The question "What if the Old Firm joined the English league?" is one that is asked a lot in the Scottish media. Ask fans of the Old Firm and the general consensus is that they'd sit mid-table in the Premier League for a few seasons but their impassioned fanbase and high earning potential would catapult them in to being major players soon enough.
Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan decided rather than wait for the inevitable collapse of Scottish football he would put this hypothesis to the test. So when, just under a year ago, he was appointed Middlesborough manager he set about scooping off whatever Rangers, Celtic or other-teams-in-the-Scottish-Premier players were available.
Now the results of the experiment are in and the general consensus is that it was not a good idea. So much of a "not good idea" that Strachan has resigned without compensation and Boro sit in their lowest league position for 20 years.
Now obviously it's a gross exaggeration to say Strachan had all the best players the SPL had produced, but he's certainly got a hell of a lot of them. Take Kris Boyd, to[ scorer of all time in the SPL who has 3 goals in 10 appearances for Middlesborough. Alright for an attacking midfielder but not great for a prolific striker. Or Scott McDonald, formerly of Celtic where he averaged 0.59 goals per game. In the second-tier of the English competition he has managed 0.23.
It's not exactly controversial to say that the English league is stronger than the Scottish, a disparity usually blamed on the money available to the respective top divisions. But Strachan's failed experiment really brings home how far they've grown apart. Exceptional players in the SPL are not just mediocre, but bad in the The Championship. Strachan too - as a manager he won three consecutive Scottish Premier titles between 2006 and 2008, in the Championship he achieved nothing and only won 28% of his matches in charge.
These sort of statistics lay bare the massive failings of the Scottish Football Association in helping the Scottish game. Instead of generating more revenue and investing in the future, as the SPL promised when it broke away from the SFA (with the SFA's consent), it has become a protectionist racket ensuring Celtic or Rangers win everything and everybody else hungrily feasts of the scraps the Old Firm give them. The spineless attitude of the SFA has not created a fairer league system, but has created a situation where Celtic and Rangers feast on the other clubs - devouring their best talents and running them out of contention for any trophies - whilst the rest of the clubs have to meekly give in to the demands of the big two, lest they go bankrupt without them.
So well done for Gordon Strachan. Perhaps he was not just a clueless manager with a squad of overpriced mediocre players. Perhaps instead he was a visionary, trying to show the Scottish game how far it has fallen. For that, he should be applauded.
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