Source
http://gnews.com
American journalist Jimmy Breslin said: “Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers.” Never has the sentiment been truer as I read the BBC’s announcement about Celtic and Rangers joining the EPL.
It’s a ridiculous idea which has been touted for a long time, but could be pushed through if Bolton chairman Phil Gartside is given free reign to reform the Premiership as he sees fit.
Under the scheme the EPL would be “expanded” into a two-tier league encompassing between 36 and 40 teams, of which Celtic and Rangers would be included. The top tier would consist of 18 clubs, with relegation and promotion awarded in a similar way the football league works now.
Cutting through the bull, “expansion” is a misguiding term as Mr Gartside in effect wants to reduce the top tier of football from its current 20 teams to 18. Celtic and Rangers could be placed in the lower tier, but others are pushing for them to be put in the top tier, meaning a further two English teams will have to relinquish their top 18 spots for the Scottish pair.
The “second tier” of the Premier League would then become the new Championship league, and all leagues below would be demoted one spot in the rankings of English football.
If such a plan were implemented today looking at the current table, that would mean waving goodbye to Hull City, West Ham, Wolves and Portsmouth, and welcoming Celtic and Rangers to the new Premier top tier. Would this make English football considerably better? I think not.
For a start, reducing the top tier from 20 teams to 18 means fewer games overall will be played in the Premier League. Fewer of the smaller clubs outside of the money-rich elite will be able to count on big ticket sales on match days when the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal turn up to their grounds.
Not only will Celtic and Rangers be denying other English sides their place in the Premier League, they will also be denying themselves crucial Champions League spots. All this will do is weaken the Champions League as teams like Hearts are given the opportunity to be Scottish champions.
Does anyone really believe that in an integrated league that current SPL champions Rangers will be able challenge for a top four spot in a reformed EPL? Celtic and Rangers will be mid-table contenders at best – lost in mediocrity. At least in their own league they can retain dominance as champions.
This doesn’t even take into account the social problems of integrating Scottish football fans into the English game. The rivalry between Celtic and Rangers is bitter enough as it is, without bringing the added dimension of national pride to games when the Scottish teams play the English sides.
Games will regularly dissolve into madness: it will not be a case of Liverpool vs. Celtic, it will be England vs. Scotland. Has Mr Gartside considered the additional policing requirements that will be needed in London alone, when ten times a season thousands of Glaswegians descend on the capital to watch their teams?
Former Birmingham City chairman David Gold told Radio 5 Live that the EPL needed: “new thinking, new proposals, new ideas,” in order to “save itself from itself.” These are the same new ideas that argued the Premier League would be well served if a 39th fixture was added to allow Premiership teams to play international sides in Asia and America.
The Premier League is one of the best and most competitive leagues in the world. The recent history of English dominance in the Champions League is testament to the superiority of the English sides in general when compared to European counterparts. Diluting the EPL by introducing Rangers and Celtic is a bad idea, and Mr Gartside is seriously misguided if he believes this will improve our beloved game.
Football news posted by Tim Daffodil
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