Where would Celtic finish in the English League?

[Spammer]

Discuss.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Bottom.

[Spammer]

Seriously?

I put 'English League' because some might have thought they're about Championship level. I think if they were in the Championship it certainly wouldn't be easy for them to get out of it (because it never is) but I'm not sure if they'd get relegated from the Premiership. Within a few years of TV money I could see them establishing themselves very nicely in the Prem.

[SvN]

Playoffs in the Championship is what my first thought was.

[niko_cee]

Newcastle Mk2.

[Giggles]

About 35th.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Seriously?

I put 'English League' because some might have thought they're about Championship level. I think if they were in the Championship it certainly wouldn't be easy for them to get out of it (because it never is) but I'm not sure if they'd get relegated from the Premiership. Within a few years of TV money I could see them establishing themselves very nicely in the Prem.
They'd be mid-table, flirting with the playoffs in the Championship.

[Smiffy]

It's such a boring topic of discussion as it will never happen and even if it did it would be a club trading on it's name alone. TV money etc is irrelevant given there is a higher percentage of them squandering it than there is making use of it and then there's the logistics for both fans and the clubs. It's one thing getting everyone in for a game against Man City or Barcelona are home but it will be a different matter travelling to Bournemouth on any particular weekend.

I personally believe if Celtic (or Rangers given they would start at exact same level as Celtic irrespective of squad) were given permission to play in the English leagues it would not only kill Scottish football more than it has done but it would see both Celtic and Rangers reduced in size in the long term as fans can't travel so far, weather problems etc. Then again I would only condone their entry if they started where most other clubs have had to and that's right at the bottom of the pyramid.

[Yevrah]

They'd stay up.

[Spikey M]

They wouldn't finish anywhere because after 3 tedious years of campaigning they'd bottle a reffendum and stay as they are.

[Mazuuurk]

They'd stay up.

Reckon so too, maybe on pure spirits. And once they managed one year, they'd be on more or less level playing field with anyone else du to £. In face, they may be able to attract some better players than, say, Stoke and Sunderland, based on their brand alone (granted they wouldn't be in the CL anymore).

[Jimmy Floyd]

They'd come about 14-18th, but over the longer term they'd build into a top 10 club. Probably not top 4.

I've watched a few Scottish games this year and I reckon the next best team (Aberdeen) are mid to bottom half of Championship, so are Rangers, and some of the others aren't even League One.

[Reg]

Agree with Jimmy. With their fanbase they'd soon grow.

[Kikó]

They'd probably win the champions league in the first season and then the world cup.

[Offshore Toon]

If Swansea can do it, Celtic can do it.

[phonics]

@Reg (http://www.thethirdhalf.co.uk/member.php?u=50): Why do you think fan base matters? Both Sheffield clubs, Leeds, Notts Forest etc. all have far bigger fan bases than Bournemouth.

All that matters is that you're well run and prior to Rogers coming in they've been lurching from terribly ineffective short term plan to terribly ineffective short term plan.

[Lewis]

Some sort of combined British (and Irish) league system really is a no-brainer, and if FIFA tried to make us play as Great Britain we could just tell them to get fucked.

[John]

@Reg (http://www.thethirdhalf.co.uk/member.php?u=50): Why do you think fan base matters? Both Sheffield clubs, Leeds, Notts Forest etc. all have far bigger fan bases than Bournemouth.

All that matters is that you're well run and prior to Rogers coming in they've been lurching from terribly ineffective short term plan to terribly ineffective short term plan.

They're sitting on five consecutive titles and the last two managers before Rodgers were both under forty when appointed. Things might not have gone exactly to whatever the plan was, but appointing a young manager and giving him free reign to sign a load of young players is hardly indicative of short termism.

With their current squad and manager they'd finish lower midtable (for comparison we'd be relegated but without breaking Derby's record), and go on to consolidate as a midtable side with the occasional jaunt into Europe.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Try getting a combined British league past Angus, the 4th Tavish of McTavish or whoever the SNP have as sports minister.

[phonics]

They're sitting on five consecutive Scottish titles

ftfy.

Gold in the Paralympics doesn't get you on the podium of the real one.

[John]

Try getting a combined British league past Angus, the 4th Tavish of McTavish or whoever the SNP have as sports minister.

She's from Yorkshire, which is indescribably lol in itself, but her title is the secretary of 'health and sport', which is a bit broad, so you could probably sneak it past.

[John]

ftfy.

Gold in the Paralympics doesn't get you on the podium of the real one.

Right, so winning the only title they're entered for five years running qualifies as unsuccessful. Would success be finding a way to win all the leagues they're not in?

[John Arne]

Given that their two best strikers were pretty m'eh between them in the Championship last season (15 in 63 games), and looking at the Celtic team that played last night - I reckon they would be top half of the Championship, and as Jimmy said, you would expect them to slowly grow - although saying that, teams like Leeds and Forest have struggled despite large fan bases.

[Reg]

@Reg (http://www.thethirdhalf.co.uk/member.php?u=50): Why do you think fan base matters? Both Sheffield clubs, Leeds, Notts Forest etc. all have far bigger fan bases than Bournemouth.

All that matters is that you're well run and prior to Rogers coming in they've been lurching from terribly ineffective short term plan to terribly ineffective short term plan.
Bigger clubs have higher potential. Celtic are a much bigger name than Brentford, for example, and thus would attract better players/staff, make more money from sponsorships and probably ticket sales, and therefore if both clubs were equally as well run Celtic would have more chance of climbing up the table.

And as John alluded to, what would count as success in their current situation?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Celtic are way bigger than the likes of Leeds. The Irish diaspora is not to be underestimated, there are six to seven times as many people outside Ireland who claim to be Irish than there are actual Irish people in Ireland.

[Giggles]

That group is normally referred to as the United States these days.

[Ian]

Long term they'd do okay. Short term would depend on how interested Uncle Dermot is these days. .

[Adamski]

Rangers & Celtic would be fine in the Premier League after a couple of years consolidation. They also have the fan base to expand stadiums with more revenue behind them so it would be interesting to see how much potential they have.