John Hartson has been reflecting on his failed move to Ibrox as Aaron Ramsay prepares to undergo a medical before completing a loan move from Juventus.
Following a 6-2 thrashing from Celtic in August 2000 Dave Murray and Dick Advocaat were under pressure to bring in some big hitters to cope with the revival that Martin O’Neill had sparked.
During the summer Bert Konterman, Kenny Miller, Fernando Ricksen, Peter Lovenkrands and Allan Johnston had joined the Dick Revolution but the mauling at Celtic Park had delivered a clear warning.
From Wimbledon the call went out for John Hartson while an EBT schedule was prepared to entice Ronny de Boer to move from Barcelona.
I totally ruined Rangers single handedly, insider told me it’s the worst mistake they have ever done.. 4 winning goals in derbies. 8 in total should have been ten !! Signed Flo instead for 12m we all know how well he did for them. ???
— John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) January 31, 2022
Without going through a standard medical Hartson was informed that his deal was off despite terms agreed with Wimbledon and wages with his agent.
Later on that season he joined Coventry, in August 2001 he was back in Glasgow to join Celtic.
There was only one significant injury during his five years at the club, a spell that yielded over 100 goals. Fifteen years after leaving for West Brom, Hartson remains a Celtic fan.
In 2012 Rangers went into administration followed by liquidation after HMRC refused the offer of a CVA.
