The recent news that Bolton Wanderers' chairman,Phil Gartside,sent a proposal to the F.A. regarding a change in the structure of the Premier League by introducing Scottish football heavyweights Celtic and Rangers,has sparked negative controversy amongst the fourteen of the twenty Premier League clubs,with the majority of them believing it would be a very bad move.It has been quoted that FA's response via the almost unanimous vote made by the top tier clubs said that the move was "not desirable,nor viable".It is obvious now that the domestic competition up north in Scotland is not  very good.

Phil Gartside,the chairman of Bolton Wanderers and a member of the F.A. Board,made a plan of splitting the league into two divisions with eighteen strong Premier League clubs (with new ones joining) and a massive thirty-six clubs joining the English top flight,of which would allow the Scottish clubs to join and be part of it,merging the two together.This has popped up before,with Celtic's majority shareholder,Dermot Desmond,predicting in four to five years that two of the Scottish Premier League's big boys will be in the Premier League.That hasn't changed a bit.UEFA have said that they would not veto Gartside's proposed move and leave it to the English F.A. to make their decision on whether or not too accept it.Gartside's radical plans have failed,with most chairmen rejecting his proposal in which would "ruin" the tradition of the Premier League.It was said to allow the England team more space in the international break for their World Cup qualifying matches in the winter and get back the teams fit.

This new Premier League system would come in resemblance to the American football league,the NFL,which has a system of two divisions,with thirty-two of the teams being split sixteen each into the American Football League,the AFL,and the National Football League,the NFL.The system breaks down again with their being conferences,splitting into North,East,South and West for both divisions.Teams in the AFL face of against each other with the NFL doing the same,in which they would qualify in a mini-tournament to make it to the famous "Super Bowl" which has deep roots in the U.S. sport.

The Major League Soccer system,commonly shortened to the MLS,is the same,with the teams splitting up into divisions with a season being played and then teams qualifying to the final of the championship,known as the MLS Cup.

The MLS was introduced in 1993,with plans to becoming an international powerhouse league with the English Premier League,France's Ligue 1,Germany's Bundesliga,Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.So far there has been little progress made and the only thing making national phenomenon worth talking about here in Europe,is David Beckham's career at the Hollywood-based club,L.A. Galaxy.

This was brought into the media spotlight back into the finishing stages of April,with it taking several months for a decision to be made by the F.A. and has come back with negative reviews.Most have said that the proposed move being undesirable and unviable.Undesirable,meaning that the Premier League will have lost it's place in being one of Europe's top five leagues and many will not watch it because,one,it would be a bit too complicated for people to understand and take a few seasons for it to sink in to their minds,two,most fans of clubs would prefer having the traditional domestic competitions being kept seperate,and three,a possible chance of the Scottish and English FA becoming a much more stronger football association,with Wales having a possible chance of merging too,with Championship clubs,Cardiff and Swansea,proposing themselves in becoming a part of Gartside's extreme plans - especially with the fact that most Scottish fans would argue why Wales are allowed to compete in English footballing competitions and they aren't.And,unviable,meaning that the season schedules taking a dramatic change,with English and possibly Welsh clubs having to travel all the way to the likes of Celtic Park,the Ibrox and even Tynecastle in which would be too much.

It has been said that this move,propsed by Phil Gartside,would benefit both Celtic and Rangers because,one,they will gain a massive financial windfall of which they will become richer and a bigger club,and two,they will be able to compete for Champions League spots a lot more easier,rather than having to qualify every year,despite one of them finishing top.Even so,Manchester United,Arsenal,Chelsea and Liverpool have dominated the top four spots for the past decade,with 'moneybags' Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur becoming hot contenders to make their debuts in the European competition.Despite Celtic having made the Champions League year in,year out,if they were to become a Premier League club,they would not have to suffer against the top English clubs like they have done in the past to the likes of Manchester United,which the club's battles on the European stage being classed as the 'Battle of Britain' at times and recently Arsenal,who's controversial penalty decision in their last encounter has sparked a small rivalry,especially with the Gunners' Brazilian striker Eduardo against the Glaswegian fans,diving to get the decision from the referee.

Let's look at some pro's and con's about the Bolton Wanderers' and F.A. Board member's plans:

Pro's:

- It will allow a chance for English clubs to face their Scottish neighbours more often domestically,rather than having to wait for the pre-season to arrive after the end of the season or qualifications to the UEFA Champions League to have a go at each other.
- Both Rangers and Celtic will not have to go through with playing two-horse race season time and time again and have more of a chance to prove themselves.Both teams have countless league titles between them,and would definately have a chance of winning the Premier League after ten years if the F.A. reconsider.
- The Scottish clubs would not have to 'suffer' against the likes of English top flight bigwigs Manchester United,Arsenal,Chelsea and Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League and become massive underdogs as the 'Top Four' clubs cruise through the group stages once again.
- It would provide a commerical windfall for the two clubs and give them a chance to compete with the bigger clubs of Europe in being able to afford more quality players,rather than waiting for the player's contracts to run out and then make an offer on a free transfer.

Con's:

- Many would argue that it would disrupt the tradition of domestic leagues and make the Premier League a 'less desirable' league to watch.
- Hooliganism would become a much more bigger problem.When Celtic and Rangers face off against each other,they are more like to get into fights and riots against each other,or even against other teams that are not even Scottish,such as Manchester United,Arsenal,Chelsea,Liverpool,West Ham United,Millwall and etc.
- It would become more confusing to the fans of the clubs as to how the league works and have to take a few seasons to sink in to their minds.
- Celtic and Rangers,when they become bigger and stronger,would have an easier chance of getting into the UEFA Europa League and Champions League spots,in which would,yes,see the breaking of the 'Top Four' but would have the Scottish clubs re-kindling their success in Europe come back again,like they did before in their histories.

My Opinion and Conclusion:

Opinion:

I think that this proposal made by Phil Gartside is interesting,but quite a bad thing for football.Yes,it would help Scottish football a lot and have them not playing 'boring football' anymore,but we should keep the beautiful game traditional here in England,if it has not already been tried in other countries with football governing bodies.And yes,Wales do have a chance to play in English football competitions,but that is only because there are stronger royal roots between the two countries that allows them to play in the tiers of football.Prince and Princess Charles and Diana of Wales are high in royalty in England and are considered very important.This would be a bad idea if it's given the nod.

Conclusion:

I would conclude that there be a 'Home Nations Cup' tournament,like in rugby,in which,let's say the top six clubs of England,Scotland,Wales and the Republic of Ireland of each season compete in a twenty-four club tournament of which the winner is given a lump-sum reward at the end (Let's say £5million with half of the winnings going to a selected charity) and it being hosted by one of the four nations at their biggest stadiums,such as Wembley,the Millenium Stadium,Croke Park and Hampden Park.This would give Celtic and Rangers the windfall that they would find in the Premier League and give the respective managers a better chance in the transfer market to capture better players and then qualify into the Champions League with better squads.And this would also see great fixtures between,Arsenal vs. Celtic,Manchester United vs. Celtic,Chelsea vs. Rangers and Liverpool vs. Rangers and even create history because the tournament would see England's top four clubs face off against Scotland's finest and most decorated clubs in the country's footballing history.

Tell me what you think by commenting.