Old Firm should play in England, says Harry Redknapp

[ian1964 10,409]

Harry Redknapp has backed the idea of inviting Scotland's Old Firm Rangers and Celtic into the Barclays Premier League.

 

The QPR boss, who was favourite for the England job while at Tottenham before Roy Hodgson took over from Fabio Capello, believes the two biggest Scottish clubs deserve a chance to prove themselves in England's top flight.

 

'They should play in England,' said Redknapp. 'They're two of the biggest clubs in the world. Maybe it would give someone else a chance to win something in Scotland if they left.

 

'All over the world you'll find fans of Celtic and Rangers. Everyone flies to games now. We've got Welsh teams in the Premier League. Why not two Scottish teams?'

 

Rangers chief executive Charles Green has claimed he could use sex discrimination laws to sue UEFA if they try to block the club's moves to join a cross-border league.

 

Green has vowed to look into ways of taking Rangers out of Scottish football following the announcement of a new 12-18-18 league set-up - drawn up by the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League in conjunction with the Scottish Football Association - that would keep the Light Blues in Scotland's basement tier, even if they go on to win this season's Third Division title.

 

And the Ibrox chief believes he has precedent on his side when he claims the club should be granted access to leagues in other countries.

 

He told TalkSport: 'As the structures stand now, there are not many options. But I'm not one for hiding my light behind a bushel.

 

'People say you can't go into England because you are not allowed cross-borders (leagues).

 

'Well there is now a cross-border (league). You have a UEFA-sanctioned professional women's league in Belgium and Holland, so we have a precedent there.

 

'If there was an opportunity to join a cross-border league and that was challenged by UEFA, I would go to Strasbourg and challenge the sexual equality.'

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2260756/Celtic-Rangers-play-Premier-League-says-QPR-boss-Harry-Redknapp.html#ixzz2HfjfJB14

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[der Berliner 3,239]

Well, if precedents are there, why not throw them into the fray? Sounds a touch strange, but at the end of the day it is legal and works. Might be another "Bosman"-scenario ...

[GovanAllan 0]

He's got them all talking anyway, don't think it will ever happen but he has got them talking.

[calscot 0]

I'm sure Harry was against us before...

[Cotter 0]

The voice of English football has spoken! We're in! Now, tell us who we need to pay Harry. We could split up the rfff cash into several brown bags and get gazza to drive round delivering them.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Cotter

[kuznetsov 0]

shut up arry.

[Gribz 743]

The English FA avoided Arry like the plague so Im sure they would be against his thoughts on this.

[54andcounting 0]

I'm sure Harry was against us before...

 

Quite the opposite...him and Martin O'Neil (Villa) back in 2009 voiced their support for BOTH clubs to join the EPL.

[Ergatrude 0]

I'm sure Harry was against us before...

 

Harry said he would welcome the old firm in England but he wasn't so sure his chairman would feel the same.

[54andcounting 0]

Can't give you a link to this, but it was written in November 2009.

 

Proposals to accept Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers into an expanded Premier League will be put forward for consideration this week.

 

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside will pitch plans for a two-tier league of between 36 and 40 teams on Thursday.

 

It is understood there would be a top tier of 18 clubs, with promotion and relegation to and from the league.

 

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp have backed the inclusion of the Scottish clubs.

 

Former Celtic manager O'Neill told BBC Radio 5 live: "I would like to see both teams in the Premier League. I think it would make the Premier League even stronger.

 

"I've been there, Celtic is just an unbelievable football club and Rangers also.

 

"I don't think for one minute the likes of ourselves, Aston Villa, would sit back and think 'well that's it', or just give up. I think all clubs would try and get stronger because of it."

 

Redknapp told the Daily Record: "I would welcome Celtic and Rangers to English football if they wanted to play down here.

 

"No doubt about it, I'm sure they would be good for the English game."

 

The proposals are a revival of Gartside's ideas which received a hostile reception from the Premier League's 20 chairmen six months ago.

 

However, Gartside, the driving force behind the revamp, has tweaked the original plans to include promotion and relegation to and from the dual-tier league, while the two Scottish clubs would initially be invited to join the lower tier.

 

The Bolton chairman is also believed to be open to inviting an Irish franchise into the league in the future.

 

Former Birmingham City chairman David Gold told BBC Radio 5 live that the Premier League needed "new thinking, new proposals, new ideas" to "save itself from itself".

 

However, Stoke owner Peter Coates said there was no need to change a league which was already an "enormous success".

 

"There is no indication that it [the Premier League] needs Rangers and Celtic to take it further," he said.

 

And BBC Sport's Dan Roan said the proposals would represent a "radical overhaul" of the pyramid structure.

 

"Gartside is one of the most powerful men in the English game," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

 

"He's one of the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League, a man who sits on the FA board, one of just three professional representatives on the FA board, so I think it's fair to say that it's a serious proposal and deserves to be listened to."