Old Firm in the English Premier League?

[idol_wild]

I just had an interesting debate with a couple of guys at work regarding the quality of the top two in Scotland compared to the English Premier League. How do you think some of the clubs in Scotland would cope in the English top flight?

Personally, I think Rangers and Celtic would sit somewhere slightly above mid-table in their first season, yet the remainder of the SPL would struggle in the Championship.

Thoughts?

One of the chaps I was debating with is a Celtic fan and he believed that Celtic would be in the top four/five in the English top flight, purely based on the fact his side have done consistently well against English teams in Europe in the past five years. But for me, these are one-off games. But he has a point: we can only really judge upon what has been, so...

[Camie]

They cope well in Europe and Celtic reached the quarters last season. So yeh I think they would.
Although on saying that, they did get humped 4-1 by Newcastle.
Should never happen though.

[Chris]

I'd say they'd be in the top half. I reckon Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts could stay up in the premiership if they had a good season, they'd certainly hold their own in the championship. Everyone else would struggle in the top flight but do ok in league 1, except Gretna of course.

The English leagues are simply not as good as they say they are. Outside of the big 4 the standard isn't that great.

[RossP]

Consider how much MORE money that Celtic and Rangers would get if they went to the Premiership. They could build an incredible squad full of World Class players (as apposed to the Sasa Papac and Kirk Broadfoot signings that have been made previously. I have no doubt that both would be pushing for Champions League spots every year.

Problem is, that success would be expected instantly. So the likes of Hutton, McManus etc wouldn't come through their ranks and benefit the national team.

So I hope they stay exactly where they are.

[idol_wild]

Originally Posted by Chris

The English leagues are simply not as good as they say they are. Outside of the big 4 the standard isn't that great.

I'd agree with that to an extent, but sides like Everton, Blackburn, Newcastle, and Aston Villa would be better than Rangers or Celtic over the course of a season. Even teams like Sunderland, Birmingham, and Fulham would be capable of beating the Old Firm four of five times out of ten, I think.

Celtic do well in Europe - but I think any team would fair okay if they had 59,000 fervent fans behind them in the home games...these are one-off huge games. Those games suit Celtic.

I think most of the SPL would be mid-table Championship at best. Christ, some of the better players from the SPL have struggled to establish themselves at Championship level in recent years.

[Camie]

Originally Posted by idol_wild

I'd agree with that to an extent, but sides like Everton, Blackburn, Newcastle, and Aston Villa would be better than Rangers or Celtic over the course of a season. Even teams like Sunderland, Birmingham, and Fulham would be capable of beating the Old Firm four of five times out of ten, I think.


I think most of the SPL would be mid-table Championship at best. Christ, some of the better players from the SPL have struggled to establish themselves at Championship level in recent years.

Man City are worth a mention surely?

To be fair think about the ammount of money that is ploughed into the Championship teams.

[soundian]

Originally Posted by Camie

They cope well in Europe and Celtic reached the quarters last season. So yeh I think they would.
Although on saying that, they did get humped 4-1 by Newcastle.
Should never happen though.

I thought they only reached the first knockout round, which is not the quarter finals.
Are celtic good in europe? They have a good home record but I think they said on the telly the other night that their recent away form is pl14,W0,D1,L13.
Anyway, back to the question,as things stand, before the extra prestige/money kicks in, I'd say the old firm would struggle to reach uefa cup places, maybe a few teams would last the pace in the championship/league 1 and the rest would probably be league1/league 2. gretna would be damn lucky to play anywhere above the BSP.

[Jamie]

I am Celtic fan, and I think top 4 or 5 is a bit ambitious. If it did happen I think the main objective would be to avoid relegation first season (though mid-table or a UEFA cup place wouldn't be out of the question), and with the increased spending power go for a Champions
League place 2nd season.

I can't see it happening though as the majority of English clubs don't want it and probably never will. Don't really want it myself either though it is pretty annoying being out-bid by the likes of Fulham and Middlesborough for players.

[Bigsby]

Remember, Celtic beat both Blackburn and Liverpool on their run to the UEFA cup final, and both over two legs, so not really "one offs".

As they stand they would probably be mid table, but the key as Ross pointed out would be all the additonal money they would get from TV. That combined the "global brand" that they each have would no doubt ensure that they would be challenging the top 4 before too long.

[Jan Deal]

It's all about money, Celtic and the scum being in the EPL would no doubt turn them into giants of European football within 10 years, but the Old Firm leaving the SPL would have a massive affect on the income it generates. Scottish football would probably end up resembling Irish football. The Old firm wont be heading down to England any time soon as why would any English club want them?