Imagine this: a Scottish Premier League without Rangers and Celtic. Or rather: a Scottish Premier League without the Rangers and Celtic that are currently battling it out for the title, but instead, with Old Firm feeder teams in the division.

As unpopular as the idea is, there are growing grounds for thinking it would be a magnificent spectacle.

There is no breaking news in the assertion that the Old Firm, with their combined might, are killing Scottish football. One look at the current Clydesdale Bank Premier League table confirms as much: Rangers are 27 points clear of third-placed Hibernian (having played three games less), just as it has been for years with the two Glasgow giants and the also-rans. If this is competition, what would a nonevent look like?

Moreover, the suicide note works both ways: Scottish football, in its peculiar way, is also killing the Old Firm. I was at Livingston yesterday where a paltry 3,561 crowd watched Celtic play Gretna in, allegedly, the “game of the day” in Scotland.

It was the latest in countless deathly scenes in this 2007-08 season, where something sickly is in the system. Celtic and Rangers are supposed to compete honourably on the European stage, while scraping together what wealth they can scavenge from the local scene, playing in such miserable settings. The Old Firm inhabit a league which, because of their presence, is both killing and being killed.

Yes, random moments can occur. Dundee United very nearly defeated Rangers for last weekend’s CIS Insurance Cup and in midweek Aberdeen knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park. But these are mere blips on the map. The wider terrain is hopeless. Somehow, at some stage, Rangers and Celtic must escape Scotland, and their only feasible sanctuary is England.

If the Old Firm were to be divorced from Scotland, two happy consequences would occur. Firstly, the Scottish Premier League would suddenly be competitive and appeal again to fans, TV stations and sponsors. How many times does it have to be said: imagine Dundee United going to Easter Road for an SPL title decider in May 2015. The fans would love it and flock to such matches. We would have a genuine, old-fashioned thriller on our hands, with Easter Road a sell-out.

It can’t happen just now, not with Rangers and Celtic around, which is why so many supporters of Aberdeen, Dundee United and the two Edinburgh clubs have turned their backs on the game. Who wants to watch systemic failure? Who enjoys seeing their team being horsed by big, rich clubs who in every sense are streets ahead of them? The domestic game is dying in Scotland because of the Old Firm’s destructive presence.

But, secondly, were the two Glasgow clubs to somehow wangle their ticket to England, they needn’t leave entirely. Rangers and Celtic “B” teams could still take their place in a revamped SPL, and don’t tell me fans wouldn’t turn out to watch them. On the contrary, if these sides made a decent fist of chasing an SPL title, Old Firm fans would certainly turn out to watch. You would have a redistribution of supporters’ habits but they would still be attracted to the games. Moreover, stadiums such as Broadwood could be hired by the Old Firm’s second strings – or the clubs could build new 7,000-seater arenas – thus generating an economic boost for the Scottish game.

Hurdles, of course, would have to be overcome, such as the downturn in SPL media rights without the Big Two. There is no doubt the league would be diminished without the Old Firm, yet the counter-benefits would prove equally appealing. In short, the SPL would be forced to downsize but that might make it more realistic. When crowds of 4,000 and 3,000 are turning up for matches – let alone, heaven help us, 502 – there should be alarm in the air.

Don’t say it can’t happen, because it can. A club called Auckland Kingz applied to play in the Australian soccer league, and Fifa agreed, after noting their argument that the New Zealand scene was too small for the club. There are anomalies all over the world where one country’s clubs play in another, and the Old Firm must make their case.

The old argument used to go: where would Scottish football be without the Old Firm? The question was asked pejoratively, inviting the answer – nowhere at all. Today, it is worth asking the question again, and thinking how much better off everyone would be.

Wise heads at Rangers

Let us suspend our cynicism for a moment over Rangers’ announcement yesterday that they have bought up all their away allocation of tickets for the forthcoming Uefa Cup tie against Sporting Lisbon in order to hand them free of charge to loyal supporters.

The announcement was made by Martin Bain, the Rangers chief executive, who has impressed in recent years with his awareness of the football club/fan dynamic and how to make it work. Despite many headaches, Bain’s commitment to making a success of Rangers has been remarkable.

Rangers’ recent history is blighted with various off-field afflictions, and Bain, along with Kenny Scott, the club’s head of security, have done all in their might to convince certain Ibrox supporters’ groups to move with the club into the 21st century. I would say they are succeeding.

In this context it wouldn’t do to be naive about what Rangers are accomplishing, as well as saying “thank you” to fans, in buying up their allocation of Lisbon tickets. The club is highly wary of the potential for trouble in three weeks’ time, in a part of Europe where the culture of policing and Rangers fans haven’t always made for a happy marriage, and Bain and Scott have thus doubly ensured that the tickets they have for the Sporting tie will fall into the right hands.

Let’s hear it for the fans

There is undue cynicism over the size of crowd expected for George Burley’s first game in charge of Scotland, against Croatia at Hampden Park on Wednesday night.

The signs are that a crowd of 28,000-30,000 will be in attendance, and if so, that will be fine.

The timing of Burley’s debut is unlucky in all sorts of ways. For one thing, Scotland, yet again, have no summer finals to look forward to. Secondly, with a backlog of domestic league and cup fixtures awaiting, fans have a surfeit of games to consider. Thirdly, with the Old Firm meeting three days later at Ibrox, the Barry Fergusons of this world, out of necessity, will be used sparingly, if at all.

In fact, for a country that haven’t been to a leading finals in ten years, Scotland have a tremendous record of attendances at Hampden in recent times. On Wednesday, anything near 30,000 will certainly compare favourably with attendances across Europe.

thegame@thetimes.co.uk

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