Kenny Dalglish delivers verdict on SPFL suggestion after Rangers and Celtic European failures
Kenny Dalglish believes cancelling all domestic football in Scotland in the lead-up to European fixtures for Celtic and Rangers would cause “chaos”.
The Old Firm have, yet again, endured a miserable run in Europe with both sides failing to make it out of their respective groups.
Dalglish has suggested it would be a “credible idea” to cancel domestic fixtures to give clubs competing in Europe more of a chance but admitted the fixture congestion would cause issues.
Writing in his Sunday Post column (30 October), he said: “After the disappointing campaign for our clubs, there has been a suggestion that the SPFL should cancel all weekend domestic fixtures to give our teams eight or nine days of preparation time ahead of their European ties.
“On paper, it’s a very credible idea and, in an ideal world, we could do that. But it would only lead to fixture chaos later on in the season. So, I can’t see it happening. However, let’s hope all of our teams – Celtic, Rangers and Hearts – can get positive results this week and finish off on a high.”
Awful idea
There simply isn’t an argument to suggest calling all of the domestic football off in Scotland is a “credible idea”, just to benefit clubs who are competing in Europe. The rest of the continent seem to handle three game weeks easily, so Scotland should be able to follow suit.
The reason Rangers and Celtic are so far behind is because of the disparity in money in the domestic game in Scotland compared to the rest of Europe. Better TV deals and a more competitive Scottish Premiership should be the first things on the agenda to give Scottish clubs a chance of competing on a European stage.
Overseas TV audiences will only tune in to Old Firm games, whereas the Premier League has the majority of its viewership from abroad. There is the hope that Rangers could use some of their prize money to compete again the next time they qualify for the competition. However, this season’s outcome is a stark reminder of how far behind the domestic game is.
In other Rangers news, 42 y/o manager was spotted at Ibrox as pressure mounts on Giovanni van Bronckhorst.