Celtic v Manchester United on a regular basis? Could it happen? Should it happen?
Something has to be done regarding football north of the border. Scottish football is perilously close to losing one of its two prized assets and if crowd figures at the weekend are anything to go by, interest in watching anyone other than the auld firm is fairly non- existent.
Only at Tynecastle, where Hearts entertained Rangers did a crowd of over five figures witness one of the six SPL games this weekend.
Obviously, with both Rangers and Celtic playing away from home, the figure is smaller than when one of the Glasgow giants entertain in the city. It does however highlight how dependent the Scottish clubs are on the Glasgow sides, as an average of just over 7,500 across the top division games is certainly not sustainable.
With the uncertainty surrounding the situation at Rangers, next season could see one of the most one sided league outcomes ever, and in a league that has been regularly won by huge margins, that really is saying something.
It may now be time that the Scottish FA have to become one of the most forward thinking associations in the world to get themselves out of this mess.
If Celtic do not have any credible challengers over the next few seasons, it is going to be hard to keep any sort of interest going in Scottish football, even for the most diehard of fans.
Inevitably, the discussion around Celtic joining the English leagues will start doing the rounds again. And this year, there is an anomaly in the Premier League which has not occurred since the inception of the league twenty years ago; a non English team. I think the question again needs to be asked. If a Welsh team can be in the Premier league, then why not a Scottish one?
It is possible, and will have been noted, that if Cardiff City manage to get promotion through the play off’s that there could be two Welsh teams in the Premier League next season.
Without wishing to belittle the contribution of Swansea and potentially Cardiff, I believe the majority of neutral football fans would find having the Glasgow sides, rather than the South Walian sides dining at footballs top table a much more appetising proposition.
So, will the SFA look at the prospect of losing their top sides for the good of the Scottish game? Doubtful, but there is no question that Celtic would rather have the cream of the Premier League playing at Parkhead every second week than the majority of sides in the SPL.
It is a sad reality that the rest of the SPL would struggle in the Championship so having some of the best sides in the world grace Glasgow could give Scottish Football a well needed shot in the arm.
Obviously there would be some fall out from this, with the sides remaining feeling like they had gotten the short end of the stick. There could be an upside though, if dealt with with enough creativity.
Would it be possible that more SPL clubs could get exposure to European club football? It is also possible that the three trophies that they have in Scotland could be shared out more than they are at present.
People like watching successful sides and while there would be no guarantee if the Glasgow teams were able to move they would be a success in the Premier League, an unpredictable and varied SPL could rejuvenate what is now a stale and quite frankly boring procession.
Has the SFA got what it takes to broach the subject? Again, it’s doubtful.
Celtic are known to want to expand their fan base and their global brand, and playing in the SPL, they realise, will not do this.
The SFA should now throw their entire weight behind getting their best clubs into the best competitions that they can, for the good of the Scottish game. It has been proven by their Welsh counterparts that more than survival can be achieved, and the addition of at least one of the Glasgow sides would benefit the majority.
There would be many obstacles to cross, and the Premier League clubs themselves have made it clear that they do not see this happening. Again, this is a short sighted and self preservation centred view.
I do not think however that it would be correct to parachute them directly into the top division.
A couple of years ago, in these very pages I put forward an outlandish scenario of the Glasgow clubs entering one of the lower English leagues, and “doing a Wimbledon” and climbing up through the divisions. I still think that this is at least a negotiation starting point.
The exact league that they are put into could be one of the stipulations of how the English clubs are placated, whilst the Scottish clubs look to change their league structure to accommodate the impending departure.
Playing in both leagues could be the answer, if they are placed in a low enough English league, we could see a natural metamorphosis from one league to the other. Reserve sides could possibly still play in the SPL. .
However it is worked, the current situation in Scotland is in dire need of repair and rejuvenation. A radical change is required, something which will give the footballing folk of Scotland both a league that is competitive, and the big games which they are so desperate for.
image: © Tom Brogan
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