30 points clear at the top of the league, not a single game lost, a treble on the cards, an excellent manager who's probably too 'big' for Scottish football and the prospect of them only getting stronger next season.
It's been an exceptional season for them, no question, but it once again raises the issue of where their utter dominance leaves top flight Scottish football. From fourth place down the other teams are closer to bottom spot than the top. Is there any league on the planet where one team is so absurdly far ahead of the rest? What, really, is the point of a league where only one team can win it?
Celtic leaving the Scottish league to play in England is a solution commonly advocated but we would leave Scotland with an even lesser bargaining position with the TV companies and even less well off financially. My own preferred solution of creating a UK-wide league to add some variety to our rather stale game doesn't curry much favour on here, so what do folk think is the most viable way forward for our top flight?
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Thread: The Celtc problem
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19-05-2017 08:18 AM #1
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The Celtic problem
Last edited by G B Young; 20-05-2017 at 01:53 PM.
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19-05-2017 08:21 AM #2
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19-05-2017 08:22 AM #3
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I used to favour a U.K. League but it's clearly never going to happen so we need concentrate on our own league. A fairer distribution of tv money & splitting gate money would make it a level playing field. I'd also consider moving our football calendar to spring/summer where it might generate more tv money
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19-05-2017 08:23 AM #4This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
We have shown this year that fans will come out to watch winning teams, no matter the standard of football.
At the moment, teams are playing for second place; it's not that long ago that they were playing for third. But, if you start the season with 6-7 teams all thinking that they have a chance of winning the league, the competition is keener, and the crowds consequently higher.
As for the TV audiences, let's not forget that our home game against United was a virtual sell-out... a game in the second division... but it was still live on telly. The product is there.
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19-05-2017 08:23 AM #5This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 08:26 AM #6
At the moment they have an exceptional manager who would not look out of place managing any club in England but Rodgers wont be there forever.
Once Rodgers leaves in a year or so the gap will probably narrow and it will revert back to how it was under Strachan / Deila with teams winning the odd game against them. I dont know what the odds at the bookies of them winning 10 in a row are but I reckon its probably more likely to happen than not.
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19-05-2017 08:42 AM #7This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 08:44 AM #8
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I do not understand why the possibility of playing down south was justvan OF thing.
Burnley, Watford, Hull and Swansea have an average attendance of 20k
Bournemouth have average of 11k.
You give us £100m+ already in a nice city to attract players as now in English league think we would do alright also actually.
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19-05-2017 08:50 AM #9
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With regards to Celtic this season they were utter pish last season and still romped the league with 15 points....
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19-05-2017 08:50 AM #10
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While I agree the crowds ARE there, I do wonder if there would be a hollow feel to the league if its biggest club were to leave ie would there need to be an asterisk in the stats books alongside subsequent league tables to denote something like *title won post-Celtic departure? It's just my view, but once you start breaking up a league I think it would be better to go the whole hog and start something else afresh. For me that would be a UK league (and as somebody else has pointed out, Hibs would be a great away match for a lot of clubs given Edinburgh's popularity as a city) but I can't see it happening any day soon.Last edited by G B Young; 19-05-2017 at 08:52 AM.
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19-05-2017 08:53 AM #11
Pains me to say it, but Sevco will get a stronger too and the league will return to normal pre 2012, fighting it out for 3rd place.
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19-05-2017 08:56 AM #12
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Celtic will fall eventually.
All goes around in one big circle...I think Rangers will win the league within the next 3 seasons.
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19-05-2017 08:58 AM #13This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Hibs is a bigger club than many in the EPL or English 2nd tier.
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19-05-2017 09:00 AM #14
I don't really see it as a problem. It's a reality, and one that will continue to get more pronounced.
What we need is for Scottish football fans and authorities to stop talking down our own national game as "pish" and get on with it. Engage with the local community to hopefully, over time, make a dent in the thousands who drive past their local teams' stadia en route to Parkhead or Ibrox every other weekend.
Have a go in the big games such that some other team in Scotland get a reputation for playing good football other than Celtic.
Under Mowbray we had no more of a chance - ultimately - of winning the league but the stadium was almost full the whole time because, win, lose or draw, the football was exciting most of the time.
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19-05-2017 09:01 AM #15This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:04 AM #16
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19-05-2017 09:06 AM #17This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Making a Uk league is a recipe for disaster. I know people like Wallace Mercer Gordon Brown etc believe in a better together future. What would happen to the national team if you don't even have a league and are not a country will FIFA allow a national Scotland team
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19-05-2017 09:11 AM #18
- Re-distribution of income via sponsorship/tv deals
- Split gate receipts
- bigger league (16 is my preference, and you can even keep the nonsense split)
- minimum of 5 players in matchday squad to be home grown on trained by that team for x number of years
All these would, over a period of time result in better younger players being produced by the country whilst hopefully bridging the gap.
IMO this Celtic team isnt even the best in the last 5 years never mind ever (and the 2003 team would wipe the floor with them). The manager of course has a significant contribution and deserves massive praise for getting the best out of his players and keeping them motivated BUT basing it on when they played for Celtic:
Forster > Gordon
Van Dijk/Denayer/Ambrose > take your pick, any current CH
Matthews/Lustig > current Lustig
Ledley > Rogic
Commons > Armstrong
Hooper > Griffiths
Granted there'll be exceptions, for example Scott Brown is arguably playing the best football of his life, Tierney, Dembele, Sinclair (he done well in England eh) but you've got to ask how many of these players can perform at the top level? John Guidetti was a "star" up here but flopped down south.
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19-05-2017 09:16 AM #19This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:19 AM #20This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:21 AM #21This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:26 AM #22This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:26 AM #23
Can't see splitting the gate money being accepted by the bigger clubs so long as clubs like Hamilton bring so little to the table - home and away.
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19-05-2017 09:27 AM #24Elephant StoneLeft by mutual consent!This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:29 AM #25
Celtic and Rangers have dominated Scottish football since Celtic came into existence, a few teams have sneaked in every now and then and won the league and some even had a good few years where they challenged regularly, Hibs(50's & 70's) Aberdeen(Fergie) and Hearts(1890's and late 50's) but in general the OF have one most things most years.
The best we and others can expect is coming 2nd or 3rd with a very occasional league win thrown in out the blue now and then.
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19-05-2017 09:29 AM #26This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:35 AM #27
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One team dominating then yeah there is achance of a slip up but let The Rangers come back then thats 2 teams and we do not need that. We need to try and do better than The Rangers for me while we can.
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19-05-2017 09:40 AM #28This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:42 AM #29This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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19-05-2017 09:47 AM #30
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