Clyde flows west but tide of football history flows east to Parkhead

Dalglish, we are told, ran to his bedroom to rip posters off the wall, in case Sean Fallon would see them and reconsider, but Celtic have always been open to all. Kenny will tell you, he was assured Rangers were preparing to sign him, but this was Celtic. In 1967. He knew which way the tide of history was flowing.

Sean’s boss, The Boss, once spent his free Saturdays following Rangers. Stein didn’t just become a lapsed Rangers fan, according to his friend and biographer, Archie Macpherson. As Celtic manager, he made it his business to wholly and completely end the dominance they had over the then humble team from Parkhead. I’ll spare the detail of how that sentiment translated down to the vernacular.

Scott Allan made no secret of his boyhood allegiances. He would have gone to Ibrox in a flash, as would so many of our historic greats, but this decision came down to a simple truth. The basic salary on offer at Celtic is around three times what the jungle drums were offering across the city. This disparity means it’s not just about the money, it’s about that tide of history, which Kenny Dalglish knew so well.

Today is witness to one more veil being peeled off, exposing more of the consequences of what happened when Rangers decided not to make provisions for the inevitable challenge to their aggressive tax avoidance schemes. Their Discounted Options Scheme was found to be illegal, as were several of their Employee Benefit Trusts, with the remainder subject to appeal, but the club went to the wall because that inevitable challenge made it impossible for them to borrow other people’s money.

Liquidation followed and hundreds of creditors were left unpaid, but while a newco from such ashes could change their name to Rangers and wear the same jerseys, it was always going to look like an off-key tribute act. This was never going to be about three years in the lower leagues.