Urgency behind SFL plan

812

Dictionaries across the English speaking world will need to be updated for the term ‘loose cannon’, currently- noun, a person whose reckless behaviour endangers the efforts or welfare of others.  In future they should be appended, ‘Charles Green’.

For months Charles has been busy telling anyone who would listen to him that his The Rangers club will never appear in the Scottish Premier League.  Now, he has told the world the Scottish Football League are set to propose reconstruction which would see the end of the SPL and create one fewer step between his new club and top flight football.  He told TalkSport, “I understand that the Football League [presumably he means the SFL]on Wednesday are having a meeting of clubs and it’s the intention of the executive to unveil what they think would be a restructuring plan for Scottish football.”

Green is one of the few from the SFL who have had anything to do with the plan, few were aware of it until his announcement yesterday.  I hear the other architects of the plan inside the SFL are chief executive, David Longmuir and Airdrie United director, Jim Ballantye.  My source also told me SFA president, Campbell Ogilvie was “in on the ground floor with the SFL plans”.  They will all, surely, be frustrated that Green was out there with the news before the league were.

As STV today reported, the SFA have set a deadline of 30 November for the leagues to agree a reconstruction plan, “threatening they would instead push through with their own plans to bring about change by the 2013/14 season if an agreement could not be reached”.  That’s next summer!

Timing here is everything, and is urgent.

The SPL Commission will soon convene into Improper Registration of Players at Rangers…
the predecessor club of The Rangers…
whose SFA membership The Rangers benefited from in order to compete in league football with less than three years accounts…
and who consequently are liable for penalties served on Rangers.

If found guilty, and no one is holding to the pretence otherwise anymore, the consequences for The Rangers are enormous.  Forget about the inevitable stripping of titles, this is of historical consequence only, prize money [of circa £15m]will also be reclaimed and a punishment levied.

As I have said before, the toxicity of the old club is simply not viable to continue with.  Newco Rangers either have to start from scratch, or the structures of Scottish football need to brought down with any penalties due wiped from the slates.

The Rangers share prospectus, now overdue, will have to detail these risks to the company unless an alternative narrative can be agreed and presented.

The chances of the SPL giving this Longmuir, Ballantyne and Ogilvie plan serious consideration are remote.  It is a nonsense, will be rejected by the SPL and may even face opposition from those clubs within the Scottish Football League who stand to benefit from the change, but will find the motivations behind it unsupportable.

Scottish football is enjoying a well-earned renewal this season, no thanks to the game’s administrators, but the serious allegation, that many leagues and cups were won for over a decade by a club which was paying players against the tax laws of the country and against SFA, SPL and Fifa regulations, has yet to be resolved.

Until we know the truth, hear the consequences, know that those responsible are no longer in control of the game and have been banned for life from future involvement, there can be no talk of expedient change.

STV’s revelation that the SFA have imposed a 30 November deadline is the greatest illustration yet why “heavily conflicted” Campbell Ogilvie should have been on garden leave months ago. All those who carried out the duties which led to this shambles, and who have legal responsibility for it, should receive the life ban from the game that was promptly applied to Craig Whyte.

A swift rebuttal of this nonsense with a clearing of the decks is required. There can be no discussions on these matters while inquiries are on-going and those responsible for recent events are still running the game.

You can read CQN Magazine for FREE here , you can also subscribe for £10 or £20, and our sponsor, Executive Shaving, who offer an enormous range of grooming products, are offering readers a £20 voucher for all £30 CQN Magazine subscribers.





[calameo code=0003901717b03ef5e64cb lang=en page=30 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
Click Here for Comments >
Share.

About Author

812 Comments
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. ...
  10. 22

  1. Why on earth would a fourth tier team be invited to field a team of reserves in the league they currently play in anyway?

     

     

     

    cv

  2. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    kevjungle – murdo 78/87 – 97/98 = cheerio 10 in a row :o)

     

     

    11:51 on

     

    13 November, 2012

     

     

    Every now and again you don’t appear to be the ‘full shilling’, but you are amusing …..

  3. The plotting continues in an attempt to breathe life into zombieland.

     

    The only resolution is to behead the twitching half life.

     

    Top down clean out is needed.

     

    Celtic need to lead or the pack will devour us.

  4. seanandliam1888 on

    Was reading an article last night about the cardihun being back and history and re-building.When are these twats going to get it into their thick heads you cant be back there is no history and you dont re-build a newco

  5. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    cathedral view

     

     

    13:34 on 13 November, 2012

     

     

    I find that hilarious….. Imagine the B team ended up higher in the league than the A team …. Everything they do / propose is a joke …….. Silly zombies2

  6. I was having a wee gander at the CFC official site and noticed that Paul George came on as a sub in the Dundee ….was he not expected to be out until after Christmas ?

  7. ROW Z - Let Celtic Flourish by the Cleansing of the 'den! on

    Here is my proposal for restructuring

     

     

    8 leagues of 4 and 2 leagues of 5. Each league has 36 games meaning you play each team 12 times a season 6 home and 6 away.

     

     

    The 1st league contains all the euro teams only. The last 2 leagues of 5 mean a free week for the part-timers once a month.

     

     

    The main benefit of this would see sevco enter at division 8 at best and then take a minimum of 7 years to get anywhere near the euro elite.

     

     

    Should european reconstruction happen at any point the 1st division can float off without affecting anything else.

     

     

    simples!

     

     

    HH

  8. bawsman

     

    They are worthy of a chapter by Hans Christian Andersen or perhaps more appropriately by the Brothers Grimm

  9. Cathedral View

     

     

    I made that exact point to a Hun this morning

     

     

    Apparently they’re not really a 4 div team and Scottish Fitba needs them to survive

     

     

    I cannae wait til thy go burst again ..arrogant tossers …completely lacking in humility and dignity

  10. RogueLeader

     

     

    just read your reply

     

     

    SFA and UEFA decide who get the european places not the zombies on FF or zombies who follow Cowdenbeath…

  11. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    the onlooker

     

     

    13:33 on

     

    13 November, 2012

     

     

    Think the 16 is the top fight……currently SPL…….? So, that would be the promoted a year early, but I think the current SFL1 clubs would hump them anyway…..

  12. And to think I niaively thought things couldn’t get more murky. Hingin’s too good for the likes of Campbell Ogilvie and his henchmen. They stoop ever lower to try and rehabilitate thon deid team. Boak inducing. Lang may they languish in Barlinnie.

  13. Chuck in London again this week frantically trying to get someone interested in his investment.

     

     

    “Let me make it absolutely clear. I will not be involved in the week to week running of the club or the first team.”

     

     

    Who said that yesterday?

     

     

    Stupid zombies…

  14. 67 Heaven 13:45

     

    The 16 is the top flight as noted

     

    The connundrum, that they seem not to have realised is that ZombieFC will ( even if promoted) still be in the New 3rd tier of the new league set up.

     

    As a newly promoted team they will not be in the new 2nd Tier as they would have no reason to be placed ahead of the bottom 6 teams currently in SFL 2.

     

     

    Therefore they will be in the newly expanded New 3rd tier ( as will Stirling who are currently bottom of Scottish football) . Therefore they will still be a further 2 promotions away from the new 16 team top flight.

     

     

    As I said

     

    Stupid Huns

     

     

    The Onlooker

  15. ….pfayr

     

     

    13:44 on

     

     

    13 November, 2012

     

     

    I cannae wait til thy go burst again ..arrogant tossers …completely lacking in humility and dignity

     

     

    Can a company be liquidated twice? Another world record to savour.

  16. ROW-Z @ 13:43

     

     

    One mark of true genius is when you come up with an idea to which everyone else says: ‘Why didn’t I think of that!’

     

     

     

    Brilliant!

     

     

    FF

  17. .

     

     

    TallyBhoy..

     

     

    Re; Super European League..

     

     

    The New Champions League is Coming Soon..(This is My Wish anyway..)

     

     

    The Champions League Weekend edition..Games Fri,,Sat..Sun..With national leagues playing Tue..Wed..Thur..

     

     

    Basically the SPL would be Celtic’s New ‘Reserve League’..Played midweek using a Skeleton squad..and ‘Prospects’..

     

     

    The WCL would be 20-24 Teams..with a Knockout Cup played Early Season with a Christmas Cup Final..

     

     

    But hey what do l Know..

     

     

    Summa

  18. Bawsman

     

    13:04 on

     

     

    He’s not the worst culprit…….by a long way………they are ALL complicit.

     

    __

     

    On Cosgrove, I agree. Likes the sound of his own voice too much, and just ’cause he knows a few long words folk don’t argue too much (mainly because they don’t know what he’s talking about). My point being that he has shed some light into the patheticness of mainstream print sports journalism in this country, they are more sheep than wolves by a long way. He describes dispicable practices as historical, but I for one don’t believe that anything will have changed. These practices show that it is highly unlikely that only the NoTW were tapping phones, they are all teh same and never point out each others failings, why would you when you may need a job there next week.

     

     

    You’ll excuse my poor spelling and garmmer as a fellow engineer :)

     

     

    HH

  19. Stewart Regan has no concerns over the failure of both the SPL and SFL to work together on change to the structure of the Scottish leagues.

     

     

    The Scottish FA previously set a November 30 deadline for the bodies to reach a final decision on the best way forward, and proposed setting up a working party of representatives from both to hold talks.

     

     

    That group failed to materialise and now both leagues are to present plans to their respective clubs on separate ideas for revolutionising the league setup, implying the cut-off date has been relaxed.

     

     

    Regan, chief executive of the Scottish FA, says he is relaxed over the split between the two leagues and expects the Professional Game Board to hear plans in due course before taking one forward.

     

     

    “Let’s look at the facts,” Regan told STV. “Nobody can go their own way without a unified process.

     

     

    “Proposals have to start somewhere. Something has to be put on the table that actually gets clubs talks and interested.

     

     

    “We had a whole series of proposals that were put forward over the last 18 months, led by the SPL. Those required clubs to vote on them and try and get a consensus.

     

     

    “We are in exactly the same position. This time the SFL think they have a proposal that will work and get the buy-in from the fans and the clubs. That’s to be seen.

     

     

    “That process will be started tomorrow. It will be followed up by the SPL, who will consult their own clubs.

     

     

    “When we have a consensus we feel we can take forward, that’s the point the Professional Game Board will try and put the meat on the bones and move the debate forward.

     

     

    “We can’t do it until we’ve got the first part of that tabled.”

     

     

    Regan defended the failure to forge a working party, saying he is content with the current process as long as clubs were in approval.

     

     

    He added: “It was really all about trying to get a proposal that clubs were happy with. The feeling was there needed to be a consultation process.

     

     

    “Once we have got formal feedback, the Professional Game Board will be able to take it forward. That’s still very much the plan.

     

     

    “I think it’s with the clubs. Any progress has to have the buy-in of member clubs. Until that consultation has been held, it’s going to be very difficult to make comment on that.”

  20. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    On subject of Celtic prospects, good to see Europa League goal machine Mo Bangura re-affirm his commitment to the ole Hoops.

  21. Premier League TV rights set to top £5bn for first time

     

    • Clubs set for huge hike from 2013-14 season

     

    • Final overseas deals to be concluded next monday

     

     

     

    Owen Gibson

     

    The Guardian, Monday 12 November 2012 18.59 GMT

     

     

    The global appeal of teams such as Manchester United and Chelsea is one of the reasons the Premier League clubs are set to break the £5bn barrier for TV rights.

     

    Premier League clubs are in line for a huge hike in television income from next season, with revenue from domestic and global TV rights deals on course to top £5bn by the time the final overseas contracts are tied up next month.

     

     

    On top of the blockbuster £3.018bn deal announced in June for domestic live rights with Sky and BT for the three seasons from 2013-14, and the £178m banked from the BBC for Match of the Day highlights, the Premier League is well on course to improve on the £1.4bn it brought in from overseas broadcasters under the current deal.

     

     

    If the total revenue breaks through the £5bn barrier as expected, the amount that the title-winning club receives from 2013-14 is likely to top £100m for the first time.

     

     

    Premier League clubs will be updated on the latest deals to be signed at a meeting this week, when they will also discuss proposals to try to introduce a domestic version of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play policy or other cost-control measures such as a restriction on wage growth.

     

     

    The hike in income will be cheered by clubs trying to balance their budgets to comply with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules and looking to exploit their commercial potential around the world, but will also increase fears that it will simply be passed on to players in the form of increased wages.

     

     

    The existing TV deals, which run to the end of this season, themselves marked a huge increase in overseas income from £650m for the previous three years to around £1.4bn for 2010 to 2013. In total the current deals are worth around £3.5bn, meaning that the Premier League clubs are on course to collectively achieve an uplift of more than £500m a year.

     

     

    Overseas income is shared out on an equal basis between all 20 clubs, while income from domestic rights is allocated according to a sliding scale based on league position and the number of appearances on TV. Just as the exponential rise in domestic income has been driven by competition between Sky and various challengers over the past 20 years, so the same process is starting to play out across the world.

     

     

    In the US, NBC outbid the incumbents Fox and ESPN and will pay around $250m (£157m) over three seasons, triple the existing contract, and show more matches on its national network.

     

     

    Manchester United’s vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, recently said that the US represented the number one growth target for the club, because a number of factors had coalesced to make it ready to take off.

     

     

    In Brazil, rights have been stripped out for the first time from a pan-continental deal and sold to Fox and ESPN for $50m, more than four times what the rights were believed to be worth as part of the previous South American deal.

     

     

    In China, in contrast, the focus has been on expanding reach rather than maximising revenue. A six-year contract was last week signed with the agency SuperSports Media to sub-licence matches to regional and IPTV broadcasters across the country. It goes beyond a traditional rights deal and also includes a joint marketing agreement to promote clubs in the country.

     

     

    Deals have already been concluded in the US and South America, South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, China, Singapore and Scandinavia. Deals for Asia and Australasia and the Middle East and north Africa are expected to be wrapped up within the next fortnight.

     

     

    Increases in income from the middle east, in particular, are expected to be driven by competition between al-Jazeera and its rivals.

     

     

    The rest of Europe, excluding Scandinavia, is expected to be concluded by Christmas. It had been speculated in the wake of the partial victory of a Portsmouth landlady in the European courts that the rights could be sold as a single pan-European deal to avoid the prospect of rival broadcasters undercutting one another.

     

     

    But instead the Premier League will continue to sell its rights on a territory by territory basis and limit the number of 3pm kick-offs on offer.

  22. Excellent article Paul67,

     

     

    I still hold the position that my continued season ticket purchase relies heavily on how the sevco situation is handled.

     

    Right now the game seems to be riddled with dodgy characters from top to bottom, all who appear to have sevco’s interest at heart.

     

    When money and self interest come before integrity, then the game is bust and we might as well walk away.

     

    Hope for the good of the game all the clubs supporters stick together again and tell sevco to get to.

  23. ‘GG

     

     

     

    If we didn’t already have him, I’d want him after watching that video. He’s scored some cracking goals for us.

  24. PF Ayr – as you know I lurk quite often on the ole FF (know your enemy SunTzu CSC) and to be fair there is a sizeable amount ranging from sceptical to downright against Green. There isn’t the same love-in there was with Whyte and it is the reason I think this share issue is going to fall flat on it’s bahookie.

     

     

    However they are still highly susceptible to his rhetoric. Media House have trained him well on strategy and things to say and when he comes out with a supremacist soundbite to a man they rally behind him. He has obviously been coached by somebody as nobody can consistently press the buttons by chance.

     

     

    Says a lot about the collective mentality that they are still vulnerable to carefully crafted words even after all that has happened.

  25. …PFayr

     

     

    The match against Dundee yesterday was Paul George’s 2nd sub appearance this season – he came on last week as well I think.

     

     

    Great to have him back after his horrendous leg break.

     

     

    HH!!

  26. Reconstruction

     

    3 leagues of 18 with relegation from the bottom league and 1 league of 2

     

    Sevco and sevco res can play each other every week in front of world record crowds and sing their songs of hate and no one else has to care…

  27. ASonOfDan – I bet nobody asked the Legned the 2 obvious questions :

     

     

    1) If you aren’t involved week to week in the business or team then what will you be doing?

     

     

    2) Which youth player are you planning on punching first?

  28. Last season, after 22 games, the 4th placed SFL team (Livi) had 29 points; the 4th bottom SPL club (Aberdeen) had 24 points.

     

     

    The six clubs sitting between these two were:

     

    Ross County (SFL: 43 points)

     

    Falkirk (SFL: 36 points)

     

    Dundee (SFL: 35 points)

     

     

    ICT (SPL: 22 points)

     

    Hibs (SPL: 18 points)

     

    Dunfermline (SPL: 17 points)

     

     

    ++

     

     

    Using the zany 2nd idea of 2×12 teams splitting into 3×8, ICT, Hibs and Dunfermline would most certainly have been relegated last season. Aberdeen would need to turn around 5 points v Livi in order to stay safe – a very tall order, given that they’re playing 14 games against clubs of a similar quality – how many would have bet on Aberdeen to beat Dundee, Livi, Falkirk, Hibs, ICT or Ross County toward the end of last season?

     

     

    There is little mention of how relegation from the ‘3rd 8’ would work (was there any mention, I can’t recall?), but one might conclude that 2up, 2down from the SFL would be put in place, or even one up one down. There was only 7 points between the bottom 6 in the 1st last season, so at least that would be competitive once you add in a couple from the top end of Div 2.

     

     

    Anyway, a basket case of a plan. Out that goes.

     

     

    Which leaves: a 16 team SPL. Followed presumably by a similarly sized SFL1, i.e. 32 teams all in for the top two divisions.

     

     

    Now, the current SPL, SFL1 and SFL2 have 32 teams and assuming it goes through at the end of this season and also assuming that relegation/promotion between SFL2/3 is upheld for the reconstruction, guess which club (on the assumption that TFPLG doesn’t royally horse it up), barely 9 months old come the end of this season, gets to jump up to the second tier of Scottish Football in time for kick-off next August?

  29. ROW Z - Let Celtic Flourish by the Cleansing of the 'den! on

    Reconstruction Blues 2

     

     

    If my last model was a bit limiting, here’s an alternative.

     

     

    Professional League 1

     

     

    18 teams play home and away once a season – 34 games

     

     

    A new Professional League Cup with Euro place for the 18 only

     

     

    Non-Professional (Community) Leagues

     

     

    Consisting of anyone else in any order they want. Includes mostly part-time players who work at something else for a living.

     

     

    The old League Cup merges with the Ramsden’s Sovvy Cup to form the Non-professional Communities League Cup.

     

     

    Theer will be no automatic promotion or relegation since there is only 1 professional league.

     

     

    As there is no relegation, the tendency to defend rather than attack will be removed.

     

     

    Unfortunately for SEVCO we seem to want this implemented in 13/14 so they’ve missed the party and remain designated as a non-professional community club.

     

     

    simples 2

     

     

    HH

  30. The EPL should be taking at least £1b of that and investing it in kids football for the long tertm good of the game down there.

     

     

    But, they won’t as the clubs will want every penny to give it to players who do not even come close to earning it.

     

     

    They should also be bringing in rules that no club can pay more than 50% of their income on player salaries.

  31. I think everything about last Wed. charmed the entire Football World, including Barcelona & their supporters. If there is a move towards a European Super-League any time soon, they will want Celtic involved. In meantime the Board should grab this opportunity & seek a meeting with top Clubs in Belgium,Holland & Scandinavia with a view of presenting a frame-work for a Northern European Super League and seeking EUEFA approval for same. We can’t go on in this corrupt cess pit, enough is enough, we need to move on to bigger & better things.

  32. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Sevconia should have it’s own League, the Sevconian Premiership, consisting of 2 teams, Sevco I and Sevco II.

     

     

    The trophy [the Walter Smith Shield of Loyal Dignity] is made out of papier mache from shredded EBTs [a world record].

     

     

    THe runners-up win a small but almost as beautiful replica [the Walter Smith Shield of Dignified Loyalty].

     

     

    They would play each other 30 times a season [another world record] and the winners get to sew on a new star every time they win it.

     

     

    The losers have to pay for Alistair’s gastric band.

     

     

    For viewers in blackand white Sevco I play in blue,and so do Sevco II.

  33. Martim1980

     

     

    14:22 on 13 November, 2012

     

     

    ‘http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/airdrie_united/8711987.stm

     

     

    The guy in twit pic is a completely different Jim Ballantyne to this guy ^^^. Just though I’d mention this before it snowballs.’

     

     

     

    Is one not just an old photo of the same guy?

     

     

    They are as fat, ugly and misshapen as each other.

     

     

    The years have not been kind to him.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. ...
  10. 22