Football clubs merging

[Goaters]

Have a Southampton supporter as a mate and he just sent me this link and was ranting and raving as to the cheek of the author, it however has got me thinking that in the current financial climate and with seemingly a number of clubs close to extinction could local clubs merge together.

It will be a touchy subject but would fans not be able to accept 2 local financially insecure clubs joining together to enhance the prospects and chances of getting bigger and reaching the bright lights of the premiership.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article6036576.ece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 036576.ece</a>

 

[Wheelsy]

Happened in the NRL and I'll tell you what it's a whole lot easier to swallow than your club just dropping off the face of the earth.

 

[Bigga]

Have a Southampton supporter as a mate and he just sent me this link and was ranting and raving as to the cheek of the author, it however has got me thinking that in the current financial climate and with seemingly a number of clubs close to extinction could local clubs merge together.

It will be a touchy subject but would fans not be able to accept 2 local financially insecure clubs joining together to enhance the prospects and chances of getting bigger and reaching the bright lights of the premiership.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article6036576.ece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 036576.ece</a>

Wasn't there some horrific advert that used us and the Scum in some mock joining of clubs? Pretty sure it was Bud-un-wiser...

 

[masterwig]

They tried it in rugby league and it didn't work.

Southampton and Portsmouth are too far apart for it to work. It would only work if the clubs were close to each other and not total enemies. I could see it happening in London with some of the smaller clubs there. I don't see much possibility of it happening elsewhere.

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

I'm not sure it could ever work here, look at when Maxwell tried it with Reading and Oxford(2 teams that don't really have a real dislike for each other even thought they are not that far away geographically). I have to say, I would love to see Swansea and Cardiff merged they could make home games a pay for view event!

 

[BingoBango]

Merging teams is a bit of a no-no, really. The only successful one I can think of was when Inverness Thistle merged with Inverness Caledonian to form ICT, but there's still some bitterness surrounding that.

It wouldn't be much of a merger though, would it? Southampton have a brand-spanking new stadium, Portsmouth have rickety old Fratton Park. There is literally no advantage in it for Portsmouth. It'd be like City merging with Blackburn (saints preserve us!)

 

[u2fme2]

it would never happen