Interesting to see what the outcome of todays meeting will be with regards to this proposal put fwd by David Sutherland for another SPL league, will this mean the end to promotion from the lower divisions to the SPL I wonder? and will the TV money be spread across 22 teams? as mentioned on TV last night the main requirement criteria will be stadia size and facilities which would suit Ross County, Livingstone and St Johnstone but what about some of the other in the first div, has Hammy Accies got whats required for instance?

Excellent post Gringo, couldn't have put it better mesel.

If this idea had been taken on when we were on our way up the leagues we would have been denied promotion to the SPL2 as we never had 3000 seats, that is just scarey.

  I still don't see what's in it for the SPL clubs as surely the money will be even less when divided between more clubs? I don't for one minute believe it's for the good of the game.

If this idea had been taken on when we were on our way up the leagues we would have been denied promotion to the SPL2 as we never had 3000 seats, that is just scarey.

Which makes our clubs decision to back the idea even more shameful  :008:

Theres too many football teams in scotland.

The SFA should completely rethink and force small clubs that are geographically close to each other to amalgamate.

Id say we could amalgamate 20 small football teams into 10 larger ones.

ICTFC are proof that amalgamation can work.

I honestly believe that clach should have found a way to join us when we amalgated.

Even dundee and dundee utd should consider it, yeah i can hear people going on about great history blah blah blah,yawn but its the future we should be thinking off.

And please nobody try and bring up some nonsense about footballers losing jobs. i imagine the players in the lower divisions play for pocket money anyway..

errrrr! right then!  :017:

for the good of scottish football we should be trying to create an enviroment in which the clubs who could potentially support full time football themselves, can, without carrying the rest.

harsh on smaller teams but thats it, need to look after those clubs who actually contribute something to the game

errrrr! right then!  :017:

for the good of scottish football we should be trying to create an enviroment in which the clubs who could potentially support full time football themselves, can, without carrying the rest.

harsh on smaller teams but thats it, need to look after those clubs who actually contribute something to the game

So where would Caledonian and Inveness Thistle have been with this way of thinking?

highland league, unless they were willing to merge and form a club big enough to stand on its own two feet, like we have

I totally disagree with creating a structure which promotes eliteism and bleeds the game dry financially.  It's all fair and well saying look what we did and how it worked for us, but you also have to keep in mind that ICT were/are supported by a rapidly growing community (domestic, commercial and industrial) which helped us keep our heads above water until we reached the stage we are at now where we are, IMO, a financially viable business in our own right. 

To suggest and/or implement any kind of setup that strangles "grass roots" level football more than is already happening will be the death nail in the Scottish Football coffin.  We have a lack of talent coming through as it is, and the best of that is already being lured away to clubs outwith Scotland.  The only way to compensate for that is to promote football at the lower level, to support it and nurture it's talent and increase the number of players coming up through the ranks.

One of the biggest plus factors for us in our development is the way we have picked up talented players who have gone unnoticed elsewhere from the very clubs some are looking to "get rid off" - where will we find these players in future?  Will we be able to compete in a market where supply will drop, demand will increase and transfer prices will rocket?  I very much doubt it.

If clubs like ours want to continue to progress, grow and build, then we need the teams lower down the leagues to be as succesful as they can be, to be producing talent and acting as a player development platform.  Without that then we would need to be investing large sums of money in large scale youth/player development projects.  Either that or we will have to start looking abroad for players and whilst I have nothing against foreign players, I would far rather see our team made up predominantly of Scots, and I would also like to see that same ethos reflected in more teams throughout the entire league setup.

There is nothing in the SPL 2 proposal that I can see which supports any of that, and there is nothing to be gained long term from cutting loose the smaller clubs to either sink or swim.  These are the ideas which are killing the game here and the short term gains will soon be swamped by the long term damage, both at domestic and international level.

highland league, unless they were willing to merge and form a club big enough to stand on its own two feet, like we have

Did you agree with the Scottish league constantly preventing entry to the either Inverness team despite them obviuosly being good enough on a football front becase they weren't "big enough"?

Some years ago it was Willie Faulkner chairman of Queen of the South ( and on the SFA Board ) who raised the biggest objections to the Inverness teams entry, he was also on the board at the SFA.

" Did you agree with the Scottish league constantly preventing entry to the either Inverness team despite them obviuosly being good enough on a football front becase they weren't "big enough"?"

different times Heilandee , football used to be more piopular than t is now

...thats not to say i agree with constant blocking of invernessian teams entry in to the league sin the past.

things have changed now and we have to protect the clubs worth protecting

Same system with the same flaws contained in a different wrapper. Where's the benifit to Scottish football ?

May be different times CH2, but the principal is surely the same that self preservation/ self interest should not be the criteria for deciding clubs league status.The main problem at the "wee" end of  Scottish Football (IMHO) is that there is no relegation or promotion therefore allowing deadwood to remain and preventing ambitious and well run small clubs to evolve naturally.