talkSPORT pundit sticks up for ‘reputational powerhouse’ Rangers in struggle for Champions League
Simon Jordan says Rangers are not an “economic powerhouse” but are a “reputational powerhouse” as he argued for more fairness in European qualification.
The Gers are into the Champions League Play-off against PSV, after overturning a 2-0 deficit to win 3-0 against Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox on Tuesday night (9 August).
But despite winning the SPFL in 2020/21 and tearing through the Europa League last season they would stretch their absence from the top competition proper to 12 years if they are beaten by the Dutch, which Jordan suggests is wrong.
Speaking live on talkSPORT on Wednesday morning, in a clip posted to the station’s Twitter page he said: “When you’ve got clubs who are doing £500million-a-year turnover, a la Manchester City, Manchester United and PSG, and you’ve got a club in Scotland doing £70million turnover, which is Rangers, then you’re not an economic powerhouse.
“You’re a reputational powerhouse, and you’ve got a global support-base, but that isn’t going to push you across the line to compete with these clubs.
“Where also it’s not fair in helping the Scottish teams continue to develop is the qualification criteria that only one team in Scotland gets to play in the Champions League.
“I know the leagues are smaller but there is an argument that there should be two teams coming from Scotland.
“If you want Scottish football to keep kicking on… move beyond the piddly-pop domestic finances they’ve got, they need some help.
“And that means playing in Europe. And that means also a trickle-down effect for the European money benefiting the rest of the league as well.”
Struggle
It is indeed a slog for the Light Blues to have had to jump through so many hoops in the last couple of years in order to try to get into the Champions League.
To dispatch so many household names on their run to the final of the second-tier European competition last year was all the more impressive considering their budget compared to some.
And with the Gers a big-money side by comparison to many within Scotland it shows that most other clubs have no hope.
At the very least it seems reasonable for the SPFL to have two qualifiers through league position, but in the age of the failed European Super League it seems like the current top competition are becoming more and more of a closed shop.
The Bears are having to do it the hard way to even get into the competition, with the rule change to give Scotland even one automatic qualifier coming too late for them after title 55, and missing out via the Europa League on penalties.
It’s going to be a tough task against PSV, and if they make it, coming up against the sheer scale of spending from some European giants would be a real test.
In other Rangers news, BBC Sport’s Tom English was amazed by what he saw again at Ibrox on Tuesday night.