with the Welsh clubs is slightly different due to the constitutional issues of the relationship between England and Wales. As for this present suggestion, it is illogical. The arguement is that the Scottish teams can't compete in Europe because they don't have access to money to attract 'big' players. Yet by moving south they won't be getting into Europe anyway.
sorry but thats not true. don't get me wrong, it would take celtic years to get to the top of the english game but they would get near the top of it sooner rather than later - they are a massive club and slightly underestimated down here as to how big. they would be able to attract big name players and compete with the top clubs within, assuming they started in league one, 4 years in my opinion. i'm 100% set against any such move - it would end in disaster if celtic and/or rangers came down here.
I don't want it to happen either, but the thought of thousands of drunk Glaswegians surrounding Mikey at Cuckoo Farm is quite a nice mental image.
This is Alex Salmonds way of getting independence. Its well known that if 10,000 jocks go to an away game only 1,000 go back. Strange thing is if a poll were taken, all the Celtic supporters would want it, and every English supporter would be against it.
"'The noblest prospect a Scotsman ever sees is the high road that leads him to England": Samuel Johnson, 1773. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même.
There's many a slip between cup and lip, and the lower leagues are littered with clubs of a similar size who have not found it so easy to make it up the leagues - and have gone into decline. I agree that it would be a disaster - poisonous Scots nationalism is one factor, but there are also political considerations as both cubs would not doubt join the Liverpool camp of self interest.
not sure whether you are talking about leeds or forest or whoever eeore but put quite simply, celtic in league one would be more like manchester united or liverpool in league one. unfortunately, it would take them no time at all to get out and get into the top four or five in the premier league.
You are assuming that things go swimmingly, and football doesn't work like that. Also you assume that Celtic - and Man Utd and Liverpool in your example - will keep there players. Signing for Celtic with the probablity of playing in Europe is one thing, signing for Celtic with the chance of playing in Europe within the next four or five years is something else. Look at Notts County, they made similar promises to players who should have been playing at a higher level, and now they are, but not for Notts County.
thing is eeore, you are totally underestimating the power of that football club. they would still be able to fill their ground and that in itself gives them a massive advantage. they would fill it because of the excitement of something different and i wouldn't be surprised at all if they regularly got 50k+ for every home game in league one. their finance would dwarf everyone and whilst i take your point that football is unpredictable, the resources they would throw at it would guarantee them premier league status within 3 years (1 year for error in the championship - they'd get straight out of league one). frankly, to compare notts county to celtic is like comparing wroxham to norwich - we are talking about one of the biggest clubs in the world (and i hate celtic but have total respect for the size that club is) and they would not find it difficult to attract very good players to play a league lower or even two because of that. it would only be a matter of a few years before they were back in europe and i would bet my life on it, thats how sure i am. i just hope it never happens...
I am not comparing Notts County and Celtic directly, but the parrallel is there. Notts County found a rich backer, signed some big name players, hired Sven, and declared the next stop was the premiership, and all they have achieved in three years is to move up a division. And there are numerous other examples of teams finding that money does not make for a cake walk. You don't need to seek absurd comparisons to understand the point. As for the crowds, yeah they probably would get 50k+ for a time, but now long will that last? Sure there will be the novelty factor, fans will go for a while for the ride, but will they really want to pay the same prices for the tickets - and if they won't, then attendances will drop and the problem of covering the £30million wage bill will kick in. These things have a way of quickly spiralling out of control. As for attracting players, I think you over estimate the 'big club' effect. Still we agree that it is unlikely to happen.
even if they were allowed to join which would be ridiculous but nevertheless, imagine they did, then they should have to start at the very bottom of the ladder and earn their right like anyone else does. why should they avoid 'doing their time' so to speak?
If Alex Salmond gets his way then this issue will never arise and even if Scotland remained as part of the UK the SFA and UEFA would simply not allow it!
Sorry Supers, but I think you're wrong. Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool are all bigger clubs than Celtic. Granted, even with a weakened squad (and a weakend squad they'll have), Celtic will get out of League One first time, but it'll take, most likely, at least a couple of years to get out of the Championship. They'll end up a mid-table Premier League club, and nothing more. Either that or they'll find it impossible to get out of the Championship and become something of a yo-yo club.
celtic can easily compete with manchester united, arsenal and liverpool when it comes to worldwide support. they are bigger than citeh, spurs, chelsea, newcastle. they'd end up being a regular in the top four of the premier league and i absolutely hate the club, but i'm just being honest. their pulling power is immense. i've watched quite a bit of football up there and people down in england really do underestimate their global potential. hopefully i'll never be proved right on this!
I agree. But if there is anything in this story, it is perhaps a sign of the level opposition to their joining the league that the story has moved from them going into the Premiership to negotiating to join League 1. It would be interesting to know what Liverpool's p.o.v on the matter is, given their comments about ending the collective bargaining agreement with Sky. One suspects that Celtic would side with them, given that the only motive for this move is money.
i know nothing about the story to be honest, but i'd guess that the league one starting point would be to replace portsmouth should they go under, meaning no need for extra promotion places or fewer relegation slots. who knows...
What?????? Newcastle bigger than Celtic????????? Spurs/Aresenal/Chlesea/Man City - seriously? On which planet? For worldwide support Celtic and Rangers are two of the biggest in the world let alone the UK. Pretty much half of a nation supports each of them and Celtic have pretty much the whole of the Republic of Ireland plus an awful lot of ex-pats to boot. The massive national support for the old firm is part of the underlying problem with the SPL - no competition as two clubs have all the resources hence dull, predicable league. In England we have a number of "big" clubs but in terms of global "brands" (sorry but I hate this term applied to football clubs) only Man U and Liverpool approach Celtic/Rangers. Travel anywhere in the world and you see the hoops or blue tops of the Glasgow clubs and the reds of the north-west giants. These four clubs have the heritage and huge international committed fan-bases which the others are unlikely to be able to replicate unless they have significant European success which is not hugely likely. Wherever they start in the English Leagues it would only be a matter of time before they climbed to the very top. Bear in mind also that IF they got into the premier league the odds of them attracting very wealthy backers a la Man C or Chelski would rise exponentially. Currently they are huge clubs despite being stuck in the SPL. Imagine if they had access to the riches of the EPL. They would probably be there or therabouts most seasons. If Rangers get liquidated and demoted to the Scottish 3rd division they will still get 40k plus. Not many English clubs could manage this.
OK, maybe Newcastle aren't bigger, or as big, as Celtic. But no matter how many fans they have worldwide, both clubs can still only fit about 50,000 into their grounds. Seeing as your entire argument is based on support, it has now surely fallen flat. And yes, in terms of support, Celtic are bigger than the other three, but after two, three or four years plus in the wilderness, the financial gap between them and City, Chelsea and Spurs will be even bigger than it already is, even if they then get financial backing upon arrival in the Premier League.
