OPINION
Football Manager 2019 has predicted where Rangers and Celtic would finish in the Premier League if they were moved into the English top-flight this season – and English fans will be left in tears over many of their claims about Scottish football being rubbished.
Using Football Manager’s editing software, we were able to swap the two Old Firm rivals with two Premier League sides. In this case Fulham and Cardiff were moved out as they were the two lowest-placed teams from the season before.
The experiment threw up results that those in the East End of Glasgow may have expected, however it was a completely different story in Govan.
Steven Gerrard may have avoided being sacked, but in this version of events, Rangers were relegated with just 13 points – only two more than the worst total ever picked up by a Premier League team.
However Celtic were the story of the season as they not only avoided relegation but according to Football Manager’s simulation, they would finish in a respectable 14th place.
English football fans have criticised the strength of Scotland’s top-flight for a very, very long time and many would predict that Celtic would struggle in the Championship, let alone the Premier League.
However Football Manager has turned that theory on it’s head with this prediction as not only do the Hoops avoid the drop, but they also finish in a position that they could really grow from.
From here, the Bhoys would pick up vast sums of money from the Premier League’s mouthwatering TV rights and would more than likely become a team that tries to challenge the top-six.
One day it might happen in real life, but for now, Football Manager’s editing software is going to be the closest we will get.