Rangers Expelled From the SPL
I know that we at LOB rarely follow the SPL, but a major story came as ten out of twelve clubs voted to expel Rangers from the SPL.Anyone who has been following this story has seen this coming, but it still feels like a shock as this is one of the two Old Firm Clubs in Scotland, that has won 54 League Titles,numerous other trophies., and was in the UEFA Cup Final as recently as 2007. They provide a major following in the Scottish game along with major revenue brought into the Scottish game that has precious little.They were seized by administrators due to the fact that they had not paid their taxes and basically the current Rangers club is a brand new club.So what next??? Next week the Scottish Football League, which consists of Divisions One, Two, and Three, will vote as to which division to admit Rangers or whether they would even be admitted to the Scottish Football League.It is expected that Dundee, who finished second in the Scottish First Division would take the Gers place in the SPL. Therefore, they have not been allowed to vote on the matter as that would be considered a conflict of interests.The normal process would be to place them in the Scottish Third Division, but due to the financial implications, there are rumors that they may be admitted to the Scottish First Division. If that is not the case then I would see Scottish football falling into oblivion.I remember when Scottish football was competitive, albeit not at the standard of English football, but still a decent standard.With the loss of Rangers, I could see their football being at the standard of the likes of the Faroes,Andorra, and San Marino sooner rather than later. While the Jocks may be considered the enemy, I don't think anyone wishes this on the Scots, especially due to the actions of one club. The issue is fair play and following the rules vs finances.I always fall on the side of fair play,but am caught between a rock and a hard place as the consequences could be catastrophic. I could really use some help from the LOBERS on this matter.
posted by manunitedrules @ 12:49 PM
7 Comments:
The next couple of years of Scottish football are going to be tough. A lot of the future depends on how Sky sports acts with the television contract.
In better news, this may help one or two of the SPL teams acquire some money and talent by getting into European play by finishing second, and maybe with some luck a bit of international success.
You can say that Celtic is due for a massive run of titles, but they were pegged for the triple last season. How did that work out for them?
With or without Rangers, the SPL is a poor league that has been, sadly, dominated by the Old Firm's money.
That is an excellent perspective, Someone.My concern is that without Rangers a poor league will be even poorer and half that SPL revenue is now thrown out the window.It seems that the two best clubs outside the Old Firm are currently Hearts and Motherwell. when I was in high school it was Aberdeen and Dundee United. I agree that one or two of these clubs will be helped, but none of them will bring in anything close to the revenue that Rangers did nor will play to that standard.Every two to three years, one of the Old Firm clubs makes a decent run in Europe. None of the non Old Firm Clubs will ever be able to attract the caliber of players to accomplish that and I will be shocked if any of the non Old Firm Clubs get past the preliminary stages.What will happen over the course of time is that the SPL's UEFA Coefficient will decrease to the point where Scotland will only have one club in the CL that will start their qualification process the first week in July. Also, there will probably be only two clubs in the Europa League by then that will be starting the first week in July. As poor as Scottish footie is, it has not declined to that point.These non Old Firm Clubs have stadiums with capacities of 10,000 to 15,000. How can they truly replace Rangers? I do agree that Celtic will have a massive run of titles to the point where they may be setting world records. I would not be surprised to see them win every league title for the next fifty years, if the league is even around at that time.
There's going to be some ugly form this season. Time for the local supporters to step up and attend the games to try and cover the gate revenue that Rangers brought in.
The UEFA coefficient has been dropping the past couple of years, this barring miracle run is not going to help.
I saw a broadcast of the Celtic/St. Johnstone match that looked like it was being produced by a high school A/V club. Sure it's great that Ross County worked and earned their way into the SPL, but there are middle schools here with better pitches.
Lack of money is going to kill this league, but even with Rangers doing their cheating, it was already headed in that direction with the Old Firm dominance.
Not much to cheer for when only one team is expected to take it all.
Absolutely, Someone! I could not agree more.However, the rate of this decline will increase exponentially.Celtic and Rangers made the UEFA Cup final in 2003 and 2007 respectively , which was just enough to maintain their coefficient for UEFA's five year window.With Rangers gone there goes half their coefficient points. As a Celtic fan, you must be delighted that Celtic will be champions of the SPL for the next fifty plus seasons, but with zero competition.I think it will be hard for the local supporters to step up. My brother did two tours of Scotland in an exchange program when he was in medical school. One in December and January of 1999/2000 and the other in October of 2000.He had some sort of role with a medical school in Glasgow, but spent most of his free time watching Scottish footie matches at places such as Motherwell, Airdrie , and Inverness.I brought the points you did and he said that what he observed is that Scotland has far too many clubs for a country its size and that the rate of poverty is much higher than most people believe. He told me that the country was in a dire recession and that it was surprising that they had the number of fans that they did attending matches.He said it should have been half based on people's finances.Based on what my brother told me this was coming sooner rather than later and it doesn't seem like there was a viable solution to your points and now the league is losing half its Old Firm revenue.My brother saw Motherwell play several times and developed an affection for them, but said that based on what he saw they were a very tiny club.They are probably going to be Scotland's representatives in the CL and that says it all!
I'm far from thrilled at the lack of competition in the SPL. It's no fun when one or two teams dominates. Fighting for second, or third is a lost cause.
Very true, you get outside of Glasgow and Edinburgh there's very little wealth in the country. Sure, it's lovely to look at, but there is poverty and too may living hand to mouth. They're great people, but buying season tickets, let alone a ticket to a match is a luxury.
I was looking at an amateur club near my father in law's house. The Clydebank Bankies. Their concession stand is a refurbished shipping container. The pitch looks like my backyard. The country loves the game, it's a damn shame they can't afford the quality and ability to develop talent.
Thanks for the excellent discussion, lads. A sad day for Scottish football, indeed. The reality is that this can happen to even the biggest club, given the insane arms race for players in order to keep up with the Champions League elite.
I'm just about convinced that the healthiest path for most clubs is to build based on a solid plan that can ensure survival. If a club can convince their fan base to support lower expectations, it will have a safer future. Unfortunately most clubs have delusions of grandeur about what they can accomplish.
Well stated, BD. Rangers lived well beyond their means and it may cost them their very existence.So where will these fans head? Will they even continue to follow football? I guess I can see why Arsenal do what they do? Yes they could do better, but do they want to suffer the same fate as Rangers? As a Manchester United fan I wonder if the same could happen to us. After all we have been over 100 million Pounds in debt since the Glazers took over. The difference between us and Rangers is that we pay our taxes and we have been making periodic payments. What if we get behind? Then what?
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