as fans of the other clubs may decide to go to games now that the old firm have been broken up which could be a positive for the game in Scotland which I hope happens.

Celtic should buy a club from English third division now and start them on the road to promotion to the first division or premiership.nThey will have no competition in Scotland for a few years at least… They could have two teams under one roof in Glasgow… Could make them a power house of British soccer…

Bad for Scottish football really,they should all consider a Magners league type for soccer just like the rugby, ie; teams from Scot,N Ire,Rep of I and Wales forming a new two tier league.

Hilarious ! Love it!

Celtic can barely keep themselves never mind buy a new club in England

@ tom .. It might make sence on paper but what town or city in this country wants rangers,hearts and linfield fans desending on it every other week.It would be like the setanta cup on steroids.

Iv been an Annan Athletic fan all my life, can’t wait to have Rangers round on a Saturday afternoon.

I fully agree with most of what you said except with the bit about rangers being back in the SPL in time for the new tv deal. they currently have only a handful of players, the rest have jumped ship and no matter how much cash they have to finance the playing squad, there’s 3 problems they have to overcome first, the transfer embargo, getting players of a high enough quality who will play in D3 with no guarantee of promotion, and the the fact that most players won’t play for a team who have cheated on a massive scale.

agree with most of what you said. the tv deal will be a problem though. first if this transfer embargo stays in place, with players they currently have, they are not guarenteed promotion straight away to D2. second if embargo is lifted getting players will be a problem. not many will want to play in D3 when they could get a team in SPL no matter how much rangers pay them as has been shown by their own who have jumped ship first chance they got. also not many would play for a team that cheated on a massive scale unless they were badly stuck finding a team

hi enough considering they may not have a team

With players jumping of the sinking ship and a transfer embargo I think something like six players turned up for training last week.Ouch…

Yes it is .. Hail hail

How can someone that calls himself ‘Irish Patriot’ be a fan of a Scottish football team??? I’m a bit confused!!

Celtic have a strong link to Ireland and are supported by the Irish who moved to Scotland. Absolutely everyone knows that so your comment must mean something else but what?

Where do Celtic pay their taxes…… Britain that makes them British . They are about as Irish as a union jack. Support your local league .

Not sure where to begin with that tbh. Troll?

Go read a book.

Emmomac. Dont be giving your senses to those who know sweet FA about the SFA

Rodrigo You ARE confused

I’m well aware Celtic was set up for the Irish community in the 19th century . But they are not an Irish team ! Do they play in the LOI. Nope. Do they play in the Irish league nope. They play in scotland which is part of britain. Bar a couple of friendlies in the off season they contribute nothing to Irish football .

Fantastic observations. Tell me this much though. What exactly are you talking about?

It always makes me a laugh to think that if HIBS did not exist then there would be no Celtic

Awesome question they might get stuck in with the rest of world selection or a new section for liquidated clubs haha

Here here man. I think the next few seasons could be really good. A fresh start. The Edinburgh two should step up as well as a few others

or It could be the making of the league whereby the other clubs seize the chance they’ve been given to really rally their fans fill the stadiums and give Celtic a run for their money.

I dont care what happens to Rangers. Maybe if they paid their taxes to HMRC then this wouldnt have happened. Good Riddance. Celtic SPL Champions 2012/2013. Up The Hoops

Yeah, champions of what??? A mickey mouse league…as far as you’re concerned it’s good riddance to Celtic in Europe too…come back to me if you need explaining!!!

Any REAL Celtic fan I know is thrilled to bits…..Rangers deserve everything they get and more…

Any real Celtic fan I know lives in Scotland…

Any Celtic fan that likes this probably also like the sectarian side to football in Scotland too.

Eimear love and Martin, I bet you don’t even know what The Old Firm is. How many of you prefer Celtic v Kilmarnock than v Rangers…..
Red thumbs.for Killies
Green for Rangers.

You must know a lot of real Celtic fans then Eimear.

Martin You should go out more often,

I go to football games in this country, I support my local team and follow them all over the country. I don’t head off to another country for my football. Or watch it on tv. Good man.

And if your idol on your local team got a chance to sign for The Celtic like you would he not head off to another country? Would you call him a traitor? I’d say you’ve learned more about The Bhoys today than you ever knew.

What are you on about? I’m saying that most Celtic fans on here are clearly people in Ireland. Not Scotland. And it’s inexplicable why they travel to Scotland to watch a team they’ve no connection with. Nothing to do with players! One of my childhood idols, Wes Hoolahan, is playing for Norwich in PL. He played for my team and that has nothing to do with the point I was making but I just wanted to ramble because that’s what every post of yours seems to do :)

Hi Steve, Will you travel over for the Rangers matches or will you start to support Celtic?

So true. Football is funny like that. just look at Juve. Rangers are a huge club with a massively passionate support base. They will come back but sometimes you need to take your medecine. I wonder what odds you would get for Rangers in Europe by 2016?

@Richard, Never was that in to Scottish football. I went to Rangers matches a few times as a younger man with friends and didn’t like the political singing. For many of the fans traveling from the North it was more of an excuse for a piss up than genuinely wanting to see the team play.

At the moment if I was going to go to see live soccer I’d go see Cork City play because the LoI needs all the attendance it can get.

wow

First of all we have our own indigenous games that are far far far more popular than football. In fact, I often wonder how successful we might be, given the level of athleticism invested in GAA. Thankfully it is of great reward but that is a different story.

Comparing the quality of football between Ireland and Scotland is interesting to think about. Then, you go watch both leagues and realise the football being played in Ireland is a good few years behind Scotland but catching up. European football is a poor barometer of a leagues strength if you ask me but I admit Scotland have punched well below their weight recently. i would suggest their domestic ambitions have a lot to do with that. Scottish teams resting players for European ties ahead of an old firm meeting is not unheard of.

Your information regarding the TV deal is way off what I have read so far. Perhaps you have links? That really does change a lot if true. Celtic’s money does not come from Europe. They have over 30,000 people at most of their games. It costs about 30 quid to go. Thats good money. Thats what pays Stokes/ Samaras’ wages. Not the odd run in Europe, Solid support.

The split division is hated by most clubs. I reckon the league will give a 16 team thing a go once Rangers make the first div. Until then enjoy a more competitive league and seeing a massive crowd turning up at 3,000 capacity grounds all over Scotland. Like when the Dubs go through the qualifiers. No harm in the long run.

THIS

This is the kind of comment that is all over every board and forum regarding Scottish football. It stems from the kind of fan that understands football via sky sports. Just because you only watch 4 games a season doesn’t mean the rest of the league’s fans do the same. The weird thing is if you don’t like it don’t watch it. Just change the channel.

Get a life…….

wtf is Adrian on?

yes normal people do watch soccer and rugby and hurling and Gaelic football and formula 1 and wrc and snooker and tennis and ice hockey and so on. even the players of hurling follow these sports so even play these sports. so by your statement you should be the only 1 watching the games tomorrow and Sunday as you are probably the only normal person in the world.

ah yes a brilliantly bland view of the league. Tell me, what money do you refer to? On what grounds do you inject? Maybe you can inject something else? Some whipped cream? Maybe some haggis?

This is probably one of Scottish football’s finest hours. They have outed a cheat and punished them accordingly. Ireland could learn from this kind of concise decision making at the highest level. Imagine the backlash (and rightly so) if the SFA decided to allow Rangers back into the SPL. I reckon the likes of John Stenson would still bitch.

Sake.

fair enough. I think the main obstacle to merging the leagues would be the danger of losing their autonomy internationally. Say like a team GB at the Olympics scenario. The Scottish FA are dead against that and almost pulled out of the Olympic team because of it.

Interesting enough emmomac that’s the same reason the IFA in the North are against all Ireland league.