Would Celtic win the Championship?

[norwichsteve 1]

What do you think?

[Terminally Yellow 2,614]

They'd be very close.

The side they have right now is very technically capable. The Japanese lads they have (forget their names) are excellent, and I think will end up in the Premier League. Jota is the sort of player that on his day can be amazing.

They remind me a little bit of Leeds Utd under Bielsa in the style of football they play. 

I suspect they might come a bit undone by a defence which could be a bit better, but offensively they'd compete with anyone in this league comfortably. 

[canarydan23 4,762]

They'd win it at a canter. And once in the Prem, they'd soon end up competitive there. Not straight away, but the huge jump in TV cash, combined with their global appeal and average attendances bettered only by  four clubs in the EPL, I think they'd be knocking on the top 4 within 3 seasons.

[cambridgeshire canary 7,798]

Would be top six, go up via the playoffs then finish rock bottom in the prem 

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

The way they were much better than us for the most of yesterday's game, I really hope that they would win the Chumps at a canter. Otherwise, this season might not be the cakewalk anticipated by some.

They were better prepared, better organised and more skilled all-round than a rather under-cooked City.

I still think that Smith will get us up again, one way or another, and that things will soon come together for his team, but I do have some moments of scary doubt.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,618]

2 hours ago, canarydan23 said:

They'd win it at a canter. And once in the Prem, they'd soon end up competitive there. Not straight away, but the huge jump in TV cash, combined with their global appeal and average attendances bettered only by  four clubs in the EPL, I think they'd be knocking on the top 4 within 3 seasons.

This. With their current squads they'd probably just about survive a relegation battle in the Premier League, but after a couple of years with Premier League money coming in, they'd be on a similar level to where Arsenal and Spurs are now.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man

[KiwiScot 1,684]

Yes, but maybe not straight away, but seems likely to be. Same with Rangers. However recruitment long term would be an issue if they were to find themselves in the championship and they'd need to rely on a short term large cash investment to get them up. Both Glasgow clubs basically recruit to beat each other and to compete in Europe. Another common tactic has been to hover up the better players from the Scottish Premier to take them away from teams that might challenge them or stop the other one getting them.

Take the european money away and the players especially up and coming ones dry up and your squad that needs to beat Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen 3-4 times a season now needs to beat Norwich, Fulham, West Brom, Watford as well as a league with teams at a much more consistent level than the Scottish ones.

They both have a large fan base that goes beyond 60k in a stadium which would work to their advantage and likely a larger TV deal would maybe follow them so outside of a short large cash investment to get them into the Premier League they'd slowly bulid up a team to get promoted

[Capt. Pants 5,011]

No. Celtic aren't used to playing against strong opposition over a 46 game season. They'd have to adjust their squad accordingly. 

[The Raptor 1,573]

The old firm are just bullies. They're well supported so have a bit more cash and just buy the best players from the Scottish leagues. They mostly fail in Europe. Yeah they beat us but it was a meaningless pre season game. 

Hopefully it will never happen. There are so many English teams that deserve a place more. If they want to play in the English leagues start in conference north or lower. Work their way up on merit. Would take them years. 

 

[Captain Holt 580]

They would win the championship at an absolute canter. They just beat the heavy favourites who were relatively full strength without breaking a sweat. Ignorant and arrogant to think otherwise.

[HB1989 28]

They would do very well and probably be in top 2, but you just have to look at our midfield yesterday. 3 central midfielders in Cantwell, Sinani and McLean. It was always going to get over run. That's the area that we lost the game. They were at full strength and we wasn't in midfield which is usually where you win and lose matches.

[Canaries north 155]

The problem is when you only have one real rival to compete with every season. Rangers and Celtic can go very top heavy. Their first team would be very competitive but without the luxury of being able to rest and rotate players for most of the season the full squad would be their problem. They would be top six for me but not sure they would win it. Call that ignorant and arrogant if you want but that is also the opinion of my Rangers friend about both teams up there. Financially most teams in the Championship can compete with the old firm but have to spread the quality through the squad. 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Canaries north

[Yobocop 1,444]

3 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Would be top six, go up via the playoffs then finish rock bottom in the prem 

They would survive comfortably in the prem 

[Worthy Nigelton 1,301]

They'd be thereabouts in the Champs and eventually be okay in the Prem. Talk of them winning the Champs at a canter right now are wide of the mark though.

[Midlands Yellow 4,682]

11 minutes ago, Yobocop said:

They would survive comfortably in the prem 

Agreed, 60,000 packed in for home matches and lots more money to play with. 

[Branston Pickle 4,150]

I don’t think they would win it, but would be in the top 6. Ultimately the overall ability in the Champs is way better than the majority of the SPL.  They beat us closely at home in their final preseason game, big deal. 

[Badger 2,745]

3 hours ago, BroadstairsR said:

The way they were much better than us for the most of yesterday's game, I really hope that they would win the Chumps at a canter. Otherwise, this season might not be the cakewalk anticipated by some.

They were better prepared, better organised and more skilled all-round than a rather under-cooked City.

I still think that Smith will get us up again, one way or another, and that things will soon come together for his team, but I do have some moments of scary doubt.

Has anyone really said this? They would have to be very naïve to do so - the Championship is always a battle.

[HazzaJet 267]

If they were moved to the English Championship for this season I can see them finishing in the top 6, but can’t see them winning the title. Everyone says about how uncompetitive the SPL is as the title is always solely between Celtic and Rangers, and I think most of the teams would struggle in the English Championship. Celtic often exit Europe at the group stage, simply because their players are inexperienced due to weakness of their league opposition. If Celtic’s squad got a year or two of good Championship experience though I do believe they could become strong title contenders. If by chance they did get promoted this season I think next season they would face a relegation battle in the EPL though

 

[Monty13 2,736]

Possibly but not easily, I don’t think their squad is notably stronger than some top championship sides.

However I agree with others, if they got to the Prem and survived they’d quickly establish themselves as a just on the edge of Top 6 club.

 

[Lessingham Canary 108]

The “ugly sisters” as they are referred to in Scotland would do ok in the Championship and would make it into the Premier league, but would struggle at that level over a season. They simply aren’t used to more than a handful of competitive matches per season. Imo

[Mason 47 1,925]

The Championship is a war of attrition, which takes a very different mentality to sleepwalking through 90% of your matches and the title essentially coming down to a 1v1 set of results.

I think they'd struggle for a month or two, but once they adjusted to the pace they'd blow it away. You can see their forward line is a cut above. Get to the Premier and they'd sit comfortably around the euro slots.

[The Real Buh 3,765]

They’d end up like us 🤣🤣 we are kin

[chicken 3,087]

No. If we are going by yesterday, top 6 perhaps.

They'd have to do a lot better than yesterday.

[The Raptor 1,573]

How many of their team are there because of European football? I know they often get out of it as early as possible but the guarantee of it surely stops a few players from moving on? I'd say a couple of years in English football without that would make them weaker.

[glory.win or die. 273]

Would Marseille?

I think most of us would say yes, but us beating then 3-0 means little

[shefcanary 2,955]

5 hours ago, KiwiScot said:

Yes, but maybe not straight away, but seems likely to be. Same with Rangers. However recruitment long term would be an issue if they were to find themselves in the championship and they'd need to rely on a short term large cash investment to get them up. Both Glasgow clubs basically recruit to beat each other and to compete in Europe. Another common tactic has been to hover up the better players from the Scottish Premier to take them away from teams that might challenge them or stop the other one getting them.

Take the european money away and the players especially up and coming ones dry up and your squad that needs to beat Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen 3-4 times a season now needs to beat Norwich, Fulham, West Brom, Watford as well as a league with teams at a much more consistent level than the Scottish ones.

They both have a large fan base that goes beyond 60k in a stadium which would work to their advantage and likely a larger TV deal would maybe follow them so outside of a short large cash investment to get them into the Premier League they'd slowly bulid up a team to get promoted

Agree with this. The Old Firm would only join the Chumps if they retained their Scottish European qualifications - this is not possible under current legislation. If they were allowed to join the EPL direct they'd obviously prefer that, even if they lost those Scottish European places, but in England there would be near universal opposition. I do wonder why both clubs didn't ride the ESL train - I assume the arrogance of the 12 founders toward the quality of Scottish football? Long term I see this as the only route they would be able to compete in another league.

So interesting question but will never be tested.

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

7 hours ago, Badger said:

Has anyone really said this? They would have to be very naïve to do so - the Championship is always a battle.

The positivity/negativity ratio on this forum seems pretty evenly divided, perhaps. With may be a slight leaning towards the positive.

Most of us are cautiously optimistic of success, I would say. We can all have moments of doubt, and this weekend hasn't helped in that respect.

Funnily enough,  I had just previously stumbled upon a few of those bloggers from various Chumps teams who broadcast on YouTube. This is the time that they give their season's predictions. Two out of the three predicted City to end up top, whilst the other had us play-offs. I believe that the bookies also agree with that general view.

Not much, you might say, except that today I note that the much admired Benjamin Bloom also has us as favourites. Some will know that BB is an Ipswich fan who now specialises in Championship matters, has made a point of knowing his stuff and can be quite informative for those of us not quite up to par for that league. City fans who follow him can respect his lack of bias, despite his binner background.

Quite a few predictions will flounder, it seems, should we not do well.

Edited July 24, 2022 by BroadstairsR

[Canaries north 155]

10 hours ago, Yobocop said:

They would survive comfortably in the prem 

If they had prem TV money. I think the question is with the money the have now and the squad they have now. In my opinion they are no where near premier League standard now. Put them both on premiership TV money and you would think top half. 

[Midlands Yellow 4,682]

Celtic and Rangers would survive in the Premier League with all that extra revenue. Have many been to watch either in a big match? Their support really would be the epitome of the 12th man when needed. 

[wcorkcanary 4,784]

19 hours ago, The Real Buh said:

They’d end up like me 🤣🤣  I am kin stupid.

Sorted. 😇