Scottish 3rd div is....

..equivalent to which league in the English League?

BSN/S or BSP?

Just curious.

I'd say the BSP.

I think it's actually somewhere between BSP and BSN or BSS.

The top teams players in the league are equal to league two the other teams players shouldnt even be classed as players

I wouldn't rank it that high. I'd argue the average quality in the Isthmian and Southern Premier were at least on a par, if not higher. London draws in lots of semi-pro talent from both home and abroad, which raises the bar for the numerous clubs in and around the M25. The top end of the Scottish Third might be competitive in the feeders, but the rest would struggle imo.

I agree with this post ^^^

Very hard to make a comparison. The Scottish 3rd Division is a fully part time league with players likely to be earning money between £50 and £100 a week. The Blue Square North has full time teams in it, while the Blue Square Premier is full time.

Average Crowds

Average Blue Square Premier crowds range from 4368 to 640

Average Blue Square North crowds range from 2067 to 180

Average Blue Square South crowds range from 2960 to 210

Average Scottish 3rd Division crowds range from 1152 to 327

The Blue Square Premier is equivalent to the Scottish 1st/2nd Division I would say in terms of playing standard.

In terms of club size and facilities, clubs in the Conference North / South would not be out of place in the Scottish 3rd Division or vice versa.

It's very likely that the people who watch Level 7 football in England know very little about the Scottish 3rd, and I'm sure it works the opposite way too. Scotland's football system is muddled anyway because of the lack of a pyramid. Clubs like my own (Pollok FC http://www.pollokfc.co.uk ) have players who have appeared at first team level in the Scottish Premier and we would not be the worst side if we were in the 3rd Division.

I would think the better teams could just survive in BSP and the worse teams, East Stirlinghshire are around mid table BSP/N standard

Thanks for the replies guys. I was just wondering if a job in BSN/BSS came along, whether it would be a step to the side/up or down.

Whivh tea.m are you at it depends on which team you're leaving and joining. Possibly ask in the BSP thread or a similar thread if there is one.

lets be honest apart from the scottish premiership the rest are terrible

why doesn't scotland just increase the top division to 20 teams and have the 2nd division with the rest?

lets be honest apart from the scottish premiership the rest are terrible

why doesn't scotland just increase the top division to 20 teams and have the 2nd division with the rest?

See a lot of Scottish lower league football in Yorkshire do you?

Just curious as to what you're basing your opinion on....

Im lucky to have a setanta subscription and have to say the BSP is horrible compared to the SPL and first division in scotland but 2nd division is worse than it.

as a fan of a team from BSN

i would say that my opinion is that BSP teams are the same level as scottish league 1 and BSN/BSS are the same level as scottish league 2

and SPL top 6 wuld be championship and bottom 6 league 1/2

obvisouly be exceptions with celtic and rangers

..equivalent to which league in the English League?

BSN/S or BSP?

Just curious.

If you're meaning in-game, the BSP has a reputation of 3 and the teams have an average reputation of 2200.

The Scottish 3rd division has a reputation of 2 with the teams having average reputation of around 2200 also.

See a lot of Scottish lower league football in Yorkshire do you?

Just curious as to what you're basing your opinion on....

i'm basing it on average attendances mate

i find it fairly ridiculous that if you grow up in scotland lets say stirling, instead of supporting stirling you choose rangers or celtic just because they are fairly close by and you couldn't possibly go through the agony of supporting a team that will get nowhere

some blue square premier teams get more than most scottish 1st division teams

i'm basing it on average attendances mate

i find it fairly ridiculous that if you grow up in scotland lets say stirling, instead of supporting stirling you choose rangers or celtic just because they are fairly close by and you couldn't possibly go through the agony of supporting a team that will get nowhere

some blue square premier teams get more than most scottish 1st division teams

Average attendances are always going to be smaller in Scotland though, it's a nation of five million people, compared to the fifty-odd million in England.

Unibond Premierleague

Check the official editor. It tells you in SI-speak the reputation of each division. You can see for yourself how ScotDiv 3 ranks alongside the lower English divisions.

i'm basing it on average attendances mate

i find it fairly ridiculous that if you grow up in scotland lets say stirling, instead of supporting stirling you choose rangers or celtic just because they are fairly close by and you couldn't possibly go through the agony of supporting a team that will get nowhere

some blue square premier teams get more than most scottish 1st division teams

Yes attendences = how good a team is lol

On this basis Rangers & Celtic are better than 90% of the EPL with only Arsenal and Man Utd better than them.

I'm amazed at how English people have an opinion on Scottish football when they will maybe, at most, see up to 4 games a year.

The only thing I agree with you on is all the fans of Rangers and Celtic who choose not to support their local team - shame on them however the same could be said about any major team worldwide.

Yes attendences = how good a team is lol

On this basis Rangers & Celtic are better than 90% of the EPL with only Arsenal and Man Utd better than them.

I'm amazed at how English people have an opinion on Scottish football when they will maybe, at most, see up to 4 games a year.

The only thing I agree with you on is all the fans of Rangers and Celtic who choose not to support their local team - shame on them however the same could be said about any major team worldwide.

Whatever, seeing as the majority of EPL teams would cream Rangers and Celtic any day, heck, I reckon a few Championship sides could give them a run for their money.

Whatever, seeing as the majority of EPL teams would cream Rangers and Celtic any day, heck, I reckon a few Championship sides could give them a run for their money.

What a strange thing to say.

I have no inclination towards British football at all. However, I find differences between footballing cultures interesting. So I checked the scoreboard of English clubs vs Scottish clubs in European competition; something you should've maybe did yourself.

In European club competitions, it is 10 victories apiece, and 8 draws. It's not an outdated figure either - since 2000 alone, it's 4 victories apiece with 2 draws.

Now seeing as only 5 or 6 clubs (I'm being generous) could win the EPL, I fail to see any substance in your opinion about the rest of them (and Championship LOL) competing with the top two scottish clubs, generally speaking.

Whatever, seeing as the majority of EPL teams would cream Rangers and Celtic any day, heck, I reckon a few Championship sides could give them a run for their money.

Even though we do well against the top four in the champions league every season fair enough man utd demolished celtic but who cant be demolished by them and we would walk the championship by far.

Whatever, seeing as the majority of EPL teams would cream Rangers and Celtic any day, heck, I reckon a few Championship sides could give them a run for their money.

Rangers and Celtic have both been UEFA Cup finalists in the past six years - Celtic knocked out Blackburn and Liverpool en route. Remind me when Wolves, Ipswich or Charlton did that....

Unibond Premierleague

About right, I'd think.

I'm on the board at a team i the Unibond League 1st division (Curzon Ashton). I've also watched a lot of lower league Scottish football over the years, following Stranraer (we've had a caravan up there for 15 years). I've often thought Curzon would have a shot against most Scottish division 3 sides. Indeed, from what I understand, the average wage bill in our division is higher than some teams in Scottish 3.

Honestly, Scottish lower league football is not a great standard.

well this arguement could go on forever but lets just say this...

if celtic and rangers both entered the premiership they would be a top 6 team maybe not top 4 but hang on due to them being massive clubs maybe in 2 years time of entering they would attract better players due to their spending power and club stature so they themselves could then challenge the top four

First of all, The Old Firm would not be a Championship side - they would be mid-table Premier League.

Secondly, the bottom half of the SPL would not be League 1 OR 2, it would be Championship(finishing mid-table there, maybe with the exception of Dundee United and Aberdeen).

Also, Scottish Division 1 is of much higher standard than the Blue Square Premier. Much, much better standard.

The SD1, is the equivalent to the Coca-Cola League 1, I'd say.

As for SD3, it is the equivalent to BSN(North>South, right?).

SD2 is CCL2, IMO.

That is all.

Before anybody argues, if you have ever watched a division one game, it is much better than BSP...

Oh, one more thing, the guy who posted the attendances...

Firstly, stadiums in Scotland are much smaller - one of the stadium near my house, Cliftonhill(Albion Rovers, SD3, check it out on FM), only has 1 functioning stand, because the opposite stand is sinking. =\ It holds about 100 people, now. Only about 50 are seated from that.

The Scottish population is much smaller, also.

The prices to see a Rangers or Celtic game is much smaller than that of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool etc. - therefore, instead of watching an SD1 game, they can go see a Rangers/Celtic game. Or Aberdeen, for example, if they live up north.

This all means that people are more obliged to ignore the SD1/2/3, and watch SPL games. Whereas, in England, people are put off by the large price tags, which come with watching one or two games, and so go and watch local football...

Old Firm = Mid-table Premier League

Rest Of SPL(4th, 5th, 6th at least) = Mid-table Championship

Scottish Division 1 = Coca-Cola League 1

Scottish Division 2 = Coca-Cola League 2/Blue Square Premier

Scottish Division 3 = Blue Square North

That is all.

First of all, The Old Firm would not be a Championship side - they would be mid-table Premier League.

Secondly, the bottom half of the SPL would not be League 1 OR 2, it would be Championship(finishing mid-table there, maybe with the exception of Dundee United and Aberdeen).

Also, Scottish Division 1 is of much higher standard than the Blue Square Premier. Much, much better standard.

The SD1, is the equivalent to the Coca-Cola League 1, I'd say.

As for SD3, it is the equivalent to BSN(North>South, right?).

SD2 is CCL2, IMO.

That is all.

Before anybody argues, if you have ever watched a division one game, it is much better than BSP...

Oh, one more thing, the guy who posted the attendances...

Firstly, stadiums in Scotland are much smaller - one of the stadium near my house, Cliftonhill(Albion Rovers, SD3, check it out on FM), only has 1 functioning stand, because the opposite stand is sinking. =\ It holds about 100 people, now. Only about 50 are seated from that.

The Scottish population is much smaller, also.

The prices to see a Rangers or Celtic game is much smaller than that of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool etc. - therefore, instead of watching an SD1 game, they can go see a Rangers/Celtic game. Or Aberdeen, for example, if they live up north.

This all means that people are more obliged to ignore the SD1/2/3, and watch SPL games. Whereas, in England, people are put off by the large price tags, which come with watching one or two games, and so go and watch local football...

Old Firm = Mid-table Premier League

Rest Of SPL(4th, 5th, 6th at least) = Mid-table Championship

Scottish Division 1 = Coca-Cola League 1

Scottish Division 2 = Coca-Cola League 2/Blue Square Premier

Scottish Division 3 = Blue Square North

That is all.

Quite agree with much of your post, particularly in relation to the Old Firm and attendances. However, I refer you to my earlier post - the bottom end of the Scottish league isn't up to even Blue Square North standard. My experience of Scottish football is that the standard drops off sharply after the SPL and the top half of division 1.

Quite agree with much of your post, particularly in relation to the Old Firm and attendances. However, I refer you to my earlier post - the bottom end of the Scottish league isn't up to even Blue Square North standard. My experience of Scottish football is that the standard drops off sharply after the SPL and the top half of division 1.

Well, I don't see a lot of Championship football, but what I can say, is that the top half of SD1, Livingston, St. Johnstone, Dundee FC(not to be confused with United) and Partick Thistle have all played in the SPL in the past 7 or so years, and as such, should still be there. But seem to be finding it difficult performing consistently.

They would definitely be contending for about 10th-16th in the Championship, I would say.

The rest of SD1, like Clyde, Ross County and Airdrie, are of poorer standards, definitely. They would be fighting relegation every season, or playing for the play-offs, if they were CCL1, IMO.

Also, there's one thing I would also like to add, which is more personal.

Somebody commented that 'If you live in Stirling, you would rather go watch Rangers or Celtic, than support a local team'.

Well, yes, obviously... because I'm a Rangers/Celtic fan. Why else?

No, I'm not a 'glory-hunter'. I've been a fan all my life, my dad has been a fan all of his life, and my dad's dad was a fan all of his life.

That means that my family has been supporting Rangers for well over 80 years.

So to call me a glory-hunter would be silly. Especially seeing as 80 years ago, Rangers and Celtic were only beginning to be recognised.

Aberdeen, for example, could be classed as glory-hunting, by your standards.

They had a very successful era under Fergie, and probably gained a huge fanbase.

I could easily have supported them - but I don't, because my family have supported Rangers for decades.

Perhaps even a century, I don't know.

Lower than the BSN/BSS.

The SPL is only League 1 standard IMO

Lower than the BSN/BSS.

The SPL is only League 1 standard IMO

LOL, what a funny character.

You are joking, right?

Rangers and Celtic, in the past few years(not including this season), have strongly competed in Europe.

Finishing in the Last 16 for the past 3 seasons, Celtic have done brilliantly. Beating AC Milan, who were excellent 2 seasons ago, and doing well against other teams such as Liverpool. Making a UEFA Cup Final, Celtic were unlucky to eventually lose out.

Rangers haven't done quite as well, finishing in the last 16 only 2 years in a row, before drawing arguably, the toughest group in the past 5 years. German Champions Stuttgart, French Champions Lyon, and although they weren't champions of Spain, Barcelona(champions or not, still one of the best teams in the World, no doubts).

This, therefore, lead Rangers to finish 3rd in their group, and finish in a UEFA Cup Final, where they were unfortunate to lose 2-0. But still done well to get that far.

To say Rangers/Celtic wouldn't even be PL is stupid.

I appreciate that you said 'SPL', but you didn't make any exceptions for the Old Firm.

Also, the thing with the SPL is, that there are 3/4 teams which can finish 3rd.

Hearts, Hibernian, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Motherwell, have all done particularly well in the past 5 years. Do it would be difficult to say where they would be. Probably a yo-yo team, if you ask me.