ascender 352 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Personally I think the idea of starting out in the bottom division could be quite an exciting prospect and also give Scottish football a bit of a boost. As per original post, this is not based on cold hard facts, but I find it all very appealing. It could also give new owners the time to get a sustainable model in place without being under pressure to win the spl first time out. I suspect the idea would be popular with fans which might mean the money will still be there to build a team with a blend of our own youth players and some experienced ones, so we live within our means while also expanding out scouting network over the next few years. The possible lack of tv money would be the biggest practical drawback, but that might not be as big an issue as some think depending what deals could be done. Would also let the other spl clubs have their few seasons of being able to genuinely challenge for the title and obviously show us just how much they don't need us. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 A club the size of Rangers would not survive in the 3rd division!!! The clubs general running costs are far too high compared to the revenue that would be received. Do folk honestly think that 50,000 fans would turnout @ Ibrox every 2nd week to see a match against Montrose, Berwick or Peterhead??? Will sponsors be willing to pump in the same amount that they do without any TV coverage??? The players in those division are on hundreds ££ per week - IF THEIR VERY LUCKY.....we've got problems the now with players apparently not wanting to drop wages to £5k+ per week!!!! The club would die quicker than Craig Whyte could ever kill it!!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,432 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 On a sidenote ... Rangers never ever finished below 6th spot in the league (back in the 1920s I think). As for Airdrie and Airdireonians and Clydebank, I jsut had a look at Leeds United and this Leeds United 2007 thing ... and exactly nothing about them is mentioned on the Leeds United wikipedia site, which should feature it in some capacity. That is the "liquidation" and newco and losing history and all this. So was the mention of them wrong? Were they ever "liquidated", "newco'ed" or somesuch? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 A club the size of Rangers would not survive in the 3rd division!!! The clubs general running costs are far too high compared to the revenue that would be received. Do folk honestly think that 50,000 fans would turnout @ Ibrox every 2nd week to see a match against Montrose, Berwick or Peterhead??? Will sponsors be willing to pump in the same amount that they do without any TV coverage??? The players in those division are on hundreds ££ per week - IF THEIR VERY LUCKY.....we've got problems the now with players apparently not wanting to drop wages to £5k+ per week!!!! The club would die quicker than Craig Whyte could ever kill it!!! Spot on mate. No TV (and related sponsorship) and an U17/U19 side on the park? Major problem. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,226 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 If the club is liquidated and moved to the Third Division then as Gretna/Livi have done the new owners would release enough investment each season to ensure rapid progression up the leagues. Would we get 45,000 at Ibrox every second week? Initally perhaps but people would soon get fed up. However, with no debts and new revenue streams, we should be comfortable enough to be back in the SPL within 3 seasons. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 new revenue streams, we should be comfortable enough to be back in the SPL within 3 seasons. What new revenue streams???? Once the club got back into the 1st Div, I think the finances would be better, and possibly more sustainable. I just can't see how the club would be able to maintain Ibrox & Murray Park's daily running costs. See below the average attendances etc for Div 3: Team.........................Highest............Average.............Capacity Clyde...........................711...................570...................8029 Elgin City.....................792...................566...................5000 Alloa Athletic................719...................524...................3100 Queens Park.................711..................509...................52500 Peterhead.....................626..................496...................3250 Annan Athletic...............644..................483 Berwick Rangers............455..................386....................4131 Stranraer......................592..................360....................5600 East Stirlingshire............531..................326....................1880 Montrose.......................401..................323....................3292 Source With those attendance figures, an organisation the size of rangers wouldn't never be able to sustain their daily costs. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 With those attendance figures, an organisation the size of rangers wouldn't never be able to sustain their daily costs. The point is that Rangers would probably not have those types of attendances. You'd expect at least 10,000 loyal fans every home game. A lot of the costs would be well down due to the smaller attendances and lower wages. I presume we could run a squad equivalent to say ICT, which should see us rapidly rise up the leagues. While in Div 1 you'd expect the crowds to start to be more like a minimum of 25k in anticipation of promotion. Even in Killie's old dark days they were getting 8k while running away with the first division and in irony their attendances dropped in the SPL due to markedly poorer results for obvious reasons. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 PS I think you're missing the fact that the home team keeps all the gate receipts... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Maybe it's a foolhardy, romantic notion which in reality wouldn't work out but I think on the face of it there are some real merits to it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 The point is that Rangers would probably not have those types of attendances. You'd expect at least 10,000 loyal fans every home game. A lot of the costs would be well down due to the smaller attendances and lower wages. Agreed that there would be more than 600 home fans @ Ibrox. The real questions are: How much does it cost to run Ibrox on match day??? Costs could possibly be reduced by only opening certain stands. Some costs are still fixed regardless of volume through the turnstiles. How many fans would show up??? I think initially, turn out would be decent, but even with an average of 10,000 per home game, would that be enough to sustain the daya-to-day costs??? Player wages??? The majority of 3rd div players will be lucky to be on £200 per week, and the majority are part-time. Even with a squad of young players, we would probably be paying averages around £2k per week - that's still a substantial wage bill to maintain. Season tickets??? Would the majority of fans still be willing to shell out £500+ per season for ticket books??? Therefore a reduction of cost would be implemented. Couple this with the ticketus agreement (if still valid at the time), would represent a massive reduction in revenue. Sponsorhsip?? Would Tennents still be wanting to sponsor the shirts @ the current rate??? Would businesses still pay for hospitality??? I think that the costs would simply be too great and the club would die without SERIOUS down sizing. Then you have the issue of when the club gets back to the SPL....how competitive will the squad be??? How much investment would be required to get it back up to the top of the table??? IMHO, Div3 is completely unrealistic!!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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