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What really is the diferance between the SPL and the English Premiership


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Obviously there are more teams that can beat each other but I dont think that the gap is as big as were told. Jelavic is the perfect example. You get goals in Scotland you will get goals in England. I have no interest in Steven Naismith going down south but he would be a revelation. Probably not at West Brom mind.

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It isn't a huge gap, but there are definite differences.

Players are given time and space in the EPL, something they aren't afforded up here. We're hounded the moment we get possession, whereas teams - unless you're playing against someone like Tottenham, have the freedom to run 5-10 yards everytime one of their players gets the ball.

Strangely enough that time on the ball seems to expose some players. In our league, you get rid of the ball as soon as you can or you beat a man, there's rarely time to stop and pick a pass - so a poorer player with quicker reactions can sometimes look better than they really are.

In Scotland, if the ball comes anywhere near the 18 yard line, the player is immediately hounded for possession, but it's fairly common for teams in England to stand off, even when the player is in traditional shooting distance, allowing for more spectacular goals.

There are a lot more reasons too, but it's 4am, I'm pished, and I can't be arsed.

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We have 5 million people and they have 50 million so they get more gate money and more television money which in turn attracts the oligarchs and arab royal families who pump even more of the filthy lucre in.

Perhaps climate makes a small difference especially in the south of England because a lot of players would rather live and play in a better weather but the bottom line is it's a professional game and a lot of money makes a big difference :pipe:

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Just found an interesting stat: more people watch the SPL per head of population than any other nation in Europe :sherlock:

Good site about that sort of stuff: http://comparetheleagues.com/european-league-stats/top-40-european-leagues/

It might be sorted for that search already, but you'll find it if not. Decent infographics, too.

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That has always been the case ... or at least for as long as I can remember (which is quite a long time :pipe:).

It really is remarkable that such a small country has 2 such big clubs ... in fact I would imagine it's unique in the world game :clap:

I'd say so, especially given the collapse of the eastern clubs over the last two decades or so.

*I assume you're talking about us and Ross County 10310.gif

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As star8 says it is remarkable that Scottish football continues to get the crowds at we do. It is down to the Old Firm though. Apart from Hearts it looks like our teams are losing their following. Aberdeen going down to 8000 9000 thousand,whats that all about,well apart from being shite and horrible fuckers in to the bargain.

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Obviously there are more teams that can beat each other but I dont think that the gap is as big as were told. Jelavic is the perfect example. You get goals in Scotland you will get goals in England. I have no interest in Steven Naismith going down south but he would be a revelation. Probably not at West Brom mind.

I'd agree if you were talking about the championship which is hugely overrated, but not the EPL. Every team in that league would be competitive in the SPL. Look at the bottom three - how do you think players like Yakubu, Davies or Doyle would do up here? Goodwillie went from being a star for one of the better teams in the SPL to nowhere. Look at players like Defoe or Crouch who struggled to get a game. It's a much better league.

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Diferance? :sherlock: Like Shane said, money! Only 4 teams have won it in the last 20 years as well.

Only 2 have won ours in the last 27 years.

Just found an interesting stat: more people watch the SPL per head of population than any other nation in Europe :sherlock:

This is not surprising. Football is our biggest sport by a country mile. Most other countries have a very large following for other sports.

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The difference in quality is massive; the spl is a footballing backwater and will get worse.No team outside the old firm has done anything in Europe for a long time while even Fulham and Stoke did well. English clubs have reached Champions League semi finals regularly and have won a couple of times in the near past.

We managed a draw and a defeat against a reserve Man Utd team by using a backs to the wall tactic but in reality that against premiership teams would give us very few points in a league situation. Can you imagine our 3rd and 4th placed teams trying to play against any team in the Premiership?

It does not bear thinking about.

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The difference in quality is massive; the spl is a footballing backwater and will get worse.No team outside the old firm has done anything in Europe for a long time while even Fulham and Stoke did well. English clubs have reached Champions League semi finals regularly and have won a couple of times in the near past.

We managed a draw and a defeat against a reserve Man Utd team by using a backs to the wall tactic but in reality that against premiership teams would give us very few points in a league situation. Can you imagine our 3rd and 4th placed teams trying to play against any team in the Premiership?

It does not bear thinking about.

correct, the difference is huge. The current Rangers and C*ltic squads compare with the top end of the championship and perhaps the bottom 5 of the epl , Hearts and Motherwell are third tier English level and the rest 4th tier.I actually think the likes of Dunfermline are Conference standard. Yes if Rangers were in the EPL our size means we coud compete with the best but just now we are light years behind the top 4

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Rangers and Celtic would do well in the Premiership but the other teams would struggle. Then again if you gave Aberdeen or Hearts 40 million a year in TV money I wouldnt imagine they would be much worse than Wigan or Stoke. The TV deal in Scotland is crap and why the clubs accept it is mindblowing.Denmark which has the same population as Scotland pays 3 times as much and they have no match that sells internationally as the Old firm does.We just take anything thats flung at us and its about time that Rangers stand up and refuse to sign a new deal that will give us less than were worth.

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correct, the difference is huge. The current Rangers and C*ltic squads compare with the top end of the championship and perhaps the bottom 5 of the epl , Hearts and Motherwell are third tier English level and the rest 4th tier.I actually think the likes of Dunfermline are Conference standard. Yes if Rangers were in the EPL our size means we coud compete with the best but just now we are light years behind the top 4

No SPL squad in my opinion is lower than English 1st Division standards. I even think that a team like Hearts or Dundee Utd would be mid table Championship sides. Given that they could spend a few million £'s on players. Teams like Dunfermline would be in the division below (English 2nd division)

That's like saying teams in our 3rd division are no where near the standard of England's lowest pub teams or schoolboy sides.

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Obviously there are more teams that can beat each other but I dont think that the gap is as big as were told. Jelavic is the perfect example. You get goals in Scotland you will get goals in England. I have no interest in Steven Naismith going down south but he would be a revelation. Probably not at West Brom mind.

Its all about the money, money, talking about the money money

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