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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HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
You are in my thoughts and prayers for a good recovery. We look forward to hearing form you when you are ready.
This is a gibbering shambles of a man,Prime Minister ffs
Hunderbirdsaregone.
Stay strong sir.YNWA
Hunderbirdsaregone. get it beat
My love and thoughts for your fight
and love and thoughts for your families fears as they watch you overcome this
Bryan x
Hunderbirdsaregone you’ll need the odd takeawaay saving time and hassle
Here is a half decent one full of nutrition
https://www.cailbruich.co.uk/cb-at-home/CB_at_Home_Menu.pdf
Hrvatski Jim
Belated Happy Birthday.
HH
CELTIC MAC on 27TH MAY 2020 3:14 PM
The idea of the break is always tricky.
Fifteen games home and away.
Two groups of eight? Thirty seven matches.
____
But isn’t that 1 game at Home 1 game at Ibrox & then a third game home or away?
I just don’t think 16 games works.
Sky will still get its’ four games.
The local paper in Leicester says that Leicester City has absolutely no interest in signing Kris Ajer.
Hunderbirdsaregone
I hope and pray that you will be back on your feet ASAP !
SOT, TET, BigYininMilan, Macjay, WDH,
I also hope that all these Bhoys are fit and well.
………
Boris Johnson has just been handed his arse on a plate by Yvette Cooper in relation to Cummings Gate…what a bumbling Chump this Guy is..and a dangerous, self serving Chump at that.
HWG10IAR.
Stay safe everyone.
HH
HRVATSKI JIM…
A belated Happy Hoopy Birthday mate…all the best.
HWG10IAR.
HH
Is there any more news on our Adidas deal…has it been signed and signed…it all appears very quiet ?
HH
I have been Locked Up for 70 Days now…and I am innocent….PM Johnson should be Locked Up for 70 Years…along with Cummings and Gove !
I would never tire of sticking the heid on all three.
HH
timaloy29
Ideally I would play home and way once, but that would require more clubs, 18 probably, and unfortunately our footballing economy seems to require four particular matches to be played. On Sundays at 12.00
As the late great Tom Petty used to sing; ‘There’s no easy way out…’
BORIS back to confident self now that he is not lying through his teeth about BARNARD CASTLE.
BoJo on TV taking buffoonery to a whole new level.
Its being “Reported” that a wee Town in Kirkaldy has seen the residents on the streets doing a ” BOO for BORIS” Demo…
Wouldnt it be great if the whole ( or most of ) country decided to do this ?
LOL
HH
Thanks to all for the birthday wishes. All over now – back to the grind and no real football to watch.
Big Jimmy – based on your tales previous antics, I am worried that you are still contemplating 10 in a row!
CELTIC MAC on 27TH MAY 2020 5:01 PM
Ideally I would play home and way once, but that would require more clubs, 18 probably, and unfortunately our footballing economy seems to require four particular matches to be played. On Sundays at 12.00
As the late great Tom Petty used to sing; ‘There’s no easy way out…’
____
Scotland isn’t France, Germany or Spain. We don’t have the type of population to support 18 or even 16 clubs without “Community Clubs”
I think 14 is probably an improvement on 12 and is the best we will be able to do.
The Danish Superleague has this system.
You start off with the 14 sides playing each other home and away. The top 6 will then enter the “Championship” round and play each other home and away again.
That would mean Celtic would play only 36 fixtures which will be a decrease in income but should help the team compete in European Competition and three domestic competitions.
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE,
Good luck fella, stay strong and thoughts with you and all your family at this time.
For the record, I really wish Cancer would just GTF now…
Hunderbirdsaregone,
Thoughts and prayers with you, stay strong.
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
Will say a prayer for a full recovery.
BIG JIMMY on 27TH MAY 2020 5:01 PM
Join the queue amigo…….
Hunderbirdsaregone- the best of luck HH
Hunderbirdsaregone. Wee prayer said to St Peregrine and I will remember you at Mass tomorrow.
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
Look forward to seeing your post on here in the very near future, good luck and god speed por cierto
I dislike all the talk about having too many teams and teams not being big enough. Just about every club starts from humble beginnings, football must always have scope for growth and development of clubs and players.
In saying that I would change the lower leagues from national leagues to regional leagues. Less travel would hopefully lead to less expenditure which would help to improve the product. Also more local derbies are always a good thing for fans for product and income generally.
My own league structure proposal would be:
Premier league (national) 14 team
*top 6 bottom 8 split
*2 promotions
*2 automatic relegations
*12 placed team in relegation play off from championship.
……………………………………………………………………………………
Championship (national) 12 team
*2 promotions
*3rd, 4th and 5th promotion playoff
*2 relegations
……………………………………………………………………………………
North region – South region
Champions up Champions up
*League size will be determined at start of every season but will never fall below 10
*Bottom team always relegated
*Premier league colt teams can play in league but can not be promoted/ can be relegated
……………………………………………………………………………………
Highland league – lowland leagues
Champions up champions up
*League size will be determined at start of every season but will never fall below 10
*Premier league colt teams can play in league and can be promoted
……………………………………………………………………………………
Feed from lower divisions, juniors etc
……………………………………………………………………………………
Gordon S always talked a lot of sense but there is no sense in pushing teams out just cause they dont have big stadiums and thousands of fans. The goal should be to get those teams to improve. If the bottom teams improve it stands to reason the top teams will also need to improve, or be replaced.
HH
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE
Stay strong, thinking of you, I’ll remember you in my Prayers at Mass tomorrow.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
HRVATSKI JIM on 27TH MAY 2020 5:08 PM
Hoopy Birthday mate hope you had a hooptastic time.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Hunderbirdsaregone – thanks for letting us know via Philbhoy. That’s you on my ever lengthening bedtime prayer list as you fight that terriblel curse.
Hope to see you back on here soon. And for different reasons I hope we also hear (even if it’s just “test”!) from South of Tunis, Macjay and many other regulars that have been quiet of late. HH
Hail Hail Hunderbirds.👍
PHILBHOY on 27TH MAY 2020 2:56 PM
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
—————————————————————————–
I had the pleasure of meeting Stevie at my only hoot lovely guy with a great love for his family and his team. Been unlucky with health issues. Stevie you’ll be in my prayers.
Thanks for letting us know PHILBHOY.
KEEP THE FAITH
End of Leipzig game. Guys embracing….???
HUNDERBIRDSAREGONE.
Love to you and your family.
Stay strong.
Good evening CQN from a gloriously sunny Garden of God
Early finish from work this afternoon
Garden
Drink
Pashed
Talk shoite
Repeat mañana
Hail Hail, oops sorry that was my diary insert.
D. :)
Got word today that our Tenerife holiday for early July is cancelled thank goodness.
Mrs David 66 was not going at all costs (there is a joke in there) she was willing to say bye bye to £2k….
Thank goodness we will get a full refund. Downside she wants me to do up garden with new Decking. Aaaaaggggghhhhh
D. :)
Personally I think there shouldn’t have been any relagation until this pandemic was over ,then restart to see who gets promoted and who gets relegated,How would Celtic fans feel if our team was in that position,It’s totally unfair,What I would like to see is the demise off the SFA and the SPL,I’m sure our clubs in the premier league and Championship teams could run it better
Gordon Strachan is only stating the bleeding obvious , however the problem is perhaps that of language.
The clubs as he describes as not professional are still clubs with a fan base that support them and in turn get their football fix with friends (until now) every weekend. They are social magnets whose poles have reversed.
They are in the main community clubs, but aren’t we all basically if you apply the above definition?
For all we are a PLC Celtic are a community club, they are the totem around which the Celtic community dance near and afar.
So perhaps instead of the term “professional” we need a new language that reflects the different community levels clubs operate within.
Criteria for allocating clubs on a community league table would be size of support, extent of geographical reach ie match attending support footprint, closest rivals, football history, club tradition,realistic ambition etc.
If that bag of a fag packet set of criteria were to be applied to Scotland then, if we were starting from scratch (and that is the reality clubs and supporters might have to face ever so reluctantly just as much as we reluctantly came to terms this season would not be completed. ) what would emerge?
So a wee exercise that you never know might get folks thinking is: taking the 42 clubs in Scotland and calling Community Level One at Celtic level where would you place each club? Where would the split from Community Level 1 to Level 2 to level 3 or more be?
For example Aberdeen Dundee would be level 1 but does Dundee need two clubs a couple of hundred yards from each other?
Hearts and Hibs would be Level I. Would Livi sneak in?
Motherwell and Killie would be Level 1 but would Hamilton?
Lower down I find it harder to suggest who fits where because I simply do not know enough about clubs lower down, but Falkirk and Stenny would be level 2 but not as two clubs.
As I write this feels like the type of exercise SFTB would be great at (apologies for volunteering you) but I think it is exactly the kind of rational thinking that needs to be applied, but to make it happen it is essential supporters are part of that process and the most representative of organisation with community club forming experience is the Scottish Football Supporters Association https://scottishfsa.org/
So if you feel inclined let me see your suggestions and feed them to Paul Goodwin at the SFSA to chew over.
If you put Community Clubs in your reply I can pick them out easier.
HunderbirdsareGone,
The very best of luck with your illness,
Will pray that you have a full & speedy recovery.