Phil Gartside has suggested Celtic and Rangers could be invited to join the English Premiership.

Gartside has proposed the current top flight should be reduced from 20 clubs to 18 and supported by an EPL2, which would also consist of 18 members, including the Old Firm.

That suggestion will not be formally discussed at Thursday's meeting of Premier League shareholders and, with the Glasgow clubs tied to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League through their deal with broadcasters Setanta until 2014, nothing can happen until then.

The plan has already provoked diametrically opposed opinions with Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan saying, "Football is evolving all the time and this would be great for Scottish clubs but they should pay to come down," he said in The Daily Record.

"They should not have a God-given right to walk into English football and displace two other teams and there should be a remuneration level set.

"I'd suggest £100 million and the immediate financial benefits that arise for both clubs would soon cover it.

"Their share price would go through the ceiling on the back of massive revenue increases. The SPL does not attract a worldwide audience- The Premier League does.

"It would be a great thing for Celtic and Rangers but the Old Firm would not add enormously to the levels of interest in a league that’s already massively exposed.

"A lot of people will object to the idea but I'm not one of them. It would be good for British football.

"I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen but it's still a long way off as no deals can be done until the next round of talks with broadcasters, scheduled for 2013."

However Keith Wyness, who was previously Chief Executive at both Aberdeen and Everton said, "I am extremely surprised that Phil Gartside has spoken up about this. It was never, ever on the radar down here in my time with Everton.

"It's not for me to comment on what happened in Manchester last year (when Rangers fans rioted at the Uefa Cup final) but that was one of the issues raised whenever their names came up in conversation. The behaviour of their fans was a cause for concern."

"What would the Old Firm bring to the Premier League? Nothing, although both of them would obviously benefit hugely.

"It's not as though Celtic and Rangers would bring in extra television revenue because that's already at record levels without them and their inclusion would make no difference.

"Anyway, it's difficult to imagine English clubs voting to allow them to join when the top league is effectively being made smaller and, consequently, more difficult for them to get into."