HATCHET MAN: Great for police overtime but a final nail in the SPL's coffin - the Premier League mu

30 April 2009 09:02
As a former Celtic manager it is not a complete surprise that Martin O'Neill thinks the idea his old club and Rangers playing in the English leagues is a good idea.[LNB]But for Scottish football and the British police it would be a complete nightmare.[LNB]Without the Glasgow giants the significance of the SPL would bereduced even further. Their prospects of retaining two Champions Leagueplaces (based on clubs' performances over a five year period) and tastytelevision deals would be very gloomy and the repercussions of thatdon't bear thinking about.[LNB] [LNB]Do we need it? Celtic's Artur Boruc saves a shot from Rangers' Madjid Bougherra - but this sort of thing belongs in Scotland[LNB]Celtic and Rangers would ultimately prosper in England because theyhave the resources and support to build successful teams and some fanswould enjoy the new rivalries, but the police bills would beastronomical.[LNB]The set up of the English League would also have to be altered to accept them, with potentially far reaching repercussions.[LNB]No-one has come up with a sensible and workable plan for making the transition either, so O'Neill and Bolton chairman Phil Gartside (who has been trying to revive a tired old two division Premier League proposal) should pipe down.[LNB]   More from Hatchet Man... HATCHET MAN: Forget heroic defending - limited Chelsea were just running scared against Barcelona30/04/09 HATCHET MAN: Does Moyes need a washed-up Liverpool legend/Newcastle failure at Goodison Park? He must be g-Owen mad...30/04/09 HATCHET MAN: Not even English, too old and discarded by Spain - why Almunia should never be allowed to wear the Three Lions30/04/09 HATCHET MAN: We only really have two games to save ourselves - Toon striker Owen surrenders six points29/04/09 HATCHET MAN: Even Benitez wouldn't try and replace Alonso with Barry a second time - he's not that mad29/04/09 HATCHET MAN: Forward thinking? Not a chance as Chelsea chess match sets the agenda for Fergie v Wenger29/04/09 HATCHET MAN: Here's Benitez's biggest test - proving us wrong over his record in the transfer market28/04/09 HATCHET MAN: Forget Messi v Bosingwa, it is Gibbs who is being thrown to the lions28/04/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE The notion of Scotland's two biggest clubs jumping ship does littleother than raise scores of thorny questions and the dominant forces inthe English game who have written it off have got it spot on.[LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail