Okocha? Celtic? You’re having a laugh!
He seems to have been linked with just about everyone and their uncle.
What is certainly true is that his family live in Broxbourne, so he might be angling for a move south.
I’d be happy enough to get him subject to us signing a decent DEFENSIVE midfielder first, and him promising not to bugger off to two bob african cups. THis is a real deal-breaker for premiership clubs.
why would I be having a laugh?
With Larsson going in the summer, that leaves a nice wedge available in wages, plus we can promise him Champions league football virtually every season.
do you remember Champions league football Owl?
We have never been in the Euro Cup/League of teams that come fourth in my lifetime.
The last time we were in it we lost to Real Madrid in the semis (1962).
Whilst you may not like this; the simple fact is that scottish football is seen as something of a joke south of the border. It is seen as where you go when you can’t make it in England. And whilst there may be CL footie every year, its never for very long is it? Sooner or later the lithuanian roadsweepers knock 'em out.
How many players in the SPL would be first choice for teams in the top half of the EPL? Throw in rubbish stadiums, joke referees and tiny crowds and it’s not attractive. Even the most sucessful manager up there doesn’t want to stay.
Whilst the Glasgow clubs may be able to pay a reasonable wage, so can plenty of other clubs.
Also in his particular case it appears that his family are settled in hertfordshire (typical “footballers wives” type house etc).
Only time will tell, but I will eat a jesters hat if he ends up in Scotland.
You seem to suffer under the same delusion that the Premiership is some incredible bastion of the Beautiful game. Are you a copywriter for Sky Sports News or something? the majority of the matches in the EPL are as pants as anything you would find in Scotland. outside of watching a top 3 team play in the EPL, it’s majority crap football teams full of cash cow footballers why can’t play anywhere else in europe or are on the edge of retirement. Sky are paying over the odds for the rights to maintain their monopoly and without the fat wad most of the smaller teams in the EPL would suffer to the same degree that the Nationwide clubs would.
I never said that Scotland is a particularly great league, but the EPL can blow it out it’s hole if it thinks it’s that much better.
Well, whichever way you look at it, the Prem is one of the top three leagues in the world. It might be the best in some respects (entertainment value) and third in others (defending, tactical ability, etc), but it has undeniable international appeal – hence why Woopert pays all that money.
And if you look at the Spanish league, three clubs have also pulled away from the rest. And the rest aren’t in Spain really any better than the rest in the Prem.
Italy generally bores me so I’m out of touch.
I suspect one problem for Scottish footie supporters is that the exception (that is Larrson) has masked the fairly harsh reality – once he goes and MON goes . . . what’s left there to convince those supporters it’s anything other than a feeder league ?
I don’t think the scottish league is any good, but aside from money, I cant see much to separate 75% of the EPL teams from the vast majority of Scottish teams. If Sky propped up the SPL the way they are propping up the EPL, we wouldn’t be having the same conversation.
But they aren’t are they? And they never will.
I certainly don’t buy into the notion that the EPL is anything special. As someone who watches a mid-table team week in and week out I agree that if one didn’t have an emotional attachment to a team like THFC what’s on offer can be pretty dire.
As things stand Celtic and Rangers are first division standard - naturally if they got the same resources as an english team they would improve. The likes of Motherwell wouldn’t even survive in the first division.
What is of more interest to me is why Scottish International football is so crap. Once upon a time every top flight English team had a few sweaties, taffs and paddies. However whilst the taffs and paddies are still present and correct, the sweaties are nowhere to be seen. (spurs haven’t got a single Scot on the books, and this from the club of Gilzean, White, McKay and Archibald, and we have three Irish in our first XI and a welshman )
Why is this? Is it because Scottish teams are full of cheap scandiwegians?
C’mon Twisty, that argument doesn’t stand up; look back to the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s when there wasn’t Sky – the English First Division always cherry-picked the Jocks it wanted. You’ve only got to switch on the beeb or Sky to se the likes of Andy Gray and Hanson . . .
The irony is Scotland can’t maintain it’s present population despite increased life expectancy; people are leaving in droves, it’s just none of them are footballers any more . . . 
That’s what Blackburn and Liverpool thought too.
First Division teams turn over premiership clubs in the cups all the time.
However the tables don’t lie, and there is a reason that they are in the first division.
But one First Division team turning over two premiership clubs in the same tournament, and both over the course of two legs?
And then going on to the cup final? And only losing it (against a team that could easily hold their own in the EPL) in the second period of extra time?
:dubious:
Come on, OST. I’m not saying we’d be competing for the EPL title, but it’s just daft to insist that even our recent European performances don’t rank us any higher than the likes of Reading and Stoke City.
It’s all a bit moot at the moment innit.
However I really do believe that the Glasgow clubs are no better than Forest or West Ham.
My Great Uncle played for Celtic you know (and whisper it very very quietly - Arsenal). I have his Arsenal Championship winning medal. The shame of it.
Well, I suppose it probably suits us to have you guys think that.
You’ve certainly lulled us into a false sense of security!
Yes, getting to the final of the UEFA cup, beating Liverpool, Blackburn, and Stuttgart along the way, Not having lost a champions league game at home, missing qualification for the second round by minutes). going 24 victories in a row in the league (thats a British record, that) really makes us look shit.
But you keep believing that we’d be a first division club, thats a good boy.
All right maybe not quite as bad as grimsby. Let’s play a little game here then…
As it happens the team smack bang in the middle of the EPL (having toyed with relegation, which could still happen) is THFC.
How many players from Celtic would replace the starting line up of THFC, or indeed replace the bench?
I’m taking the CFC squad from here:
http://www.celtic-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadpsqd.asp
and I can see at most two players that might get a start.
So maybe not 1st division, but not as good as mid-table. And it is a truism that mid table sides eventually get relegated (apart from us, so far).
As I know following five decades of following Spurs - cup sucess does not necessarily translate into league sucess (our highest finish in my time - 3rd, lowest - relegated)
I’ve watched Spurs this season. I’m not sure many of your players would get a start at Celtic.
based on the matches I’ve watched involving Spurs, compared to the matches I’ve watched involving Celtic this season:
How about you actually watch some Celtic matches and get a good judge of our form and abilities before you start that crap?
Look it really is this simple.
The only two clubs in Scotland that would stand a chance in England are desperate to get out of Scotland and play in England. The other Scottish clubs would barely make the first or second divisions. Outside of the SPL we are talking non-league quality.
The same applies to any half competent manager - they don’t stay at Celtic or Rangers but get a move south as soon as they possibly can. The same is true of players, ask Liam Miller.
Martin O’neil is seriously contemplating a move to Spurs. So the best manager in Scotland would move to a mid table English team.
No one, but no one, in England takes Scottish football seriously. Nor do they watch it. If I want to watch a bunch of footballers who couldn’t hack it in England I’d watch Norwegian football.
It would seem I am not alone. Sven resolutely refuses to even try out players based in scotland, whilst picking first division players. He’s no mug, and clearly thinks Scottish football is pony.
You may not like this, but it is all true.
That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy watching it. I like watching AFC Wimbledon, but I don’t make the mistake of thinking they could beat Aston Villa, at least not on a regular basis.
Now I have a question for the Irish folks - what’s a “langer”?
I’m not arguing over the general standard of the SPL Owl, just that of one particular team in it.
“Langer” is Cork slang and can mean quite a number of things depending on the context, most commonly a drunk.