PLAYING in England may be the Holy Grail for the Old Firm
But will it ever happen? My cup is only half-full.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Celtic and Rangers in the English Premier League.
As we all know, they’re enormous clubs. Given time and resources, they’re also more than capable of competing with England’s very best.
But when Celtic majority shareholder Dermot Desmond says he can see it happening within 10 years, I can’t help but think he’s speaking in hope rather than expectation.
The fact is that the Premier League doesn’t want the Old Firm. That has been firmly established.
As recently as 2009, Rangers and Celtic were told to sling their hook in an emphatic vote against their admittance.
Nothing has happened to change Premier League chairmen’s and owners’ minds since.
The fact remains asking English clubs outside of the top five or six to welcome the Glasgow giants is like inviting a gang of turkeys to vote for Christmas.
Mr Desmond’s new message of hope which was swiftly and unsurprisingly echoed by Rangers boss Mark Warburton seems to lie in the potential for a breakaway over TV revenues led by the Premier League’s big boys.
Such is the power of the top dogs, argues the Celts supremo, that they will inevitably follow the lead of Read Madrid, Barcelona and the top Italian clubs and demand a greater share of broadcast cash than their smaller rivals.
That may turn out to be the case and that may provide an opportunity for the Old Firm.
But, for the life of me, I just can’t see it happening within a decade.
I think, if the Old Firm are to get their wish, it’s going to take at least DOUBLE the time Mr Desmond hopes it will.
And even then it’s dependent on the goodwill of English clubs.
At the moment, the likes of Stoke City, West Brom and Crystal Palace are all much stronger than Celtic and Rangers.
But would it stay that way if the Old Firm had their television cash? I doubt it.
Certainly for broadcasters, I can see the appeal of Mr Desmond’s plan. It’s an easy sell.
But until Scotland’s biggest clubs can convince their English counterparts to buy what THEY are selling, the status quo will remain.
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