Why no team except Rangers and Celtic will ever win the league

[@alerog745]

All these numbers certainly are more, thanks for answering my question JJ.

[@itsgeo752]

Thank you for sourcing the question that allowed for this video to be made, it’s gotta be one of my favourite ones so far

[@tomlynch-xo1pr]

@@cmpc724 F

[@jockmackay9582]

@@cmpc724 mate you're from Motherwell, your mood was already ruined

[@Hakimi655]

Without JJ Bull “the Bullet” I wouldn’t know that 15 is more than 1.

[@gluestix17]

isnt it "The Bullard"?

[@martinhartecfc]

JJ, please, please do a video on how the SPFL could be fixed. Even as a Celtic fan I don't like this situation. I'd love to see Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts as genuine challengers. What could we realistically do about this?

[@romanschuster1709]

The only way to prevent a 15x wealth gap deciding the outcome of the league for the next 36 years as well is to put a salary cap in place. Or create a separate cup for 3rd place in the league that Celtic and Rangers aren't eligible for since they don't have any competition in the league outside of themselves anyway.

[@fenianlewis]

It would beed the SPFL to get more commercial investment. The budget disparity is that Celtic are just humongous next to Aberdeen on every sellable metric. Shirt sales, gate receipts, subscriptions, merchandise etc.

[@Kyle-mj1kl]

Same mate, wish the derbies like the Edinburgh, Dundee, Tayside and New Firm got the same coverage as the old firm with a genuine competitiveness across the league

[@sweatyhaggis4303]

We need a bunch of rich saudis to come and buy up all the non old firm clubs and try put an end to their dominance. I personally would find it a fun challenge to takeover hibs or something and try win the league with them

[@dmore]

@@romanschuster1709 I don't think a salary cap would make much difference to be honest. The cap might stop the OF being able to by better players from abroad for more wages, but all that means is they would look inward and purchase all the top players from within the league itself. Ultimately they still end up with the best players, except now they'll be less likely to complete in Europe, thus hurting the overall brand/league/national team. You'd also likely find the better home grown players would be even more likely than they are already to leave Scotland, also weakening the league/brand. Though that may help the national team. I think the focus has to be on improving the product overall. Scottish football as a product is horrendous and those in charge seem clearly clueless on fixing this. We need continued improvement at grass roots level too and focus on clubs growing as community entities. I like the idea of taking the OF out of a cup perhaps, this gives clubs an increased chance of silverware and allows the OF to focus on Europe.

[@gunnarolidagmararson6896]

This is the most interesting video TIFO has ever put out! Thank you JJ, you absolute unit of a man.

[@AeolianMusica]

Awesome video. One of the best analyses. Only thing to mention is - the comparison across leagues isn’t exact. Wage and transfer fee distribution isn’t linear, so the comparison isn’t necessarily direct. In other words, 20x less transfer fee in the Scottish Prem doesn’t get you a player that would be the same amount proportionally lower quality as 20x less transfer fee in the EPL.

[@saure22]

Love this, great to have some representation for Scottish football, excellent to see.

[@shuddafukkup]

Back in the mid or late ‘90s, the SFA turned down Sky’s offer of televised football which would have allowed the clubs a more equal share of the money. The SFA said no, and Sky offered the same deal to the English Championship, who happily accepted and the rest as we know, is history. I often wonder how different things would have been if the SFA hadn’t turned the offer down. Would the Old Firm still have more money that the rest if us? Possibly. Would the League be more achievable to clubs like mine (Motherwell)? Perhaps. But due to unnecessary hubris, I guess we’ll never know.

[@cdogensis6392]

Ah, I remember the 93-94 season when Motherwell could (should?) have won the league - probably the last time an outsider was realistically in with a chance in April, (Aberdeen were up there too.) We beat Rangers at home late on in the season, and in the third last game we were 1-0 up on Dundee Utd, at half-time, and when the tannoy announced that Rangers were being held at Dundee, the feeling was indescribable. It really felt like we were going to win the league. Of course, we conceded two in the second half, and collapsed in the last two games. Finished third. Utter disappointment. But god, that half time was incredible...

[@thechriscrowing]

As a Dundee fan living in Glasgow, this makes me sad but its so obviously true. The Old Firm are operating several financial levels above everyone else and its dull as hell. I'd love for almost anyone else (not Utd) to win the league like some sort of Super-Leicester but it's barely plausible. Especially when teams that do come consisterly third (Hearts, Aberdeen etc.) tend to have collapses after 2-3 years and teams that have good seasons (top half, win a cup or more) then also collapse the next year (looks at St Johnstone.)

[@petemchugh2010]

Club football in general is broken. For how dominant the old firm are in Scotland they get further and further behind the English teams each year. Even the big Italian clubs are struggling compared to mid table English teams.

[@consuItant]

Treble treble

[@oh1yeah2]

Thanks for the insights as always. However, I'm intrigued by this disparity. What lies behind this data? Why is everyone else so far behind the Old Firm? Purely sporting reasons? Perhaps sone socioeconomic factors, maybe even political? A video delving deeper would be fascinating

[@dmcc5110]

The money celtic and rangers spend is fuelled by their competitiveness with each other really, constantly engaged with one upmanship on and off the pitch. The rest of the teams have less fanatic fanbases and less intense rivalries (not to discount them, just not as crazy as rangers and Celtic) and finally after so long of the old firm dominating their position as teams with money and the chances to win the league has been reinforced

[@ralphbrown2498]

I think there are a number of reasons. Firstly sporting success, with both Rangers and Celtic having excellent managers in the past (Struth and Stein perhaps being the standouts) creating a foundation for continued success (this can be seen at English clubs as well e.g. Shankly- Liverpool, Busby- Manchester United), this obviously builds prestige and a fanbase with the attendant longer term economic benefits. The fact they are based in the largest conurbation in Scotland (Glasgow and it's greater area) so are drawing on a larger local support base that the other clubs can muster helps. Glasgow is a football dominated city where the sport is seen as a way to escape poverty, which in turn means that there is a significant amount of expertise in developing players and all of the human/genetic endeavor goes to producing players, the elite of which gets hoovered up by the youth set-ups of the two largest clubs. The links to the sectarian conflicts in Ireland have created diaspora support who view games between the two sides as a sporting manifestation of those issues, whilst bringing undesirable issues to the fixture and both clubs it definitely helps as an economic driver. Access to European football on a pretty much continuous basis and the significant proceeds that brings massively helps, it also enables players to be attracted who know they are guaranteed European football and can make an easy transition to the English Premier League, which in turn guarantees further success. One thing that also needs to be mentioned is the psychological profile of the clubs and the demands the fanbase puts on them, there is an absolute insistence on winning and not giving up or settling for less, which when combined with better players and often management and backroom staff means it's very difficult for domestic opposition to overcome.

[@Tailor-DKS]

Probably the biggest is the Champions and Europe League, even though both didnt qualify for the group stage this year the money from the CL is huge and every club within gets a lot of money. Because they qualified often in the last years they got a lot of money to safe their 1./2. spot in the league. Besides that, of course they have the best training facilities, scouting, merchandise and tv money in the league - its just a circle that gets more unfair every year that stays that way.

[@_shmeezy]

A mix of all three I think. The level of support for the old firm is just much higher historically than other teams. They are much bigger brands internationally too. Everything from merchandising to television rights to European competitions, they have the edge. It's a problem that has only compounded over time.

[@martinhartecfc]

In many cases, they're just tiny clubs that will never earn much money no matter what the system. In the case of Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts (maybe also Dundee Utd), they are bigger clubs than they seem (comparable in size to Rosenberg or Copenhagen) but they're stuck in a negative feedback loop. They can't compete financially--> they can't win the league --> fans don't pay to watch them/buy merchandise --> they can't compete financially. This is why the home support of most SPFL clubs is actually at its lowest for the big games against Celtic and Rangers (although this might not always show in attendances as Celtic and Rangers bring so many away fans when allowed to). It's as if Burnley's attendance went down when Man City came to town.

[@alexanderevans_]

Question: When the new format of the UCL was announced, there was discussion of whether the prize money should go to the league rather than the club. How has the decision they made shaped the modern game?

[@deejlynzle1287]

This would be a game changer. You would hope that it would solidify the league's as well as seeing a rival do well in Europe actually boosts you own revenue. Should make the leagues, especially those where UCL is a disproportionately high proportion of the income of the top teams, be more competitive.

[@trainguy4798]

@@deejlynzle1287 it just depends how the money would be distributed. If it was equitable then sure but if not then you're still just entrenching the guys at the top.

[@JohnBhoy6788]

Why would the money go to the league? What gives any team a right to be rewarded for something another club achieved? That has got to be one of the stupidest statements I have ever heard in my life.

[@alexanderevans_]

@@JohnBhoy6788 To stop small leagues likes like the SPL becoming dominated by a small number of teams... obviously

[@JohnBhoy6788]

@@alexanderevans_ mate that defeats the whole purpose of winning something, you aim to win something because you get rewarded for it, so why should every team be rewarded for something one team done? It makes absolutely no sense at all, if there was TV money in the spfl like there is in England smaller clubs wouldn’t have as much of a problem getting more finances but we don’t get the tv money other leagues do and that is the main reason why Celtic and rangers have more money, they have bigger stadiums and more fans as well so it’s obvious they are going to have more money than the rest

[@dominickirwan7436]

Genuinely, nothing is more depressing as a Scottish football fan than the Old Firm dominance.

[@MrSniperfox29]

The only thing worse was the years where Rangers had been relegated and thus there was NO competition at all. Even Celtic fans admitted that it wasn't really a great time because they had no competition.

[@jamamafegan4]

@@MrSniperfox29 that wasn't worse - it as brilliant. I'm a St Johnstone fan and the day Rangers went bust was glorious. Look at all the teams that went on to win cups after Rangers were weakened. Ross County, Inverness, Hibs, St Johnstone, Aberdeen. Those were great days. If only both of them went bust...at the same time!

[@MrSniperfox29]

@@jamamafegan4 And then watch the TV viewing figures for Scottish football drop to about 3 people.

[@dominickirwan7436]

@@MrSniperfox29 I'd care so much more about football if there was no old firm, there is actually a guy who creates tables at the end of the season that removes them completely from the equation and it looks like it would be so much more interesting.

[@calvinbaII]

@@dominickirwan7436 I wish the SPL would increase from 12 teams to 18. Yeah I get it, it's like promoting 6 extra "shitters" into the league at the same time and the gulf between top and bottom would be even more, at least in the first couple years. But I think what does the tier-2 clubs in is the 4 fixtures against opponents as opposed to the old version of 2. Realistically that's 6 less potential points dropped (12 between both OF) that can close the points gap. Those extra games get made up by beating up on Partick Thistle and Inverness instead. It's not as if the SPL doesn't have a lot of blowouts currently.

[@KindredBrujah]

The funny thing is, in 1985 the spend differential between Aberdeen (and Dundee United for that matter) and the Old Firm was not that large. And, indeed, the spend differential between the Scottish top flight and the English top flight was also not that large. Roll on 35 years or so and the Scottish game has had the life sucked out of it by the Old Firm and by English bias in TV revenue through BSkyB contracts freezing out the Scottish game.

[@jasonwil]

"English bias" Sounds more like a chip on the shoulder, the world is against us!

[@KindredBrujah]

@@jasonwil You've misread. Bias towards the English game by BSkyB, not bias by the English.

[@scottwhitley3392]

Yep. Scottish football receives about 15% of what Scottish sky sports subscribers pay In subscription fees. The English game actually receives more than what English subscribers pay.

[@jacksonbow2766]

@@scottwhitley3392 I did think Sky must be operating at a loss when it comes to EPL tv deal. Where did you see how much the English subscribers pay?

[@TheAdamsteve1984]

I won the SPL (and Champions League!) with Raith Rovers?!... all you need to do is use the 'in game editor' function

[@Priority76]

Yes, it's odd that the video overlooked this point.

[@dejflukac]

Great video but I would expect more points of view to be used and not only the soccernomics one. Coming from the Czech Republic where we have quite a similar league to the SPL, you get three clubs (Slavia, Sparta and Plzen) who consistently spend more than everyone but the crucial part of their success is that they canibalize on the smaller teams. These in return have less time to develop and sell their players abroad and when these players leave for abroad, it is mostly from the top three clubs and they also keep most of the overall margin gained on the player. That being said, looking past money, the key for the big teams to keep their position is not to let the smaller teams grow organically.

[@GavinandJemmaTravels]

Would love to see more discussions from JJ about how we in Scotland could improve our teams and become a more competitive league. Great to see Tifo and the Athletic taking a bit more of an interest in Scottish football but would love to hear the guys thoughts on how to actually improve the league as a whole… would make an interesting video/podcast… hint hint wink wink nudge nudge… 🤗👍🏼⚽️

[@mattchamp1541]

Not too much to do, 1st need more teams to qualify for European group stages consistently which would up coefficient and money in the league. 2nd we need the spfl to negotiate a better contract for the league and each club needs better sponsorship deals. Outside of that clubs need to find a way of bringing in more fans but problem there is scotland has small population and way too many clubs so

[@jacksonbow2766]

@@mattchamp1541 I will add that the 2 things first to do are changing the voting policy and league structure to favour all the clubs not just the Old Firm as it does currently. The 11-1 citing policy is ludicrous and dosn't help anyone outside the Old Firm. We need to being the other clubs up and not bring the Old Firm down and the best way to do this is to open up the opportunities for the other clubs to win the league and cups etc. Only then can all the things you mention have any meaningful impact. The Old Firm may have a bigger budget but let's be honest, as both have shown, the players they get a lot of the time are average imports. Neither side can afford the real quality that they trick themselves into thinking they do buy. All it takes is for an ambitious club to build a team that is no longer scared of the Old Firm and they will win. George Burely was doing it until he quit. Steve Clarke had the right attitude with 2 fingers up at the Old Firm and it was paying off until he quit for Scotland.

[@randomcreeponthestreet]

truly great channel, you've achieved that rarest of YT feats, a channel that can regularly post new videos were the content is actually both extremely entertaining & educational to watch just about every single time. highly impressive. It makes perfect sense why, as of posting this, your video would have roughly 2.5k likes & 0 dislikes. you guys absolutely deserve it

[@elliotnoble8551]

What league do you think would be most likely to compete with the big 5 leagues in the future? Question for the Tifo Football Show!

[@deejlynzle1287]

Turkey was supposed to be the next big league with a large population, economic growth and more money entering the league. Seems to have dipped though in the last decade.

[@incognito2008]

The eredivese.

[@DuduPRT]

Portugal and Netherlands

[@paulot4646]

None. Smaller leagues are being locked out of the Champions League more and more and are therefore not getting access to the finances available. It's done.

[@itsgeo752]

@@DuduPRT Portugal would be if it weren’t for the fact that the league’s management is corrupt to the core. Netherlands I can see though, just gotta ensure it doesn’t become Ajax’s farmers league first

[@HamzaTalksFootball]

Great video! Would like to see one similar on La Liga historically someday. This was very interesting.

[@nickrhys5526]

Brilliant video. As a Jambo this is so depressing.

[@raasay04]

He's not wrong. That is more.

[@Omar_Little]

Quick maffs

[@partyringsparty]

Question - Is there any justification for 'goalkeepers shouldn't be beaten at their near post'? It happens so so frequently and pundits/commentators/fans always give really harsh criticism of the goalkeeper because they think it's really easy to save at your near post.

[@ivanvoronov3871]

Good. I would love a video on that

[@charlieclemmow8027]

How has Ajax constantly been able to compete with Europe’s biggest teams (especially this season) with a budget significantly smaller than the other leading contenders? P.S: Tifo is life x

[@samd7718]

There's a previous video on Tifo IRL of their tactics, and a video on the Athletic of how they are consistently competing at the top of European football - check them out!

[@thechriscrowing]

Easier to do well in cups when you're well managed (financially and on field) but poorer, than it is to replicate over a full league season.

[@jasonwil]

They have modest expectations of themselves and what they can do, realise that things go in cycles and stick to the plan.

[@musicaddicted777]

Very strong recruitment at youth level

[@undersoundproductions1915]

Tall people. From yet an another 5 foot 4 Scot.

[@keirbeatn]

"I don't think anyone will ever win it, because I think it's completely broken" 😂

[@jakeunderwood9]

Tell us how Steve Cooper turned around Nottingham Forest next.

[@gmoney1664]

I love that JJ watches videos in books. Its like Kelly Roland trying to message Nelly using Microsoft Excel 😂

[@R0B0T1C4L]

I love TIFO and my special guy, Joe

[@BartonFinksBox]

Can imagine this is what his mum still calls him

[@jamesyoung4604]

JJ BULL is so awesome

[@Ese96Agoaye]

Could this be a factor in continued talks of an Atlantic league? Could the idea ever come to fruition?

[@Northwest360]

People love hating on MLS, but the level of competition is much higher amongst its teams, leading to more fun and surprise!

[@LeBasketballGuy]

A playoff style system is what's needed. LAFC spent the most and won the league but it wasn't easy (needed penalties) and they're not gonna win it every year....So the top four could contest the playoffs and Rangers and Celtic are still going to win a lot but other clubs would nick one from time to time and have hope and that's what it's all about. Sadly the culture is archaic so I've seen everything suggested EXCEPT playoffs.

[@Omar_Little]

How prevalent is doping still in the professional levels of football? Particularly club or national team endorsed doping. We hardly ever hear of players getting caught but there's way too much at stake for there not to be loads. Please explain the doping situation and why the competitions don't actually try and catch anyone because it benefits nobody.

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

In many lower leagues and countries with fewer regulations (or less enforcement of existing rules) it is still very prevalent as is match fixing. However in the major leagues of the world like the epl they have regular testing for players, plus random inspections and frankly given the high standards of fitness that every professional at the elite level has doping wouldn’t make a massive difference because even if you ran a little faster it wouldn’t make you better at football or play better as a team (unlike Olympic sports where running fastest is all you need to win a race)

[@Goofy8907]

I love the comedy, please never stop

[@ZeTruLionHeart]

This would be interesting to do with a bunch of other 2-3 team dominated leagues to see the likelyhood of some underdog winners in the near future.

[@Goofy8907]

"hahaha, what a great video I'm JJ Bull, and you may remember me from the video you just watched" I died

[@Leftfield71]

Makes me sad knowing that my team Ross County will never win a Scottish premiership. 😥 Hopefully we may win another cup in my lifetime.

[@moltresjrcountdowns]

I demand a “this is more” tshirt

[@frankdominguez524]

Im a Hibs fan, I legitimately live next door to Easter Road stadium, as in less than a minute from my front door to get to a seat in the stadium, and it makes me sad how little support SPL teams outside the old firm receive. The Hibs Ultras are essentially defunct at the moment, and there isn’t much of a crowd atmosphere at Easter Road anymore. I would love to see the SPL become something more then a place for generational fans and a chance to see rangers or Celtic play in your hometown.

[@Support-your-local-team]

Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen are all better supported than just about any club from a comparably sized country to Scotland in Europe. Hibs support is bigger than any team in Denmark, Greece, Austria, I could go on and on. Scottish football is the best attended per population in Europe, so to say there's little support outside of the old firm is categorically untrue.

[@SDAFC]

What a great video!

[@BigMadAndy]

JJ must be very SadSad that he’s unlikely to ever see Aberdeen win the league

[@benshorthouse2979]

Question: which team will Redbull look to aquire next to keep building the RB empire?

[@scipioafricanus2212]

In my opinion, Derby.

[@indiekiddrugpatrol3117]

@@scipioafricanus2212 as a derby fan I'd rather us die and reform in the 8th tier than see that happen

[@michaelreay6992]

It would be interesting to see that metric applied to other leagues although I would expect similar results

[@pancakes1271]

Germany would be a good one, Bayern's dominance isn't quite as extreme as the Old Firm's, but it is still ridiculous.

[@shaundowse2894]

The only longshot scenarios I can see for a non-Old Firm club to genuinely make a run at the title are either a financial takeover to allow massive increases to expenditure or a combination of a crop of great homegrown players and finding some very undervalued assets (either via a more analytical or "Moneyball" approach or by sheer good fortune).

[@muhammedgamal5871]

Very important data, this was a very good answer

[@FUJISAN2012]

The stat you quoted - No club outside the old firm(Celtic and rangers) has won the premier league title since 1984/85 is really crazy! It would be great for someone to do a Leicester - one year and win the title.

[@fatwillwood]

Question: I am colourblind, and I find, in particular, that seeing red colours (kit) on a green(grass) is a challenge. Can you find any statistical evidence to show that teams playing in red kit are more likely to win? For note, roughly 1 in 10 men are colour blind.

[@Simon-A.-Tan]

Normally red on green has the strongest color contrast, so how does your colorblindness manifest? It's quite different apparently per individual.

[@fatwillwood]

For example, say I play against a red kit, I often find it hard to see them in my peripheral vision. Perhaps this makes it harder for me to to track / defend attacking movement. I often play as RB.

[@flimpeenflarmpoon1353]

@@Simon-A.-Tan isn't dueteranopia the most common? With dueteranopia red and green apper as a similair yellowish colour.

[@chrisfraser5088]

I have learned…this is more 👍

[@bigfella1612]

hey JJ just won the champions league with aberdeen in fm, told the media it was for my guy at Tifo... so maybe there's hope...

[@gklp640]

Question: there are 7 teams projected to finish below 40 points this season, why are there so many bad teams in the Premier league this season?

[@stephenhenderson6404]

The bit about wages is totally correct and tells the story. The bit about transfers is pointless and misleading as Celtic Net Spend In/Out is practically zero over the last ten years. They sold Ajer, Christie and Edouard last year , and Dembele, Frimpong, Tierney etc in recent years. With the exception of Edouard none of those players cost anything for Celtic to buy.

[@Haggis_67]

Thats the thing, Celtic only ever really spend what the make (in terms of transfers). Which is my IMO the only comparision that really works in terms of transfer spend is liverpool, as IIRC they have a close to net-zero tranfers spend over the past few seasons

[@kiezorfc8559]

Sad truth is this even if someone with more money than rangers and Celtic wanted to buy a club the old firm’s influence in the SFA would block any takeover

[@danielhay3772]

2046 is Partick Thistle's year

[@ConnorKD1876]

As a partick thistle man, this just shows how broken scottish league football is 🫠🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@10mibrahim]

Love this type of videos

[@joelstevens6394]

THIS IS MORE

[@ohstooshy]

Brilliant video

[@hooksx]

This just highlights the tremendous investment opportunity that still exists for cool teams in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, and beyond.

[@randomguyonyoutubewithnovi6738]

I get your point, the new Aberdeen owner had a plan to break into the OF, but like they would need to spend tens of million every year to even stop widening gap, never mind catch up, and the rewards are hardly worth it as there is so little TV money in Scotland

[@footyman1728]

Question: With Harry Kane going another year without a trophy I'm curious to know who you think are the best players of all time that never won a major trophy (Top Domestic Division Title or Cup, World Cup, Other major international tournament)? And could Kane be the best player who never wins a major trophy?

[@jamesburns9591]

Great video on how the numbers are different I would have liked to have seen why they are with the likes of rangers going bankrupt in 2012 but having this financial overtake to the rest of the teams

[@JayDee98989]

If a non old firm team was to treble their wages then they could theoretically beat the other teams more consistently and the keep pace with Old Firm meaning just a handful of games could decide the title. It's theoretically possible then without having to match Old Firm spend completely.

[@scottw.3258]

For me, the only way we'll ever have a truly competitive League in Scotland, is if the Old Firm break away. Be that they join the English League, or a break away league is formed with top teams from Netherlands, Belgium, the Scandinavian Nations, and the likes of Switzerland, and Austria( as has been touted in the past). We saw even when Rangers were in the lower leagues how much more competitive Scottish Football was. We had Inverness, Ross County, and St Johnstone, all winning their first ever Silverware, Hibs winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in well over 100 years, Aberdeen winning a trophy for the first time in 20 years. Then we had St Mirren, and Kilmarnock winning Cups too. Just having one of the dominant teams out the picture resulted in an overall more competitive period in Scottish Football. Rangers are back, they're stronger, and now we'll see a return to the status quo, with the vast majority of the trophies being shared out amongst the Old Firm, with one of the 'lesser' teams picking something up every 5 or 6 years or so. It should be noted that this is the longest period of time ever in Scottish football of Old Firm dominance of the League(now 37 years since Aberdeen won it.).

[@33m3c]

ifs its not celtic/rangers, its abeerden/ hearts/hibs .. we can go on and on

[@scottw.3258]

@@33m3c It would be far more competitive. Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hearts, Hibs, even the likes of Motherwell would all be battling it out. If we then had an 18 team Premier Division, it would become far more competitive all round. It wouldn't happen over night, but it would happen. If the league was more competitive, we'd attract more attention, more attention would bring in greater sponsorship, higher viewing figures, more money, better quality players, stronger squads... It could potentially snowball. I'm not suggesting we'd get to a stage of being comparative to the English league, but we could end up being seen as an attractive alternative.

[@jacksonbow2766]

@@scottw.3258 Yes but all the fans of all the other clubs in Scotland would then become Only Rangers and Celtic fans because Rangers and Celtic would be in a more glamourous and attractive league. The rest of the clubs in Scotland would lose a lot more than they think. You would see Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs suddenly end up with little home attendances like 5k each at best. The smaller clubs would at least lose half their current fan bases. The biggest Scottish clubs playing in England would be a horrible scenario for Scottish football, it would become the Welsh league and you can forget anyone ever winning a single game in Europe again. Coefficient would become awful so Scotland would end up with maybe 1 place in a 1st round qualifier for the lucky champions. How about all the young talent in Scotland? Who will they want to play for? You think it's bad now but it would be worse if they had 2 Scottish teams playing in England. The best talent wouldn't even need to move far away from their families now because Glasgow isn't as far as Birmingham, or London and even Southampton. Nah, keep the Old Firm, put the pressure in the rest to step up like they should have decades ago. Change the leagues to just 3 divisions, so the lower league teams have a smaller safety net like they do now with league 1. Turn the Prem into a 16 team league 30 games, so no one has to get battered 8 times per season by the Old Firm. Make it 3 relegations so the pressure at the bottom is increased, making more clubs fight harder in every game for points. Change the Championship to 16 teams and 30 games like the prem or a 14 team league with a split halfway after 26 games. The 3rd division can just be the league teams with 6 B teams from the prem to aid with developing young players to sell and make money on. The b team spots have to be won each season by finishing top 6 in the Prem though. That way it's NOT the same team's every year. Change the league cup to 2 leg knockout rounds after the groups stage. This will teach and prepare our clubs for the 2 leg European knockout rounds and also increases the money made from gate receipts each season for clubs. Before all this though, the voting system needs changing because 11-1 prem policy is shyt and favours only the Old Firm. The leaders at the SPFL ALL need removing also. They are Celtic people and that's no good for the game either.

[@scottw.3258]

@@jacksonbow2766 Nonsense.

[@jacksonbow2766]

@@scottw.3258 Actually just simple logic pal. You may not like it but that does not make it wrong. The best thing for Scottish football is to keep Rangers and Celtic in it. The game is badly run and has been for decades, there is no denying that bit to remove the biggest assets and remove all those fans from the other clubs. The Majority of the SPL clubs allocate 2/3rds of their stadium to away fans when The Old Firm come to town, they will lose that money if the Old Firm leave. There are bigger issues in our game, the SPFL board for one. They represent 1 club. It was them Who said the prem will never be bigger. How about the voting policy of 11-1? You ok with that are you? I take it that is what you were calling nonsense?

[@alexpotts6520]

Was Aberdeen's 1985 title win during the management of Sir Alex Ferguson? I know he managed the club at some point, don't know the exact dates though.

[@ColinGLogan]

It was, although it wasn't as if the old firm won every title back then and Fergie miraculously won it with a much weaker team. For instance, the season immediately prior Dundee were the champions

[@neilmcmenemy]

@@ColinGLogan Aberdeen won in 1984/85 and the previous season in 1983/84. The season before that 1982/83 Dundee United were champions.

[@denizakogul]

Why Turkish Big 3 is not successful this year?

[@davecourt2037]

Celtic Park holds 60,000. Ibrox holds almost 51,000. Next highest is Abderdeen at almost 21,000. That alone is 30,000 gate receipt advantage over the other teams. Plus the TV and European revenue, you have an enormous gulf in finances.

[@johntate5050]

Remember that Celtic Park is always half empty.

[@alistairgourlay9443]

Would be interested in a comparison between la Liga and how atletico managed to break into the top clubs when their original budget was nowhere near a top clubs. Why can bodo/glint play Celtic off the park home and away with a budget the size of hibs. I get it isn't easy and the old firm will always win most titles but too many Scottish clubs would rather cry about it being impossible rather than innovate to achieve.

[@Support-your-local-team]

Go on then, what should Hibs do to become as good as Bodo Glimt? Please be specific, because if your ideas are things like "have better coaching", "produce more young players", do you honestly think they've never thought about that? How come Rangers just cry about not being Champions League contenders rather than innovate to achieve it?

[@jacksonbow2766]

Spot on mate. They all write themselves off before giving it a go. Aberdeen had just opened a brand new training facility, looking at moving to a new and modern stadium, had a squad full of good players when they let go of McInnes. A perfect opportunity to bring in an experienced winning manager. They got Glass, even after him... They bring in Goodwin. Part of it is the league though and the leaders at the top. The whole thing is setup for the Old Firm and the Old Firm made sure of that (I am a Rangers fan btw). The other clubs need a little lift to kickstart their ambitions again. Let's do away with the 4 games against each team per season and go to a 16 team league, 30 games. Reduce the number of Divisions down to 3 so that league 1 is no longer a little safety next for clubs to chill in for a season or 2. That's makes sure the pressure is there to stay in the top flight and even strengthen the Championship. We can generate more money for also if we change the knockout rounds of the league cup to 2 legs, home and away. 2 leg knockout rounds will also educate our players and staff about what is needed in Europe over the knockout rounds. Too often have our clubs had 1 good game and then lost the round on the back if the 2nd leg being shite. Anyone who claims Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen cannot do anything just look to clubs Like Atalanta. They have a stadium the same size as Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs and similar crowd attendances and they reach European latter stages. Parma is another with small attendances and fan base. Bournemouth has a stadium of 15k while in the Premiership. It's not impossible to dislodge the Old Firm. Rangers and Celtic reached the limit a long time ago but no one has bothered to catch up to them. The Old Firm are fading into a little area that many big clubs in the small leagues are, being too big for their domestic leagues but too small for the European competitions. It's about time the rest of Scotland starting their March up towards them because they simply cannot grow any bigger and I say that as a Rangers fan. We also need a rule to stop the rest of Scotland selling their best players on the cheap. Aberdeen are looking at £3M from Liverpool for Calvan Ramsay. In 2022 £3M for a fantastic Scottish talent with first team experience. In 2014, Andy Robertson went for £2.85M. Our player values are getting worse. Declining fees while the rest of the world increases. Poor, poor business by Aberdeen.

[@MrReese]

2:29 this makes no sense in either direction. What you would want to do is use Leicester average wage (as you chose Leicester to be your PL team to compare to) and then multiply that by 15 to show how much it would be for Liverpool if it were Celtic. This is what you actually did at 4:32, which is correct.

[@holyholyholy40]

Came back here with Current Aberdeen team in second place.

[@JakobusVdL]

Wow, I didn't know the spending gap was THAT big! You've shown us what the Old Firm spend, what do the SPFL teams earn? Could a more even distribution of money paid to the clubs allow the rest of the SPFL teams to start to close the performance gap. Or, divide points by spend? The most cost effective team wins the league. That would be particularly Scottish :-)

[@marcr94]

problem with the scottish game is that the TV money is absolutely pitiful, around £30M per season for the whole league. So there's no money to be spread around. The winner gets around £3.35M, bottom gets around £1M. Scottish Clubs rely heavily on gate receipts and season tickets for their income so celtic/rangers getting 50/60 thousand every other week puts them way ahead of other clubs, before even accounting for any money made from european football.

[@JakobusVdL]

Thanks@@marcr94, Do visiting teams get a share of the gate receipts? I suppose that wouldn't help much either as other teams would get a percentage of the old firm gates 3 or 4 times a year (?), whereas the old firm get big bucks from every home game. And it will be hard to get a stronger home support for a team that at best can finish third. Apart from a better TV deal, does the SFPL have any ideas on how to grow, or redistribute the income?

[@ravipv3236]

How many more seasons it would take for a Bundesliga team other than Bayern to lift the trophy? And who is most probable to do that? I think RB Leipzig. What does the stat say? Also how do 50+1 rule keep Bayern at the top of the table every season?

[@deejlynzle1287]

A few other points to note. Firstly, when you adjust transfer fees for inflation, they are still a good indicator of performance. Wages is self confirming as teams that do well typically end up paying more bonuses. Also, I think a fairer approach would be looking at average player wage per game over all competitions. The biggest clubs have to build a squad for another 8-15 games a year, roughly 25-40% more than a team outside continental competitions. Therefore their wage bill is going to look inflated just considering the league in isolation.

[@jacksonbow2766]

You overlooked some other big differences between the EPL and SPL. Team's lower in the EPL can and do demand big fees for their star players and they get them, in similar figures to the bigger team in the EPL but in Scotland they don't. Only this week w/c 6th June 2022, Aberdeen have a star player, a young player also, being linked to Liverpool and allegedly a bid of only £3M has been offered. If He was at a club in the EPL his fee would most likely be starting at £10+ M. This isn't because of the Old Firm, this is because the Scottish game is Undersold in every area. Aberdeen in this example should be demanding at least double that from a club in the richest league in the world. The leadership in every department in Scottish football is crap and will never improve then game in the way it needs.

[@HarcusCGTV]

Good video, BUT ...the answer only addresses one factor of the question. What if I threw in a curveball like Ajax, or a Billionaire consortium made up of ancestral Scots coming in to Hibs, Hearts or Aberdeen? Bare in mind Hibs are owned by an American Billionaire. It seems you ignored several variables. Great video none the less and yes, Soccernomics is a great book.

[@ruairimcgonagle8454]

Hi Tifo Crew, could you do a video about the future of the irish national team? They have a completely new style under Stephen Kenny and fresh young players.

[@snowman01]

That was good, the only thing missing is tabling potential solutions to the problem. E.g. Celtic moves to England, or further shrink the top division, or Hibs and Hearts merge (yes, I realise that's insane I'm just throwing things out there).

[@Support-your-local-team]

A merged Edinburgh team would not be better supported than either Hibs or Hearts currently, believe me. The Hearts chairman tried to do this in the early 90s and his children ended up having to go to school with bodyguards. People who suggest these things don't understand what these clubs and also the rivalry means.

[@freeyz_7933]

A video about the most underrated players?

[@thedislikebutton163]

Is the French league really worse than the Portuguese league? How good are the CL league rankings really

[@AndrewLaReal]

French is definitely better than Portuguese league. The Portuguese league has an abysmal mid and lower table where every loses and win with very little point difference.

[@aakarmamtora3470]

Question: How much is Ronaldo's pressing been actually an issue for Man United? Since there were a lot of opinions saying he won't fit rangnick's style but there hasn't been a major noticeable issue when ronaldo does play. The team still has uncoordinated pressing but how much is down to him and other players?

[@johanjonsson2190]

Wouldn't the best comparison to look at in PL to see the spend of Leicester in the season they won compared to a top team?

[@weegoalie146]

If you want to do another Scottish segment why not do, why are arbroath so good this season?

[@ChesterPerry187]

They aren’t that good, Hibs somehow managed to beat them

[@gerrynorris1421]

This makes the prospect of Everton being relegated even more insane

[@davidfacina4239]

Even in FIFA21 is pretty hard to win the league kkkkkkkk I'm using Aberdeen in legendary and these both teams just don't lose or draw. It's insane.

[@TheBlueGeezer]

I think the numbers are more interesting then you pointed out. For example you point out the average equivalent was would be $63million but this is probably not even reachable as Messi was supposed to be on $52 million a year and he is the best in the world (or one of). Even with the best players in every position you wouldnt hit that $63 mil figure. So the equivalent distance would be if the top team had a literal worlds best of all time team being paid insane wages.

[@RoyMatzem]

Ok, but why the difference is so high? Prize distribuition? Tv Money? Whats the solution?

[@dazzag371]

It’s European money that’s created the financial disparity Domestic prize money is distributed fairly while Celtic /rangers get an extra £30m+ from European competition making it way to finish top 2 the next season which gives them more European money Solution is to divide Uefa money between the top division teams snd top 6 of lower division

[@brodftw]

If you got something like 20/21 Celtic and another Sevco situation at the same time, and one other club had a visionary manager emerge from nowhere, it could happen. For example I led Dundee United to the title in FM10, but was sadly never considered for the job in real life

[@crs2385]

No team is called Sevco. The same way no team is called Pacific shelf.

[@TheMightofDab]

little confused as to why they compared the Scottish league to the Premier League for the finances. Wouldn't it have been much more beneficial to compare Scotland to a league in the same Financial ballpark? I've not looked into this much but even the Championship seems a bit out of reach financially - Fulham spend nearly twice as much as Celtic in annual wages (£30,000,000 vs £18,000,000). this is probably just due to Fulham being in the premier league so recently though, maybe the championship would be a fine comparison.

[@carlosciudadreal1842]

the laugh at the end got me hahahaha

[@johnstrac]

The real problem with Scottish football is that the powers that be can't even see that it's broken ! If anything they encourage the status quo.

[@jmcc120]

JJ could you do the same type of video in the likely hood of a team from one of the smaller leagues in Europe actually winning the champions league in the next 10 years?

[@danielgoncalves2306]

5:18 Troy McClure vibes from the bullet

[@timdurgan]

How does an expected goal for/against get measured?

[@heretobrew]

Question: In the context of players like Messi, Ramos and Ronaldo, who only demand more money as they get older, what kind of drop in salary do we anticipate for players in their early-to-mid 30's? How much did Bolton pay Fernando Hierro when he came to play for them after captaining Real Madrid?

[@willyum3920]

that's some top top draw contenting guys keep up the videolas

[@TheAlbinoskunk]

Two further questions I have after watching this: Why do the Old Firm clubs have much smaller wage budgets than even small Premier League teams when they have such huge attendances? And why when the variation in wages is much lower in the PL is there still such a low chance of a Leicester winning the league again?

[@paulot4646]

Because of TV money. TV changed everything and ended any hopes of leagues outside the big 5 competing for European trophies. Man City beating Sporting 5-0 showed how bad its got. The sooner a Super League happens the better. You get £3 million for winning the Scottish league and about £100 million for being relegated from the English Premier League because of TV. Its impossible to compete.

[@faiqnadzmi9771]

Will ever in footballing history, an Asian national team to win their first ever World Cup? And the second question which is the most important one, will my home country, Malaysia 🇲🇾 ever to qualify for the World Cup?

[@liamthelad]

Question: is there any science behind "wanting it more"

[@YourService977]

alistair clarkson is your producer and is also one of the greatest AFL coaches of all time. how does he do it?

[@QuikThinx_AllThots]

Using this seasons teams. What is the hardest potential schedule a team could have gotten in the new Swiss model Champions League? What would be the easiest?

[@ravipv3236]

May be this question is lame. But I'm asking. Why cannot the referee stop the watch whenever there is a stoppage of play so that we can utilise the whole 90 minutes to play football. This way we can even avoid additional time, right? Why is it not practical?

[@fisheatsyourhead]

right now when the clock isn't stopped it forces referees to act quickly, and it makes the game less stop-start to flow more continuously

[@eatmoremusic3650]

This JJ’s WHEEL HOUSE

[@mattymaloy3949]

Match day income, Celtic park could probably fit 3 of the next biggest teams stadium capacity in theirs

[@someenchilada]

Till you find the next sir Alex

[@ZexaXIII]

Only Sir Alex Ferguson might, cause he have done it with Aberdeen.