the OF deserve some respect south of the border much more than Bolton that's for sure if welsh teams can play in england,so i believe scottish clubs should be allowed to play there also Celtic and the light blues should play in england starting from the 1st division if not the PL they are both better teams than Newcastle who finished 3rd this season it will be a total waste of time to send them play in the conference or something like that they are the elite of britania and deserve the respect of the english people which should SUPPORT an OF move much more people in england care about the OF than Bolton,southampton or westham for example
the OF has a lot of supporters south of the border which will love to see the OF compete against teams from the EPL what will make the EPL a better league,an OF move or teams like Portsmouth and Leicester who have only local support?? the choise is an obvious one
The question becomes..do people want to have a UK Superleague, or do they want to maintain their present formats? I like the Idea of our wee league..we know the teams we go to play and know loads of thheir supporters. What happens to s/Hampton and Postmouths local support if they are thrown to the side for 2 foreign teams to come in? Keep the National Leagues they way they are annd let all these Prima Donna clubs move to a new European Superleague or something... if it isn't kept local, it ceases to exist.
It isn't a matter of want... I'm sure I wanted for Linfield and Glentoran supporters wanted to draw AC Milan or Barca in the UEFA cup, but it doesn't happen. The fact is that the OF are governed by their own Football Association (Scottish), and UEFA are trying to get the EPL to cut its teams down to 18. Does that mean 4 established English clubs have to give their places up, just to let 2 foreign teams take their places? Come on, thats ridiculous. The only way they could EVER justify their move south, without it been held up as a money move, would be to start in the 3rd division..and work up, like all those teams like Leicester, Southampton and Portsmouth had to do!! Those 'Big' Welsh Clubs play, and have played in the Lower leagues of English football for longer than most countries FA's have even set up, so to argue them as the excuse is a bit lame
the issue here is that the OF is too big for the rest of the SPL and there's no chance that a team outside the OF will take the SPL title in the next 10 or 20 years and as a Linfield fan i guess you probably like Rangers too like most of your fans do the problem is that not many top class players would play in the SPL only for the excitement of the OF derbies(4-6 times a season) that's why the OF must leave the SPL ASAP it's a waste of time to let them start at the foot of the 3rd division or in the conference the OF clubs are better than Newcastle finished 3rd in the EPL and i hope that even the staburn englishmen will collapse to their tradition for everybody's sake
Actually mate, I can't stand the old firm and think they are a bit of a poison to local football here. If anything I would probably look out for Hearts.. but you are right, they are too big for the SPL..but rather than let them leave (Which could be detrimental to Scottish football) why not help the other teams to reach that level? This would be far more beneficial to football supporters, cause lets be honest.. the only reason they want to move is to increase their coffers, not for the benefit of supporters. BTW, not all Linfield fans are Rangers fans.. put it this way, if as many who said they were actually came to matches, we wouldn't be in the financial difficulties we are (Along with all the other Irish League Teams).
Finally, some sense was brought in to counter Y&B. I like to keep the countries' leagues separate when it comes down to domestic seasons. For example, I don't want Canadian teams in MLS and the same goes for Scottish teams in the EPL, but that's just me. If the Old Firm would share TV revenues, it would be a very good start to closing the gap. The stadium revenue would still give them a large advantage, but TV revenue would no doubt make it easier for the rest of the SPL. Also, if they shortened the season to 30 games by adding four more teams, every team playing each other home and away, then any slip up by the Old Firm would prove costly and would not give them as much time to regain their advantage. Every game would be important.
The Old Firm back in the Vans Trophy seems an interesting idea . Which of course is what the previous attempt to set up an Anglo-Scottish Cup turned into due to the lack of interest from clubs.
how can you make the other SPL teams an even contenders to the OF? it is not the 80's anymore,these days money talks it is hard enough for the OF to convince top class players to play in the SPL not mention the other teams the OF brings every other saturday a 50,000 to 60,000 fans and no other club has this amount of fans the OF has a much better chance to play in the CL(where's the big money is)if they stay at the SPL but they want out despite that
i have sympathy to Newcastle and apriciation to their loyal fans but both of the OF clubs are better and wouldn't lose 2-6 at home
That was one game, and it could happen to any team. BTW, I'm not a Newcastle fan if you're making that assumption. But Newcastle is a better team in my mind. I know you can't understand that, you probably think that Balde is better than Woodgate or Lambert is better than Jenas, so there's no use arguing. But Newcastle would finish higher in a league with Celtic and Rangers in it.
Re: Re: McCoist wants British Cup lambert is a different kind of midfielder than jenas and lambert does have a champions league winners medal dont forget, not so much now but in his day paul lambert was pushing world class, IMO one of the best holding middies in the last 5-10 years. I like the way newcastle play but the game at celtic park would be a foregone conclusion (nobody but nobody beats us at home) and away I think we could get a result. Rangers.........nah.
I really don't think so. I think Newcastle is a deeper and just better overall team. PF, you're right, Lambert was a great player when he won the medal with Borrussia Dortmund, but we're talking about right now if the OF joined the Premiership. I'm not saying they couldn't compete. But I honestly don't think either one would qualify for the Champions League. PF, you say no one beats you at home, but look at the teams you usually face. I understand they beat Juventus at home 4-3 in 2001, but Celtic do not have to consistently play against good teams. Just my opinion. Not saying Celtic are a poor team, they're a very good team, better than Rangers IMO, despite Rangers winning the treble, but I just honestly think there are four or five better teams in the Premiership at least.
Ry we havent lost a game at celtic park since Ajax beat us 1-nil (3-2 to us on agg)in our champions league qualifiers in august 2001. In that time we have beaten Porto,Valencia,Stuutgart,Blackburn,Juve,Celta Vigo and Basle to name but a few. I hear what youre saying but dont look at the SPL and write off a home record like that which includes a champions league group and a uefa cup tie and then a run to the uefa cup final. I think there are a few teams in the Premiership definately with better players and more depth, but they also get TV money we can only dream of. I wouldnt nesseserily put newcastle as one of those teams, i thought they were very fortunate in last seasons CL that feyenoord imploded but they do have some good young players and could be excellent in the future, Arsenal, Man U and liverpool are the only teams Id be worried about facing. There are a level of teams after that who have their good points and bad points and Id put newcastle in their because their defence is piss poor even with woodgate who I personally feel is vastly overrated, chelsea would be one of these types of clubs too. Being honest I think if we were to join the premiership next season we could finish about 5th or 6th if we could stay away from injuries and the like. Our team is aging and perilously thin on the ground at certain positions but still very handy, BTW ask Michael Owen how good Balde and Mjallby are
i don't know about Celtic better than Rangers i think that besides Larsson celtic hasn't got top class players like Rangers does(De Boer,Arvaladze,Arteta Newman and Barry Fergusson) the OF has a strong home record and it'll hard for every EPL side to get points there but if and then they'll play at the EPL,more quality players will love to play for the OF
Good points, I'm aware of the statistic of not losing at home since 2001, but I am pretty sure it was Dundee who beat them last. I say this because I have a tape of the Celtic vs. Dundee game at the end of the season where you guys won 6-2, and I recall the announcer saying something like, "coincidentally, the last time Celtic lost at home was to Dundee in 2001." I'll have to check on that though. I think my main argument is that the Premiership teams all have the advantage of facing class teams week in, week out, whereas the OF don't. It would take time for them to adjust to that, for them to realize there really are no easy games. After the OF had been in the Prem. for a few years, I think they could make Champ. League due to their stadium capacity and t.v. revenue to add to it, but at first, they would definitely struggle. Newcastle will be a very good team IMO. Right now, they're young, but Sir Bobby is constantly improving them, and nothing can be said to change my opinion that they are better than the Old Firm teams. But that's just me. I also don't think Celtic are better than Chelsea. Celtic is ageing, but they do have young Shaun Maloney for the future. Also, Celtic have the best fans in Britain IMO.