It has now become one of the most exciting days in the football calendar – and this summer's deadline day most certainly didn't disappoint.
As Barclays Premier League clubs pushed through a host of expensive last-minute deals with players catching helicopters and whizzing across motorways to beat the 11pm deadline, it was far quieter in Glasgow at the two Old Firm clubs.
Indeed, the final day of the transfer window managed to come and go without Rangers manager Ally McCoist signing a single player. But the big news at Ibrox was the fact the club resisted the temptation to cash-in on Nikica Jelavic.
An astonishing £9million bid was believed to have been tabled for the Croatian international – who cost the SPL champions £4m a year ago –after an earlier £6.5m bid from English Championship side Leicester City was thrown out by the SPL champions.
Three youngsters were also farmed out of loan, with John Fleck and Kyle Hutton signing for Sheffield United as Andrew Little moved to Port Vale, while misfit James Beattie had the final year of his deal ripped up and was released.
Across the city at Celtic Park, Neil Lennon secured the services of Moroccan left-back Badr El Kaddouri on a six-month loan deal from Dynamo Kiev on the same day Shaun Maloney was sold to Wigan in a £1m switch.
Having landing striker Mohamed Bangura the previous day in a £2m deal from Swedish side AIK Stockholm, the Parkhead club also failed to offload Greek striker Georgios Samaras as the player rejected the opportunity to move to French side Rennes and snubbed other options.
Prior to the closure of the window, it can be difficult to predict the outcome of the SPL title race, but with no new signings permitted to join until the window re-opens on January 1, it is only now that the business conducted by the Old Firm this summer can be properly assessed.
And you have to say it was once again another transfer window which flattered to deceive and both sets of supporters – not to mention the respective managers – will probably be more than a little disappointed the two squads have not been improved as they hoped.
Although Rangers managed to bring in seven new additions compared to the six new faces Celtic have brought in, it would appear as though Lennon will be the happier of the two gaffers.
The Hoops boss, of course, was in a position to make an earlier mark when he landed defenders Kelvin Wilson and Adam Matthews on Bosman deals from Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City and the pair of them, especially Wilson, allowed him to strengthen problem positions.
Ideally, Lennon still wanted to recruit another dominant centre-half as well as a goalkeeper and striker, but he only managed to fill two of those three key positions by loaning Fraser Forster again from Newcastle United and signing Bangura.
Victor Wanyama also arrived to bolster his midfield options and Emilio Izaguirre's unfortunate ankle fracture forced Celtic to find a replacement left-back which was the reason behind the late move to sign El Kaddouri on a short-term loan deal.
So, as much as progress has been made, and Lennon no doubt feels he is working with a stronger squad at the end of the window than the one that he had at his disposal at the end of last season, the one major disappointment for him will be the fact he never secured another defender.
That is a problem McCoist doesn't have after signing four new stoppers since taking over from Walter Smith. Dorin Goian has looked impressive since signing from Palermo and Lee Wallace was the most expensive outlay after signing in a £1.5m deal from Hearts.
The £500,000 capture of US captain Carlos Bocanegra and the loan signing of Kyle Bartley from Arsenal completed McCoist's defensive transformation and the midfield options were boosted with Alejandro Bedoya, Juanma Ortiz and Matt McKay also arriving.
But not signing another striker – various players were targeted although David Goodwillie was the preferred option before he moved from Dundee United to Blackburn – has got to be regarded as a major failing.
It leaves McCoist with Jelavic and Kyle Lafferty as the only two main striking options, with just David Healy as back-up now Beattie has gone and Fleck has been farmed out, although Steven Naismith can operate up front.
After failing to reach the group stage of the Champions League which deprived the club of an estimated £15m-£20m, the Ibrox club also missed out on a potential £4m bounty when they were also knocked out of Europa League qualifying.
That, of course, prompted fears that rather than spending deadline day trying to push through last-minute deals, McCoist would be doing well to avoid losing a key player if a substantial offer was to be tabled.
So you can imagine his reaction and his heart sinking when he discovered offers were being made for Jelavic.
As much as new owner Craig Whyte will be criticised for failing to invest anywhere near as much as he originally pledged, the kind of reaction he would have faced had he allowed Jelavic to go out at the last minute without time to find a replacement is unthinkable.
Time, of course, will tell which signings prove to be the most successful and how big an impact they will have on the championship race.
The only certainty is that both Lennon and McCoist would have cast an envious eye at the dramatic last-minute big-money transfers being completed south of the border.
CELTIC MOVES
IN Kelvin Wilson from Notthingham Forest (Bosman); Adam Matthews from Cardiff City (Bosman); Victor Wanyama from Germinal Beerschot (£800,000); Fraser Forster from Newcastle United (loan); Mohamed Bangura from AIK Stockholm (£2m); Badr El Kaddouri from Dynamo Kiev (loan).
OUT Shaun Maloney to Wigan (£1m); Daryl Murphy to Ipswich (loan); Efrain Juarez to Real Zaragoza (loan); Darren O'Dea to Leeds United (loan); Josh Thompson to Peterborough (loan); Niall McGinn to Brentford (loan); Richie Towell to Hibs (loan); Jos Hooiveld to Southampton (loan); Paul McGowan, Graham Carey to St Mirren (undisclosed).
RANGERS MOVES
IN Dorin Goian from Palermo (£750,000); Lee Wallace from Hearts (£1.5m); Kyle Bartley from Arsenal (loan); Carlos Bocanegra from St Etienne (£500,000); Alejandro Bedoya from Orebro (£350,000); Juan Manuel Ortiz from Almeria (£500,000); Matt Mckay from Brisbane Roar (£300,000).
OUT Madjid Bougherra to Lekhwiyi (£1.7m); Kyle Hutton, John Fleck to Sheffield United (loan); Andy Little to Port Vale (loan); James Beattie (released).