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Like leaves fall from the trees in Autumn, it seems every year some chairman in the Premier League wants to try and get the Old Firm into it. This time Phil Gartside, the Bolton Chairman once again tried to get the League to agree to invite Rangers and Celtic in to the fold. Thankfully, the <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8353937.stm">request has been voted down</a>. It was described as “not desirable or viable”.
To say this constant speculation regarding the potential involvement of the Old Firm is becoming as tedious as the often mooted European Super League. Gartside, for all his bluster about strengthening the league and increasing the international presence of it, is simply thinking about cash. Adding the Old Firm would add nothing to the league at all and irrevocably damage the Scottish game. Coupled with a request to add a second Premier League simply smacks of self preservation on the Bolton chairman’s behalf and nothing more.

Most English Premier league fans don’t want them, but we get used to our feelings and opinions being completely over ridden when the influence of cash comes in to the equation. Coupled when you see how poorly the Old Firm cope with European football, you have to question what the point would be of adding two poor sides to the mix.
Of course, Rangers and Celtic are desperate for the cash, but Scottish football is its own worst enemy. It has always astounded me how a league with 42 clubs has 4 divisions and they play each other a minimum of 3 times a season. They then split in to play offs with the top half and bottom half playing each other. What a dull and uninteresting format.
Why they don’t have two leagues and play home and away like virtually every other league in the world astounds me. Yet, the answer is obvious when you look into it. Whilst the other Scottish Premier League sides shout down how much power Rangers and Celtic have, they enjoy the additional revenue that potentially two home games against them brings them in. So the league stays unfairly balanced, they all complain about it but continue to keep the status quo.
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People like Phil Gartside are so far removed from what fans really want, that they keep bringing these daft ideas to the table. I also read that he wanted an Irish franchise adding as well, which reminded me of the time Wimbledon <a href="http:\/\/archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1998/02/07/phead.htm" target="_blank">were thinking of moving to Dublin</a> and ended up moving to <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wimbledon/2209767.stm">Milton Keynes instead</a>, a shameful decision by the authorities to this day.It took MK Dons 7 years to stop using Wimbledons history and correctly allow AFC Wimbledon to have the rights to their real history. I can’t wish anything but the worst of luck to MK Dons for as long as they exist, but that’s another story.
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Whilst the idea of franchise sport is nothing new to American fans, to the British it is unthinkable. Quite how they would cope if their team moved such as the Raiders and the Rams moving cities twice would be interesting to see but unthinkable in British sport.It’s certainly not unusual for NFL teams to move, I must admit after a ten year hiatus from NFL, I was stunned to see how many new sides were in the league when I started watching it again in 2003. Unfortunately, The Redskins still can’t beat anyone, so somethings never change.
Also, the recent incidents with trouble involving Rangers fans in Manchester has certainly poisoned most English fans to the idea of welcoming the Ibrox faithful on a regular basis.It would be like a red rag to a bull for some of the more unsavory supporters of Premierships sides. The issues of sectarian chanting, and the potential for major trouble is a real concern. Of course not all the fans partake in such behavior, but it is still there and that is an additional concern.
Rangers and Celtic need to stop courting the Premier League and concentrate on fixing the problems they face in their own back yard. With no Scottish teams at any level in the English football pyramid, the last one, Gretna, showed just how strong Scottish football was, leaving the 7th tier of English football and romping all the way to Scottish Premier League in 3 seasons. Now if that doesn’t concern the Scottish Football Association, nothing will. Scrap the 4 league system, scrap the top/bottom play offs. Have two leagues, 3 up and 3 down and see how quickly the money spreads through the game more.

Premier League Say No Again To The Old Firm - World Soccer Talk

Premier League Say No Again To The Old Firm

Dave Whelan, the owner and chairman of Wigan Athletic has today been discussing his feelings that a Premiership club going bankrupt is only a matter of time due to the level of debts certain clubs are carrying. Whilst I think he may be overcooking the situation a little but if I’m honest, i’m surprised it’s not happened yet, or we’ve not seen at least one club go into administration so far.
It’s not so far away from the truth though when you look at the bigger picture of clubs that have played Premiership football since the league was created in 1992. Of the 42 clubs (Has it really been that many??) that have played at least one season in the Premiership, at least 17 of them have had major financial problems once they were relegated, with Leeds United being the most well known of the clubs to hit the skids. Add to that Barnsley, Bradford City, Swindon Town, Crystal Palace and Leicester City to name 5 that have gone into administration after leaving the Premiership, saddled by large wage bills and unsuccessful attempts to gain promotion within two seasons of dropping into the Championship.
One former Premiership club of course doesn’t even exist anymore in their original form, Wimbledon, but the phoenix has risen from the ashes and AFC Wimbledon are currently sitting on top of the Conference Division One South, 5 steps below the Premiership.&nbsp; They can’t return to the Football League quick enough for me, the other lot in Britains dullest city don’t count.
Yet, could a side really go bust whilst still in the top flight? Whelan’s discussions also pointed to his own Wigan Athletic, who he stated now had debts of £15 million and he hoped to have them debt free within 18 months. As he pointed out though, he does need higher crowds at the JJB Stadium to get to that target. Perhaps renaming the ground The DW Stadium from next season, as Wigan are doing, will attract more people in??
Of the Big 4, Only Arsenal probably have the lowest amount of debt in comparison but it’s still a staggering £300 million,but the big four have massive revenue streams that can allow them to swallow enormous debts based in the loans the owners have used to purchase the clubs or fund massive spending sprees. In Arsenal’s case, the debt they incurred was used to build the Emirates Stadium, which has seen their match day revenue jump from around £35 million a season to a whopping £179 million.
The solvent clubs are obviously led by Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham. The only thing Mike Ashley seemed to do right at Newcastle United was clear their £110 million debt when he took over.&nbsp; Everton, Stoke City, Wigan, Bolton and West Bromich cut their cloth according to their means and carry small amounts of manageable debt. Everyone else would seem to be playing with fire, relegation a sure fire route to administration. Fulham apparently owe their owner Mohammed Al Fayed £165 million, Steve Gibson has underwritten nearly £70 million at Middlesbrough, West Ham will await the Icelandic courts decision on owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson’s ability to repay his debts in June.
In 17 seasons, we’ve only witnessed one club having a fire sale, as Leeds United desperately tried to keep the wolves from the door, but lets not forget before Abramovich arrived, Chelsea were in severe financial difficulty, finances so tight they could only afford to sign one player on a Bosman transfer in Ken Bates’ final season. Whatever happened to Enrique De Lucas?&nbsp; Chelsea were very close&nbsp; to asset stripping before the takeover in the summer of 2003.
So, as Whelan refers to, is it only a matter of time before someone actually hits the wall? Let’s hope not, but I fear he may be right sooner rather than later and we see the issues that blight clubs relegated to the Championship and cannot return within two seasons finally reach the Premiership.

Whelan Warns Of Looming Financial Disaster - World Soccer Talk

Whelan Warns Of Looming Financial Disaster

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Premier League Say No Again To The Old Firm

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Whelan Warns Of Looming Financial Disaster