Ok, I am not sure if this topic has been posted before but it will be interesting to establish the views of many different Scottish football fans and those on the outside with an opinion. I feel there are many points to consider: 1. The Financial Implications - The biggest of which will be for the Scottish game and the national economy. It would be unlikely that the SPL would be offered a substantial television package with the OF gone, therefore how would the league acquire the necessary finances to survive? It may be the case that survival would be assure in the long term with the high level of competition, however in the short term viewers may perceive the league to be of low quality and void of entertainment without the OF. This will obviously lead to poor viewing figures and a lack of televsion sponsorship. The second financial implication would be to the Scottish economy. The Old Firm has created over 3000 jobs for the Scottish economy and brings in around £120 million. They also bring a large fan base to Glasgow, this means profit for hotels and food outlets etc. All in all they make a huge contribution to the Scottish economy, but would the other clubs grow enough to compensate for their loss? 2. Footballing Implications for SPL - One footballing implication could be the loss of the European places. UEFA could see the loss of the OF as a major detriment to our game and remove our european priveleges. However I feel this situation could be erradicated once the league attains its own style, improves over time and becomes one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Competiton!! Imagine it. 12 teams all competing for the title. Well maybe not but i can name at least 6 with a fair shout on any given season. Not only this but the difference in quality between the 10 SPL clubs and the First Division is minimal, this could mean cup upsets and even more competiton. 3. For the National Game - Without the OF the smaller clubs with promising young players eg Pearson, Miller etc will have the opportunity to hold on to them and watch them develop instead of having them poached by the OF and watching them lie upon the Scottish football scrapheap. Younger players may also be given a greater opportunity to shine as all the clubs will have an equal opportunity of success in all competitions and their won't be a need to buy in foreign players in a desperate attempt to either compete with the OF or to grab third place. More focus could be placed upon younger players without the fears of previous times, this will only benefit the national game in a way that would never have been possible with the OF in the SPL. 4. For English Football - Well i think it would be unlikely that many would accept it if the OF were given a free pass to the Premiership at the expense of two other clubs. Therefore some sort of entrance system must be formulated eg starting from the second division etc. This is of course where things become complicated, so what would be the best way to resolve this issue if it were to happen? (i know it is miles away but it is still interesting to speculate). Complicated, problematic and full of obstacles. There are many more issues to this however if i make this post any longer i don't think anyone will read it. All in all i think it is a realistic possibility and brings with it many issues. Even Gordon Strachan has said he thinks it will happen eventually, but what do you think?
How much do the non-OF clubs get anyway? The loss of the four full-houses per season might be more noticeable. They might move to the English leagues, but they'd still obviously play all their home games in Scotland, so the "football tourism" aspect wouldn't alter much. It's not as if Celtic fans need to book an overnight stay for a trip to Dunfermline. If you were allowed to carry on in UEFA competition (and there could be no grounds for them not to if it was the OF's decision to leave the league) then you'd have to accept a reduced allocation of spaces, perhaps along the lines of Austria or Switzerland. that really would be the main benefit by a mile, although it'd be interesting to see how the press, many of whose reporters must support OF teams, would regard a championship not involving the big two. sadly I think that would be a pipe dream as the OF would still snap up the youngsters for their academies, and kids would still grow up wanting to play for them. Although I wouldn't put it past the league to agree to it after their dirty dealing with the Wimbledon/Milton Keynes deal, the thought of two clubs being able to bypass everyone else for financial reasons and gain instant admission (especially to the top division) is appalling - not least for the two clubs who would have to be unfairly relegated to make way for them. Clubs in the leagues further down would no doubt feel the same.
Never get tired of this topic i see Want to England No problem. Just applied to join the Conference League & if accepted then prepare to fight yourself up through 4 div to epl If not then stopped thinking of the easy way out & trying to skip a few div No way the clubs will accept it, U know
agreed. It makes me laugh when they just assume they can parachute straight into the premiership and just help themselves to our leagues wealth. They can apply to join the league right at the bottom of the pyramid in the very far reaches of non league football. I think it takes about 5 or 6 promotions to even reach the conference league. good luck to them .lmao
They'd never ever apply to play in the non league football, they'd try there best and get into the premiership as quick as possible lol, The worry is that if they did play in the premiership that might strengthen Fifa's case for British team as they could say "you've got teams from scotland playing in your league etc.."
Ah what a pipe dream it would be.... but its not going to happen. No offence but letting a club just waltz into the premiership sends a bad message to clubs and youngsters alike that if you got the money the door is always open. If the Bhoys and Gers want to get in so badly why not send in there reserve squads? All that money sitting on the bench might as well be used for something. The only problem with that scenario is that your depth has just been cut in half.
when rangers play testimonials down south ,there was always trouble so they dont get asked now !!! celtic fans are like the tartan army they enjoy themselves more!! dont think fifa will allow it, would be better for the other scottish teams having a chance to win something, who would win the league hibs ,dons, hearts ,killie,dundee utd then into the champions league!!!!!!!!!!
if sky want the old firm in the premiership all they need to do is threaten to pull there money out! they call the shots just like years ago when they were told they couldnt show live football ! they changed that quickly !! sky calls the shots simple as that ! money changes everything ie the champions league it was just the league winners at first, now 3rd 4th ,5th if your liverpool!!!!!!D
Crap, Sky are in no position to try to force something like that through. Sky's subscriber base is based on football, if they were to lose it they'd also lose a lot of customers. English football needs Sky and Sky needs English football.
Hmmm. Maybe you should speak to the people of Manchester about the so called GFITW! Or speak to the Ipswich fans about all that trouble we caused the other night!
It would never happen mate the Prem and Sky have a symbiotic relationship never mind what McLeish say's.
As far as i know there has not been any trouble at a Rangers away game in 20 years. You should ask the people of Fulham if they would like to see the Celtic fans visit again!
I should have narrowed that down. Outside of Scotland. I maybe wrong but that is what I’ve been told.
I’ve been to Love Street for a few St Mirren Morton games. I’ve also witnessed what that game does to my mates! (St Mirren fans).
You should head up tomorrow, then. After all, Glasgow Airport's only 10 minutes' walk from Love Street If you're referring to the incident where 'Ton fans tore up seats from Love Street, that was a long time ago
Well apart from the obvious fact that it isn't up to sky, not unless their influence now allows them to bypass FIFA rulings, where is there any evidence at all of SKY putting even a hint of presure on the premiership to include the OF? It's just pure speculation. You might as well suggest SKY might threaten to pull the plug on TV coverage unless the premiership puts big clubs like Leeds & Sheffield Wednesday in the premiership and kicks out Wigan and Charlton.