Glenn Gibbons: Gow and Killen the latest victims of Old Firm promise turned to failure

Published on Thursday 8 January 2009 22:27

IF ALAN Gow and Chris Killen move from Rangers and Celtic respectively, as has seemed likely this week, they will become simply the latest products of what may be called a conveyor belt that has been switched to reverse. This is the assembly line, clanking unhindered through the decades, of players who have left less successful clubs for the promised glitter of the Old Firm, only to discover that their careers have gone backwards.

What they have all had in common has been the ability to distinguish themselves sufficiently at their previous clubs to make them coveted by the Glasgow giants. Unfortunately, they have also, almost invariably, shared a flaw – often indefinable – that has prevented their taking the step up the ladder in their stride.

"If only talent were enough," would be Billy McNeill's lament every time he witnessed a young player or a signing of undoubted potential proving to be substandard at institutions where the collection of championships is not so much a pre-occupation as an obsession.

The former Celtic manager, having spent a total of nine years in two tours of duty at Parkhead, would have more experience than he cared for of such disappointments.

Among the most memorable is Joe Miller, for whom Celtic paid Aberdeen 600,000 in 1987. The little winger was only 20 when he left Pittodrie, but had already established his credentials as one of the most formidable players in the country. McNeill, indeed, confided on the day he signed that he could not believe Aberdeen had agreed to sell the player to Celtic.

Yet, despite the kind of productive start that had his new fans salivating – winning the league/Scottish Cup double in his first season, the club's centenary year – and scoring the winning goal against Rangers in the 1989 Scottish Cup final, Miller's six years at Celtic would become notable for his decline, or, perhaps more accurately, his failure to progress. He had seemed a better player at Aberdeen at 19 than he looked at Parkhead at 23.

No Old Firm manager who has spent any time in the job will have been exempt from the backlash of a gamble on a recruit that has gone wrong. This, obviously, includes Walter Smith in the present day, but also in his first, seven-year tenure between 1991 and 1998. Smith may wince a little when he remembers Gordan Petric.

The tall, Serbian central defender had been such an impressive figure with Dundee United – especially in matches against Celtic and Rangers – that, in 1995, he inspired a bidding war between the Old Firm. This began with the late Tommy Burns, then manager of Celtic, offering United 800,000 and ended with Rangers paying an inflated 1.6 million.

During his three years at Ibrox, Petric rarely came close to justifying the outlay and his move to Crystal Palace in 1998 could not be said to have prompted a tearful farewell from Rangers supporters who had just watched him "contribute" to the club's first trophy-less season in 13 years. Petric's experience is salutary, because it offers a good example of the difficulties often encountered by those soured by their time at the Old Firm in resurrecting their careers.

Petric spent only one year at Palace before he moved to AEK Athens, where he lasted only a few months. He was brought back to Scotland by Jim Jefferies, who signed him for Hearts for another eyebrow-raising fee of 500,000. Less than two years later, in March, 2001, he was released "by mutual consent".

In more recent times, Ian Murray's unhappy two years at Rangers following his move from Hibernian was followed by another undistinguished few months at Norwich City before he was re-signed by Hibs on a short-term contract lasting until the end of last season.

That suggested he was still on trial at his old club, but he did enough to secure his present, two-year agreement.

Murray, it should be stressed, had a wretched time with health problems during his term at Rangers, but he is still searching for the level of form that brought him his first Scotland cap as a 21-year-old with Hibs in 2002.

In search of an understanding, kindred spirit, Murray need look only as far as his teammate, Derek Riordan, the forward whose period at Celtic was marked by a general non-involvement in first-team affairs that caused many to wonder why he had been signed.

Another emigre from Edinburgh to Ibrox, Andrius Velicka, will doubtless be watching Gow's situation with some interest, although the former Falkirk striker's productive loan period at Blackpool has at least kept him active and prepared him for life in the Championship with Wolves.

Velicka, signed from Hearts, seems to be replicating Riordan's experience at Celtic; hardly an encouraging portent for what his career may bring in the future.