McGhee: "Aberdeen would also fancy playing in the English top flight"

[Reekie_Red]

As I said in the football chat section, McGhee's spot on.  Call it delusional if you want (it almost certainly is), but then so are the OF's dreams of playing down south.

 

If Celtic care to remember, in the early 90's when this was mentioned by the English, the teams who were going to be invited were the huns and us.  That was because we were the best sides and because the TV dollar hadn't come into play at that point.

 

If I remember rightly, there was a huge demonstration outside Parkhead back in 1994 where the club was hours away from going bankrupt. Of course, most Celtic fans won't know that becuase, despite being "life-long fans" and singing the line "if ye know yer history" every week, most of them wouldn't even know that there were five managers between Jock Stein and Tommy Burns. To most, Jock lead the Lisbon Lions ... and then everything magically transformed into the Tommy Burns years.

 

I reckon we should start singing "where were you when you were shite?" at the gloryhunting plastic paddy wankers.

 

But McGhee makes an interesting point. The last time I heard anything from Ibrox on playing in another league was when John McClelland was parading this idea around back in 2001 ... which famously lead to Keith Wyness brilliantly referring to the Old Firm as "two old ladies on Sauchiehall Street lifting their skirts for every league that walks by".

 

Peter Lawell seems to make reference to this mythical league every second week. But I'm hearing nothing from Ibrox!

[Reekie_Red]

... and sure as huns are huns, Martin Bain goes and drops his tuppenceworth into the equation in today's paper.

[Woolenrouge]

Mmmm. I'm going back to bed.

[glasgow sheep]

I don't think I'd ever want Aberdeen to play in England....an away tie at Plymouth, no thanks. Furthermore it would almost definitely result in an end to any real Scottish identity in Football. No National side, a Scottish Cup played infront of a handful of folk by the rump of the Scottish set up, not good enough to make it down south....it would be miserable.

 

I used to look forward to the day that the OF fucked off, but that just ain't ever going to happen.  And if it did I tend to think it would be the start of a slippery slope that would end up with the above.  At best we would have a league that had 4 instead of 2 sides sharing the trophies while every fan of a Socttish League side also supported their big team, Celtic or Rangers, in the EPL/Euro League/Atlantic League/Intergalatic League/Lawell's Fantasy league.

 

Of course none of this is going to happen and the press really need to get a bit more critical with Lawell (and Bain) when they come out with this crap.  They are, and will be for many years to come, part of the SPL. Running to the press twice a year exlaiming "this league is crap get us out of here" will do absolutely nothing to attract new fans or sponsors to the game.  Given their main complaint is lack of cash they are shooting themselves in the foot.  If they really want an improved league set up then we should go back to shared gates and a more equitable split of TV money.  But that, much like Lawell's fucking fantasy will never happen.

[baggy89]

Yeah, but the atmosphere at every other game is great... 

Are you kidding?  Come on, which teams are going to vote to lose the income of playing the OF (potentially) twice more to bring in Dundee, Ross Co, Partick Thistle, Morton etc?  I don't disagree with your proposal at all, but Aberdeen themselves wouldn't vote for it would they (they would be mad to, on a purely business level) ?

 

I have in my head that gates used to be shared in the Premier Division? Is this still the case in the SPL? If not would going back to that (if it ever happened) not make up for the loss in revenue for the other teams? OK the OF would never vote for it, but would they need to for the rest to gain a majority? By that I mean; would Aberdeen,  Hearts, Hibs etc expect to loose too much to vote for it?

 

Alternatively, would an equal split of TV money make up for the difference? I know both ideas will mean the OF giving up some of their unfairly large cut of the limited pot of SPL money, but this ruthless capitalist model that seems to be followed by both halves of the OF is what is killing Scottish football. That is why the TV revenue is low, sponsorship is low, competition is low (the OF's favopurite stick). For an outsider there are only two teams worth showing, for a yougster growing up there are only two teams worth supporting.

 

You only have to look (where the better Scottish players look) to see what having a competitive league can do for TV and other revenue streams.

 

* edit. I see most of my questions and points have been covered, should look at the posts that have been typed since I started my reply, sorry.

[Sharpie]

McGhee is merely highlighting that Celtic and Rangers are getting nowhere near England. He made the point about Aberdeen throwing their hat in the ring to show how ludicrous Celtic and Rangers are being. The English don't need any Scottish sides in the league, ever, and talking about it is merely a waste of time.

 

McGhee continues to go up in my estimations.

[manc_don]

Personally, I think the infirm leaving would be terrible for Scottish football. Even more kids will end up supporting the huns and tims purely because they would be playing in a "bigger league" so to speak. The Scottish game would then be quite umarketable, or would rather attract very little TV money. I know baggy says that there will be increased competition etc...but the reason why the SPL gets any substantial investment at the moment is because companies like ESPN want to see the Huns/Tims play. This also does not mean that because they leave, the football would be any better/more attractive. A lot of folk (not on here) were claiming that it wouldn't end up like the Welsh and Irish leagues, because football is Scotland's national sport. I don't see why it wouldn't to be honest, what incentive would there be for a decent player outside of Scotland to come and play in our league?

 

I know its a rather bleak outlook on things, but I can't see it being any other way. The sooner the infirm realize that they need us as much as we need them, the better things will be in the Scottish game. I think this is what McGhee is pointing out.

[baggy89]

@ manc_don. I was inferring the OF give up some of their ill-gotten gains, in order for the league to become more competitive, and speculating that a more competitive league would increase revenue streams thus enabling the OF to recoup some of their earlier losses. BUT the thing holding that back is the OF themselves and their seemingly ruthless business model. Summed up in your final point.

[Sharpie]

Exactly Baggy, redistribution of wealth is the issue in Scotland. The trouble is I can't see anything changing any time soon.

 

 

[baggy89]

Especially when you've got dickheads like Gartside repeating the OF's desperate plea's, from an EPL perspective. 

[Reekie_Red]

I have in my head that gates used to be shared in the Premier Division? Is this still the case in the SPL?

 

Gates are still shared in the cup competitions ... hence why the likes of Huntly and Forres act like they've won the lotto when they draw Rangers or Celtic away in the cups.

 

But the home team gets all the gate revenue for league matches. This has pissed me off for a long long time now, as the travelling Red Army are one of the biggest travelling supports in the country. Whilst Pittodrie remains half-empty for many games, our travelling support keeps the other SPL teams in business!