Dutch and Belgian leagues to merge?

**~~IGRIGI~~** · 20-10-2018 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by Ozyhibby

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Cost of travel won’t even come into it, most big leagues in Europe don’t have large numbers of away supports.
From a business sense, the only teams who bring a considerable support to Easter road would all be involved anyway.

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I was meaning more in terms of cost for the club, away games across Europe every two weeks.

I guess TV money and other income that could come from a bigger league could cover that though.

***Hibby Kay-Yay*** · 20-10-2018 08:57 AM

With SFA/SPFL in charge we would probably make a mess of it and merge with Wales, Northern Ireland and Iceland.

**Ozyhibby** · 20-10-2018 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Hibby Kay-Yay

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With SFA/SPFL in charge we would probably make a mess of it and merge with Wales, Northern Ireland and Iceland.

That’s my fear. We are well capable of sitting on our hands and missing the boat as other leagues around us strengthen, taking away more of our best players.

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***weecounty hibby*** · 20-10-2018 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by Hibby Kay-Yay

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With SFA/SPFL in charge we would probably make a mess of it and merge with Wales, Northern Ireland and Iceland.

And end up as the minor partner. I have zero confidence that those in charge of our game could negotiate what's best for us. They constantly focus on the negative and not the positive side of our game. The fact that we have the highest pet capita attendance levels in Europe shows the potential but these twats manage to **** up at every turn

**~~hibbyfraelibby~~** · 20-10-2018 09:28 AM

It could work depending on how it is structured. You would retain a "domestic" element by using your games against teams in your own country to decide European qualification.

Look at the way Rugby's Celtic League evolved into the Pro12 by bringing in the Italians and now into the Pro14 when the South African teams joined and you see a model that would work for the smaller North Sea nations in Football.

***Billy Whizz*** · 20-10-2018 09:57 AM

Saw this too

https://europeanleagues.com/european...-competitions/

***chippy*** · 20-10-2018 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Ozyhibby

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Or we could go the whole hog with the Dutch, Belgians, Swedes, Danes and Norwegians.
Create and strong 2 divisions with a tv market to compete with the big leagues.

2/ 18 team leagues

Ajax 49,403
Feyenoord 45,419
Celtic 44,849
New Rangers 45,415
PSV 32,465
FC Twente 28,518
Hammarby (Sweden) 25,507
Club Brugge (Belguim) 24,430
Herenveen 24,314
AIK (Sweden) 20,983
Anderlecht 20,675
Genk (Belguim) 20,590
Standard Liege (Belguim) 20,415
Groningen 20,193
NAC Breda 18,112
Rosenborg (Norway) 18,039
Hibs 18,000
Hearts 18,000
Malmo (Sweden) 17,332
Vitesse 17,212
Utrecht 16,646
AZ Alkmaar 15,512
Djurgardens IF (Sweden) 15,484
FC Copenhagen (Denmark) 15,448
Brondby (Denmark) 15,143
IFK Gothenborg (Sweden) 14,350
Aberdeen 13,094
PEC Zwolle 12,213
Willem II 12,099
ADO Den Haag 11,976
IFK Norkoping (Sweden) 10,296
Viking FK (Norway) 10,272
SK Brann (Norway) 10,124
KV Mechelan (Belguim)10,160
Valerenga IF (Norway) 10,099
KAA Gent (Belguim) 10,090

Tv market
Holland 17m
Belguim 11m
Sweden 10m
Denmark 5.6m
Scotland 5.5m
Norway 5.1m
Total 52mi

Would mean we no longer have to lose our best players to the championship in England. I’m certain the glamour of such a league would bring in extra fans as well. Us and the yams might have to fill in the corners of our stadiums.

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Ok Ozy your plan is better than mine. Sounds brilliant. We would be able to keep the McGinns, 30k crowds at expanded Easter Road even if at this Times we were in the 2nd Division. We have to be in on this at the start. Clubs like ours would really grow in this environment.

***chippy*** · 20-10-2018 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Ok Ozy your plan is better than mine. Sounds brilliant. We would be able to keep the McGinns, 30k crowds at expanded Easter Road even if at this Times we were in the 2nd Division. We have to be in on this at the start. Clubs like ours would really grow in this environment.

Meant to say that a merged Dundee club would have a shout to be a 6th Scottish club

**Ozyhibby** · 20-10-2018 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Ok Ozy your plan is better than mine. Sounds brilliant. We would be able to keep the McGinns, 30k crowds at expanded Easter Road even if at this Times we were in the 2nd Division. We have to be in on this at the start. Clubs like ours would really grow in this environment.

That’s how I look at it. Why should Bournemouth be able to afford better players than Hibs?

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**Ozyhibby** · 20-10-2018 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Meant to say that a merged Dundee club would have a shout to be a 6th Scottish club

Haha, hard enough to win over fans to this without that kind of talk.

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**Onceinawhile** · 20-10-2018 10:08 AM

What Luxembourg teams are involved?

**hibstag** · 20-10-2018 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by bingo70

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I don’t think there’s any chance of us joining that league, the relevance to the story for us is that it could set a precedent for the Scottish and English leagues merging, or at least for the old firm to join the English leagues.

Yep as the TV revenues begin to flatline letting the gruesome twosome (and others to be fair) into the English football set up will be seen as a way of rejuvenating the product

***superfurryhibby*** · 20-10-2018 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Ok Ozy your plan is better than mine. Sounds brilliant. We would be able to keep the McGinns, 30k crowds at expanded Easter Road even if at this Times we were in the 2nd Division. We have to be in on this at the start. Clubs like ours would really grow in this environment.

You really think we would get 30k crowds v the teams listed in the second tier of this imagined league. Remind me as to our criwds v Molde, Asteras and Runavik this season? Never going to happen.

A two tier expanded Euefa league is much more of a goer.

**Ozyhibby** · 20-10-2018 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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You really think we would get 30k crowds v the teams listed in the second tier of this imagined league. Remind me as to our criwds v Molde, Asteras and Runavik this season? Never going to happen.

A two tier expanded Euefa league is much more of a goer.

Why would we need to be in the 2nd tier?

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***chippy*** · 20-10-2018 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Ok Ozy your plan is better than mine. Sounds brilliant. We would be able to keep the McGinns, 30k crowds at expanded Easter Road even if at this Times we were in the 2nd Division. We have to be in on this at the start. Clubs like ours would really grow in this environment.

Meant to say that a merged Dundee club would have a shout to be a 6th Scottish club

**hibsdaft** · 20-10-2018 10:17 AM

No chance we'll be invited to join - Belgian and Dutch fans would have a fit. More significantly this is going to put out clubs at further disadvantage as there should be no doubt that this will bring a big economic boost to the the club's involved. Economies of scale.

Personally I'd be very reluctant to give up on a hundred years of Scottish football history and continuity just because of the current malaise and TV deal economics (which could change rapidly in years to come with Web based sports coverage)

What we should be exploring perhaps is a merged League Cup, be that with NI, Irish, English, Scandanavian or Benelux clubs, whatever

***superfurryhibby*** · 20-10-2018 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Ozyhibby

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Why would we need to be in the 2nd tier?

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Guessing, but based on there being 16 teams on the list with bigger average crowds than us? Even if we allow ourselves to drift into the realms of fantasy, why would a combined League want 2 teams from Edinburgh? Would it not be more likely to include the Sheep, who have a better European pedigree than us these past 40 years.

30k crowds are fantasy stuff. Even in Turnbull’s era we never got more than 30k v Leeds, Liverpool, Juventus, Sporting Lisbon.

**Albanian Hibs** · 20-10-2018 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Sir David Gray

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Folk complain when we get an early kick off up in Aberdeen. I can't wait to see the reaction when we have a 12pm kick off in Brussels.

Imagine the carry out 🍻🍻🍻

**SirDavidsNapper** · 20-10-2018 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by Ozyhibby

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I hope we get involved.

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No thanks. Struggle to afford Aberdeen away never mind Antwerp

***Keith_M*** · 20-10-2018 10:33 AM

After Brexit, there'll be no free travel between the UK and Europe, so travelling to away games won't only be expensive, you'll likely need to arrange a Visa (or whatever agreement they come up with).

**Ozyhibby** · 20-10-2018 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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Guessing, but based on there being 16 teams on the list with bigger average crowds than us? Even if we allow ourselves to drift into the realms of fantasy, why would a combined League want 2 teams from Edinburgh? Would it not be more likely to include the Sheep, who have a better European pedigree than us these past 40 years.

30k crowds are fantasy stuff. Even in Turnbull’s era we never got more than 30k v Leeds, Liverpool, Juventus, Sporting Lisbon.

It’s an 18 team league though.

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**Dashing Bob S** · 20-10-2018 10:49 AM

We should be involved but we won’t. As can be seen from the posts here too many fans would rather have us playing at the level of the League of Ireland rather than the premiership if it cost them more to go to games. Fair enough.

The real stumbling block however would be the football authorities here. They won’t want to relinquish their power as those jokers are pretty much unemployable in any other context.

I’m sure though we will have to endure a constant OF money led campaign through the suppine Scottish sports media on ‘when are Rantic going to be invited into this league...’

***Keith_M*** · 20-10-2018 10:55 AM

I take it the proposed North Atlantic League is a non-starter then.

IIRC, it was Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and Scotland... although my old memory's not what it used to be.

---
Actually, it was Denmark, Netherlands Belgium, Ranjurs and Sellik.

**Smartie** · 20-10-2018 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Meant to say that a merged Dundee club would have a shout to be a 6th Scottish club

Morning Wallace.

Is it hot down there?

**Haymaker** · 20-10-2018 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Ozyhibby

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That’s how I look at it. Why should Bournemouth be able to afford better players than Hibs?

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Because Bournemouth have a billionaire owner happy to spend lots of his money to get to the EPL.

***nonshinyfinish*** · 20-10-2018 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by chippy

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Meant to say that a merged Dundee club would have a shout to be a 6th Scottish club

I'm sure the people of Dundee will be delighted.

Now that you mention it, I reckon a merged Hibs and Hearts could challenge the Old Firm. Why has no one thought of this before?

***lucky*** · 20-10-2018 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by Ozyhibby

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Why would we be in the bottom league? And ‘never going to happen’? I’m absolutely certain change is on the way. Clubs like Ajax, PSV etc don’t want to keep losing their best young players just because they are from a small country. Football is a business and that format above would bring more money to all of those business’s above. When money is involved, change is inevitable. What stopped it before was uefa opposition and now uefa are in favour.

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Spot on. Change is definitely coming it just a case of what that looks like. I’d prefer a British league but a new European league is something which is clearly going to happen.

**Michael** · 20-10-2018 02:06 PM

I think an Atlantic league would be great. Think of all the different teams you'd get to see Hibs play with your season ticket.

***Eyrie*** · 20-10-2018 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by nonshinyfinish

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I'm sure the people of Dundee will be delighted.

Now that you mention it, I reckon a merged Hibs and Hearts could challenge the Old Firm. Why has no one thought of this before?

I think a merged Ugly Sisters could compete in the Champions League.