The great and the good (extensive poetic licence used) of the SPL and SFL will gather at Hampden tomorrow to shuffle the deckchairs of Scottish football. For reasons which no one has, or will, explain, it will be suggested that three leagues, with 12, 12 and 18 teams, will be able to resolve the problems of our game.
There will be no consultation with fans, Uefa or neighbouring associations, and no claim will be made that this reorganisation will be able to resolve a single significant issue.
For all its limited appeal, the Scottish Football League is in rude health. On the whole clubs live within their means and in places play important roles in their communities. This is as good as it gets for the likes of Alloa, Montrose or Brechin City. They could all benefit from a higher solidarity payment from above, but this would be the case no matter what level the trickle-down was set at. Their interests would be best served by ensuring that those sending payments down the pyramid are as fat as possible.
The clubs with most to gain from substantive change are those condemned to compete for second place in the SPL. Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts have been neutered in recent decades. United and Aberdeen have gone from being the two most impressive clubs in Europe at developing young talent, to clubs who cannot hold onto players long enough to put a competitive team on the field.
Scottish clubs with ample support, stadium and coaching talent have been left behind by smaller clubs in England, from Wigan to Burnley, who benefit from operating in a more lucrative commercial environment.
Hearts are trying to sell shares to raise a few million to keep themselves afloat at the moment. The club would be worth ten times as much if it was located 100 miles down the road, or structural change made it possible for it to benefit from a more valuable environment. Shares in clubs like Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hibs would also be worth many multiples of their current value.
Stephen Thompson has spoken of the financial burden Dundee United place on his family, a regionalised league structure would turn this burden into a vastly more valuable legacy. It beggars belief that Hearts, United, Aberdeen and the rest have not grasped this reality and started to make inroads.
It’s time for some radical thinking.
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Gene
Cheers
HH
Evening all.
Now, this might seem a bit simplistic, but, if there really is a need to restructure the Scottish Football landscape, assuming that we need to retain the current 42 club overall size, and putting aside all issues of fast-tracking a certain entity back to the top tier, I would ask the following:
Why can’t we simply have two divisions of 21 teams?
This would mean every team playing a total of 40 games, 1 each home and away against each other team in their division. Admittedly it is two games more than at present, but that shouldn’t be an uinsurmountable problem… and if it is then we simply relegate an extra team from each division in the first season and from Division 2 only in the second season in order to reduce both to 20 teams playing 38 games.
Going forward we would have the amazingly simple situation where every team plays every other team home and away, and at the end of the season the team with the highest points total (and goal difference if required) wins the league… and the three or four with the worst totals are relegated.
I know people will come up with the usual comments about meaningless games, but the games are not meaningless to the players or to the fans of each club, all of whom want to win every game that they pay. And with tiered prize money, every single point can improve the financial well-being of every club, so there is always something to play for. It would also remove some of the tedium of playing five teams four times in the league alone each season, which can’t be a bad thing.
Additionally, this structure will mean that (from season two onwards) no fewer than 18 other clubs will benefit from home games against Celtic and Sevco, rather than the 10 who benefit under the present structure (albeit four of those benefit from a second home game against each “big club”). It would also give more players the benefit of experiencing games against the top clubs, which would surely contribute to the improvement of more of the country’s players, thereby helping more of them to progress to the top of the game in Scotland. This could in the long term serve to benefit the national team too.
I’m sure there are more positives too, as well as a few negatives, but it’s not as far fetched and complicated as what the Scottish footballing authorities seem to be mooting at the moment!
saltires en sevilla
very good post on the types of supporter this morning.
cheers.
Mncelt- golf in Edinburgh try Dalmahoy hotel -two courses with east course as championship course. Wee course ( west) is a good test also as a warm up for St. Andrews the next day – good clubhouse bar too hh
Jinky
The blackpool strip might appeal to him
Tho big fek might fancy him at forest
Regarding talk of Drogba joining Juventus, I thought you couldn’t play for 3 teams in 12 months?
Neil C
if T did negotiate a new deal with Sevco the terms would be much reduced
BigChipsUK
1 league of 42 teams/
you get 20 games at home from a random draw, and 20 away against the rest of the teams.
the rangers get 41 home games, just to keep it balanced, and therefore creating world record crowds.
thats how i would do it
celticquicknews@gmail.com
St Stivs
Cheers mate – hope new premises going well?
HH
BigChipsUK – There’s only one (SPL) team in Glasgow
If the idea is to have a big top league, why not invert the proposed new system and have three leagues of
18 – 12- 12.
Top league has 34 games (17 home and away)
Next two have 44 games (play everyone 4 times) or 38 games (by copying the existing SPL split idea).
Cheers gene
Final on 26th January will be good
Also live on sky
Cheers Blantyre
The Comfortable Collective (22:00), that’s the best idea I’ve seen yet! And it complies with UEFA’s preferred situation of national leagues playing 34 games per season (in the one division that makes any difference to UEFA at leat).
You have my vote.
Saltires…,
I dont remember any announcement and cant remember seeing the logo on hun2 shirts, then again cant remember the last time I seen them :o)
offski, this plane wont fly itself.
sns
its great actually, my best work so far .cheers.
MNCELT,
just teasing enjoy ypur gofl/
BT
Any news on WDH?
MWD
Saltires
Surely the terms to sevco would be greater than the oldco deal… with 500m fans throughout the world
Michael
21:49 on
7 January, 2013
rangers are not my favourite team csc
21:41 on
7 January, 2013
Yes, so beat it and don’t come back.
i came on this forum to ask for seperate shirt sponsorships from rangers and end up being attacked all because of the word rangers in my name
utter paranoia on behalf of some posters
and also because i have left out an odd letter or word, i am doing this while trying to listen to off the ball.
and no i wont beat it and give in to cyber bullying
but there are some right bitter twisted assholes on this site
MNCelt – Just seen your post and haven’t read beyond page 3 yet. Prestwick is a fab course with a lot of history. My nephew is assistant pro there and a fellow Celt. Along the same coast you have Western Gailes (Irvine), Dundonald, Kilmarnock Barassie, Royal Troon and Turnberry. All championship or championship calibre courses.
bring back declan
The old saying- You can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig.
42 senior teams is way too many and our population is too small.
In context, 10:1 ratio England to Scotland means-
92 teams in England should mean 9 in Scotland
A 50,000 crowd in England is equivalent to 5,000 up here.
Plus 2 freakishly huge supports skews it beyond repair.
Nothing we can about it, only chance is amalgamations of smaller clubs to form a single 12 team professional league.
Otherwise we will suffer a slow lingering death.
Night night – love to all
My view on the reconstruction proposals.
The deckchairs should be placed 1.5m apart rather than the current 2m and the captain of the ship should wear a blindfold, preferably an orange one.
BigChipsUK – There’s only one (SPL) team in Glasgow
21:53 on 7 January, 2013
great idea, keep it simple
along with the earlier suggestion March to Nov
now just to sort the administration, dawdle :o)
If we are to keep 42 league clubs (too many and should be reduced by at least 6 but turkeys won’t vote for xmas) why not an even split of 3 leagues of 14 teams. Teams play each other twice (26 games) then leagues split into 7 & 7 with teams playing each other a further twice (12 games). Keeps the existing 38 game season. Bottom 2 relegated with top 2 promoted, 3rd bottom playing 3rd top in play off. Bottom 2 of 3rd division relegated with 2 teams from regional leagues promoted into league set up.
Too much mediocrity/garbage to go back to 18 team league. When we last had a season with an 18 team top league Celtic averaged 22,775.
Neil C
I think you are right – I heard they were going to be offered reduced terms, but doubt they would accept what would have amounted to a boot in the Jimmy Bones :)
The Boy Jinky
Awesome purchasing power right enough ;-)
MWD
Great pics of Oscar & Izzie.
A propos of not very much …
Clubs that finish second in the SPL do not play Scottish Cup ties in September.
RE Tennents,they are very keen to renew with us,and also with the huns at vastly reduced terms,so much so that Challs tried very publicly to embarass a Tennents rep in a busy hospitality suite last week.
Clubs that are in administration when a new season starts do not begin with zero points.
Summer football is the only way forward imo
B-)
but the existing deal expired because they are not the same club :o)
Watchin George best documentry at the mo
now there WAS a talented if flawed guy
Bada
What a man charlie is…. And him a teatotaller bargaining with the alkyhawl companies
Ranmftcsc Can you not understand that a Tim wouldn’t create a moniker like that. Neither would he post like you do. If it looks like a Duck and quacks like a Duck, Its a Duck.
MWD
Just here, saw your post to BT. He’s home and looking good. Popped down last night. Gave him your regards.
Hail Hail!
Bada B
Yep- that figures mate
HH