Rangers in discussions to join EPL

[GreaterTorontoRoyal]

This won't happen, all the smaller clubs like Tottenham, Aston Villa, Everton, Sunderland, newcastle,etc will all move to prevent it. Ridiculous cardiff, wrexham and swansea are in there though, complete joke.

Wales is a principality, though, so they have justification for joining the English league.

[Ian Royal]

At least Wales hasn't ever really been a proper country and has effectively been part of England for ages. Scotland is a separate kingdom and isn't part of England, it's part of the UK.

Rangers can feck off. They'd have to bring Celtic with them, and we don't want either of their thuggish scum fans involved in English football.

[FiNeRaIn]

we don't want either of their thuggish scum fans involved in English football.

Yeah, you can't even deal with your own thugs from West ham, millwall, leeds, man utd, brighton and palace, newcastle, stoke, etc we could be here all night with a list. Not to mention the England fans who nearly get their team kicked out of every tournament

[Ian Royal]

we don't want either of their thuggish scum fans involved in English football.

Yeah, you can't even deal with your own thugs from West ham, millwall, leeds, man utd, brighton and palace, newcastle, stoke, etc we could be here all night with a list. Not to mention the England fans who nearly get their team kicked out of every tournament

I think everyone but the most blinkered fool would acknowledge the Old Firm have fans in a completely different league when it comes to disgusting behaviour.

[FiNeRaIn]

Its not like West ham and millwall fans invaded a pitch and got a game delayed is it, on top of endless arrests?

Oh...

Old Firm crowd trouble is really well policed and rarely does it ever get as bad as Leeds vs man utd did the other night - trouble inside and around the ground on Old Firm days is on par with a Reading game these days. English don't have a LEG to stand on with crowd trouble I am afraid Ian.

[Ian Royal]

Its not like West ham and millwall fans invaded a pitch and got a game delayed is it, on top of endless arrests?

Oh...

Old Firm crowd trouble is really well policed and rarely does it ever get as bad as Leeds vs man utd did the other night - trouble inside and around the ground on Old Firm days is on par with a Reading game these days. English don't have a LEG to stand on with crowd trouble I am afraid Ian.

When was the last time a manager in England got death threats, assaulted or bombs sent to him?

[FiNeRaIn]

Its not like West ham and millwall fans invaded a pitch and got a game delayed is it, on top of endless arrests?

Oh...

Old Firm crowd trouble is really well policed and rarely does it ever get as bad as Leeds vs man utd did the other night - trouble inside and around the ground on Old Firm days is on par with a Reading game these days. English don't have a LEG to stand on with crowd trouble I am afraid Ian.

When was the last time a manager in England got death threats, assaulted or bombs sent to him?

Stephen hunt got death threats for the Cech incident. But these are isolated away from football. 1/2 fans doing that...or 500 fans clashing over a league cup game resulting in plenty of people hurt, arrests, innocent bystanders involved and a crap load of damage done. No brainer.

[leww_rfc]

Not good enough start in the BSPL, it's only fair!

[From Despair To Where?]

I thought the welsh teams joined because there wasn't a welsh league for them to join and they joined the english league. its a bit different. they can join with the lowest cumbria or northumberland league. if they were brought in at EPL it would be a biggest joke than the milton keynes/wimbledon fiasco

Just done a bit of research. There was a Welsh league but it was utter shit. Swansea, Cardiff and Newport were all members of the Southern League prior to it being made Division 3 in 1920. They were all previously in local district leagues and were literally playing pub teams. Wrexham were in a district league and joined 3rd Division North when it was formed in 1921.

The precedent is therefore there for the Old Firm to join a feeder league to the football league. Maybe, take the reverse route of Gretna. They left The Northern Premier(Unibond) League to join the Scottish League but, most of their history was spent in the Carlisle and District League.

[Avon Royal]

WE let Swansea in.........................

Corrected.

[roadrunner]

we don't want either of their thuggish scum fans involved in English football.

Yeah, you can't even deal with your own thugs from West ham, millwall, leeds, man utd, brighton and palace, newcastle, stoke, etc we could be here all night with a list. Not to mention the England fans who nearly get their team kicked out of every tournament

Your?

One minute you're one of us on the Reading Match Thread and the next you're talking as if you're a Rangers man born and bread. Are you Scottish? Or do you just wish you were? LOL

[Terminal Boardom]

Is it 1st April already?

[Silver Fox]

In discussions? In discussions with whom? The report actually says this guy wants to do it, but doesn't give any evidence of who he's talking to.

^This

[Wax Jacket]

In discussions? In discussions with whom? The report actually says this guy wants to do it, but doesn't give any evidence of who he's talking to.

^This

my thoughts exactly

"we're working behind the scenes on this"

texting Scudamore a lot I guess

[YateleyRoyal]

so would we go back to a 24 team "premier" League or just "can" a further two English clubs out of it to keep it at its current 22?

what would happen if one or both of them got relegated down the leagues? (despite the investments)...Plymouth and Exeter can barely afford their N Easterly away games as it is.

has their (well publicised) problematical sectarian tendences got any place in the English leagues?

Umm....the EPL is currently 20 teams, not 22. So if they joined it would be a 22 team league, not going 'back to a 24 team league.' HTH

[Barry the bird boggler]

This isn't going to happen

1. Allowing them in will cause a lot of bad feeling with the FL as any places in the PL should be for those clubs that earn their place via promotion
2. You can't increase the size of the PL as that means more games and more fights with UEFA/FIFA over free dates in the calendar to play all the games
3. If the PL was kept the same size that means 1 or 2 clubs extra being relegated or only 1 being promoted from the FL for a season which will be another all round lead balloon
4. Clubs in Scotland won't like it as it removes what little financial clout and reward they do get up there

So the only way this will happen is as part of a wider scheme of things i.e. a Euro league so all the pansy big boys from all over Europe can then go off and do their own thing and let the proper clubs get on with the proper game.

[soggy biscuit]

let Holland or Norway have them in this Atlantic League

Surely that would be the North Sea League?

Wouldn't some clubs in Norway be closer for them than some clubs in England anyway? Have they enquired about joining the Norweigen league?

[Red]

This isn't going to happen

1. Allowing them in will cause a lot of bad feeling with the FL as any places in the PL should be for those clubs that earn their place via promotion
2. You can't increase the size of the PL as that means more games and more fights with UEFA/FIFA over free dates in the calendar to play all the games
3. If the PL was kept the same size that means 1 or 2 clubs extra being relegated or only 1 being promoted from the FL for a season which will be another all round lead balloon
4. Clubs in Scotland won't like it as it removes what little financial clout and reward they do get up there

So the only way this will happen is as part of a wider scheme of things i.e. a Euro league so all the pansy big boys from all over Europe can then go off and do their own thing and let the proper clubs get on with the proper game.

Agree with all that - also massively undermines the SFA.

[Red]

let Holland or Norway have them in this Atlantic League

Surely that would be the North Sea League?

LOL

[Tredder]

I cannot see how they don't have an inlet into the English league, obviously not into the EPL, but surely the Cardiff, Swansea and Newport's of the league, dictate that there is a legal way for them to enter into our league structure.

I think they just want the redder apples straight away.