Old Firm

[OneMoSalah 8,619]

I think theyre big fish in a small pond. You're lucky if they get 4-6 decent games a year to play in. They're found out in Europe - even before they get to the competitions proper. It's now at the stage where neither are good enough to win away from home in Old Firm games. We get SPL 'highlights' before MOTD - the difference is jaw dropping.

If the players you mention are so good, why are they still here, why do they come here. You can buy the whole of Rangers for the price of an EPL squad player. I don't think any ambitious quality player would consider Rangers or Celtic as a good career move. Guaranteed CL football was always a draw but even thats a distinct improbability now. If you want 50,000 fuckwits watching you skin Dunfermline or St Mirren (and they can't always) then the SPL is for you, if you want 50,000 people watch Drogba, Torres, or any EPL player for that matter tear you a new one every week then try your hand in the EPL. They can either be 15k a week heroes or 45k a week victims - they know their class and they know where they should be.

They come to Scotland to try and get CL football as you said and to try showcase themselves off to clubs in the PL I think.

[captainjt26 106]

Thats the thing most players use the SPL as a stepping stone to progress onto the english premier league.

As a rangers fan im used to it we get so many players on the free for nothing and they perform at a high level in the SPL then move to england as soon as they get the chance . The likes of Boumsong and Cuellar to name a few but the money that gets offered to them they know they cant turn it down.

[Aesthetic Relic 301]

Before the introduction of Skys money into the EPL both Rangers and Celtic were easily on par with most English sides and held their own. This is when English sides were banned from europe, Both Rangers and Celtic were attracting top players from around europe and could match English sides in the transfer market.

Sky has given the EPL the opportunity to increase their profile due to the vast amounts of money pumped into the game compared to that in Scotland.

SPL winners get £2.55m(Prize money+ TV deal) compared to the EPL winners who get £60m+......that's just bonkers. The bottom side in the EPL gets around £40m just for being relegated. If both Rangers and Celtic had that sort of money at their disposal for a few seasons, I've no doubt that both would be challenging for a european spot at least.

I hate Celtic more than anything in life, but I'll not go into that now.......

Anywho......As long as there's a Scottish League, both clubs will remain there. The only reason Welsh clubs play in England is due to there not being a Welsh league when these clubs were formed.

[ireland 0]

i from ireland most people support liverpool or man utd and celtic chelsea wont be support too much in ireland for fans

[Duppy Conqueror 1,451]

to save Scottish football they should introduce a salary cap like in the NFL so other teams than the Glasgow two can compete on a more level playing field. of course things are a bit up in the air at the moment ,so now might not be the most ideal time but in the long term that is what they need i think to make it a proper competition again. of course atleast Celtic would probably vote against that and threaten to break away and into the EPL but if the EPL came out and said they wouldn't accept scottish teams then Celtic would have to go along with it or cease to exist..

can remember when the so called big 5 of english football wanted to break away and that what started the ball rolling to the PL coming about.

it`s upto Scotland to sort out their mess..they will have to be more open to change than they have in the past or continue this slide into obscurity.

[ireland 0]

celtic could care less about rangers

[Justin_3d 1,140]

SPL - HMRC rejection means Rangers could leave SPL

Rangers will need permission from other clubs to play in the SPL and be banned from Europe for three years after HMRC revealed it would reject a Company Voluntary Arrangement.

The customs body, which is owed £21 million in unpaid VAT and PAYE from the era of former owner Craig Whyte, said it will vote against a pence-in-the-pound offer which would see creditors receive a fraction of monies owed.

That means the Ibrox club, formed in 1899, will be liquidated and a new company formed in its place.

This ‘newco’ switch sees all assets sold to the new company for £5.5m. A CVA would have been funded by an £8.5m loan from the consortium taking over the club, which is led by Charles Green.

Gers administrators Duff and Phelps revealed the news in the following statement:

"We have been informed by HMRC they will not support the proposal for a Company Voluntary Arrangement at the meeting of creditors on Thursday, June 14,” it read.

“As a result of this decision, the Sale and Purchase Agreement in place with the consortium led by Charles Green will take effect and Rangers Football Club will continue within a new company structure.

"HMRC has taken the view that the public interest will be better served with the liquidation of The Rangers Football Club plc as a corporate entity. The Club will continue to operate as it has always done but within a new company structure.

“HMRC consider that the decision will enable a liquidator to instigate a wider investigation into all of the financial affairs and management of the Club in recent years and to bring to task those they believe are responsible for its collapse.

"Furthermore, HMRC believes there will be an enhanced recovery of funds for creditors by pursuing those individuals who they believe are responsible.

”The consequence of the rejection of a CVA outcome is that sanctions will be applied to the Club by UEFA and that the Club will not be able to participate in Europe for three years and the new company will need the consent of the other SPL clubs to the transfer of the share in the SPL, in order for Rangers to continue playing in the SPL.

"We would like to thank the staff and supporters at Rangers for their great determination and professionalism during a very difficult period for the club. While the club will continue to face difficulties in the short term, it will survive and continue to play at Ibrox.”

Green said he was "hugely disappointed" by the development, adding: "Frankly, I do not see what benefit will be achieved by this decision. My consortium's offer for a CVA amounted to a total of £8.5m. Now that we will have to complete the purchase via the formation of a newco, the purchase price and therefore the amount available to creditors will be £5.5m.

"I can understand HMRC deciding that football clubs which do not pay their taxes need to be punished, but by effectively banning Rangers from Europe for three years all that will happen is that there will be less revenue generated by the club and consequently less money paid over to the taxman."

The Glasgow club is awaiting the outcome of the First Tier Tribunal in a tax case examining the use of an employee benefits trust to pay players and staff between 2001 and 2010. If lost, it could cost them up to £75m.

Rangers are also awaiting the outcome of a £3m tax case related to a scheme which the club used to pay players Tore Andre Flo and Ronald De Boer between 2000 and 2003.

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

I would be happier playing in the 3rd division than playing 3 years with sanctions every year in the SPL. Also no Rangers and the SPL will sink also. If we are still in the SPL other clubs will loose thousands as the majority of our supports will be boycotting there grounds in the future. We take a good few thousand to all away games with £20 the cheapest ticket in scotland just think of the money they would loose.

[Justin_3d 1,140]

Big names all quit Rangers

Allan McGregor, Steven Davis, Kyle Lafferty and Jamie Ness have joined the Ibrox exodus after declining to transfer their contracts to Charles Green's newco Rangers.

They joined Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker, Sone Aluko and Rhys McCabe, who registered their objections before the start of this week.

A statement from lawyer Margaret Gribbon of Bridge Litigation read: "Allan McGregor, Steven Davis, Jamie Ness and Kyle Lafferty have instructed PFA lawyers' Bridge Litigation UK to object to their transfer to the Rangers' newco."

Lee Wallace earlier pledged his future to the newco club, which is almost certain to start life outside the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. But Wallace and Lee McCulloch are the only two players to have committed themselves publicly to staying at Ibrox and Green now faces the prospect of more players walking away, possibly without compensation.

The law firm's statement added: "The union's lawyers are already instructed in this matter for Rhys McCabe and Sone Aluko. Bridge Litigation UK has confirmed that letters of objection have been sent to the club along with requests to the SFA to release the players' registrations.

"Bridge Litigation UK have shared with the players the contents of legal guidance issued by the SFA last week on the issue of TUPE and player registration and which they state supports their legal view that an objection under TUPE amounts to a lawful termination of contract giving the club no entitlement to a claim for compensation."

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This is just ridicules. No Rangers in the SPL, essentially becoming a one team league.

With the way things are for Ranger, can they just change over to the FA, and play their way up?

Go to a third division or something!

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

Big names all quit Rangers

Allan McGregor, Steven Davis, Kyle Lafferty and Jamie Ness have joined the Ibrox exodus after declining to transfer their contracts to Charles Green's newco Rangers.

They joined Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker, Sone Aluko and Rhys McCabe, who registered their objections before the start of this week.

A statement from lawyer Margaret Gribbon of Bridge Litigation read: "Allan McGregor, Steven Davis, Jamie Ness and Kyle Lafferty have instructed PFA lawyers' Bridge Litigation UK to object to their transfer to the Rangers' newco."

Lee Wallace earlier pledged his future to the newco club, which is almost certain to start life outside the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. But Wallace and Lee McCulloch are the only two players to have committed themselves publicly to staying at Ibrox and Green now faces the prospect of more players walking away, possibly without compensation.

The law firm's statement added: "The union's lawyers are already instructed in this matter for Rhys McCabe and Sone Aluko. Bridge Litigation UK has confirmed that letters of objection have been sent to the club along with requests to the SFA to release the players' registrations.

"Bridge Litigation UK have shared with the players the contents of legal guidance issued by the SFA last week on the issue of TUPE and player registration and which they state supports their legal view that an objection under TUPE amounts to a lawful termination of contract giving the club no entitlement to a claim for compensation."

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This is just ridicules. No Rangers in the SPL, essentially becoming a one team league.

With the way things are for Ranger, can they just change over to the FA, and play their way up?

Go to a third division or something!

There is meant to be news coming out tomorrow on a new bid for us, set up of Rangers men.

[TheCount 146]

Honestly some of the posts in here are the reason theirs any kind of divide at all, If Celtic fans support terrorists' then so to do Rangers, Their 2 sides to every coin the UDA,RUC, UVF, and even the proud British Army have committed much "terrorist" behavior and atrocity's in their "glorious" history to, you can't condemn the IRA its splinter groups and glorify their counter parts, never mind that this is a political situation seen by many as oppression from certain denizen's of the British isle's to another for the guts of a 1000 years, the complete lack of understand of the entire situation is why theirs such ignorance from fans and some of the post's in hear, for all the winging and moaning of "political correctness" are prime examples of what PC should try and wipe out, ignorance and hatred.

Are either fans good? no. Are either teams good? no. And should Chelsea its in attempts to become a global brand and a global club should distance itself greatly from it? Mostly definitely!, (ofc theirs good decent fans on either side who care nothing for it and just want their fav clubs to do well)

beside half the Chelsea squad are Catholic, fairly ironic for any die hard's of the sectarian divide eh?

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

As John Terry was receiving his verdict, so we're Rangers.....Although the result for Rangers was not as good as Terry's. They will now enter division 3 of the Scottish Football League.

Prepare for the collapse of Scottish football.........

[Justin_3d 1,140]

Rangers should come to the FA, and start from the bottom, then starting from the bottom at SPL.

At least if they make it, they will have a chance of going into the PL.

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

As John Terry was receiving his verdict, so we're Rangers.....Although the result for Rangers was not as good as Terry's. They will now enter division 3 of the Scottish Football League.

Prepare for the collapse of Scottish football.........

We are happy with this mate.

We don't think the decision will stand as the spl will loose alot of money. We want division 3 so we can watch the rest collapse but I'll be very surprised if we are playing division 3.

As much as I would love what Justin said below its not going to happen sadly.

[Justin_3d 1,140]

Right then, team GB seemed to have done good in the Olympics.

Well why can't we have a league of GB?

Consolidate the league from each of these country into one?

I will assume most English teams will still remain top, but as we are seeing from teams like Swansea that is Welsh, there is competition out there.

And I am dying to see the likes of Celtic playing week in out against top teams from England and such.

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

Right then, team GB seemed to have done good in the Olympics.

Well why can't we have a league of GB?

Consolidate the league from each of these country into one?

I will assume most English teams will still remain top, but as we are seeing from teams like Swansea that is Welsh, there is competition out there.

And I am dying to see the likes of Celtic playing week in out against top teams from England and such.

How would we induce all the teams from different countries into the league? I don't see a fair way of doing it. You can't just say Celtic you're in PL, Swansea you're out. Aberdeen you're in League One etc.

I don't see how it would work to be honest.

[Spike 12,049]

Right then, team GB seemed to have done good in the Olympics.

Well why can't we have a league of GB?

Consolidate the league from each of these country into one?

I will assume most English teams will still remain top, but as we are seeing from teams like Swansea that is Welsh, there is competition out there.

And I am dying to see the likes of Celtic playing week in out against top teams from England and such.

Because the Celtic fans would shit themselves and reply: "BUT WE ARE IRISH". Even though Great Britain does not equate to United Kingdom, Celtic fans are an irrational bunch and it would mean the same thing to them.

In the real world

Great Britain = Landmass

United Kingdom = Every country in the Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, England, Wales, etc)

In the Celtic world:

Great Britain = Evil English Imperialists repressing humanity

United Kingdom = Evil English Imperialists repressing humanity

A Celtic fan once called me an Ignorant Evil English Imperialist because I told him I'm an Australian with English heritage...

[Spike 12,049]

How would we induce all the teams from different countries into the league? I don't see a fair way of doing it. You can't just say Celtic you're in PL, Swansea you're out. Aberdeen you're in League One etc.

I don't see how it would work to be honest.

THe only way I can see it working is with a few select teams. Celtic for instance gets promoted to the PL and for one season 21 teams will contest and since there is an extra team an extra relegation spot would be needed. After that one season, it returns to normal.

I hope that makes sense. It doesn't seem very concise at all.