Are the Scottish living off the rump

yawn

The "big two" would be relegated within a couple of years if they joined. Not much to worry about.

Would be a very small piece of prem league. Both relegated 1st year imo.

Well, hardly. They'd be middle of thr Premiership sides at the mo, but they would become much more attractive to play for and would be able to sign better quality players, so they'd improve.

It's not that long since Celtic, under Martin O'Neill, were regularly beating England's finest in Europe.

I think there's a good chance that both Celtic and Rangers would be relegated after their first or second seasons.

wur ruined it

sod travelling up there. going up to Madchester is bad enough. Do you need a passport to go to scotland?

give us our oil money back then u half-inching gypos

Can't see the Big 4 voting for it.They'd have less of a slice of the pie...they'd say no way.

They should start in the championship, they are clearly not prem material.

Personally I think scottish football should have a position in the english system.

somewhere between league 2 and the conference would be the ideal position imo.

I agree that they should not start in the EPL

long term, the Premiership should welcome them with open arms tho. over time the other major powers will start to catch up and the EPL needs to maximise revenue, sponsorship, marketing etc etc

you guys should not assume that the worlds best will always want to play in England. Even now some top players will not come due to climate, language, culture (i could go on) look at the problems newcastle and borough had in attracting top players even when there was money to burn

is it true that Everton is a protestant club and Liverpool Catholic?

It would be good for them, they have a lot of potential. Celtic are the kind of team that could have a massive worldwide fan base if they got more exposure,and playing in prem would defo give them more chance of signing big names. I would actually quite like them to join in.

why have they not joined already? EPL won't let them or they don't want to?

nononsense 12 Nov 12:25


is it true that Everton is a protestant club and Liverpool Catholic?



I think originally the other way round. but what you said is the way I undersand the status quo. same with man city and man utd.

EPL voted against.

does seem a shame. would make epl an even bigger brand than it already is.

and it would mean 12 (liverpool 5, man u 3, forest 2, villa 1 and celtic 1) european cup wins from epl, equal with spain.

Cardiff,Swansea are n't allowed in the European Cup (using it's proper name) even if they win their way in because they have forgone their rights to European football by playing in our league..is that about right?

So,if the above is correct).I can't see C/R giving up a permanent place in Europe and then go to naff all.

And,if the top statement is false i can 't see the big clubs voting for them as they are making things harder on themselves to qualify for Europe....And,i can't see UEFA giving us more places .

Celtic get an average crowd of 55,000 playing against the likes of St.Mirren and Falkirk. They also have an entire country that supports them - and it ain't Scotland.

Give them 5 years in the premiership and they'd be challenging Man Utd. as the biggest club in the UK.

I'd like to see them in the Premier League. Not to see them either be tanked or to do the tanking (versus WBA et al), but because of the interest that would heighten because of it. Five years ago I'd have said top 10 finish for them no bother, but now Man City, Spurs and Villa have upped their quality it maybe wouldn't be so. To start with anyway.

Make it a 22-team league and abandon the League Cup. Four extra weekends of Premier League football sounds good to me.

Velasquez 12 Nov 14:18

Give them 5 years in the premiership and they'd be challenging Man Utd. as the biggest club in the UK.

Vel, your capacity for belief in the impossible appears limitless.

Celtic/Rangers are top half Championship quality sides. They would need considerable financial support to compete with Stoke, never mind Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Much as an injection of mindless religious bigotry would add a certain piquancy to the EPL, I think, like haggis and man skirts, the old firm are best left north of the border.

Yes - NOW. The current Celtic team is dreadful, thanks to Strachan's legacy.

But with 5 years of EPL money...and new investment?

Anyway - how impossible was this? -- a Glasgow Select team winning the European Cup (when it was the REAL "Champions' League") and in the process, becoming the first non-Latin side to do so.

So, you see, the "impossible" has already happened in the most majestic way, playing cavalier, beautiful football against "catenaccio".

42 years of hurt!

I must tell you about the the 1969 Bulls of Budapest :)

Those minted Arabs who want to invest in EPL clubs...well, Celtic could be like the "Coolmore" of football.

What is the debt of Man. Utd.? It runs into hundreds of millions.

Celtic's debt is less than £1 million.

If they had been in the EPL, Martin O'Neill might still be manager...the other thing to consider is that Scotland is a nice place for a rich player to live - a genuine alternative to the bright lights of London. Didn;t Celtic beat Liverpool, Man.Utd. and Blackburn within the last few years? Further back, Celtic beat the "great" Leeds team in both legs of a cracking Euro Cup semi.

Scotland has the best golf courses and lochs, fishing waters, etc. People don't realise that Henrik Larsson stayed in Scotland so long (partly) because the facilities are so nice...

Loch Lomond or Jesmond?

It's the people who support the clubs which the players want to see IMO..

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/9/9/20/f_celtic20fanm_37e142a.jpg

Orioles - are there any good Newcastle fan sites, featuring old player profiles?

I think the best Celtic one is Kerrydale Street. I was reading about Hughie Gallacher today - didn't know he killed himself.

Another thing about Celtic - they are possibly the most Romantic club in Europe - except for Barcelona. And I mean in the true sense of the word...Rangers are dour, establishment - everything that is not "PC". Celtic are gypsy, cavalier, bawdy, Celtic! Twinned with St.Pauli, the "anarchist" German club...in other words, Celtic could have a very, very attractive brand name.

Celtic and Rangers could ditch their sectarian past, but this will be very difficult for Rangers.

"Celtic and Rangers could ditch their sectarian past, but this will be very difficult for Rangers."

What "sectarian past" do Celtic have?

C'mon Liam, don't be dishonest - you're speaking to a Celtic fan here.

At Falkirk -- they wanted APPLAUSE instead of silence???? For Remembrance Day? The booing made the Scottish news.

IRA...Basque separatists...Palestine...say no more - nudge, nudge, wink, wink. I sat in a Scottish court for a week and out of four violent cases, four were Old Film related - a curse for Glasgow and Scotland.

"Are ye a Billy or a Dan
Or an auld tin can...?"

It's so funny when you're on a Scottish island - in a pub - and you can't figure out how far the Reformation reached...

"What team do you support, mate?"

"Er...Partick Thistle...?"

I agree sectarianism is a curse on Scotland.
I agree there are bigots amongst both sets of fans.
I don't agree Celtic have a "sectarian past".
Can you give me an example of sectarianism from Celtic FC.

Man United
Liverpool
Arsenal
Chelsea
Spurs
Everton
Villa
Rangers
Celtic
Man City
Wolves
Notts Forest
West Ham
Ipswich
Leeds Utd
Newcastle Utd
Aberdeen

Could have a league with 17 former winners of major european trophies. just play 32 games a season wih a break over christmas.

question

if the Scottish league was doing well, with high attendances and good compettion, would Celtic and Rangers be trying to get in the premiership?

The Scottish people dont want them, happily see them GTF. To England or not.

Velasquez 12 Nov 14:18
Celtic get an average crowd of 55,000 playing against the likes of St.Mirren and Falkirk. They also have an entire country that supports them - and it ain't Scotland.

They get the average crowd of 55,000 because you need a season ticket to watch the games against Rangers, Hearts, Dundee United, so they may as well turn up for the games against falkirk and st mirren if its paid for

if Celtic were to get the likes St Mirren in a cup tie, only 20,000 will turn up,the rest don't bother so they don't really have a huge support

as for your other post about asking weegies about what team they support and the reply being "Partick thistle" :^0 I get that response a lot even when am a nice guy

Also when I tell weegies in Glasgow that I'm a Dundee fan, they ask next that if "I'm a proddie" which am not..........bigotry is rife in Glasgow, with both sides

No, it was only the 80,000 fans Celtic took to Seville...and UEFA had to create a special award for them as they partied.

Anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth worked with the churches on both sides, along with Celtic and Rangers and the city council. Celtic also had Boys Against Bigotry...why work in tandem like that if there is no sectarianism in the first place, Liam? Are you telling me Celtic fans have never sang and chanted about the IRA, Bobby Sands, the Queen, Michael Fagan and so on? You're takin' the p1sh.

Granted, I would say the other mob are more bitter - the Irish were the immigrant community in Scotland, after all...and they don't say "bitter orange" for nothing.

A big HELLO to Punterfleecer...some might say the Dundee team that reached the European Cup semi was the best Scottish team of all.

i refer the right honourable gentleman to my previous question.

What "sectarian past" do Celtic FC have?

If the EPL let these mugs in ,then the lower leagues will also have to let in Hearts ,Aberdeen and Hibs.

hello Velasquez!, nice to be acquainted with you

was the Dundee European cup semis team the best team ever?...I dunno, would like to think so, after all a stand at Dens is named after him, the Bob Shankley, which is the away stand

Celtic took 80,000 to Seville indeed, just like Dundee took 22,000 to Glasgow

Seville was a major thing for Celtic so of course they were bound to take a massive load with them, also the fact it was beautiful weather then too!, I admit that they did behave impeccably and the Rangers fans were a disgrace in Manchester

which makes me think that if "Rangers" were a disgrace in manchester, any Dundee team that takes fans wherever whether it be England or abroad, then the police will react as if they are "Rangers" fans which is completely false

That is why that disgusting David Murray was an absolute disgrace saying bigotry was prevailing all over Scotland.........which is an effing disgrace, yet not much was really said about it, cos he was a director of an old firm team

liamcol............get real

Liam - grow up. I'm not going to act as a Devil's advocate against Celtic.

I was in a REAL court where a Celtic fan was jailed for slashing a Rangers fan's face with a razor...and the defending lawyer left the court carrying a Celtic bag. The Rangers fan was a plumber and his business fell away because of the scars he received. He was in pain whenever he shaved.

Celtic V Rangers - a real love-in, eh?

I don't know if you are deliberately being obtuse or not, i am not interested in the behaviour of so called "fans" of either side.

What sectarian past do Celtic FC have?
Any examples?

................................,-~*`¯lllllll`*~,............................. .....
...........................,-~*`lllllllllllllllllllllllllll¯`*-,..........................................
......................,-~*llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll*-,......................................
..................,-*llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.\... ..................................
................;*`lllllllllllllllllllllllllll,-~*~-,llllllllllllllllllll\....................................
................\lllllllllllllllllllllllllll/...........\;;;;llllllllllll,-`~-,................................
.................\lllllllllllllllllllll,-*.............`~-~-,...(.(¯`*,`,...............................
...................\llllllllllll,-~*........................)_-\..*`*;..)..............................
.....................\,-*`¯,*`)............,-~*`~................../...............................
.....................|/.../.../~,......-~*,-~*`;.................../.\..............................
.................../.../..../..../..,-,..*~,.`*~*..................*...\.......................... ...
...................|.../.../..../.*`...\................................)....)¯`~,........... .........
...................|./..../..../........).........)`*~-,............../.....|..)...`~-,..............
.................././.../....,*`-,.....`-,....*`....,---......\...../...../..|..........¯```*~-,,,,
.................(............)`*~-,.....`*`.,-~*.,-*.......|.../..../..../...............\..........
..................*-,.......`*-,...`~,..``.,,,-*.............|.,*...,*....|.................\.........
......................*,.........`-,....)-,..................,-*`...,-*.....(`-,..............\........
........................f`-,........`-,/...*-,___,,-~*.....,-*......|....`-,...............\.......

They fly the Irish tricolor at Celtic Park, but they were the first of the big two to employ players of the opposite denomination. Rangers didn't employ a Catholic as a player until the early 90s (late 80s?). Name was Maurice Johnston, who had previously played for Celtic

thats a myth actually wur, apparently they employed a catholic player in the 70s, a Swedish player I believe

even then, that is shocking because can you compare the Edinburgh teams regarding this situation?

for some reason David Murray decided to say that the Dundee teams were just as bad sometime last year, even though we're nothing like the weegie teams

Liam - you mean...what? The signing policy? Danny McGrain, Murdo, Big Jock, Kenny, Billy McNeill...not all Jesuit priests, obviously.

Everybody knows Rangers operated a protestants-only signing policy, but lately they've had a catholic captain and a French (catholic?) manager.

Are you willing to "forgive and forget" ?

Obviously, sectarianism must exist AMONG BOTH SETS OF SUPPORTERS.

Well, there was a huge ballyhoo that Rangers had signed a Catholic at the time.

ballyhoo indeed, so bigotry is rife in Glasgow then?

Vela, you Mickey git, you never did find that wee burd in castlemilk for me.


A Richard Gough T shirt and a copy of Andy Gorams greatest hits is winging its way to you

Celtic fans made a ballyhoo of it?

there you liamcol

cant u lot do thi on the footie forum

zilzal1, I lived in castlemilk a couple of years ago, you should've asked me

I went out with a girl in Ardmelish cresent circa 1982??, we used to drink in the mulberry in Langside

Mind you shes probably about 55 now :-), on second thoughts.............

27 years ago? things have changed since!

The dogs used to go around with two way mirrors then, for a London lad it was a wee bit interesting

I was in the Mulberry a few times around then. Battlefield was 'dry' so not a lot of competition.

The general guess-timate (from The Guardian) is that there were 15 catholic Rangers players before Mo Johnston...the fact that they're counting at all is kind of pitiful.

Don Kitchenbrand is one name that springs to mind...Theophilus the Penitent was another.

I had a great time up there, one club we used to go to was Ultratech, couldnt tell you much about it except it was in the city centre

Punterfleecer - I lived in Ardencraig Road in Castlemilk.

Battlefield! woooo................had to drive there fae castlemilk to get DVD rentals...............20min drive, shocking.....................40mins just to get a DVD

most people too scared to open anything up in Castlemilk, even bank machine

I remember, having a "Next" order delivered to my door well "ex's", and it was some psycho, its not that bad honest, those days are in the past now

Vela, you cashed the postal order for £4.85 that i sent you for a finders fee, you bounder

Zilzal - I did ask, but my Uncle Ignatius hadn't heard of her - sadly.

Ardencraig, i don't know it, only stayed there for a year, I stayed just up from Croft drive..............Scarell, "posh" area

Aah well its probably for the best, she might have no teeth now :-(

I figure £4.85 is the least you owe me...I mean, a worker is worth his wages...it was so long ago, I blew it on the ITV 7.

The high flats were across from Ardencraig - it was on a main road.

You only used to do it for pennies anyway, it would have lasted you a month.

Unless you spent it on Lanlik

perhaps they were blown down?, erm there were high flats in erm, opposite, what's it called? Burnside I think?

Bogany Terrace high flats were blown up - don't know about the other ones.

I think they blew all of Castlemilk and replaced it! they included massive high posted CCTV! :)

What you make of Zenyatta then, Zilzal?

Don't tell me you've seen many races better than that!?

Actually - it looks terrific now - they've spent a lot of money in Castlemilk and it looks like a Danish town or something. A lot of privately-built houses there now...and the chippy in Croftfoot is brilliant.

perhaps so, but, if you go at the roundabout at the hole in the wall, the left was the dodgy area and turning right the half decent area...........I had lived at the turning right bit

but on the whole Castlemilk still ain't pretty, after all, it's the same people living there, only that the council built their houses, after all that fat pizza guy from "sweet sixteen" was shot to death through a living room window streets up from my place(my ex's rather)

it's still a terrible place to give your dog a walk

Superb Vela, i really have warmed to the Breeders Cup , and her manner of victory was stunning-a pity she will be named the Synthetic queen and wont be given the prominence in the future.

The cup will be back on dirt next year and its getting harder to rate foreign runners with the three surfaces now as dirt runners dont seem to turn up and act on the other two.

Had a mare punting though, i backed Charm School at 10-1 and came level on the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had the forecast with Gio Ponti, for your £4.85 !! Or £2, more like...if he'd won, I would have had a lot more - 16/1 was a daft price...also did a tricast with Einstein. That was it for the night, really, as I wasn't that bothered about the other races.

Wasn't that bothered that I lost out on Gio as the winner was so brilliant.

I might go to Cheltenham on sat if its on, i really fancy Best Actor in the long distance chase, forget his pulled up at aintree as this ground will be up its street, and it will be a price

I'll make a note of that Mr.Zilzal - I can't be ar$ed with the jumps - I generally just follow David Pipe and lovely Venetia on a Saturday. David Pipe seems to ping in some big priced winners on Saturdays.

That Venetia - she is shrewd! She don't drive no Maserati 'cos she is a do-nut, mate!

I still prefer the flat, but since ive given up chasing women and cut back drinking ive got to do something in the winter.

Good luck mate

All the best, Mr.Zilzal.

If I ever find that Evelyn woman I'll run-up the bat signal over the Castlemilk shopping centre.

P.S. I think Venetia drives an Aston Martin...yeah...

...hope she's not living off the rump...