Rangers and Celtic for the English Premiership (Football in General)

Name: woodburnr

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Product:	Football in General
Date:	02/08/01 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for all

Disadvantages: None

The last 24 hrs have demonstrated to a large extent the progress that has been made by Scotlands top two clubs during the last year. Celtic defeated Manchester United 4-3 and Rangers beat Maribor in the European Champions League 6 - 1 on agregate. This is a huge improvement on last seasons performances and augurs well for the future.

The main difference in Scottish football during the last year has been the introduction of Martin O'Neil. He has reshaped Celtic into a very formidable team. This has benefited both Rangers and Celtic and both have benefited from the intense competition.

How much better would they be with regular games against Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Leeds United, etc. etc. Surely their ability to attract top class professionals would improve, given that they would be able to pay more due to the extra income from the English Premiership and also offer the chance of competitive matches on a regular basis ( unlike now when a match against Livingston would do little to enthuse any really talented players).

The English teams would also benefit both financially and competitively. A strong challenge would surely be put up by both Celtic and Rangers and this in turn would attract huge attendances and television audiences. Celtic regularly have 60000+ attendances and Rangers are maxed out in the high 50000's. Both have big supporter bases in England, as do the likes of Man Utd and Liverpool in Scotland.

European club championships seem to be the main stumbling block. In my opinion they should not be. The scottish clubs must accept that to get into europe they would need to finish in the topp 5/6 of the Premiership. This should not be beyond their expectations or ability. To succeed they need to improve, to improve they need competition... you see where I'm going. Currently they are in the cosy position, whereby they virtually get automatic entry into Europe. It does not help their cause in the long run.


The game in Scotland would improve. The remaining teams would have a reasonable chance of winning the league, which would improve attendances. They would also be able to operate in the transfer market. At the moment if any scottish team has a talented player Rangers and Celtic buy them. They do this for 2 reasons. The first is simple, they want the best and can afford it, the second more sinister. They can afford to buy people to stop other teams being a threat. They regularly buy first team choice players and put them in the reserves or on the bench. This obviously restricts their development, and hinders and progress with the other scottish clubs.

The losers, if there are any would be the 2 teams which would have to drop down a division. If enough notice was given, and it was managed well this would basically mean one season where two extra clubs were relegated. That would not be unreasonable in my opinion.

Summary: