It was only in February this year that the proposed Russia-Ukraine joint league first reached the stage of formal meetings between clubs to discuss the viability but tonight a showcase tournament between top clubs from each country gets underway tonight. It is hoped the formal joint league will start this time next year when the top nine teams from each country will form the Unified First League.
Despite discouragement from Fifa, Uefa have insisted only that proper procedures are followed to give their ascent to the league. Gazprom, the Russian energy giant and Uefa Champions League sponsor, has underwritten the project with a commitment of 1 billion euros per annum.
As we know, in football, money talks, and the Russian and Ukrainian clubs, together with their national associations and Uefa, have been talked happy to make change possible.
In order to become competitive with their rivals in the west while meeting Uefa Financial Fair Play rules, Russian and Ukrainian clubs need to increase income, which the Unified First League would go a long way towards. Uefa president, Michel Platini, has long accepted that regionalisation was a viable way forward for domestic leagues, while former powers in smaller leagues have become disenfranchised from the game’s top table.
What does it mean for us?
Well, we don’t have a Gazprom, not yet, anyway, but once Gazprom’s financial and political muscle establishes the principle of regionalisation, that principle is available to all. Former Yugoslavia countries are already in talks, while Scandinavian countries have already had a few abortive attempts at (underfunded) regional cup competitions.
The British region.
Welsh football has managed to retain its national identity, provide an infrastructure for provincial and community clubs, while federating with the FA in England to allow their larger (sic) clubs to find their competitive level.
The model is already established for Scottish football, which has realised living with one (or two for that matter) massive club which completely invalidates their league competition as a ‘competition’ is no longer the best way to order their affairs.
Financial recklessness caused the collapse of one club a year ago while the recklessness of a Lithuanian bank has put another in jeopardy. A handful of other top-flight clubs now realise their financial commitments, not to mention sporting objectives, are no longer viable, with or without the crumbs from the table thrown in their direction when TV cameras and a few thousand fans arrive a few times per season.
Federate with England, just as the Welsh did. It will bring ‘competition’ back to our competitions, put thousands of everyone’s gates and provide access to viable commercial contracts.
Why are our leagues and Association not speaking to the English about this right now? The Football League in England is every bit as much a basket case as Scottish football right now, they also need to change the structural model and, unlike the equally lunatic (English) Premier League, appear to be self-aware in this respect.
Go talk to the Welsh FA, Cardiff City, Swansea, Wrexham or New Saints FC (!) and ask them what organising their game along the lines of the Scottish model would do to them.
Scottish football must federate or it will die. As such, if we stand on the precipice of crisis, let’s make it a good one. It’s the only thing which will get things moving.
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Canamalar
You have mail.
gonnae make up yir minds ur we huvin a windfsrm debate or a KEVIN DOYE wan.
Canamalar, ernie et al
Just logged on and loving the bird debate :-))
L.button been stuck fo 2weeks.
DBBIA @ 12 54 .
Windfarms
” They are a foul money making scam worthy of the lowliest Sevconian cunning ”
The EU admits that the Sicilian Mafia made at least 2.5 billion euros from scams relating to wind farms ..
FAVOURITE UNCLE
13:05 on 28 June, 2013
gonnae make up yir minds ur we huvin a windfsrm debate or a KEVIN DOYE wan.
Does Kevin Doyle like the burdz?
HH
BMCUWP
Hail hail Mhate ,hope you are well,looking forward to tomorrow ,Rutherglen Vogue
C.S.C on there way to Newcastle races and overnighter in the manky toon.
Hop on one of your buses and c’mon and join in the fun.
canamalar1
12:53 on 28 June, 2013
‘Ernie..,
Being a city dweller I’m not too fussed about country folks demands for a beautiful unspoiled view, IMO f*** em’
That’s a bit sad, but fairly typical of the inconsiderate times in which we live.
As if city dwellers have never appreciate the countryside and wilderness.
Theoriginal….,
Cheers
Hail hail
Ernie…,
I was poaching hares and deer for the best part of 15 years with my lurchers, I’ve got my own view of country folks as I said f*** em
Ernie is spot on, wind turbines do not reduce the need for fossil fuel or nuclear power stations because these stations are needed for security of supply.
They still serve a good purpose, when the wind does blow (quite a lot in Ireland, probably Scotland as well) there is less power generated through fossil fuels. This reducing emissions.
In Ireland, at any given time, roughly 20% of our power is generated by wind, it is hoped this will rise to 40% in the next 10 years.
Wind turbines are a long way from being a gimmick. Sad about the bird, however, in the big picture, turbines are better for the environment and wild life.
Cats? Cats? Did someone mention cats again?
You know, feeding domestic cats on common or garden birds and feral mice fed on domestic food waste, with a view to using the cats’ cadavers as fuel to fire crematoria like power stations is entirely carbon neutral, and provides the pet’s owner with a lasting environmental legacy for their loved one.
It’s my next big project.
Energy discussion – Can almost be summed up in a few words – Not in my back yard (NIMBY)
Wind farms – Kill some birds, but gives out no harmful waste while making energy
Nuclear / coal / Gas – Kills humans, Posions the water and the air.
No one wants power stations in their back yard, close to major towns, but they are happy for wind farms to go up
Stay in the hills and countryside, No one wants wind farms going up, as it spoils their view, happy for powerstations to be put up along the coast / rivers.
You think emails only go between Football chairman and the MSM.
This week we have been told that there is X amount of gas in the old coal mines for us to live off for years to come, But it means dangerous drilling, that may cause our water to be undrinkable.
The next day we are warned that the lights might be going out in a few years due to lack of power.
Oh my god, we cant let the lights go out, lets push through drilling for gas, who cares about the locals in the north of england we need power to light up London 24/7, we need to be voted the best city in the world forever.
UK – energy – its complex.
VOGUEPUNTER
PC67 and I were thinking of seeing if anyone was up for a trip to Haydock on 20 July,but Celtic arranged a friendly at Brentford.
Which will be a much cheaper option for li’l ole uselesspunter me.
Hope you fellas have a great time,sure you will.
Has Gordon managed to arrange his 50th yet?
Boss concert,that is….
Btw,looks like you’ll have a competitor less this year,as MB will be knackered from working while The Hoops are playing!
Kevin Doyle .
Think the last time I saw him he was playing for Ireland v italy in Euro 2012 . Memory says he is probably more of a wind farm than a footballer.
Interesting discussion regarding birds versus turbines,I am on the side of the birds,one of Gods truly great creations,but I think we should ask that great exponent of birds ,Frank McAvennie, to give us his opinion,then we can close the debate.
Wind Farms.
A lovely wee village in Ayrshire call Straiton is having an almighty struggle with Wind Turbines…
http://savestraitonforscotland.com/
por cierto
Imagine if the cats were responsible for building the wind farms jeez what a stink that would create, all those good folks with nothing better to do with all their spare cash than buy fancy binoculars and race around polluting the air in their big four wheel drives, while the other half of the world lives in poverty, aye my heart is pumping purple pish for the plight of the wee chookie birdie brigade.
Blindlemonchitlin 13:04
Wish I shared your optimism. These two are mates of posh Dave and strings will be pulled to see them let off.
Windfarms & Birds eh!
I find when I pass wind nae birds come anywhere near my wee windmill.
MWD
POR CIERTO
The inhabitants of Straiton need their heads looking at-build enough turbines and it will totally obscure their view of Maybole.
What a result!
Tallybhoy
12:48 on 28 June, 2013
Ffs!
Here we go again – Kevin Doyle for Celtic!
No!
No disrespect to the ghuy, but he is not what we need.
Would end up with splinters on his erse from sitting on the bench for an entire season – or ’til January before being dispatched to some backwater down south on loan
For sure he would spend most of his time “riding the pine”…………
Wind farms are all very well but what happens when they use up all the wind?
They won’t look so clever then, will they!
Ernie -I’m one of the million, I live in Shangri-La, which [as far as I know] has no cities, although the RC Cathedral used to be St Andrews in Dumfries, before it moved to Ayr.
Ayrshire again, gggrrrrrrr.
Forced to break from lurking in my ‘behind the scene’ role to end today’s debate.
Never mind the burds, or the view, the wind turbines need neodymium to make the magnets in the generators. Mining of this mineral is causing pollution on a huge scale, as toxic ad Govan some say;
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1350811/In-China-true-cost-Britains-clean-green-wind-power-experiment-Pollution-disastrous-scale.html
TBB
Very well spotted. Looks like Darryl Broadfoot’s MO to me.
MWD,LCD,LOL!
Mr. Gold
I really hope you know Mr Green and Mr Whyte…
Dontbrattbakkinanger
13:23
You prove Billy Connolly’s point about D and G people holding a grudge for a long time.
You also, conveniently, neglect to tell the bhoys and ghirls on CQN that the old Dumfriesian cathedral had burned down.
I blame the wind farms.
Had never heard of Manx Shearwaters until I saw them yesterday in the Irish Sea, magnificent creatures.
Mr Gold- element of the day!
‘Neodymium is a chemical element with the symbol Nd and atomic number 60. It is a soft silvery metal that tarnishes in air. Neodymium was discovered in 1885 by the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach. It is present in significant quantities in the ore minerals monazite and bastnäsite. Neodymium is not found naturally in metallic form or unmixed with other lanthanides, and it is usually refined for general use. Although neodymium is classed as a “rare earth”, it is a fairly common element, no rarer than cobalt, nickel, and copper ore, and is widely distributed in the Earth’s crust.
Most of the world’s neodymium is mined in China.
-lifted from Wiki/EWTB/EWLM.
DBBIA/periodictablecsc
mr gold,
It’s getting mined anyway, if not for turbines then there are a million other reasons for making magnets, trying to make it specifically about the wind turbines is just another load of bullocks.
Dont blame the mining blame those who are not protecting the health and welfare of the environment for everyone in the region.
Manx shearwaters like Manx cats have no tail
Podium chasers, on your marks…………
Afternoon all.
Copy over from TSFM
As result of conversation on Twitter I had cause to look at
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/ClubLicensing/Part2:National/Part2Sect8_Legal,Admin,FinanceandCodesofPractice%20Criteria.pdf
specifically
8.11 Entry level requirement for Audited accounts to be submitted.
8.12 The landscape note that allows for exceptional dispensation that might get around 8.11
8.13 Insolvency events that I interpret as the Entry Level box being applicable and the SFA setting certain conditions on a licence being granted.
So is 8,13 likely to be the get out clause for not applying 8.11 or is it 8.12 Exceptional dispensation etc or if it is 8.13 should all supporters, particularly of The Rangers, not be made aware what the certain conditions are?
See rules? there is a story behind them all Must tweet STV Grant.
C1st – don’t let the fact get in the way of the grudge ;/)
I thought Manx Shearwater was a 60’s Vaudeville act!
It’s not like coal mining causes problems in China…
Any mining process or gas exploration inevitably comes at a price.