No room at the inn
With the news that Celtic Football Club have been told that they have no chance of joining the English Championship – or, for that matter, League One – what now for the institution that is Celtic?
With the Scottish Premier League (SPL) in dire straits money-wise and Rangers FC on the verge of insolvency, what are Celtic to do? Both clubs are tied together, whether they like it or not. Television deals will be dictated by the strength of competion and if Rangers are not a viable option, then Celtic will suffer.
As a Celtic fan, I can’t see how the Hoops can continue to compete in the SPL with the financial restraints that are currently in place. Surely, in sport, there is supposed to be competition. If Rangers go to the wall, where will the competition come from? Hearts, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Hibernian are years behind a full-flowing Celtic.
It’s a bit rich for the English Football League to take such a stance on Celtic’s participation in a British league when Celtic do all they can to nurture their own young footballers only to get them picked off by the Chelseas of this world, by the waving of financial incentives at the kids.
How can you argue that Chelsea are a bigger football institution than Celtic? You can’t. There is probably only Manchester United who have a bigger fanbase than Celtic on this island. So is it fair to lock Celtic out of competition?
If a club like Celtic are willing to sacrifice winning trophies in Scotland to compete in the Championship or lower, then surely this should be welcomed not scorned. When the European super league takes shape – and it will – then who would pull in the finance to make the English leagues viable for television around the world?
Yeah, Celtic. And, possibly, Rangers.
