Lucrative English football league could be opening up for Rangers

[no12 0]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem have the notion that Rangers would "move". They wouldn't move, we'd still play home games at Ibrox but our away games would change and would mostly be in England - just like two away games this season.

 

Rangers are the greatest ever Scottish football team and I doubt joining the FL would change that - Celtic would be bound to follow suit and possibly others and the Scottish league would resemble that of Wales.

 

Swansea are considered the current best Welsh team with Cardiff second. They are not considered lesser to the champions of Wales whom most people couldn't name, me included.

 

I fail to see how we'd cease to be RFC - we're RFC no matter who our opposition are. So are quite a few other teams that start with 'R'. I can't see a single reason why that would change.

 

Football evolves and no-one would have guessed we'd be the the third division in Scotland but it doesn't change who we are, it's just part of our journey through time.

 

I agree with just about everything you say here BUT

It's not a question of physically moving - it's a matter of emotional and spiritual identity.

The idea of Celtic and others moving too does not fill me with glee.

I am a Rangers supporter but also a Scotland supporter. Or is that just old-fashioned these days?

[Guest cail]

While,in theory,Rangers could win the argument in a court of Law this move would be devastating to the Club at this time.

The Club has systematically been picked apart by the greed and agenda driven despots that run Scottish Football.

We have no reserves or a decent squad with which to compete at a decent level thanks to the witch hunt that was unleashed against us.

If we were to go into England with the current squad we have we would get destroyed.

If we were thinking of doing this and going down this route it is something that should have been done years ago imo.

[calscot 0]

We play in Europe AND we're Scottish, why not play in the UK AND be Scottish?

 

Like Gaelic and the imerial system, Scottish football is looking like a dead duck- sometimes it's best to leave things behind and adopt a new language, new units and possibly a new league, in order to prosper.

 

At least this time a UK league, like the monarchy, would be an extension of what we have already.

 

I live in England and everyone is in no doubt that I'm Scottish - in fact it's obviously more apparent than when I'm in Scotland.

 

My preference would be a European league but in the absence of that happening soon, if a chance came to play join a UK league then I'd jump at the chance as a "needs must".

 

My preference would also be to have my job somewhere nice in Scotland but I'm in England, working for a UK institution, making the most of it and I'm no less Scottish for it. I can't see why Rangers can't do the same - except, unlike me, they wouldn't have to move.

[alexscottislegend 2,064]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem have the notion that Rangers would "move". They wouldn't move, we'd still play home games at Ibrox but our away games would change and would mostly be in England - just like two away games this season.

 

Rangers are the greatest ever Scottish football team and I doubt joining the FL would change that - Celtic would be bound to follow suit and possibly others and the Scottish league would resemble that of Wales.Swansea are considered the current best Welsh team with Cardiff second. They are not considered lesser to the champions of Wales whom most people couldn't name, me included.

 

I fail to see how we'd cease to be RFC - we're RFC no matter who our opposition are. So are quite a few other teams that start with 'R'. I can't see a single reason why that would change.

 

Football evolves and no-one would have guessed we'd be the the third division in Scotland but it doesn't change who we are, it's just part of our journey through time.

Explain please? Do you mean Berwick Rangers?!

[no12 0]

We play in Europe AND we're Scottish, why not play in the UK AND be Scottish?

 

Like Gaelic and the imerial system, Scottish football is looking like a dead duck- sometimes it's best to leave things behind and adopt a new language, new units and possibly a new league, in order to prosper.

 

At least this time a UK league, like the monarchy, would be an extension of what we have already.

 

I live in England and everyone is in no doubt that I'm Scottish - in fact it's obviously more apparent than when I'm in Scotland.

 

My preference would be a European league but in the absence of that happening soon, if a chance came to play join a UK league then I'd jump at the chance as a "needs must".

 

My preference would also be to have my job somewhere nice in Scotland but I'm in England, working for a UK institution, making the most of it and I'm no less Scottish for it. I can't see why Rangers can't do the same - except, unlike me, they wouldn't have to move.

 

I can't agree with your careless abandonment of Scottish football. "But look at what they've done to us!", you may say - and fairly - but to turn our back on the great opportunity offered us of turning round the game in this country over the next six years really WOULD be walking away. Which we don't do, remember?

As for being Scottish in the UK, yes I know what it's like being Scottish but not in Scotland - having lived in several and worked in 29 countries over my working life I am well aware that it is not necessary to be in Scotland to have a Scottish identity - but I look forward to Rangers being a Scottish club in Europe again - we will get back there, stronger than ever, but running off to play in England would be a shameful way to do it.

[calscot 0]

Explain please? Do you mean Berwick Rangers?!

 

Yes.

 

The point is that we already travel elsewhere to play. It does not change where we are from.

[calscot 0]

I can't agree with your careless abandonment of Scottish football. "But look at what they've done to us!", you may say - and fairly - but to turn our back on the great opportunity offered us of turning round the game in this country over the next six years really WOULD be walking away. Which we don't do, remember?

As for being Scottish in the UK, yes I know what it's like being Scottish but not in Scotland - having lived in several and worked in 29 countries over my working life I am well aware that it is not necessary to be in Scotland to have a Scottish identity - but I look forward to Rangers being a Scottish club in Europe again - we will get back there, stronger than ever, but running off to play in England would be a shameful way to do it.

 

I don't know if it's careless abandonment - it's obvious now that TV money dominates football and that has limited Europe to five major countries which dominate immensely due to population, wealth and appetite to pay TV subscriptions to watch football.

 

Countries of 5m need not apply. The irony is that we're part of the UK which has over £60m footie mad people with plenty of disposable income. Our Scottish parochialism has ejected us from the party.

 

I can't stand the fact that TV money dominates as it makes a mockery of European football with clubs like Stoke or Swansea now financially massive compared to any Scottish side. However, I still realise it's best to be in the inside of a flawed but rich members only club than a beggar on the street.

 

I used to not want to leave Scottish football behind (although they could perceivably join a possible UK wide league structure in future) due to sentiment for the rest of the clubs, but that sentiment has now been quashed and as Rangers gets itself up from the floor where the rest of the clubs have put the boot in, can anyone blame us from finding a new bunch of clubs to hang around with? I now have no sentiment for the rest of the clubs and I'm now only interested in the welfare of Rangers. If that means looking after other clubs to look after ourselves then fine, if it means walking away to a new league, then also fine.

 

We can't save Scottish football, the writing is already on the wall - lack of TV viewers will make us eternally lame.

 

We could potentially be a Scottish force in Europe by qualifying eighth in the Premiership or we could be a minnow to dabble in the insignificant early qualifiers before being brushed aside and forgotten about through the moribund Scottish system.

 

As always, hanging on to a past that is dying is never a good choice. The problem is that we currently don't have any other choices...

[Guest scozzygt]

I don't know if it's careless abandonment - it's obvious now that TV money dominates football and that has limited Europe to five major countries which dominate immensely due to population, wealth and appetite to pay TV subscriptions to watch football.

 

Countries of 5m need not apply. The irony is that we're part of the UK which has over £60m footie mad people with plenty of disposable income. Our Scottish parochialism has ejected us from the party.

 

I can't stand the fact that TV money dominates as it makes a mockery of European football with clubs like Stoke or Swansea now financially massive compared to any Scottish side. However, I still realise it's best to be in the inside of a flawed but rich members only club than a beggar on the street.

 

I used to not want to leave Scottish football behind (although they could perceivably join a possible UK wide league structure in future) due to sentiment for the rest of the clubs, but that sentiment has now been quashed and as Rangers gets itself up from the floor where the rest of the clubs have put the boot in, can anyone blame us from finding a new bunch of clubs to hang around with? I now have no sentiment for the rest of the clubs and I'm now only interested in the welfare of Rangers. If that means looking after other clubs to look after ourselves then fine, if it means walking away to a new league, then also fine.

 

We can't save Scottish football, the writing is already on the wall - lack of TV viewers will make us eternally lame.

 

We could potentially be a Scottish force in Europe by qualifying eighth in the Premiership or we could be a minnow to dabble in the insignificant early qualifiers before being brushed aside and forgotten about through the moribund Scottish system.

 

As always, hanging on to a past that is dying is never a good choice. The problem is that we currently don't have any other choices...

 

Aye, just the ticket, we play our away games down in england, and our loyal fans go to support the team.

Fans are faced with hostile anti-scottish, anti rangers, pro republican fukkin nutters, do you all think we will just wave and say to them

we are the people?

Wake up ffs!

[der Berliner 3,247]

All this hypothetical debates are just fine, but anyone ever spent a tought one "where" Rangers would touch down in England? At best we could hope for a place in League Two. Reality will be that we enter somewhere in the Conference. That will be years in the doldrums of English football before we will set a foot into anything "profitable". And many more years than it will take in Scotland, for the English game down there is arguably stronger than what we even have to expect in the SPL week in and week out. While I can see the diehards stay on, 6 or 7 years are quite a long time indeed.

[calscot 0]

It would presumably be the Conference and I’d hope they’d accommodate us at the highest level there so that the next stage would be promotion to League Two.

 

Now that does sound a bit in the wilderness with years to get to anywhere decent but I can’t see how that is much different from SFL3 which will take us at least three years to reach a goal of a mediocre league which apart from Celtic would be lucky to be the level of League One - and there the story ends. Stuck forever in what is effectively a low division.

 

It may only take us TWO years to attain League One from the Conference.

That would have us playing the likes of six clubs which last year had the following average attendances:

 

Club ____________ High ____ Low _____ Average

 

Sheffield Wed ___ 38082 ___ 16185 ___ 21336

Sheffield Utd ___ 30043 ___ 15783 ___ 18701

Charlton ________ 26749 ___ 13264 ___ 17485

Huddersfield ____ 18646 ___ 11043 ___ 14131

Preston NE ______ 17518 ____ 9148 ___ 11820

MK Dons _________ 15938 ____ 6405 ____ 8659

 

The rest average between 3100 and 6800 which is lower half SPL figures.

 

Now take out Celtic from the SPL and League One looks like a far more lucrative league in terms of sponsorship and TV money and will have more romance of playing some unknown teams as well as some well-known bigger clubs on the way.

 

There is the problem that League One, as MK Dons know, is a very difficult league to gain promotion from, and they seem to come close every year without success. However, as a bigger club with more resources, than the likes of the Dons who are just completing their new 32k all-seater stadium, the play-offs surely give us a lot of leeway.

 

There is the possibility, with a bit of investment that we could overcome this hurdle and get straight to the Championship in three years – the same as it takes to get to the SPL. Now that is a very lucrative league which although is incredibly difficult to gain promotion from, it is a far higher standard than the SPL and so even some time spent there would be a better option bar the European games which are increasingly looking like a very short dabble in any case.

 

I think facing reality means that I’d rather be stuck in the Championship – a bit like Cardiff, than stuck in the SPL, as it’s a much higher level, with much higher rewards and there is at least a significant possibility of gaining promotion to the riches of the Premiership – as opposed to zero chance from the SPL.

 

I think we’d have an advantage over most of the Championship sides due to our larger support giving us better income than them as well as the twelfth man effect.

 

The ratio of TV and sponsorship money to gate receipts is still much lower there than the Premiership and so we should be able to compete at the top and hopefully make the breakthrough within five or six years.

 

The attraction of Rangers in the Premiership should not only bring us investment but also better players and managers than the likes of Norwich and Swansea. It should not be beyond reasonable to think we’d become probable permanent Premiership members – albeit as mid table strugglers to start with.

 

There is however, that small but significant chance that we could become one of the top 6 to 8 teams in the Premiership and as such, one of the top 20 - 25 teams in Europe – or we could stay in Scotland and be in something like the top 80 if we’re lucky.

 

So while it sounds like we’d be in the wilderness for years, the reality is that we are already there with no more hope for something better than four games against Celtic and a struggle to get to one the European league stages, only to be trounced by a far richer Premiership team who finished something like eighth in the league.

 

Our initial main goal should not be the Premiership but instead the Championship, as that is still a far better prize that the SPL with a free ticket for lottery every year, and a chance to eventually become a big European player again. If you don't have a ticket, you can't win it.