The addition of the Old Firm to the Premiership is a ridiculously backward notion that threatens England`s chances of ever again lifting the World Cup or even winning the European Championship for the first time.
Recently the idea that the two Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers, could join the English Premier League has been raised again. It is an idea whose time has come and gone, but still one that is resurrected evey couple of years when the Premiership is searching for a form of change for change`s sake.
The idea is so outdated as to be embarrassing, largely because it is completely out of tune with today`s political realities. In addition, it could result in the disappearence of the English national football team (as well as those of the other 3 home nations).
Politically, the failure of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (and more recently the Lisbon Treaty) to receive approval from voters in certain European states are undoubtedly mere blips on the road to greater integration. The suggestion that the Old Firm join England goes against this trend.
More significantly, the Scottish Parliament is controlled by the Scottish National Party – committed to independence north of the border – while the Conservatives look highly likely to win the 2010 UK general election and simultaneously seem unlikely to improve on their current number of Scottish MPs (1 out of a possible 59).
The tension caused by an English right-wing party ruling a left-wing Scotland with no support there will only increase the strength of support for Scottish independence. There was a similar problem during Margaret Thatcher`s heyday, but at that time, Scottish constitutents were more significantly over-represented in Westminster (the “West Lothian question”).
Whether or not Scottish independence comes to pass within the next five to ten years, including Rangers and Celtic in the Sky-Setanta-Playstation-Coca Cola-Premiership can only be harmful for prospects of the future existence of an England team. At the moment, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have national teams despite the fact that they are part of one political state: the United Kingdom.
There are already many European FA voices opposing this situation (it is not unrelated that there is no GBR Olympic football team and the 2012 London Olympics will not see Englishmen playing our national sport). If the Old Firm join England`s league(s), it can only strengthen the argument that the home countries should lose their preferential status.
So, in other words, the already long odds on any future international success by “England” would lengthen to infinity with their non-existence. The Old Firm`s integration into English football is a proposal most likely to be supported by the richest “English” clubs (owned by Russians and Americans – hardly nations with great footballing histories), which will harm the national sides.
Moreover, why any Premiership team outside the G4 would want the Scottish teams in their league is also a mystery. As Motherwell chairman John Boyle recently said, “Turkeys don`t vote for Christmas”. Bolton`s chairman, Phil Gartside, sees a 36-team Premiership as the way forward. I disagree.
Gordon Strachan probably got it right a year and a half ago or so when he predicted a European league that included Celtic and Rangers. Football can not buck international trends and since European Union labour law has an important impact on the beautiful game, there is no reason to suggest that its meta-politics do not.
I hope that the G4 and Old Firm will float off into a European “super-league” that will prosper for a decade or so then suffer the ignominy of failure based on a fatal combination of distance and ennui. Hopefully the English Football League will have reorganised strongly enough by then to refuse the G4 back into the top tier and – if they are allowed reentry at all – they should start where United FC and AFC Wimbledon did – in the tenth tier of English football or below, with the most minor of the pantheon.
In the meantime, the Football League could change its laws to make the game fairer and more beneficial to the nation it is supposed to serve. A cap on player wages, protection from foreign ownership, a minimum number of home-grown players and a fairer distribution of TV money would be a good start.
Recently the idea that the two Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers, could join the English Premier League has been raised again. It is an idea whose time has come and gone, but still one that is resurrected evey couple of years when the Premiership is searching for a form of change for change`s sake.
The idea is so outdated as to be embarrassing, largely because it is completely out of tune with today`s political realities. In addition, it could result in the disappearence of the English national football team (as well as those of the other 3 home nations).
Politically, the failure of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (and more recently the Lisbon Treaty) to receive approval from voters in certain European states are undoubtedly mere blips on the road to greater integration. The suggestion that the Old Firm join England goes against this trend.
More significantly, the Scottish Parliament is controlled by the Scottish National Party – committed to independence north of the border – while the Conservatives look highly likely to win the 2010 UK general election and simultaneously seem unlikely to improve on their current number of Scottish MPs (1 out of a possible 59).
The tension caused by an English right-wing party ruling a left-wing Scotland with no support there will only increase the strength of support for Scottish independence. There was a similar problem during Margaret Thatcher`s heyday, but at that time, Scottish constitutents were more significantly over-represented in Westminster (the “West Lothian question”).
Whether or not Scottish independence comes to pass within the next five to ten years, including Rangers and Celtic in the Sky-Setanta-Playstation-Coca Cola-Premiership can only be harmful for prospects of the future existence of an England team. At the moment, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have national teams despite the fact that they are part of one political state: the United Kingdom.
There are already many European FA voices opposing this situation (it is not unrelated that there is no GBR Olympic football team and the 2012 London Olympics will not see Englishmen playing our national sport). If the Old Firm join England`s league(s), it can only strengthen the argument that the home countries should lose their preferential status.
So, in other words, the already long odds on any future international success by “England” would lengthen to infinity with their non-existence. The Old Firm`s integration into English football is a proposal most likely to be supported by the richest “English” clubs (owned by Russians and Americans – hardly nations with great footballing histories), which will harm the national sides.
Moreover, why any Premiership team outside the G4 would want the Scottish teams in their league is also a mystery. As Motherwell chairman John Boyle recently said, “Turkeys don`t vote for Christmas”. Bolton`s chairman, Phil Gartside, sees a 36-team Premiership as the way forward. I disagree.
Gordon Strachan probably got it right a year and a half ago or so when he predicted a European league that included Celtic and Rangers. Football can not buck international trends and since European Union labour law has an important impact on the beautiful game, there is no reason to suggest that its meta-politics do not.
I hope that the G4 and Old Firm will float off into a European “super-league” that will prosper for a decade or so then suffer the ignominy of failure based on a fatal combination of distance and ennui. Hopefully the English Football League will have reorganised strongly enough by then to refuse the G4 back into the top tier and – if they are allowed reentry at all – they should start where United FC and AFC Wimbledon did – in the tenth tier of English football or below, with the most minor of the pantheon.
In the meantime, the Football League could change its laws to make the game fairer and more beneficial to the nation it is supposed to serve. A cap on player wages, protection from foreign ownership, a minimum number of home-grown players and a fairer distribution of TV money would be a good start.
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