On Tuesday, an article appeared on the official Rangers website, which stated that Rangers were looking into the introduction of a British League Cup as a replacement for the current league cups in Scotland and England. Chief operating officer Ali Russell is quoted as saying:
?With these sorts of things, I think at times it?s very much a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained.? Looking at the League Cup tournaments both north and south of the border, they have both struggled in the last few years.? Some clubs have stopped using first team players in them and they maybe haven?t had the same standing in the football calendar as they used to.? The situation deserves a good review and the concept we are looking at is one that I think is a good one.? Why should we not connect the two tournaments??
He goes on to mention the possibility of Rangers playing someone like Manchester United or Chelsea, and suggests even lower league English opponents would provide something new for fans.? It?s a nice idea, but what happens if Rangers happen to be drawn away to Plymouth or another team that plays in the south of England?? It is just one of many reasons why a ?British Cup? will never happen.
One of the biggest problems facing the idea of a British Cup is the simple fact that the bigger clubs in England and Scotland don?t even like the League cup anyway.? Although Rangers and Celtic have a history of winning domestic trebles, they will still field weakened teams in the early stages, and both sets of fans will claim that it is a ?diddy cup anyway? if they happen to be knocked out of it early.? Very few Premier League clubs field strong teams for the first few rounds, and managers will say that the tournament was low on their list of priorities if they suffer a shock defeat.? Although ties such as Arsenal vs. Celtic or Rangers vs. Manchester City would be exciting ones, what about ties like Peterhead vs. Norwich, or Doncaster Rovers vs. Elgin City?? Any ties between English and Scottish clubs would mean long distances to travel, and would be very expensive round trips to watch games that just wouldn?t be that interesting.
I believe that more English clubs would favour the League Cup being scrapped altogether, rather than merging with the Scottish one.? Scrapping the League Cup would create room for up to six Premier League matches and give the FA a chance to introduce a winter break, something which seems to benefit clubs and countries in continental Europe?s premier leagues.? The same would be true for the SPL, although Scottish football needs a winter break because so many games get called off during the coldest part of the year.
Of course, Rangers and Celtic have never been shy about courting the Premier League and English football in the past.? Both clubs have previously made noises about joining the Premier League, but there has never been any interest in it from England.? The Premier League is doing perfectly well without the Old Firm, and it is unlikely that the police around England would be particularly happy with having to deal with both sets of fans every other weekend.? It is a strange thing that both clubs would rather seek escape from Scottish football than try to fix it.? As the country?s two biggest clubs, it should be up to the Old Firm to push for change, and try to regenerate interest, both financially and from fans, in the Scottish game.? The size and spending power of the two Glasgow clubs has done as much harm to Scottish football as any other problem it faces, but there seems to be no desire from either to work on positive changes for the game that would make it more competitive.
It is a good thing for Rangers that Ali Russell is looking at new ways to generate money for the club, but a British Cup would be a non-starter.? ?Instead, he should be focusing on finding new sponsors, as well as pushing for changes in Scottish football that can improve the product on the pitch.? Scottish football needs all the help it can get, and its two biggest clubs should be at the forefront of that.? There is nothing to be gained from this venture.
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