DERMOT DESMOND, the leading shareholder in Celtic, and David Murray, the chairman of Rangers, said yesterday that Thursday's meeting of the board of directors of the Football League would almost certainly put the idea of a move by the Old Firm clubs to England to a vote.
There is a degree of uncertainty as the motion is not on the formal agenda, but a chairman of a First Division club is expected to raise the issue.
If it is received favourably by the board they would then recommend that Celtic and Rangers be invited to play in England next season. A second vote, involving the 72 chairmen of the Football League clubs, would then take place, possibly on June 7th, and if a majority voted yes then a formal invitation would follow.
After that there would still be obstacles, in the form of the Scottish Football Association's requirement that Rangers and Celtic give two years notice of leaving the Scottish Premier League, and possible objections from the Football Association and UEFA, but the tide would be with Celtic and Rangers.
The Football League chairman, Keith Harris, met Desmond and Murray in Scotland last week to discuss the plan.
Desmond thinks there is a grassroots groundswell in favour of the idea and cited the fact that Celtic have once again demonstrated their English pulling power by being invited to be the opposition for Gary Kelly's testimonial at Leeds last week and for Tony Adams's benefit game tonight at Highbury.
"I think people should start asking the fans to see what they want," Desmond said yesterday. "Why did Leeds and Arsenal want Celtic for these matches, why did Manchester United want Celtic for the Ryan Giggs match last August? And these games were televised, tell me how many friendlies are televised? What should be understood is that television follows the audience, and chairmen follow the audience. Fans' numbers for these games are saying that there is a big audience, people want to see this happen. I saw a recent poll in England where the question was asked: 'Do you want Celtic and Rangers here?' and 85 per cent said yes," he said.
"The presence of Celtic and Rangers would enhance this league. Are the chairmen going to look a gift-horse in the mouth?"
Desmond is aware that change is far from a formality. Premiership chairmen would also have to be supportive, as Rangers and Celtic would push strongly for promotion from the First Division in their first season. Desmond believes the Premiership would not be "monopolistic" about the Old Firm's entry.
Desmond's bullishness - he bought another million Celtic shares on Friday - was mirrored by David Murray. He said yesterday: "They will be proposing (on Thursday) that member clubs vote for or against an invitation coming to Rangers and Celtic. It could happen next season, if there's a will on everyone's part, and we must make sure this chance doesn't pass."
However, Football League chief executive David Burns said there would be no such vote and that it was not on the agenda. "Absolute rubbish," said Burns, but it seems Burns is now out of step with the rest of the board and chairmen who are looking at next season without TV money.
There is as yet no television deal in place should Rangers and Celtic make the transition but it is envisaged that one would be forthcoming quickly. After the collapse of ITV Digital the simple economics of the situation are the Old Firm's strongest ally in this.
They could even overcome bureaucratic and legal hurdles, one of which was outlined by the David Taylor of the SFA. "For the foreseeable future it is simply not possible for the Old Firm to go," Taylor said. "FIFA do not favour this, UEFA do not favour this and the SFA and FA view it with some concern. It would be a dangerous road to go down for a club and this is simply not going to happen."
Guardian Service
