sc Heerenveen Forum

I'm an Aberdeen supporter from Scotland. Over here there is a growing body to get the Old Firm (Rangers & Celtic) kicked out of Scottish football because they are sucking the life out of all the rest of the clubs. We want them to sod off and join the other second-rung big shots like Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Porto, Benfica in their Atlantic League or whatever they're calling it nowadays. We really believe Scottish football would benefit from getting rid of them. Is there the same feeling in the Netherlands towards Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV?

In Scotland it may help the other clubs, but here in the Netherlands we really would like them to stay in the dutch league. Ofcourse every season one of the 3 (Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord) will be the champion, but without them the competition will lose a lot of the attraction. The number of spectators in the stadiums are still growing every year, so there's no need for them to start their own league. The chairman of PSV, who started the idea for the Atlantic League, receives a LOT of criticism over here...

What happened to the idea of letting Celtic and Rangers enter the Premier League?

The English clubs voted 20-0 AGAINST even discussing the possibility of Rangers and Celtic joining their league. It's dead in the water.
We have the opposite problem, fans are disappearing like snow off a dyke. Take last night, Dunfermline played Livingston (both Scottish Premier clubs) in the cup and 3,000 people turned out. A few years ago that would have drawn at least 10,000. The same thing at my own club, Aberdeen, we were due to play a first division club in the cup last night (it was snowed off) and only 6,000 tickets were sold. We're struggling to get 10,000 for home games in the league.
The anger in Scotland is because Rangers and Celtic are already the richest clubs and keep on taking more and more money, the rest are now so far behind with no prospect of closing the gap our league is a joke, but they still want more. The 10 other premier league clubs handed in their notice to quit the league in 2 years last June because of R&C's demands over TV & Internet money. Unfortunately they've chickened out and it looks like the resignations will be withdrawn. However, the fans of the other clubs still want them out.

Suppoteres are agains a Euro- or Atlantic League.
Even big forces like Feyenoord are against.

One year ago Thousends of E-mails were send to UEFA, Dutch Football Assiciation and PSV-Eindhoven. (there chairman has started the idea for the Atlantic-League).

FUCH THE EURO-LEAGUE

Eduard Canard schreef:Is there the same feeling in the Netherlands towards Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV?

no, not in the same way as in Scotland towards the old firm
because the gap between ajax, fey and psv and the rest is not as huge as in scotland

Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV can ´t go!!!
We beat them every year

I think the difference between those top-3 clubs in Holland and the rest of the teams is not at big as in Scottland. Sure, there hasn't been a champion other than the three since 1981 but our opinion is that the gap is closing. And since the transfer market more or less collapsed lesser teams tend to hold on to their top players. Teams don't change that much anymore in the silly season and the summer and managers have more or less the same groups to work with.

I think that if you look into their hearts, fans of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV also hate the idea of a seperate league. Also the cost to see your team will go skyhigh, in this time of recession an unthinkable idea.

I think the clubs will hold on to what they got.