9 days to go
Some interesting pre-season scores allow us to compare the English and Scottish premiership standards. And I think you'll like them:
Livingston 3-2 Newcastle
Dundee Utd 1-0 Everton
Interesting, isn't it. And of course Celtic's 4-0 drubbing by Manchester Utd is completely irrelevant as that game took place in the USA where they wear excessive protective padding when they play football.
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| Crowd trouble |
As part of our fascinating comparison of the Premiership and the English Barclaycard Premiership, we have investigated the relative attendances in each division during the 2002/03 season, and put together a table showing all 32 teams from the two leagues listed in order of average attendance.
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Manchester United
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67,601
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Celtic
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57,473
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Newcastle United
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51,923
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Rangers
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48,814
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Liverpool
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43,242
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Chelsea
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39,784
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Sunderland
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39,698
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Leeds United
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39,119
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Everton
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38,480
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Arsenal
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38,041
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Tottenham Hotspur
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35,897
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Aston Villa
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34,975
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Manchester City
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34,564
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West Ham United
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34,432
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Middlesbrough
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31,025
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Southampton
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30,680
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Birmingham City
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28,883
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West Bromwich Albion
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26,730
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Charlton Athletic
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26,255
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Blackburn Rovers
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26,225
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Bolton Wanderers
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25,016
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Fulham
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16,707
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Hearts
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12,058
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Aberdeen
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11,744
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Hibernian
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10,157
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Dundee United
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7,647
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Kilmarnock
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7,408
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Dundee
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7,399
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Livingston
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6,828
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Dunfermline
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6,127
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Motherwell
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6,085
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Partick
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5,658
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Mmm - Celtic 2nd and Rangers 4th showing just big the Old Firm really are. And then the rest of the SPL soundly at the bottom showing... well, I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. It makes pretty grim reading actually. And the 3nd best supported team in England, Liverpool, have an average gate some 24,000 less than Man Utd. It's no wonder Man U always win.
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| Low cost airline |
Celtic's cost-cutting measures have really gone too far. Not only have they not signed anyone this summer but the rubber band broke on their EasyJet plane leaving the team stranded in Lithuania.
A chance to stay on in Lithuania for another night - those lucky, lucky lads! If Dermot Desmond was stuck there too, maybe it'll help to release some funds for the transfer market.
7:54:20 PM 
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