For the last few weeks I have been captivated by Redwhiteandblue pod’s epic #onelastgame, which has seen Football Manager fans from across the globe take control of Bala FC in the Welsh Premier League and battle it out for five seasons to try to achieve glory.
This game got me thinking, could teams from the Welsh and Scottish leagues cut it in the English football league system? Well under my stewardship, if #onelastgame has taught me anything, the answer is almost certainly no.
This game got me thinking, could teams from the Welsh and Scottish leagues cut it in the English football league system? Well under my stewardship, if #onelastgame has taught me anything, the answer is almost certainly no.
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| Bala Town, the new favourite Welsh club for many. |
But what if we consider the two Old Firm teams from Scotland. Recently there has been a number of discussions about combining both Celtic and Rangers into the English Premier League, this would break their monopoly of success in Scotland, present them with a bigger challenge and improve the competitiveness of the Scottish Premier League. But could Celtic and Rangers cut the mustard in the Premiership?
The answer, in a nutshell, is yes and no, well more specifically, no and then yes. Currently the calibre of each side is below that of the English Premier League. There are several examples of players who are topping all the charts north of the border, only to be brought down to earth with a bump when they take on careers in England.
Kenny Miller for example, managed only 4 goals for Premiership whipping boys Derby County (who finished with a record low amount of points). He then moved to Rangers and in three seasons put away 55 goals, winning the Scottish Premiership and Cup along the way.
James Mcfadden, despite a decent career in England has also struggled to recapture his form that persuaded Everton to part with their cash: his goal tally in Scotland, 32 in 70 games was only reached in England after 227.
Kris Boyd too had a glittering career for Kilmarnock and Rangers notching up a whopping 195 goals during his time in Scotland. Since Gordon Strachan signed him for Middlesbrough, he has managed just 12 goals, in the Championship – quite a difference.
There are of course a number of factors to consider and it would be unwise and perhaps even insulting to argue that both teams would struggle on the basis of a few strikers’ poor goal scoring records. However, the gulf in ability is prominent, not just between England but the rest of Europe as well. Their poor record in Europe led to their Champions League qualifying places being reduced from two to one.
Kenny Miller for example, managed only 4 goals for Premiership whipping boys Derby County (who finished with a record low amount of points). He then moved to Rangers and in three seasons put away 55 goals, winning the Scottish Premiership and Cup along the way.
James Mcfadden, despite a decent career in England has also struggled to recapture his form that persuaded Everton to part with their cash: his goal tally in Scotland, 32 in 70 games was only reached in England after 227.
Kris Boyd too had a glittering career for Kilmarnock and Rangers notching up a whopping 195 goals during his time in Scotland. Since Gordon Strachan signed him for Middlesbrough, he has managed just 12 goals, in the Championship – quite a difference.
There are of course a number of factors to consider and it would be unwise and perhaps even insulting to argue that both teams would struggle on the basis of a few strikers’ poor goal scoring records. However, the gulf in ability is prominent, not just between England but the rest of Europe as well. Their poor record in Europe led to their Champions League qualifying places being reduced from two to one.
The gulf between Scottish Premiership teams and English Premiership teams is due, in no small part to the difference in television revenue that each club receives.
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| This delight on Boyd's face was rarely seen south of the border. |
Currently Scottish teams receive, on average, a share of around £13million each season for television rights, whereas teams in the Premiership receive on average £40million each per season. With this increase in revenue, the Old Firm sides would be able to stump up more for wages and be able to be competitive in the transfer market to improve their squads to Premiership standards.
It’s not just money that they’d be able to use as an incentive to lure players to the club, the attraction of the Premier League is well established with many players from across the world eyeing a move to England to compete in “the best league in the world.”
Right now, the two Old Firm sides would struggle in the Premiership, their squads are not talented enough and the pace of the game is much faster. However if they could survive for the first season, they’d be far better equipped to improve their sides, adjust to the rigors of a full Premiership season, and coupled with their extensive and passionate fan base, build a side that is capable of competing regularly in England’s top flight. The question is do we, as Englishmen, want them in our league?
My opinion? No. Not because I don’t want the Scots in our league, I just think it’s a daft idea. Why take just those two teams? What happens when two other teams in Scotland become better than anyone? Do we put them into the league system here too? If we’re integrating two Scottish sides as well as the existing six Welsh sides scattered throughout the English league system, why not have a UK league? Put all the teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland too into one big UK league.
You’d have to restructure the league system, and probably add another division, but it’s possible, I think. Well I haven’t really got much time to think about it, Bala FC are leaking goals at the moment and face top of the table Port Talbot next, I need to go and prepare.
Owain
That £13m is for the whole league, not per team. Celtic get less than £2m in TV revenue.
ReplyDeleteIt's only in the last couple of years that the record in Europe was poor. Rangers and Celtic have reached the UEFA Cup final in the last decade. Both have made the last 16 of the Champions League on several occasions in the last decade. Aberdeen made it through the group stages of the Europa League. It's unwise to judge the quality of the league on one player's goalscoring record in England. James Beattie scored for fun in England, but he has failed to score for Rangers in two years. There are numerous other examples. It's a different style of football that players have to adapt to, much like it would be going from playing in France to playing in Holland.
ReplyDeleteJames Beattie scored for fun in England?? He had one good season in the Premiership and one good season in the Championship then about 15 seasons of mediocracy!
ReplyDeleteAll the European records of success you've mentioned have been over 3yrs ago. Clubs move on and you can't live in the past and the Scottish clubs have been left in the past.
Unfortunately the style of football that players have to adapt to is...a poor style!
I'll add some more players for comparison Kyle Lafferty, David Healy, Giorgios Samaras, Anthony Stokes, Kevin Kyle, Gary O'Connor do you want me to list anymore Premier League flops who now succeed in the SPL? I'll could add a raft of League 1 and Championship playes who've moved up there as well if you want?
SPL fans need a reality check, stop living in the past and realise SPL is in a dark era at the moment.
Juninho, Roy Keane, Henri Camara, Thomas Gravesen, Emerson, Tore Andre Flo, ... off the top of my head. These guys were poor to atrocious in Scotland. Granted some of them came at the end of their careers, but they found the SPL wasn't the easy life they expected.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to suggest that David Healy, Kyle Lafferty or Georgios Samaras "succeed" in the SPL is ridiculous in the extreme. Samaras scored more in his first two seasons for Man City than he has in the last two for Celtic. David Healy has scored 1 (one) goal for Rangers. In total. And in that time they've won the league and Scottish cup. Lafferty had his best season ever last year. He managed 11. By your definition Beattie had "mediocracy" seasons when he got 13 and 14 goals. What does that say? Ever consider that O'Connor and Kyle play better in Scotland because they're Scottish?
I don't think for a second that there isn't trouble in Scottish football, but the comparison here is one eyed at best.
James Beattie managed double figures in the Premiership on five occasions. Far from the "one good season" suggested. This is not suggesting that there are no problems with the SPL, it's just saying that it's ridiculous to suggest the calibre of player isn't up to much.
What about James McCarthy? Or James McArthur? Charlie Adam? Christophe Berra? Jason Scotland? John Ruddy? Wes Hoolahan? These weren't guys who set the game on fire in Scotland, they made their names at Hamilton, St Mirren, Hearts, a first division St Johnstone, Motherwell and the mighty (newly promoted to the First Division) Livingston. Drop into the Championship and you have guys like Craig Conway, Don Cowie, David Marshall, Kevin McNaughton... these weren't guys who made their names at huge clubs.
At a guess there are probably as many guys who leave the SPL for England and succeed as there are those who fail. I'd have thought it was exactly the same with English players coming to Scotland.
Equally, look at the difference in goalscoring records between guys who played in the SPL or the Championship. In Ross McCormack's first season in the Championship he scored 21 league goals. In five seasons in the SPL he managed 12. Kenny Miller, who the above uses as an example, had his best *ever* goal return while playing in the Championship. If these players can compete there, surely there's not such a gap to the Premiership as a Scottish team could be dismissed out of hand?
I'll re-emphaise. The point isn't to suggest there are no problems in Scottish football. Of course there are, and it has been caused by a lack of money. But to suggest that Scottish teams wouldn't be competitive just because "some players have come down from the SPL and haven't been good" is like saying that Diego Forlan or Alberto Aquilani are terrible footballers because they didn't make it in England. It's a different game in Scotland to it is in England. Some players adapt to those differences, others don't.
The one factor that isn't discussed is that Scottish teams would always be up for games against English opposition. Rangers and Celtic have bigger supports than all but three or four of the English clubs. No matter the perceived standard, that would win them points in Glasgow. Do I think they should move? No. Do I think they will move? No. Do I think Scottish clubs could (right now, even without the riches of English football) compete with the might of of Wigan, Wolves or Norwich? Absolutely.