The Scottish season kicks off this weekend, accompanied by the sound of fans throughout England amusing themselves by guessing which of Celtic or Rangers will triumph in the worlds most boring league.

The last time anyone but an Old Firm team won the title was 22 years ago when Aberdeen collected their fourth championship. Since the Scottish League began in 1890-91 Celtic and Rangers have won it 92 times between them.

Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs claim joint third with four each while Dumbarton, who got off to a flyer by winning the first two, are next in line despite going well over a century without sight of a third.

However, before those middle-aged southerners brought up on the golden years of the 1960s start to mock, they should remind themselves that the self-styled greatest league in the world has become almost as dull.

In the 14 seasons from 1958/59 no fewer than 11 different teams won the English first division title but in the 15 years of the Premier Leagues existence only four have triumphed, and one of those was a one-off surprise from Blackburn Rovers in 1995.

The huge amounts of money that have poured into the game in recent years have served only to strengthen the strong. The Premier League may now be a magnet for many of the worlds best players but it has become a boring competition where the majority of its members begin the season with a target of mere survival.

As the stadiums of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool get bigger, so does their income and so does the gap between them and the rest.

The young, impressionable soccer lovers who once latched on to the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ipswich Town, Burnley, Everton, Manchester City, Derby County etc, now choose between Manchester United and Chelsea.

The situation is so entrenched and football such a business that any chance of a change, using a salary cap or any other playing-field levelling device, is a non-starter.

The worlds most boring league? Its not so clear-cut anymore.

Mitch Phillips, London