The SPFL Competitions Working Group meet today to discuss league reconstruction. There is a phoney debate underway on this subject and a real debate which received significantly less attention.
The phoney debate is multi-pronged. It proffers that a 12 team division does not allow clubs the safety to develop young players. Instead, they bring in pre-developed players from the English lower leagues – our game is full of these players. It ignores that clubs in our 10 team divisions are more prodigious at blooding young players.
It is also suggested that fans are bored of playing the same clubs four times a season, that fixture staleness exists. This is true to an extent. The point is also made that with an increase in the number of games in European competition from this season, participating clubs play too many games. A look at Hearts results during and after their time in Europe stands this claim up.
All clubs have a common interest in the success of others in Europe. If Hearts do better in Europe, more money comes into our game, our coefficient improves, making it easier for others to get ahead in future seasons, again bringing in more money.
The new Uefa format also means more money distributed to top flight clubs not participating in Europe. Celtic’s participation in the Champions League this season earned clubs who did not qualify for Europe £1m each. That’s huge money for smaller clubs, who should be motivated to do what they can to ensure we always have a club in the main competition.
You will hear calls from lower league clubs for bigger leagues. What they mean is, they want a bigger Premiership. Scotland’s smaller clubs could consolidate their three 10 team leagues into a 16 and 14 team league without reference to anyone else, but they don’t want to.
This is because a 10 team league suits them. It creates jeopardy, which excites fans, which supports attendances, which brings money. Promotion and relegation is good for football. Bigger leagues is where drama goes to die.
A problem unique to the Premiership is the resource gap between top and bottom clubs. Celtic’s participation in the Champions League, and the money generated from TV companies by showing games involving Celtic and Newco, generate close to half of some Premiership clubs income. It is not just the ticket money they earn from us, they survive through money brought into the game by Celtic and Newco.
That is enough to bring top flight football to Dingwall (population, 6,000) but offers nothing positive to the competition. Instead, Celtic spend the majority of their time domestically at a level our Champions League opponents never get to see.
I want to see a better Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen and Dundee United. That is best achieved by sharing whatever money we bring into the league from Uefa or Sky TV with fewer clubs, not more. 10 teams with greater income, fewer games but more competition. The Working Group’s question today, should be: How can we narrow the gap between Premiership and Champions League football so that Celtic (and perhaps Newco) can thrive there, bringing millions more to our game? Instead, all you will hear is people wanting their piece of a smaller pie.
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Why hello there Wednesday eve!
So should we play the B team at the weekend?
HH
Afternoon all
Some clubs outwith the top league, would help enhance it IMO, decent stadiums and fanbases, grass pitches,they deserve a cut of the pie.
Reports Seville are in for Bernebei, we have a sell on….
You forgot to mention that there are far too many teams in Scotland.
A larger league would only have a chance if there were, say, 2 leagues of 14, but the didi teams would have to consolidate first before it’s even considered.
Would definitely keep the 12 team top league. You don’t make a weak cup of coffee stronger by adding more water to dilute the coffee even further. The one obvious change is to drop the first Premiership play-off round. Complete waste of time.
Any News on JOTA ?
HH.
AIPPLE
We are playing the B team…..know what I mean?
Celtic have a period of dominance under the current set up. We should not change it.
I suspect we would still dominate under any set up but there is no advantage to change the set up.
12 club Premier division
Personally, I think the current set up is as good as it gets, but what we do need to improve is youth development.
The path to first team football is being blocked by average players from outside Scotland.
Celtic are as guilty in this area as other teams.
Most seasons we seem to bring in 4 or 5 guys from abroad, but for every Engels there are 3 or 4 Kobiyashis, Sorros, Haksa etc, who are not good enough.
I am not sure how you do that, as someone like Hatate didn’t have a particularly brilliant CV before he arrived, so its not straightforward and maybe it’s about a limit on numbers per club.
Bottom line is more Scottish youngsters means money spent is recirculated domestically, which by default will improve standards.
Bigbhoy 1:11
A bigger league would suit our competitors much better. You are essentially replacing games against good teams with games against poor teams. Less chance of points being dropped.
Also, when we have to play the top European teams in the Champions League we moan about it being too much of a step up from the domestic games. That doesn’t get any better by having to play a Raith/Morton rather than a Hibs/Aberdeen.
this agenda is being driven from above. It can only be about money.
Problem with developing our on players is if you get a few promising young bhoys they are picked up when they are sixteen……….we should have an agreement with leagues in Europe that hands of until eighteen or there about………with the present condition i think its a waste of time and money to invest millions into the system
Should say IMO
Any league that has us playing them only twice gets my vote
you want boring try a ten team league at the top
teams played not to lose
average goals per game plummeted.
Scottish players being developed in a Scottish league set up . pie in the sky nonsense. the best can move freely and earn big money very early in their career.
i do not understand what benefit a smaller league has for celtic
Good afternoon from a very warm North Staffs.
League reconstruction will have to be approved by Sky
get rid of sky completely
what league of comparative stature to ours has competition enough that their best team can step up in europe ?
Any predictions for the B team cup final tonight against the huns ……
What YORKBHOY said at 3-34 .
👍💚🤍🧡
Hello my fellow Tims,
LAst night ended a McBride tradition over here in Bama. My last daughter played her last fitba game under her auld man. We lost in the playoffs 3-2 to the defending champs. My wee ghirl scored a Murdo McLeod freekick from 30 yds out, upper 90. Alas, the ref decided to give the other team a pk when it was tied 2-2, and they scored. The VAR in high school soccer over here is sadly lacking:))))) I have had the pleasure of coachin 2 out of my 4 kids, and now that era is over with. My youngest, my son, is a wrestler /American Fitba wrang shaped ball player. We play 25 regular season games, including 6 area games to get to the playoffs. The 6 games are played against 3 teams, home and away. The rest of the season we can schedule games against teams who play higher up or lower down depending on the schools numbers and depending on how adventurous you want to be or how good you think yer team is. I was a wee bit sad at the end of the game as my wee ghirl will now go and play college Div. 1 fitba, and I don’t get to say her full name out loud anymore, Annie “git the Brits out now” Grace McBride, ( though if you ask her mither she will just say that it is Annie Grace:))) I don’t care who Celtic play, I will be watching them and cheering them on anyhows.
All the best to you all.
Sean
Boondock – Well done for coaching the kids. Did the same here in MN and enjoyed it immensely.
Great header Mr67. It’s tough to find a solution in Scotland that suits everyone, but I find myself in agreement with your thinking.
So the problem is not enough quality teams and not enough tv revenue.
Solution to me would be a tv pool of 30-40 million people for a changed format.
Say we align in regional divisions like NFL and play a regular season of home and away games v top 5 other teams in Scotland and 2 games from each of 4 other countries of similar standing and geographic proximity.
Sweden Denmark Norway Ireland for instance.
Eg games with Copenhagen AiK Brann Shamrock R Brondby Malmo Bodo Derry etc plus Aberdeen Hibs Hearts Rangers Dundee U.
After first phase of 18 the top 2 in each country / division go through to a league phase competing home and away for 2 champions league places and 4 champions league qualifying berths.
The 4 Scottish teams who don’t get to the second stage would go back and play in a championship to ensure qualification for top 4 in the following seasons division and also play for Europa and conference places.
36 game season, better competition and broader tv reach / revenue but still a domestic championship. Also a pyramid for smaller teams with ambition to work through.
Similar replicated around Europe could level the playing field a bit.
I was about to write about Celtic going on there own when it comes to showing live football games home and away ,but I came to the conclusion that Sky ,TNT and Premier Sports would stop it from happening, on the other hand sell there T V rights to another broadcaster abroad.
how does a smaller league allow aberdeen or hibs or united to develop their younger players to become competitive?
listen to a number if podcasts today.
timternet not happy with price increases.
but also several raising the point if going for record goals and keep mentioning 106.
but the record is 116.
and ange did 114 just 2 seasons ago
evidently some Celtic fans actually do not know their own history
This may be a bit left field… but what about introducing another league for younger players and first team players coming back from injury? The young pros get the experience of playing with and against first team players on a regular basis and gets them closer to playing girst team football…
No idea what we could call it though, can’t call it a second league as that’s confusing with the 2nd division maybe back up league? I’m sure someone will come up with a better name.
First no girst
MNCELT on 29TH APRIL 2025 4:51 PM
Boondock – Well done for coaching the kids. Did the same here in MN and enjoyed it immensely.
*me tae over here in small town Ontario, luved it until Covid put an end to it
York hoy – I assume your tongue was firmly in your cheek as you expertly described the old Reserve League – scuppered by der Hun because they couldn’t afford it- allegedly!
Sky must have said no
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cpvrwy92l4go
St Mirren:
McCulloch, Beckett, Munro, Fitzpatrick, Dunlop, Copland, Stark, McGettrick, Bone, Richardson (Bell), McGarvey. Sub: Torrance
Goals: Fitzpatrick (36), McGarvey (65), Bell (86)
Celtic:
Latchford, Sneddon, Lynch (Craig), Aitken, MacDonald, Edvaldsson, Mackie, Conroy, McAdam, Glavin, G McCluskey, Sub: Ward
Goal: Glavin (pen 31)
A notable game?
Scullybhoy
It sure was.
Jock’s last game as the boss.
Scullybhoy
It sure was.
Jock’s last game as the boss.
What a dismal season.
JINKYREDSTAR on 29TH APRIL 2025 5:51 PM
York hoy – I assume your tongue was firmly in your cheek as you expertly described the old Reserve League – scuppered by der Hun because they couldn’t afford it- allegedly!
*plus we were heading for a reserve NIAR
To be beaten by jock Wallace by a country mile really showed how far we had fallen.
We did not even make it into Europe.