Football (Soccer) Thread

[FunkMonk]

So if I buy ManU stock, do I get a scarf?

I'd attend the stockholder meeting and mock the Glazers over the Bucs.

Manchester United - Based in the Cayman Islands, listed in Singapore and New York.
Relation to England: Zero

[katmai]

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Glasgow Rangers will not be playing in the Scottish Premier League next season as a result of the club's financial meltdown, a move that likely ensures rival Celtic will win the title.

The SPL says clubs on Wednesday ''voted overwhelmingly'' to reject a bid by a reformed Rangers to stay in the division

The 140-year-old club has won a record 54 domestic league titles but has tax debts of 21 million pounds ($32.7 million) and entered bankruptcy protection in February.

Failure to secure agreement with tax authorities led to Rangers chairman Charles Green purchasing the club's assets in a 5.5 million pound ($8.6 million) deal and establishing a new company.

Celtic and Rangers have won every league title since Aberdeen in 1985 and no other club has finished as high as second since Hearts in 2006.

[Liep]

So the SPL is going to be even more boring.

[katmai]

So the SPL is going to be even more boring.

Indeed.

[Josephus]

I'm going out on a limb and say Celtic will win.

[Josquius]

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Glasgow Rangers will not be playing in the Scottish Premier League next season as a result of the club's financial meltdown, a move that likely ensures rival Celtic will win the title.

The SPL says clubs on Wednesday ''voted overwhelmingly'' to reject a bid by a reformed Rangers to stay in the division

The 140-year-old club has won a record 54 domestic league titles but has tax debts of 21 million pounds ($32.7 million) and entered bankruptcy protection in February.

Failure to secure agreement with tax authorities led to Rangers chairman Charles Green purchasing the club's assets in a 5.5 million pound ($8.6 million) deal and establishing a new company.

Celtic and Rangers have won every league title since Aberdeen in 1985 and no other club has finished as high as second since Hearts in 2006.

Wow.

Hope this could be enough of a kick up the butt to get them to join the English league...though I doubt it.

[Gups]

They are desperate to join the English league, have been for ages. The English don't want them.

Scottish football if even more fucked then it was before. Several SPL clubs will go into administration in the next six months - most of them are finacially dependent on the Old Firm and the gate receipts, TV money and sponsorship they bring.

[Valdemar]

They are desperate to join the English league, have been for ages. The English don't want them.

Scottish football if even more fucked then it was before. Several SPL clubs will go into administration in the next six months - most of them are finacially dependent on the Old Firm and the gate receipts, TV money and sponsorship they bring.

Why don't the English PL want them? wouldn't it simply mean 2 maybe only 1 after rangers' collaps in the actual PL and the rest in the leaques below?

V

[Gups]

Nobdoy wants to drop out of the premier league

The integrity of the league would be compromised by allowing teams to join just because they have large followings and at teh expense of others.

Neither team is very good. Mid-level championship is most people's guess.

They bring with them violent, rowdy fans (Rangers fans wrecked Manchester in 2008) and religious bigotry which would adversely affect the global image of the EPL.

[Gups]

Oh and the other Scottish teams are tiny. The third best supported club is Hearts with an avergae gate last year of about 13K. There are 42 English clubs who got better gates last season.

Five of the 12 SPL teams had average crowds of lesst than 5,000. That's league 2 (division 4) territory in England and at that level nobody wants the extra costs of travelling to jockland

[Valdemar]

Makes sense, but it would only be 1 team in PL proper then, with 1 potential coming up if rangers get their act together?

A solution could be to have leaque 2 teams stay in a smaller scottish league, we do that here with the really minor leagues to avoid travelling, we have a PL like, a Championship like and a Leaque 1, then IIRC it goes into two leaque 2, east and west.

V

[FunkMonk]

http://theworldofsport.tumblr.com/post/26416121716/robson-pep-mourinho-ronaldo-blanc-and-co-at

Robson, Pep, Mourinho, Ronaldo, Blanc and co at Barcelona in 1996.

Mourinho has the exact same mannerisms. 

[Josquius]

Makes sense, but it would only be 1 team in PL proper then, with 1 potential coming up if rangers get their act together?

A solution could be to have leaque 2 teams stay in a smaller scottish league, we do that here with the really minor leagues to avoid travelling, we have a PL like, a Championship like and a Leaque 1, then IIRC it goes into two leaque 2, east and west.

V

I've thought about the practicalities of European leagues a lot.
The trouble is wheras with American leagues and lower divisions its fine to have north/south  and east/west splits when you've got a solid border it doesn't really work.
If it was just northern Britain/southern Britain then you could well see a terrible Leeds playing in the mostly Scottish league one year. With it English and Scottish though....I doubt many fans would appreciate being in the Scottish league, nor the Scots having an overly English (Berwick doesnt count) team in their league.



Scottish teams not having enough fans- I think most of that is down to the crappiness and old firm domination of the Scottish league. Were there to be a united British league with Scottish teams competing against English teams on an even footing then Edinburgh could easily support a big, 30,000+ a week, team or two. A few other cities could get respectable crowds too.

[katmai]

this seattle v chelsea game is 10mins old and already ugly.

[FunkMonk]

Fuck Chelsea.