Scottish football could be set for the longest ever period of dominance by one club with Celtic ready to rule the game for the foreseeable future, eclipsing even the nine in a row titles won under Jock Stein.
I doubt if manager Brendan Rogers will be in the East end of Glasgow that long, but the Parkhead side in signing him have raised the bar several notches.
They are already on a different financial planet from the other top Scottish clubs and no one can match them for spending power or wages.
Traditionally Rangers were their only serious rivals, but I doubt that the Ibrox side will be able to compete seriously with Celtic for a decade or more.
The potential Champions League money at stake for the winners of the Scottish Premiership means that Celtic will continue to outspend everyone else to ensure they reap the huge rewards, so the best the rest can hope for are occasional crumbs from the table.
That will mean the occasional cup success and a rare upsetting of the odds with a surprise win against the Glasgow behemoths, but any sustained challenge can be filed in the same cabinet reserved for UFO sightings, as a figment of fevered imagination.
* Sixty six years ago Dundee FC splashed out a world record transfer fee of £23,500 on Billy Steel from Derby County, fighting off Rangers for his signature.
At that time, the three Inverness sides and Ross County all played in the Highland league and Gretna FC had not yet been in the top league, a Scottish cup final, or indeed disappeared out of existence.
A lot has changed since the Dark Blues could attract the top stars and pack Dens Park regularly or since European football at neighbours United was a staple diet.
The ever-changing face of Scottish football is reflected in the current status of the three Tayside neighbours.
St Johnstone continue to perform superbly under Tommy Wright, sitting joint second top of the Premiership with Hearts, who have a much bigger playing budget.
Dundee meantime, with one win in their opening six league games, having lost their two striking talismen in Stewart and Hemmings to lower league English clubs and sit behind Ross County who hail from a town with a smaller population than most city housing schemes.
United, hustled out of the League cup at Morton in midweek, are finding that to gel 10 new players is no easy process, as they lie fifth in a Championship which one of Scotland’s greatest clubs, Hibernian, have struggled to escape from.
For all three teams it’s very early in the season, but for both city sides in particular it’s also a reminder that they find themselves in much changed circumstances from their heydays, and the difficulties and hard work involved in recreating them.
* The Joey Barton saga begs the question – is it worth trying to manage players with a volatile temperament?
The answer is “yes” if they are truly top talent, and “no” if they are mediocrities masquerading as such.
The latter is the case with Barton who will be gone from Ibrox soon.
