Celtic need the EPL soon.

football is controled by money. we need it bad. we need the EPL money bad. the EPL doesnt need us, but i think the idea of celtic and rangers going to the big names in england and vise versa, along with 50,000/60,000 attendances and large away supports, we could plough jut as much money into the EPL through tv rights to our games etc as we would get out of it.

dunno if ive explained my point very well, but i hope you know what i mean.

 

Will they asked for 19 Grand a week

Stick at it with them Gordy .

 

yer welcome mate! i know mate its * sad! i hope everyones kids get the chance to make it at celtic on here! why not! for him to come out with that is shocking tbh! ill look forward to seeing your kids and others pull on the hoops ! mon he kids

 

Care to explain why you wouldnt like Mr Nice offspring to play with Celtic ,kinda random to say that .

 

If that's the case and Celtic were to start, say, one division below, how long would they be there do you think? I don't know enough about the ins and out of it all, but it feels like a big gamble to take a voluntary relegation in hopes of attracting money and players.

Also, in 20 years time could the fan base shift south, and might that not lead to quiet talk about moving the franchise, after all 'we're part of the EPL anyway'?. Ever hear of the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball teams? You might not recognize them. They're the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers now.

 

I think it would be great, but we would start in league 2 I think, that's what it said on the BBC website.

 

Just out of interest would you be ashamed of your son if he turned his back on celtic offer of 5000 a week. and played in the epl for 60000 a week......

 

Of course I would never be ashamed of my sons for anything like that. When they are old enough to make decisions for themselves they will have their reasons and I will respect their reasons whatever they are. 5 grand or anything above that a week and your gonna be comfy anyway, its just all down to the man himself and what his ambition in life is.

Would you be ashamed? Just out of interest.

 

i think thats already happened in england, didn't wimbledon become
milton keynes dons?

 

big money payed out for players only when mon was manager was it not a team of scottish players that gave us the best moments in our history. We need to teach our youngsters how to control and pass a ball, how to tackle (current team dont seem able to tackle)

 

I was listening to the 5 Live programme yesterday evening, where Peter Lawwell spoke on the subject. The overall context of the show was about the state of football 10 years from now, and he was but one of the many guests to speak on the matter, which included the head honchos of the Bundasliga, Serie A and MLS, club executives from Chelsea, Liverpool as well as Celtic, amongst many others. It was a most illuminating programme, and if you have the inclination, one well worth listening to on the BBC iplayer.

Lawwell was asked about the possibility of an 'Euro' league, featuring the likes of Porto, Ajax, Anderlecht etc, as well as a move south, and even half jokingly, a trans-Atlantic league with the MLS !!! Such proposals have been reviewed in the past, including 8-9 years ago the potential of a 'Euro' league, but was not suitable at the time.. His abiding remarks were that Celtic remained in a 'watching brief'.

The state of the Scottish game is in decline at present. The money is dwindling, the quality is diminishing, and standards slipping drastically. So often on this website I read about so many opinions, about the standard of player Celtic have, and the overriding sentiment of 'get rid of them, and get better ones'.

I don't think too many people would argue that Martin O'Neill's treble winners or the Seville team would skin the current crop. Indeed, how many of Strachan's or Mowbray's players would have been able to force their way into those sides? 2, maybe 3. IMO Boruc, Naka or McGeady. Beyond that not too many spring to mind. And that was not even 10 years ago... Where will we be 10 years on?

I'm not saying that the board is wonderful, and all that they do is brilliant. Throughout Celtic's proud history there has been many times that the board was in direct conflict with the supporters and even the manager. The way the Kellys ran the club, which produced a single league title in more than 25 years, or the turmoil surrounding Tommy Burn's tenure as manager during the 90's. Both periods spring to mind, and both were remarkably barren periods in terms of silverware.

Stay as we are, a big fish in an ever smaller pond, dominating the domestic honours with 'that other team'. Yes, we'd get into European competition, but less likely to go toe to toe and give as good as we get with the best from Spain or Italy, rather to be simply competative against the footballing powerhouses of Israel & Austria.

Or a fish in a much larger pond, with the potential to grow accordingly. Celtic has an appeal, to Irish and Scottish ex-pats amongst others... but where do the fans fit into any such move? Then there is the fact that, as well recieved as we may be elsewhere, the same cannot be said of 'that other team'. The events in Manchester a few seasons ago are but one in a long line of incidents courtesy of Scotland's Shame. Can we escape this, break free of the ties that bind us to our city rivals? Or will 'Til death do us part' be the curse that tars us together forever with the same brush, and lends only to futile wishful thinking.

There are positives and negatives to both sides. Will it cost us our soul, to dance on Murdoch's stage, and the lure of millions? What if it goes foul? Leeds are but one of many former EPL that have never recovered from the drop. How do you differ between the devil you know and the devil you don't?

And that is without considering the implication to football in this country. Hibs & Hearts, Dundee Utd & the Dons may benefit in opportunities to win titles, but as much of the lifeblood in this country flows through the O** F***, what happens to those clubs struggling to keep their heads above water as it is.

Lawwell's comments of maintaining a 'watching brief' speaks of prudence. One that suggests there is need for much consideration before anything is decided. The board would indeed be neglegant if it didn't consider the long term prosperity and survival of our beloved club, and not move hastily if such a move were not beneficial to Celtic. In this, I am compelled to agree with Mr. Lawwell's assessment at present. This is not an easy topic, one with staunch supporters and opponants. Our future as a club must be forged together, and not from the debris of a civil war. Our strength lies in our unity. If we are divided, it is only Celtic that will suffer.

 

well said!!!!!!!!!! Football has changed so much in recent years. IF we get the opportunity to join the EPL2 we have to grab it. If we dont take it we will continually fall further behind until we are minnows in relation to other european teams . We have to move with the times if given the opportunity or suffer the consequences. I hear fans complaining about away fixtures but is it so bad to watch away games with your mates in a pub , club or mates house? Think of the home ties against the top teams, you could increase capacity to 75 000 by converting old stand and it would be sold out every home game and probably have a waiting list for season tickets. We dont have that this season and the warning signs are there now. I remember watching tommy burns , mcgrain , provan etc in the 80s in front of 18 000 fans at parkhead. This is where we,re headed again if we cant get out of this league. But i worry that we wont ever be given the opportunity, the English teams dont need us

 

i dont mean to be disrespectful mate but if they are good enough they still could but to be quite honest if they are not good enough i would prefer to see someone who was rather than your grandson just because you support them. my young brother plays for celtic at a youth level but if he is not good enough for celtic then i would rather see him somewhere else.

 

we wouldn't win anything down there
No To EPL move

 

Scottish football is on the downturn, it will never be at a high enough level to allow us to reach a level were we can challange in Europe and in a competitive domestic League.

We have reached the peak that the SPL will offer us, and now we're in decline. You have to always improve, take the next step up. Europe is becoming more and more the playtoy of the elite clubs. Europe is too far away right now.

Therefore, the only logical next step is either England or an expanded European League. Scottish football will never give us the base to challange effectivley, and thinking it will is, frankly, pish.

Improving the quality of player produced is one thing but the secret today is money. Scotland will never have the money our European neighbours have, and this is to our disadvantage. For a club of our size - and for the bitter among you, we are one of the biggest - this is insane. To not want to take the next step would be an act of gross incompetance from Lawwell akin to the amateurish desperation with which the SPL wants us to stay so they can scrounge off us.

It's best for the SPL if we leave. Competition is the lifeblood of sport. No one in Scotland is good enough to challange Celtic or Rangers, which means there is almost no competition and everyone suffers from it. There is a polarisation around Europe right now and times are changing.

If we go south of join a Euro League, Celtic can find proper competition and expand and grow both on and off the park, and the SPL can find its level.

The world is getting smaller. Time to let go of the old nonsense and start doing what's best for football, for our clubs.

 

I would love to see it Happen i don't like the idea of selling our souls but to be honest we're in a * Situation at the moment and when we act careless then i see celtic on the same Level as Hibs or Hearts now in 5 or 10 Years..

 

If we want to stop seeing this club fading away then we need to joining the EPL, simple.

 

I'd be interested to see how all these want-away fans would respond to years of watching Celtic desperately trying to climb up the lower leagues, without a sniff of European Football in sight, and potentially stuck in League 1 or Championship purgatory, with other former greats like Leeds and Nottingham Forrest. What is it about Celtic in particular that guarantees us success down there compared with those two or, say, Newcastle or Sunderland? They have the 4th and 5th biggest stadiums in England respectively, massive fanbases, and have been disappointing their fans for years in a way I think many Celtic fans would find hard to bear. As it is, we play in a * league, with no cash, and limited commercial appeal, but are more or less guaranteed a stab at the champions league every season, and the chance to bring some incredible nights to Parkhead, the kind of which it's hard to envisage happening at St James or Elland Rd again for years.