Should Celtic join the English Premier League?

This is a shortened version of a previous article, just focusing on Celtic, and whether the Scottish club should join the English Premier League:

One of the longest raging debates in British football has been over suggestions that Celtic and Rangers join the English Premier League. The arguments for and against this are multiple and complicated, but highly simplified, the debate seems to surround on the impact it would have on Scottish football, and the impact it would have on the clubs themselves. Given recent performances, it is perhaps easy to forget that not so long ago, Scotland were good, very good. Souness, Hansen, Dalglish and many more, all excellent players, so what happened? Why is Scottish football at an all-time low? Well, it is no secret that the Scottish Premiership is a forgone conclusion before it even starts; following Rangers administration and relegation, there is no one left to challenge Celtic for the title. It is a stale league, which as such receives relatively low television income, and has seen Scotland decline as a European power; gone are the days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen upsetting the big boys.

One of the side effects of the complete inequality of the Scottish Premiership has been clubs spending beyond their means to bring in mediocre foreign players in a desperate attempt to rival Celtic, affecting the development of young Scottish talent. There is a strong argument to be made that Celtic, and perhaps in a few years Rangers, joining the English Premier League would be beneficial for Scottish football. Without Celtic in the picture, the playing field would be levelled, clubs would no longer have to spend beyond their means, restrictions could be placed on foreign players, and the result could be a much more competitive league, where young Scottish players can enjoy plenty of first team football and develop their game. The league would eventually grow in quality, with significant future benefit. The major concern surrounding the departure of Celtic and the effect it could have on Scottish football is financial. Celtic have passionate fans, regularly packing out the 60,000 capacity Celtic Park, and bringing significant away support. As well as ticket sales, Celtic and Rangers rake in the majority of T.V money for Scotland, the withdrawal of these funds could be critical. However, there seems to be a fairly obvious solution. Relegated Premier League clubs are set to begin £60 million in parachute payments over four years, and Championship clubs not receiving these payments, receive a yearly solidarity payment of £2.3 million. The obvious solution to recompensing Scottish football for the loss of Celtic, Rangers, and the corresponding financial loss for the Scottish FA would be some form of solidarity payment, to ensure that Scottish football survives the transition.

In terms of Celtic the club, the positives of joining the Premier League would surely outweigh the negatives. Celtic have not won a European Cup in 1967, and their greatest achievement in recent years, has been finishing as runners up in the 2003 UEFA Cup, a decade ago. Celtic have been impressing in the Champions League, most famously matching up against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona last year. However, what Celtic currently face is the prospect of having to rebuild their team every season, the stars of last season’s impressive campaign Wanyama and Hooper both left Glasgow in the summer, not for the biggest sides in Europe, but two fairly medium sized Premier League clubs, Southampton and Norwich. Wanyama and Hooper did not leave for bigger clubs, but for a bigger league; Celtic moving to the Premier League would resolve this problem. Celtic’s huge support, boosted by the increased ticket prices that can be charged in the Premier League, as well as the astronomical television revenue on offer would quickly see Celtic able to compete financially with even the biggest in the business. The main issue for Celtic fans would likely be missing out on the Champions League. Competition for Champions League places is at an all-time high in the Premier League this season, and if Celtic were to join the Premier League, there would undoubtedly be a period of transition. However, after a period of adjustment, with their pick of Scottish talent, avid, sizeable support, and the increased financial clout the Premier League would bring, competing for those top four spots would be only a matter of time for Celtic.

In practical terms, adjustments would obviously have to be made to the structure of both nations’ leagues. However, the timing could be right to make these changes. With the relegation of Rangers, Scottish football has already made changes to its league system recently; there is no firmly established system, better to adjust now, than years down the road. In terms of English football, the timing could also be right. Greg Dyke has recently taken over as the new Chairman of The Football Association and has made noises about change. Choosing to ignore many of England’s more systematic problems, Dyke has focused on the number of foreign players in the English game, with talk of a minimum quota of English, or even English under-21 players being bandied about; the introduction of Celtic to the Premier League could be the opportunity Dyke and The Football Association need to implement new regulations. With Rangers romping along in the Scottish League One, a fairly simple and practical way of bringing these to Scottish giants into the English game could be to expand the Premier League to 22 teams, one of these being Celtic, and the other a one off additional promoted side from the Championship. This could then see Rangers join the Championship, with England’s second tier remaining at 24 clubs.