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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Rangers 4th pen
3-2 huns .
Celtic 4th pen
Great strike
3-3
Rangers 4-3
Sudden death celtic need this and ….4-4
Huns great strike 5-4
Pressure all on celtic
And misses .
Rangers win the cup
Footnote;
The first half Sevco goalscorer on loan from Feyenoord aged 23.
Tavpen will probably display that cup at his testimonial , may as well show some honours 😅🤣😂
Prestonpans
He will be very disappointed if he can’t…
👏👏👏
Lovely guy that Belmont dude….
The wee Tic mibbe got beat wae the wee huns , the one thing they do better than the big Tic is win a 50/50 tackles .
I thought Bonnar and McArdle looked to have a chance and Cummings face tripped him all night when he didn’t get the pass he thought he deserved , and when his chance came it was an absolute shite pen .
Like the big team we controlled most of the game , pity we couldn’t see it through.
Very insightful that the 2nd Team has a wide audience, and players and coaches get demolished after them watching every game I presume?…….naw?
Good evening CQN.
Not bad Pablo but you didn’t do nearly enough to shift me from my 14 club preference.
Decent shout on two fewer league games.
I still believe 14 clubs could work for many reasons including
… Current set up guarantees we play all 11 teams in the league 3 times and 5 of them 4 times.
There are certain teams I don’t want us playing thrice, twice is enough.
I’d like us to play the better teams 4 times.
So all 14 clubs H&A twice x 13 is 26 games
Top 7 H&A a further twice x 6 is 12 more.
Same for bottom 7.
Nice and symmetrical. None of that stupid 20 home and 18 away risk.
2 down and 2 up.
I’m not persuaded the quality drop off from Ross County, Dundee, St Johnstone to Falkirk, Livingston, Thistle is huge.
To your point about bringing through youngsters?
Extra prize money for 8th, 9th, 10th in league at the split … for every minute they play a Scottish teenager.
Four games a season against Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee United, R2ngers and one of Motherwell or St Mirren?
I can live with.
PS – two up, two down.
..
As long as we, well when I see we, I mean the likes of Paul67, and Celtic, but not interestingly Brendan Rodgers, approach Scottish football from an Old Firm perspective and only an Old Firm perspective there will be no progressive development football wise. Lets not kid ourselves, Paul (Newco) 67 is built into the bricks with an Old Firm mentality, because is not only unwilling to consider any kind of alternative he is incapable of so doing. He has no direction known, outwith that parameter, and it would be foolish in extremis to expect anything other than his master’s voice. Expect one more season from Brendan, he has made it clear he supports change, change that will not be forthcoming, not any time soon. Ergo bye bye Brendan.
the rangers adding the ladies titles to the total.
govans mist succesfull club
brendans interview.
you dont know me very few do.
i think he is here long term to rule the club and the business
You don’t know me,very few do .
Is probably true of most humans.
TT
31003 on 29th April 2025 9:51 pm
Lovely guy that Belmont dude…
…………..
He SURE is !……and one of the kindest Bhoys that I have ever met, along with his lovely family.
BELMONT BRIAN is GREAT Company…something that you will never experience methinks.
I am very happy and proud to call BELMONT BRIAN a close friend.
Good morning from a sunny North Staffs
https://www.celticnewsnow.com/hoople/
Last line
Gene – hoople
Ty
Got it in three.
Mornin.
Good morning all from Govanhill.
“TinyTim on 29th April 2025 11:24 pm
`You don’t know me,very few do .` ”
Is probably true of most humans.
I found your comment interesting, TT.
https://youtu.be/fhpYejFXTC4?si=oa8r7SZkM2dUPwTC
Belgium:
The Most Complicated League in the World.
Please, please, please bring this to Scotland. I want to see Kris Boyd and Pat Bonnar explain it to the viewers / listeners .
Their heads will explode 😀
“The Onlooker on 30th April 2025 9:38 am
https://youtu.be/fhpYejFXTC4?si=oa8r7SZkM2dUPwTC
Please, please, please bring this to Scotland. I want to see Kris Boyd and Pat Bonnar explain it to the viewers / listeners .”
That would be hilarious :-))))
Cheerio for now.
working
Aberdeen get 20,000 tickets for Cup Final
Shambles again from the SFA.
Aberdeen ST can get 4 tickets each.
Hampden capacity is 51,866.
In all our recent cup finals against provincial clubs there have been unoccupied seats.
Even accounting for unnessesary segregation, there are unsold seats in the opponents end.
Most notably in the debenture areas and lounged of the south stand.
The sfa do not do enough to make these showcase matched fully occupied.
That they allocate Aberdeen 20,000 seats, right around the west and north stands, I hope, but doubt, that they have a plan to get the unsold south stand tickets intto celtic hands. But then again, Celtics allocations for south stand end up as Hospitality packages from Celtic Park.
Build a bigger stadium for goodness sake.
——————
Aberdeen have secured an allocation of 20,000 tickets for next month’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic at Hampden.
The Dons says it is the “largest allocation we have received for a final” in recent years and they have agreed to underwrite the cost of any unsold tickets.
The club’s statement added: “After extensive discussions, we were initially faced with the option of accepting a guaranteed 16,800 tickets, with a potential (but not guaranteed) additional 2,000 tickets.
“However, driven by our collective belief and confidence in the Red Army, and wanting to give every Dons supporter the best opportunity of being there to back Jimmy and the team, we agreed to underwrite a larger allocation which includes the North Stand up to the halfway line.
“We believe this significant allocation is a testament to our commitment to ensuring as many fans as possible can support the team at this crucial match, our first Scottish Cup final since 2017.”
The game on Saturday 24 May (15:00 BST kick-off) will be shown live on BBC One Scotland and will also be available to watch via BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
Anybody, please, please, please buy our tickets don’t let Celtic supporters get them.
Empty seats @ Aberdeen FC
new article posted.