GRETNA RESIGN FROM SFL

[SMEE]

Apprently a decision has been made to kick Gretna out of the SPL regardless whether or not they avoid being relegated. It is apparently because they have made no effort to start work on their stadium.

Can see them having one mighty fall from grace!

Discuss

[Scotty]

It was made clear to them (as it was to us when we got in) that they could only groundshare for one season. On that basis, unless they have a 6000 seat stadium ready by whatever date is required (still end March ?) then they have no-one to blame but themselves.

if they had started building one and needed extra time from March - June or something like that to finish it then fair enough, but it has all been talk of the 'eco' stadium with little or no action.

[Yngwie]

They lived the dream, now they are living reality.

Just look at their transfer activity this month. They offloaded a large chunk of their squad including some of their best players, and just brought in loans for the rest of the season.

Very sensible decisions from a club that knows its fate, meaning they can start next season in Division 1 with their lowest wage bill for many years, and then assemble a new squad more in keeping with their resources.

[SMEE]

I agree yngwie. Think the cold light of day has dawned on Gretna that their bubble has burst and the dream is over. Why go to all the bother and expense of getting to SPL in the first place though????????? Makes no sense to me.

Anyone know if Raydale is still able to host football or did they make a start on the work and think sod it?

[Johnboy]

At least they provided a nice wee insurance policy for teams like ourselves and St Mirren, guaranteeing us at least one more season in the SPL....

Not that we were ever in any danger of facing the drop.... :023: 

[tm4tj]

All this makes our tight purse strings look like a shrewd bit of business.  It has been said many times before, but short arms and deep pockets have kept us within our means the last few years whilst maintaining SPL status.  No big transfer window expenses, I for one am not unhappy with that.  Call it a lack of ambition if you want, but we are still there and will continue to be so, with this philosophy.  We can still knock on the door of the top six with what we have at our disposal, the spending of money does not guarantee success at the level below which the very top clubs can afford.

Gretna.............................**** mend them.

[RiG]

GIRUY Gretna!

[kiltarlity]

Kilmarnock fans breath huge sigh of relief!!

G

[+Gringo]

Anyone know if Raydale is still able to host football or did they make a start on the work and think sod it?

It is, they played their Cup replay match with Morton there on Tue (or was it Wed) night.  :004:

[Yngwie]

I thought they played that in Dumfries?

[Alex MacLeod]

They did play at Palmerston

[Alex MacLeod]

I said this at the time and I say it again. Brookes Mileson set himself a challenge to buy a football team and take them to the SPL in five years. He achieved it and now doesn't give a ****. What really gets me is that all the promises and plans were accepted by the SPL which allowed Gretna into the club to the detriment of far more deserving teams. Was their ever real commitment to provide the stadia or was it all a con to realise the dream?

If I had any clout I'd be calling for Gretna FC to be excluded from all Scottish leagues.

[CaleyD]

I don't think Gretna should be booted out of the SPL for any reason other than coming last in the league.

I also find it extremely ironic that any ICT fans should be getting all high and mighty about it after what we had to go through. 

How quickly the self preservation kicks in!!!!!

[Alex MacLeod]

One big difference here Don........we had to fight to get into the SPl but we put our plans in place and we adhered to them. In fact we went one further and got back to our own stadium earlier than initially planned. In the process we also fought to have the 10k seating rule changed and won. When we did get in we showed competitiveness and a desire to stay. Gretna have shown none of that. They paid players big bucks to get them here then got rid of them all and are showing no desire whatsoever to stay.

All teams know the criteria for being here and if they cant abide by that then sorry but I dont think they should be here.

[buckett]

Totally agree Alex - the whole Gretna thing has been a farce from day 1.

They've achieved Mileson's dream and now they're facing reality.

I would expect their descent to their true position in Div 3 to be a rapid one.

They've had their day!  :sillywave:

[Scotty]

I also find it extremely ironic that any ICT fans should be getting all high and mighty about it after what we had to go through. 

The difference is that we fought to get in, campaigned for rule changes that would benefit other teams in Division 1 (which we got), and then made **** sure we complied with the now relaxed new rules that we had to follow regarding stadium criteria and groundsharing.

Gretna on the other hand were happy enough to follow the same route we took (groundsharing) but dont seem to have done a single thing regarding upgrading Raydale other than blustering on about the "Eco-Dome" or complaining they have to have 6000 seats for a place with less than that of a population. Whats to stop them doing a Falkirk and having "tents for stands" or from doing an ICT and having slightly more costly temporary stands ? - they will certainly have received enough money to pay for this from SPL payments

I have posted before that I think the winners of Div 1 should come up no matter what, and i stand by that. My proposal has always been that the champs come up and if they dont have a compliant stadium, they get that season in the SPL (with all that extra money) to make it compliant. I would even go so far as to extend that a little from the March 31st deadline to the end of the season or start of the next if they were in the middle of the building works ... but in Gretna's case, they have done absolutely nothing to try and become compliant .....

[Heilandee]

I don't think Gretna should be booted out of the SPL for any reason other than coming last in the league.

I also find it extremely ironic that any ICT fans should be getting all high and mighty about it after what we had to go through. 

How quickly the self preservation kicks in!!!!!

I normally agreee with CaleyD's well thought out and reasoned arguements,however ,in this instance you are so of the mark i just have to take umbrage,I have no axe to grind with Gretna per se( i save that for Livi) BUT, they came up (to the SPL) on the same proviso as ICT,that many fought long and hard for, to get these ridiculous rulings overturned,by not following through, they are making a mockery of Scotish football (if thats possible).The beginnings of my own teams demise stemmed from having to adhere to the regulations in place and the absurd 10,000 seater ruling driving us to the edge of extiction,so please, dont give me the "footballs the only criteria" argument

[+Gringo]

I thought they played that in Dumfries?

They did play at Palmerston

Sorry guys. Match report I read said it was a Raydale....ruddy papers.  :32:

[CaleyD]

Gretna could, and probably should have been doing more to strengthen their case, and had they not been sitting so far off the bottom of the table then I suspect they would have done just that....however, the SPL have stepped in with what would seem to be a pre-emptive strike by saying there's no room for negotiation.....little wonder then that they would simply accept their fate and make no attempt.

I don't agree with any criteria being set outwith results on the park (other than inability to run a solvent club).  The argument that "we had to do it so they should too" is an argument we fought tooth and nail against when Partick were trying to prevent our promotion and for us to turn around now and use it against another team just sticks in the craw as far as I am concerned.

Unless you are in agreement with having stadium criteria as a deciding factor in relegation and promotion then there's no other plausible argument for anyone other than the bottom team going down, and no team should have to go through what we went through in fighting for a position in a league they have earned through performance on the park.

[Alex MacLeod]

I'm certainly not saying the criteria is right and I also believe teams should be promoted/demoted on merit but, there is a criteria and every team knows what it is. The fact is Gretna made a promise that they would abide by that criteria and provide a 6000 seat stadium by the start of next season. As things stand at the moment they haven't even started the project

We made the promise that we would provide a 10,000 seater and in the interim period we fought, with the support of others, to have that reduced to 6,000. and true to our word we added an extra 5,000 in record time.

If, since Gretna came into the SPL, they had been campaigning to get the rules changed to help them then I would sympathise no end but they haven't done anything.

[CaleyD]

Did anyone seriously expect Gretna to have made a start on expanding their ground unless they had a real chance of avoiding relegation?  Indeed had we not been in the position we were and had the opportunity to return to Inverness early then I very much doubt we would have started expansion by this stage in our first season in the SPL.

Where did Gretna make this "promise" that everyone keeps going on about?  The rules only state that all teams should provide details of the SPL compliant ground which they intend to use for the forthcoming season prior to the 31st March, nowhere does it say that you can only ground share for a single season or that you must have your own stadium by a set date.  In fact it was that very rule which ICT used to their advantage when they agreed the ground share with Aberdeen, even though it was not the intention of the rule to allow for ground sharing at all.

[Heilandee]

Mebbe's i'm more bitter than most,but sitting here with no football today,(and Dundee losing a lot of revenue due to the rescheduled game being midweek) as a direct result of Gretna being allowed to groundshare with Motherwell,in the light of their lack of action to right this, i would certainly think twice in the future,as will many i'm sure,  about throwng my support behind smaller teams being admitted without facilities able to cope with the criteria set out.

Whether i agree with these criterias is a totally different arguement.

[CaleyD]

I'm not unsympathetic to the plight of teams who have, in the past, been put under great financial stress by the Stadium criteria laid down by the SPL and who suffer from those costs even to this day.  However, we cannot keep on living in the past and keep forcing the same problems on other teams on the basis of "we had to do it so they should too".

Some people will be annoyed because they are of the opinion that Gretna have done nothing to help themselves, and that may be justified.  However, the situation is not of their making and was it not for the existence of the stupid criteria in the first place then we would not be having this conversation to begin with.  If your feeling aggrieved and bitter then that should be targeted at the SPL, they are the ones who put your club in the position it is in, not Gretna or any other single team....all they are doing is what is best by them within the rules laid out by the SPL.  It's the system that is wrong.

[SMEE]

Where did Gretna make this "promise" that everyone keeps going on about? 

It was a pretty elaborate bluff if they never had any intention to upgrade, as they had official plans drawn up, gained planning permission etc.

[Heilandee]

D,I,m sure we are in agreement that it's the system at fault and i'm certainly not of the "we had to do it so you" should school of thought, indeed, i have argued loud and long on ICT and St Mirren before's defence.But, as in society,the rules in place at any given time are the ones to be adhered to regardless whether they suit your circumstances.If the rules are breached the punishment should be enforced or the whloe system is pointless.(which in the case of the SPL is hard to argue against)