Premier League chairmen have rejected the prospect of Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers joining the English Premier League or the forming of a two-tier top flight.
Financial blow
The news is a blow to the two Glasgow giants who saw a move to the English top flight as a chance to raise extra revenue from gates and television money.
Both sides are in financial trouble and struggling to strengthen their squads each season. Rangers problems were so bad that they couldn’t strengthen their squad during the summer. Celtic did sign a few players but spent much less than most the Premier League sides.
Big fish in a small pond
I think I have revealed my thoughts on the Scottish Premier League in a previous article. The quality of the league is just really poor. If Celtic and Rangers left the SPL then Scottish football would suffer even further. They are currently big fish in a small pond and seem to think they are bigger than the SPL.
They are big clubs but are they big clubs compared to Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool? They have the attendances and history but because the standard of league they currently play in their teams are poor compared to the teams they would playing week in week out. They would need to use every bit of the TV money just to put together a competitive squad for the Premier League.
Manager support
The switch had the support of Premier League managers David Moyes, Alex McLeish and Martin O’Neill. However all three have close links to the Old Firm and are biased on the subject. Moyes was once Celtic’s youngster ever player to appear in Europe. O’Neill won numerous trophies with the Hoops and McLeish is a former Gers boss.
It was Bolton chairman Phil Gartside that put the proposal forward and the Premier League made a statement which revealed that the switch was neither ‘desirable or viable’. So It doesn’t sound too promising for a change of heart in the future.
Starting at the bottom
I don’t see why the two Scottish giants think they can just come into the English league pyramid right at the top. Clubs like Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham of Wales all started off at the bottom of the pile when they entered the English league. They had to work their way up the leagues. If Celtic and Rangers were allowed to join the Premier League then it would be at the expense of teams that deserved to be there.
Pride
It seems strange that such patriotic and partisan fans actually want to move away from their homeland. It seems sad that they are prepared to sell out their own country for the sake of money. However it looks like that’s exactly what they are doing.
Its like they are married to the SPL but have been flirting with the Premier League for a longtime and now that their flirting has finished they have gone back to their wife. Surely the other SPL clubs must be insulted by the fact that the two biggest sides are trying to leave their league. However they will also be relieved that the two are staying. The Scottish league would simply whither and die without them. Sad but true I think its best for everyone that they stay where they belong in the SCOTTISH Premier League.
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