This week, Sky Sports released details of their interview with Neil Lennon, who proclaimed that his dream would to be manage his Celtic team in the Barclays Premier league. This idea has been discussed for decades, but is it still too ridiculous a concept? For Celtic, life in the Scottish league set-up is becoming a bit monotonous. The league is basically won before the first match, and if there is an actual challenger (like Motherwell were last season) they run out of steam a long time before the season ends, unable to keep up with Celtic's consistency. Currently, our only times of excitement are when we play in Europe or a domestic cup final, and when those opportunities dry up like they have already this season, there's much less to talk about as a Celtic supporter. So, why not? Why can't we join the big boys south of the border? We're not far away, we have a huge fan base and a brand that would be guaranteed to bring even more money to the FA upon joining, and, heck, even with our current squad I reckon we could actually compete in the Premier League to some degree. Even Jose Mourinho, The Special One himself, wants us down there. So what's stopping us? Well, reflecting on the past, members of the FA and the Premier League have historically addressed this debate with limited enthusiasm. As documented by the BBC in 2009, Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside suggested a league structure for the Premier League that would split the league into two divisions of 18-20 teams each, the lower one including Celtic and Rangers. It was a very radical shake up, but that was not the reason it was rejected, it was simply the inclusion of the Glasgow rivals that discouraged them, with Richard Scudamore in particular blasting the notion after the vote returned an overwhelming 'no'. Of course, the Wanderers' chairman's plans never came to fruition with or without Celtic and Rangers, but adding to the fire, Wolverhampton Wonderers chief executive Jez Moxey was quoted at the time as saying: "It's the English Premier League. It's our product and we're working on our product. The Premier League clubs have made their decision and we move on." These words proved controversial; his hint that because it is the English Premier League, Scottish Clubs are not welcome, provoked this justified response - why are Swansea and Cardiff and other Welsh teams in the English leagues then? Does Jez consider the Welsh to be English? I don't think they would be too happy about that€I digress. What makes this statement even more contradictory is the fact that when Wimbledon F.C started looking for a relocation in 1998, the Premier League approved of the Dons suggestion to move to Dublin. The only reason it didn't happen was the Irish FA - they rejected it, and as we all know, they are now the Milton Keynes Dons. But the fact that they were willing to have a club compete from outside the UK, let alone outside England, makes the Wolves' chief's statement seem rather small-minded. Now, back to Celtic, or more specifically Celtic and Rangers. Now, I'm not an individual that likes to pair us with our fierce rivals with reference to some sort of dependancy (like the common headline "Do Celtic Need Rangers?"), but this may actually prove necessary to the debate. Some may argue that the main selling point of Celtic's proposed move to the EPL is that Rangers go with them. The rivalry undoubtedly rakes in cash, and the boys south of the border do like their money. Of course, as things stand currently, even with the attraction of Celtic going with them, it is extremely unlikely that Rangers would be accepted into the Premier League. This is due to their recently reported flirtations with administration, indicating that the club have still not learned their lesson from their recent liquidation. It would not look to great if they were ever to inquire, with the FA making in-roads into Financial FairPlay. Celtic's hopes of finally basking in the fruits of the Premier League are probably more doubtful than ever due to the recent demise of Rangers, and if I were to try and imagine myself with an English fan's perspective, I wouldn't want Celtic to join if there wasn't going to be an Old Firm fixture to introduce to the Premier League. It is such a huge fixture that attracts a huge world-wide audience, and I know from living south of the border myself that English football fans don't really see much point in keeping an interest in Celtic without the Old Firm fixture, apart from when we play in the Champions League. Despite this, on the off-chance that we do make the move in the hopefully foreseeable future, there are a few things the Premier League can be sure of - we would bring lots of money and attract interest to their game, even if we entered from the lower leagues and worked our way up. We would bring one of the loudest, energetic sets of fans into the league who have been lauded over the years for the support for their team in Europe especially. Most of all, the Premier League would receive another massive club. Celtic/Premier League fans - do you think Celtic should eventually be invited to join the Premier League/lower English leagues? Or would you prefer an alternative like a British FA/League cup? Or are Celtic's prospects to join the EPL only viable as long as Rangers come too? Let us know in the comments section below.
As a recent university graduate and a huge supporter of Celtic FC, what better way to use my inevitable free time to write about my favourite football team? I'll cover most things that the supporters are talking about at the moment, which includes things that directly and indirectly involve the club. At times I may also stray into matters concerning English clubs.
