The Premier League’s 20 chairman have dismissed a proposal to introduce Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers into the English game. Chris Thomas says the idea should be banished forever.

In a rare exhibition of common sense the chairmen of the 20 Premier League clubs have rejected plans from Bolton’s chairman Phil Gartside to bring Celtic and Rangers into English football.

I’ll be the first to admit that some innovative thinking is required to help solve the ills of the game in this country – namely the financial disparity between the top and bottom clubs of the footballing pyramid – but Gartside’s notion seems to disregard some important things.

Firstly, what happens to the rest of Scottish football?

Now, I’m not renowned for my staunch support of Scottish football, but surely the Glasgow pair owe a debt to the league that has housed them for so long? It’s not their fault they’re the two biggest fish in a relatively small pond, I grant you, but without their attraction, money flowing into the game north of the border is sure to dwindle, leaving teams that are already financially stretched even worse off.

The Old Firm duo are, unfortunately, defined by geography, in the same way that great players such as George Best and Ryan Giggs, never got to play in a World Cup Finals because they played for “smaller” nations. Even though Messrs Best and Giggs were the standout players for their countries, no one suggested that they play for another team to give them a chance on the big stage and, rightly, nor would they be allowed.

From teams such as Aberdeen and Hibernian to minnows like Cowdenbeath, the departure of the ‘Big Two’ would be catastrophic for the game in Scotland. Interest from supporters and financiers alike would ebb away, while Celtic and Rangers – the latter with crippling debts – feed from the Premier League trough.

NATIONAL IDENTITY

Although chief executives from both clubs have expressed interest in pursuing a move south, while various Premier League managers have also voiced support, there must be implications for the Scottish national team.

Having so vociferously opposed a British team for the 2012 Olympics, the Scottish FA will surely have reservations about letting their big guns slip away from them and the potential impact this could have on George Burley’s national side.

For instance, would FIFA look at such a bending of the current boundaries as an opportunity to push for a unified British football side?

THE NAME GAME

The plans Gartside suggested presented a two-tier league of between 36 and 40 teams, with Celtic and Rangers offered the opportunity to compete in the second tier. Now, there’s been no mention of whether relegation from the ‘super league’ would be possible, but there certainly should be. In which case, if the unthinkable happened where would the Glasgow giants go if they were to finish bottom of the pile?

I worry this ill-thought out proposal will garner support over the coming years and signal the death knell for clubs in the lower leagues of not just Scotland, but also in England.

If the two-tier system becomes a closed shop, how are clubs outside of it realistically expected to survive? The attraction of the English set-up is one that allows a side such as Wimbledon (now MK Dons) to work its way through the leagues and onto FA Cup glory. A closed shop – or worse, a franchise system – would take away one of the most important ingredients of the game we love… romance.

I ask – nay, implore – the powers that be to assign this plan to the dustbin for eternity and concentrate instead on preserving the financial future of the many clubs struggling to survive.