Having failed to convince Premiership clubs of the need for league reconstruction to save Hearts from relegation earlier this month, Ann Budge’s latest plan will be discussed by the SPFL’s board today. While Premiership football is expected to get underway behind closed doors in August, it is increasingly likely that the lower leagues will not start until it is possible for fans to attend, which will not be before January.
From what I hear, this plan, like the last, takes a holistic view of the game, spreading resources throughout the 42 clubs. Minds in the Premiership, though, may be more attuned to recent comments from Gordon Strachan, who continued a lifetime habit of stating the bleeding obvious by saying most of Scotland’s senior clubs are not professional in the modern sense. Sure, they pay wages, but they have few professional trappings and have an appalling record of player development in recent decades.
Budge would be better off with a plan to accommodate the few other lower league clubs who would prefer to start playing behind closed doors. We could end up with around 16 senior clubs – a bit short for two divisions but these are unusual times. Have a Community League, have promotion and relegation to/from the Professional League, but let’s not pretend clubs taking £100k are essentially the same as those who make our game commercially viable.
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Moi
Good afternoon Bhoys !
Most of those clubs I would term as community clubs and while we are at it ban plastic pitches too😱
Goooood afternoon all,another beautiful day in ML5.
Hail Hail
Stay safe
That’s not all he said.
I thought his remarks on improving the overall product were just as important as his view on the number of clubs i.e. who is interested in watching St. Mirren play Hamilton on a plastic pitch in a stadium with 3 stands?
It has amateurish written all over it.
I don’t see what’s “holistic” about her plans.
That is the most over-used under-comprehended boastful word in the English language.
What’s wrong with thorough, comprehensive or fair, or whatever virtue you see in her deck chair re-arrangement?
it will certainly put the nerve of all Premiership CEO’s to the test, as they will be voting away a guaranteed 3 games against Celtic and the Ibrox Club and risking it will only be 2.
What is Budge offering them in order to swing a vote in her favour?
Lot’s of opinions get bandied around wrt how many teams should be in the top tier, how many times should teams play each other, whether we want a league split at some point etc. – but one thing that we need to take on board is that SPL clubs will be looking to maintain 19 (or perhaps 18) home games come what may.
A single home game for Celtic is worth around £1.5 million in revenue – that’s an awful lot of money when your total turnover is between £50-100 million (variation dependent on European fitba, sponsor bonuses etc.)
Seems like the only viable future options are 12 teams (as we are with split at 33 games); 10 teams (play each other 4 times with no split); 14 teams (split at 26 games with top 6 playing each other 4 times) or somehow cobble together a single professional league of 20 teams (or perhaps 18).
I reckon that there is a good chance we will end up with a top 10 in the not too distant future as a host of mid level teams become financially stricken.
Hello again all you young rebels.
RPMCELTICFAN
You are correct of course, we are a family, we should be asking after all our kin.
But you know sometimes there’s a time when a poster just needs a break from
the blog, and disappears for a week or two, as MACJAY and myself and many
others have done.
I think there’s a difference in circumstances with SOT and particularly BIGYINMILAN
which i have explained on here.
I think you’ll know, and maybe i’ve not explained it well, but people have their own
reasons not to post.
The bottom line is i’ll be happy if they’re o.k. and just pissed off with the blog , or me.
Anyhows it’s great that you care.
H.H . Mick
Unfortunately for Hearts and ICT, two of the main beneficiaries of 14/14/14, they require massive goodwill from fellow Championship clubs for the proposal to pass. Perhaps they should have been more thoughtful about how they engaged their fellow league members during the recent votes on how to conclude the season.
Does anyone really think if hearts hadn’t been relegated they would be pushing reconstruction.
No me neither.
GENE
Budge is acting purely out of self interest .
MILLER’S EMOTIONAL FAREWELL
————————
I wish young Calvin all the very best.HH son
I’m sure he will be made up with that:O)
VOGUEPUNTER
I echo that, hope the bhoy has a great future.
H.H . Mick
The first principles fail in the Budge plan is the assumption that all the current clubs will be in a position to play. Reality is that it’s impossible to predict what will happen in the coming months, either football-wise, or socially.
There needs to be a shortlist of possible formats for the coming season, each factoring the risk that the coming season will be repeatedly interrupted.
There’s no rush to select one right now, and the decision should be taken as close to the last minute as possible, when the maximum amount of information is available.
All this waffle and bluster from the bawbags about an asterisk next
to the nine.
Why don’t we just say ” put two asterisks next to it, because thats twice
Celtic have done it ”
And … and when we do the ten just put A..STAR .X
Looks good to me..
H.H . Mick
If there is any good to come out of this then an honest realisation about the product in Scotland should be on the table. My wishlist would be :
-Good governance of the game.
-No plastic pitches in the top league. Promoted teams can access a loan to help with converting it.
-Stadia geared towards maximising the numbers and atmosphere at the game.
-2nd teams allowed into the 2nd tier.
-Less dependence on Hampden at semi-final stage of cup.
-Professional referees.
Less teams, more professionalism all round.
What does a significant reduction in the number of pro or semi pro clubs do for the development of young players? Will it make a material difference in a negative sense or enhance it?
Are we talking clubs simply going to the wall or clubs taking the opportunity to go full on amateur and have a stronger non pro set up where youths can learn the trade and still satisfy the community element that a lot of smaller clubs bring?
Genuinely finding it hard to get my head round all of this.
I’ve been working alone from home for almost three months now. I’m lucky that I can do that of course, but it ain’t good for the brain!!
Voguepunter
I think Calvin was voted the best player in the world for 14 year olds (when he was that age).
TIMHORTON,
You’re right, I think. He was a centre forward at that time. I had high hopes for him. Here’s hoping he still has a good career.
Tim Horton
Yep, the Stevie Fulton curse unfortunately. Of course, he was a left winger then, rather than a converted left back – that did for him sadly. I wish him well.
HH
pest
Here’s why I’d back a 14 team division…
If there was no pandemic and the season continued as planned… the top six at the time consisted of Celtic, Sevco, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Livingston & Hibs.
Pre-split Celtic would have played each of them twice away from home. Sevco will have played everybody twice at home.
We would still need to balance out home & away fixtures post-split.
This would mean Celtic traveling to two of Livingston, Aberdeen, Motherwell, or Hibernian 3 times in the same season. 3 trips to our bogey team Livingston on the plastic pitch? Our record at Easter Road isn’t amazing either.
Not only that but two of those teams would have to travel to Ibrox 3 times in the same season.
It’s inexplicable that teams competing for the title, Europe or survival don’t play identical fixture lists. The 12 team league needs to go.
TIMHORTON
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/when-celtics-calvin-miller-was-named-best-young-player-in-the-world/
Hearts are good for giving Sevco, the occasional doing..
Paul67 et al
Of course there was reconstruction in Scottish football relatively recently. The 5WA of 2012 for example, which allowed for the emergence of a new Glasgow club, and even moreso the creation of the SPFL in 2013 which was in part a result of the McLeish Report. Embdy remember that?
That has had some positive results, including the emergence of Edinburgh City, at the expense of East Stirlingshire, a club who had sold their ground several years earlier and were allowed to continue in the SFL, and football development in East Kilbride and elsewhere.
Discussed this with auldheid a while back, on here, and if I remember rightly he favours a geographical model, based around areas of greater population density, which would include Falkirk, Dundee, possibly Ayr, certainly a team from Fife, and access for both HIghland and the South (sassenachs one and all). How to achieve that without a franchise system? For the near future I would support a 16 team SPL, who would all have to meet specific criteria ie a decent football pitch etc. (That might obviate the franchise.) Would involve 36 matches or more. Will any of this happen? No. Sky are only interested in four 12,30 kick-offs on a Sunday.
Paul67
Reconstruction is needed in Scotland starting in Kings Park, who knows who’ll be in the Premier division, ‘the tail wagging the dog’ resonates down through the game here, see WGS.
HWG TIAR
CELTIC MAC
How to achieve that without a franchise system? For the near future I would support a 16 team SPL, who would all have to meet specific criteria ie a decent football pitch etc. (That might obviate the franchise.) Would involve 36 matches or more.
___
How would that break down?
If all teams play each other home and away that’s 30 games.
You still need to fit 2 Glasgow derbies into the remaining 8 or so games…
You could do a top 6 and a bottom 10 (split further into two groups like the Danish League)
Just to let the Blog know, our regular poster and good friend HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE is suffering from cancer and has been unable to post the last few weeks.
Treament is ongoing and his good lady has taken 6 months off work to care for him.
Stevie is hoping to be strong enough to post in the next wee while.
I’m sure a thought or prayer for his recovery won’t go amiss.
Thanks
Roberttressell @ 1.48
Working from Home
timaloy29
The idea of the break is always tricky.
Fifteen games home and away.
Two groups of eight? Thirty seven matches.
Sky will still get its’ four games.
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
Thinking of you mhate,all the very best ,hopeing for a big improvement in your health.HH
Hunderbirdsaregone
Best wishes for a full recovery.
SOT, TET, BigYininMilan, Macjay, WDH,
Thoughts with you all.
YNWA HH
Sorry to hear that, all the best Hunderbirdsaregone.
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
Best wishes to you for a full recovery YNWA
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE – thoughts and prayers for your recovery.
God bless you and your family
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
Thoughts with you on your ongoing fight ..
No one walks alone ..