Atlantic League

[kris1984 1,312]

I know its all pie in the sky but with the recent titbits about the Atlantic League it got me wondering how it would actually work.

Or wouldn’t work, as I see it.

Here’s what I think.

The Atlantic Premier league

5 teams from Portugal

5 team from Holland

4 teams from Belgium

4 team from Scotland

The league might look something like (big clubs plus best placed last year). Each country would need to have a few teams so that fans have at least some away games they can get too that don’t cost too much.

Rangers

Celtic

Hearts

Dundee Utd

Ajax

Feyenoord

PSV

FC Twente

AZ

Porto

Sporting Lisbon

Benfica

Braga

Maritimo

Genk

Club Brugge

Anderlecht

Standard Liège

3 relegated. Looks good? Maybe teams could play in their own domestic cups and the larger teams keeping B teams in their domestic leagues to help their younger players.

This is with a combined population of about 43 million people. So a much larger TV audience than any of the current leagues can attract. It is impossible to say how much of a TV contract this league could get but for me the only reason teams would have any interest in doing this at all is because the Champions league money at the moment isn’t guaranteed. Rangers have a CHANCE of getting £15m plus our £2m from the SPL. You would only give that up if you have guarantees you could get more than that a season. The other leagues probably generate more at present and Porto frequently qualify for Champions league so I think you would need a contract in excess of each team getting £25m. That would mean you would need a TV contract over £450m a season to start with.

The biggest problem for me though is if you get an occasion where one of the big teams like the Old Firm or Ajax, Porto etc. have a bad season and potentially get relegated! To catch them you would need a 2nd division.

A 20 team 2nd division with 5 teams from each country. The bottom 4 teams get relegated back to their national leagues and the champions of the national leagues get promoted or possibly some sort of play-off for added blockbuster value. The problem however, is as I predict above you would need massive money to finance the Premier league but you would also need a TV contract and parachute payments to cover these teams. So add in an extra say, £230m a season so that each team gets £10m a season and parachute for relegated teams in the region of again £10m. Distribution could be different but it would need to be something in this range to appeal to all teams and get all the FA’s on board.

That means in total to incite people into this system you would need a contract for both leagues worth something like £680m a season. This can be TV and sponsorship but I’m not sure it could be sold and unless it did reach those volumes of revenue I don’t think everyone would get on board.

[DIESEL RFC 32]

Teams frome norway denmark and sweden will be included

[andymcg1986 259]

I know its all pie in the sky but with the recent titbits about the Atlantic League it got me wondering how it would actually work.

Or wouldn’t work, as I see it.

Here’s what I think.

Stay off the glue mate lets get our house in order first before we even consider thinking about things like that

The Atlantic Premier league

5 teams from Portugal

5 team from Holland

4 teams from Belgium

4 team from Scotland

The league might look something like (big clubs plus best placed last year). Each country would need to have a few teams so that fans have at least some away games they can get too that don’t cost too much.

Rangers

Celtic

Hearts

Dundee Utd

Ajax

Feyenoord

PSV

FC Twente

AZ

Porto

Sporting Lisbon

Benfica

Braga

Maritimo

Genk

Club Brugge

Anderlecht

Standard Liège

3 relegated. Looks good? Maybe teams could play in their own domestic cups and the larger teams keeping B teams in their domestic leagues to help their younger players.

This is with a combined population of about 43 million people. So a much larger TV audience than any of the current leagues can attract. It is impossible to say how much of a TV contract this league could get but for me the only reason teams would have any interest in doing this at all is because the Champions league money at the moment isn’t guaranteed. Rangers have a CHANCE of getting £15m plus our £2m from the SPL. You would only give that up if you have guarantees you could get more than that a season. The other leagues probably generate more at present and Porto frequently qualify for Champions league so I think you would need a contract in excess of each team getting £25m. That would mean you would need a TV contract over £450m a season to start with.

The biggest problem for me though is if you get an occasion where one of the big teams like the Old Firm or Ajax, Porto etc. have a bad season and potentially get relegated! To catch them you would need a 2nd division.

A 20 team 2nd division with 5 teams from each country. The bottom 4 teams get relegated back to their national leagues and the champions of the national leagues get promoted or possibly some sort of play-off for added blockbuster value. The problem however, is as I predict above you would need massive money to finance the Premier league but you would also need a TV contract and parachute payments to cover these teams. So add in an extra say, £230m a season so that each team gets £10m a season and parachute for relegated teams in the region of again £10m. Distribution could be different but it would need to be something in this range to appeal to all teams and get all the FA’s on board.

That means in total to incite people into this system you would need a contract for both leagues worth something like £680m a season. This can be TV and sponsorship but I’m not sure it could be sold and unless it did reach those volumes of revenue I don’t think everyone would get on board.

[andymcg1986 259]

Stay off the glue mate lets get our house in order first before we even consider thinking about things like that

[The Beast 9,246]

I don't think clubs will be invited on their league position but on their perceived fan base - bascially how big a tv audience they can contribute.

[papaguy51 912]

The Atlantic League is a horrible idea.

[kris1984 1,312]

Stay off the glue mate lets get our house in order first before we even consider thinking about things like that

I know that, I just got thinking about how it would actually work. Or, more likely, not work.

[GrangemouthRSC 832]

It's a definite no from me.

Fans from all teams won't sustain the support through-out a season.

[slapneillennon 6]

The Atlantic League is a horrible idea.

Thank you. Someone talking sense.

It's a fucking stupid idea.

[andymcg1986 259]

I myself would love a British league, keeping the national teams as they are as I'm a scottish rangers fan! Never going to happen though

[BlueSuedeSambas 54,354]

The Atlantic League is a horrible idea and I have no idea why it keeps getting brought up as some sort of viable option.

[WilliamFyfe 1,438]

I think its a crazy idea, all I want is for us to be in EPL

[A.T.G 10,773]

I would only vote for an atlantic league if celtic werent in it

Fuck em

[WilliamFyfe 1,438]

I would only vote for an atlantic league if celtic werent in it

Fuck em

Be shite not playing them but, cant beat beating those bastards

[Crespie6 334]

The Atlantic League is a horrible idea and I have no idea why it keeps getting brought up as some sort of viable option.

did the Mods get together and agree on a united front for wording on this idea?

[offminorthreat 1,467]

In reality there are probably only 6 or so teams in the "Atlantic League" that you would be pumped to see Rangers play that we don't already play. Like the SPL, the quality falls away quickly in those leagues.

British League or Old Firm in the EPL for me, if anything was to happen.

[Shane 338]

I'd like to see someone properly set it up in FM before we ever even begin to think bout implementing it for real. Scheduling = no shot.

Or just an 18 team SPL and some real leadership instead of the fucking muppets in charge now.

[Graham 3,478]

Porto v Dundee Utd

[Figo 91]

Why not do it with our youth teams...

Good experience and you get youngsters on long contracts with valuable european experience wen they are older. Worth a lotta moolah on the transfer market as would produce a better standard of player.

[AlCapone 7,678]

The Atlantic league sounds about as exciting as a night out with Pat Nevin.

[MikeBlue 136]

The Atlantic league sounds about as exciting as a night out with Pat Nevin.

Night out with Pat Nevin would probably be ok, but then I'm quite clever.

The Atlantic league OTOH is a dismal idea

[Loyal Bear 72 363]

I totally agree it is not majorly important until we get ourselves back on our feet. However, surely with major tv contracts in the main participating countries, the TV revenue would be alot bigger? Obviously not as easy to travel and there would be less fans but there still would be a decent travelling support. Ferries to Holland and Belgium, cheap flights to Portugal or Norway. Sounds ok to me.

The Atlantic league sounds about as exciting as a night out with Pat Nevin.

You think playing Ajax, PSV and Benfica is less exciting than playing St Johnstone, Hibs, Dundee Utd? We should be looking at all possibilities of getting out of Scottish football.

[Gitch 364]

I think it's a complete waste of time even thinking about an Atlantic league.

How would it affect Champions League qualification? Say Rangers finished 5th in this league and Aberdeen won the SPL. They would get Champions League and we wouldn't. How would that be a good thing?

Any talk of moving leagues is rubbish. In my opinion we're a Scottish team and should be doing all we can to raise the quality of the Scottish game.

[AlCapone 7,678]

I totally agree it is not majorly important until we get ourselves back on our feet. However, surely with major tv contracts in the main participating countries, the TV revenue would be alot bigger? Obviously not as easy to travel and there would be less fans but there still would be a decent travelling support. Ferries to Holland and Belgium, cheap flights to Portugal or Norway. Sounds ok to me.

You think playing Ajax, PSV and Benfica is less exciting than playing St Johnstone, Hibs, Dundee Utd? We should be looking at all possibilities of getting out of Scottish football.

Never said it was, just saying the Atlantic league is about as exciting as a night out with Pat Nevin. As soon as the Atlantic league is allowed to set up the bigger nations will then have the green light to set up their own Euro league which will make the Atlantic League as relevant and exciting as the pointless Europa League....zzzzz

We should be aiming higher than some daft league named after a freezing choppy ocean.

[dardo54 11]

Never said it was, just saying the Atlantic league is about as exciting as a night out with Pat Nevin. As soon as the Atlantic league is allowed to set up the bigger nations will then have the green light to set up their own Euro league which will make the Atlantic League as relevant and exciting as the pointless Europa League....zzzzz

We should be aiming higher than some daft league named after a freezing choppy ocean.

the reason this idea is on the agenda again is apperntly to make the champions league more competitive so the assumption that if this was to happen then a super league would happen is just wrong. it would have to get the go ahead from uefa first which wouldnt happen. why would clubs from england, spain, italy etc want to leave their leagues in the first place they already have lucrative tv deals?

personally i think it is a great idea as it would bring a better standard of player back to ibrox for one. but then again if the sfa got their act together and sorted out the spl then i would be against it.