Money makes the world go round? Pt.2 - Is it all doom and gloom

Last month, I looked at the growing issues of teams going in Administration and the chase for money being one of the major reasons.  This month I am going to look at one of the clubs affected and the positive effect that might be coming out of their problems.

Glasgow Rangers are the world most successful football team when it comes to winning League Championships.  But last year they were unceremoniously dumped from the top tier of Scottish football and into the Third Division.  Gone are the Auld Firm derbies against Glasgow Rivals Celtic, and instead they are lining up a new Glasgow derby against Queens Park.

They may not be filling their Ibrox stadium every week now but the crowds they get for one match would be more than some teams in the same division get all season.  And the other teams are now getting a chance to play at one of Scotland major stadia, where in the past they might only get a slim chance in one of the cups.

Rangers seem to have been welcomed into the lower reaches of Scottish football and they are loving every moment of it.  Most of the players they had in the Premier League have since gone but they have retained many quality players that in reality are too good for the level they are playing at. 

That is not to say they are having an easy time of it though.  Away from Ibrox, they have lost to Stirling Albion and had to settle for draws against Peterhead, Berwick Rangers and Annan Athletic.

But away from Rangers and the Third Division, what has this meant to the Scottish Premier League where Rangers and Celtic would be so dominant that other teams didn’t get a look in?

The domination that Celtic was so used to having is not evident.  Although they have a game in hand over their nearest rivals, they only have a one point advantage over Aberdeen and Hibernians with St Johnstone and Inverness Caledonian nipping at the heals.

Have Celtic taken their eye off the ball and concentrated too much on the Champions League?  It may be so.  Following their brave defeat in Barcelona, Celtic were humbled at home by Kilmarnock who are struggling.  Move forward to the famous victory in the return fixture against Barcelona, and Celtic struggled to a draw against St Johnstone.  And this week, following defeat in Portugal to Benfica, Celtic lost at home in the league to Inverness Caledonian for the first time ever.

With the possibility of Celtic continuing their European involvement into either the Champions League knockout stages, or the Europa League, will the patchy league form continue? 

If it does, we may see Aberdeen becoming the first team aside from Celtic and Rangers to win the Scottish Premier League since 1985, when they themselves lifted the trophy under the leadership of some unknown called Alex Ferguson.

Also with Rangers out of the equation for the time being, the second spot in the league that leads to the Champions League is open.  This year Motherwell were the lucky team but were knocked out before they could get to the lucrative Group stages.  If they had made the group stages, or another team do in the forthcoming seasons, the money that is generated could shift the balance of power significantly.

If this trend continues while Rangers fight their way back to the top league, when they arrive, they may find a new and more exciting battleground where a two team dominance is no longer the staple course.

In recent weeks, there has also been a major call to better balance Scottish Football from top to bottom, and this has been assisted by Rangers now voting in the Scottish Football League rather then the Scottish Premier League.  A balance of power is not just possible in the Premier League now but across Scottish Football.