The SPL: is professional football north of the border doomed?

Yesterday, Celtic were drawn against their old rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup. I'm sure this had the SFA and cup sponsors rubbing their hands in glee, an Old Firm derby is always guaranteed to bring in large viewing figures. Although, on the other hand, it also means that only one of the two biggest clubs in Scotland will progress, losing a significant number of viewers for the other rounds. And that's the crux of the problem - Scottish football (especially the Scottish Premier League) is overly dependent on both Celtic and Rangers. And, to make matters worse, both clubs are very keen on leaving, either to the Premier League or a new super-duper pan-European league. But, if the clubs moved, how would they fare, and how would the other clubs in the league do?

Kelvin Wilson: A horizontal move?

Forest's Kelvin Wilson recently signed a pre-contract arrangement with Celtic, and he recently stated that he wanted to move to Celtic in January. He also paid tribute to the club as being massive, and very well placed to win the SPL. But, could this move be considered a horizontal move? Although Celtic are a massive club with a proud history, and are involved in European competition and are regular cup winners, they do so in a league that could be considered uncompetitive. The Championship also allows the chance for a team to enter the largest league in the world, whereas the SPL is only the biggest league in Scotland. And whilst there is a gulf in the quality of teams in the (English) Premier League, it is no-where near as wide as the gulf in the teams in the SPL. Casting an eye at recent transfers at the Old Firm pair, Celtic have signed Gary Hooper, Joe Ledley, Kelvin Wilson, Olivier Kapo and Freddie Ljungberg amongst others, with Ranger's first signing in two years being James Beattie. Admittedly I haven't included all Celtic's transfers for this season, but a general pattern emerges of both clubs playing host to players who are 'Upper Championship' to 'Mid Premiership' standard. Of course, if they were to join the  Premier League south of Hadrian's Wall, it would be easy to assume that they'd struggle. This is nothing to say of the problem the other SPL clubs would have. Without the Old Firm pair, the SPL are stripped of their main attraction, leading to a massive loss in TV income, which could lead to a similar situation as the Football League found itself in during ITV Digital's collapse.

We've got all the football...but none of the funds to pay for it

It may not be all doom and gloom, however. Both Old Firm clubs have massive fanbases, and if they were to join the (E)PL, the boost of the TV finance could see Rangers and Celtic begin to push to become two of the larger sides in the (E)PL, or the two largest sides in a Super-Euro-Mega-Fantastical League. But whether the Premier League, and the 72 clubs in the Football League would allow Celtic or Rangers in anytime soon is another question entirely.

For the other Scottish teams, they better hope that neither Rangers nor Celtic ever leave, unless they wish to see a return to a much simpler age of football. Because although they may find themselves in a league where they stand a much greater chance of winning, they will also stand a much greater chance of being wound up...

Dr No-Love, or: How the Media and the Kop learned to Start Worrying and Hate Woy

Roy Hodgson can speak 5 languages fluently, was a well known P.E. teacher, and  has managed 19 football sides. He can turn water into wine, and if that's still too downmarket, wine into Champagne. And yet, he is the most hated man in football at the moment. In 'The Times', Tony Cascarino screamed for his head, the usually reserved (if not totally biased) Alan Hansen came the closest he's ever come to publicly declaring that a manager should leave. But I think some clarity is needed on the issue.

Roy Hodgson has won many fans in Liverpool, albeit mostly Evertonians

The Sun was delighted when Roy was appointed, with Ian Wright declaring he'd rather see someone like Roy appointed rather than a foreign boss such as Mancini. At least Wright has the good grace to state he empathises with the beleaguered Liverpool boss in this later article, but the treatment from some of the media, and the fans towards Roy is disgraceful. The Times today stated that Roy wasn't qualified to take a job at such a big club. I'd hate to argue, but if you could find a more decorated CV for a current English manager, with success with continental teams, then I'd be very surprised. And although the fans have a right to be discontent with current performances, Liverpool fans have to realise they are no longer the same team that finished 2nd in the 2008-2009 season. They are sluggish, without ideas, a team without a consistent striker, or players who care about the club. The spine of the club (Reina, Gerrard and Torres) are shadows of their former selves, with only the talismanic Gerrard putting in a real shift. And it's not all Hodgson's fault - this is the same squad that were putting in below-par performances last season which cost the club their Champions League spot. With Torres proving to be Mr Biscuit-legs again, an entire overhaul of players is needed for the club to become competitive again. 

Fernando Torres, during one of his brief and sporadic periods where he wasn't injured

I doubt that New England Sport ventures could stomach the cost of such a rebuilding project, and what manager would be tempted to a football club where the majority of fans seemingly want to be managed by a man who hasn't managed a club since 2000. 


For the neutral, it'll certainly be a fun few months to watch the actions at Anfield. And I suspect Mr Hodgson will certainly enjoy it from his armchair than the dugout...