Fantasy Football Management

OLD FIRM THREATEN SCOTTISH LEAGUE WALKOUT

PFM LIKELY DESTINATION FOR GLASGOW GIANTS

by Mark Chang for PFM News

EXCLUSIVE - Scottish Premier League giants Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic have threatened a walkout from the league, and are considering applying to join the Premier Football Management league, according to a high-ranking official from the Scottish Football Association.

SFA officials are concerned with the threat, after the giants from Glasgow pulled out of a deal to show SPL games live on television through the Sky Sports network. And it has emerged that the other ten SPL clubs - among them Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian - are considering applying to PFM themselves to ensure their financial survivor.

The SFA official told PFM News, "it's certainly the biggest crisis which has faced Scottish football in our recent history. We have a lot of clubs who are not satisfied by what has gone on lately, and to tell you the truth, members of the SFA generally agree."

It is believed that Rangers chairman David Murray has already made tentative enquiries into the legal ramifications of a move into the PFM league, while Hearts manager Craig Levein is a known supporter of the PFM league combining with the SPL.

Already rumours are rife that the SFA, struggling with financial problems, has considered merging with the hugely successful PFM league, which has taken the world by storm with an emotion-filled first season since replacing the old England FA. And the SFA official, who prefers to remain anonymous, has backed up these claims.

"Yes, we have looked at the viability of merging with the PFM league," he said, "but we have made no official enquiries to anyone at PFM House. We are not in as bad a financial situation as many media outlets are making out, the league has the resources to run viably for many more years, but it is the future of the individual clubs for which we fear the most."

With PFM's very own television channel PFM Sports beaming action from the league live into millions of homes worldwide, and with a firm financial base to work from, it could well be a very viable option for the Scottish clubs to form a 'British Superleague' with the clubs of PFM.

The official rejected claims that a merge was imminent though. "UEFA has already stated that Scottish clubs would have great difficulty in playing in England. If you add to this we could possibly lose our place as an association within FIFA and UEFA, and lose our European places...there are many things to consider."

This issue is sure to have tongues wagging, as PFM officials refuse to announce their expansion plans for the future. Could 'the world game' see a combination of two of the oldest leagues in the world into one superleague? Only time will tell in what is sure to be the talking point of the European off-season.