Overhaul of champions league

[QOS_MAD_ADMIN]

http://www.queenofthesouth-mad.co.uk...81/index.shtml

[Cresswell]

http://www.queenofthesouth-mad.co.uk...81/index.shtml

This may well be good news for Celtic (who have long advocated that entry to the Champions' League should be based on the record of individual clubs rather than on national co-efficients) but is it good news for Scottish football? The financial gap between Celtic and the elite clubs in Europe is currently huge. For example, it is widely claimed that this season Celtic will benefit from being in the group stage of the Champions' League by some £25m - £30m, a sum away beyond the wildest dreams of other clubs in Scotland. Manchester City, on the other hand, have sitting on the substitutes' bench a group of players who individually cost more than that. That is why Celtic cannot now mount a realistic challenge to these clubs even with this largesse year on year. Celtic's Chief Executive Officer is reported in today's press as being willing to spend this £25m - £30m on enhancing the playing strength of his club. This at a time when most other clubs in Scotland would struggle to spend £250k - £300k. The effect is likely to be that, just as Celtic cannot now challenge in Europe, no other club will be able to challenge Celtic's dominance of Scottish football with the financial gap between Celtic and the others increasing exponentially - ie the rich will get very much richer and the poor will simply get poorer. Some of you may argue that that is already the situation in Scotland but this may make an already bad situation even worse so I put to you again, "Is the proposed change healthy for Scottish football or will it simply precipitate Scottish football's demise?"