CaleyD

I wonder if Northern Constabulary will be arresting those responsible for creating a situation which was likely to upset travellers and lead to public disorder???

Handbags

Until we sort out football all the way to grass roots and start bringing through more quality players, then I don't think it makes a lot of difference who the manager is.

We could always invite @easterross81 for you!! Poor Gordy!!!

Tickets are on General Sale now and should be purchasable by anyone!!!

A wiki needs more than one or two people, and it needs almost daily commitment to keep it up-to-date and accurate...and that comes from experience. Scotty and I have been toiling to get the stats up to date and we've been at that for 2 or 3 years (maybe more). Putting the site/software in place is the easy part....entering nearly 20 years of data and information, as well as keeping on top of all the new data and information is not an insubstantial task. Not trying to put people off, but if this is something that is going to happen then people need to go in to it with a full appreciation of what is involved and the commitment required. It would, IMO, be a fantastic thing to have and I hope enough people can be found to support it, get it off the ground and keep it going.

15 people got round a table to look at both proposals. The majority of them were from the SFL and the consensus from that meeting was that the SPL proposal was the one with most potential for success....with some tweaks. As I understand it, the merging if the league associations was also part of the original SPL plan...which was basically that they would the 12-12 and leave the rest for the SFL to administer on their own. You say that the quest for change will destroy the game....perhaps....but let's not forget that it is the fans who have been shouting loudest for change and not so long ago it was an "anything except what we have" demand that was being laid down. I've already said in this thread why alternatives would not see the light of day (under the current setup) and I stand by that. As for the 14-14-14, some of those who are now claiming this as the way forward were saying in their last breath that there was insufficient quality teams to support a 12-12, but we are now to believe that there's sufficient to support a 14-14!!! They've argued about the finances being insufficient to support 24 teams, but now want to increase that to 28!!! I sometimes wonder if fans have got caught in a mindset whereby they hate the establishment so much that they want any proposal, so long as it's not one they come up with.

So he's out of Scotland the first chance he gets, but wants to dictate what league setup should be put in place before he leaves....Mad Vlad could have some competition!!!

Possible ID-Ten-T error....seems to be working ok now.

Blackpool given permission to speak to Peter Houston.

Whether you agree with Burley or not doesn't matter as his idea would never see the light of day. He's talking about a setup which involves kicking out 6 teams and there's no way any of the Div 3 clubs would vote to see that put through. It's for the very same reasons that we won't see a 16/18/20 team top league (my preference).....because there's SPL teams who will not vote to get rid of (the chance of) that extra home fixture against Celtic We can stamp our feet about not liking the current proposals all we like, but nobody has come up with an alternative which would be acceptable to the majority of clubs...or in the SPL's case 11 of the 12...and that is the sad reality of where Scottish Football finds itself at this moment in time. The only way to break that deadlock is to implement what is being proposed because if it's rejected then Scottish Football is going nowhere other than into continued decline for the foreseeable future. This is not only about getting a new league structure, it's about getting rid of the stranglehold the minority have on the way the game is run. With these proposals come a whole new setup and levelling of the playing field on the voting/power front. No longer will change/progress be totally stifled by the need for 11/1 majorities, so if the 12-12-18 isn't working then change can be agreed and implemented without all the political nonsense and BS we are witnessing at present. Those who think Chuckles Green is in any way concerned about being in the third tier next season should it go through are being distracted by all his bluster and bravado...the reason Green does not like the proposals is because it removes the future power Rangers would yield if/when they return to the top tier, the power they lost when they were dumped down to where they are now. The proposals might not be what we hoped for, but they are a step in the right direction for Scottish Football. If not, immediately, on the playing/product front...them most certainly from the political setup and balance front. Until that is changed then we have no chance, ever, of getting the game to where the majority of us want to see it.

Who would I get to kick about?

That can't happen so long as the current SPL rule is in place.

Well known that I could start an argument in an empty room, but this is really stretching it...!!!

As I understand it, there were other issues with those leagues....can't be ersed going to check for certain, but I believe at least one of them had a 2 point win system and one of them had some convoluted formula so that teams in middle league kept a proportion of points at the split. Not saying we should totally ignore what happened with these leagues, but need to be careful of viewing them as a direct comparison.

Alex made a funny

I agree with this. I know a few Junior sides that feel making the step up will ruin them. The best junior side from the West is Auchinleck Talbot, could you imagine them having to travel to Elgin and Peterhead every other saturday. A lot of the fans from the Juniors and EOS,SOS leagues would like the option to deny promotion, I'm not sure how the highland league are taking this but they do not feel making the step up is worth it at this moment. This could be a problem and would make a mockery of the set up in suggestion. The lower 18 should be regionalised into two leagues of 10, automatically promoting two non league sides to make up the difference geographically. I won't name names as I'm saying this from memory and don't want to inadvertently misquote anyone, but I've talked to 3 managers/ex-managers from lower league & Highland League who have made the same point as you. There's a good few clubs out there who are fairly happy with where they are at because they have a setup which works and stretching to compete at higher level would destroy them. What they are/were hoping to get from reconstruction was a regional setup which would, as you say, increase the number of local games (derby matches) and reduce travelling because those are the games which draw the crowds and bring in the money needed to operate. Personally I get a little fed up with the constant attempts to "fix things from the top down" in Scottish Football and just as much, if not more, attention needs to be given to the lower, junior, amateur etc leagues so that things are being fixed from the bottom up and so that we have a strong product down there in which to feed both players and interest in the game to the upper leagues....and let's not forget the need for home grown talent for the National squad!!! There might not be enough money in the game to filter much more down to that level, but there's things that can be done to save these clubs money and give them the opportunity to grow themselves....this is the ideal chance to put some of these things into place.

They're trying to push this through for next season. Alex.

But you're only guaranteed one home derby...so no change in that regard. Alex has given the figures....this year is also, to date, higher. The biggest "gap" between the two leagues is a financial one and this is being addressed under the new setup which, as I understand it, will see an additional £1 Million (minimum) being filtered down in order to address the situation. The new financial model, again as I understand it, will also go some way towards levelling out the distribution of funds with the top two places getting less and each position below that getting the same, or more, than they get at present....this goes all the way down through all 24 places in the top tiers.

With the current split you are not guaranteed your derbies either and as it's a 50/50 split with 6 teams in each you are even less likely to get them than you are with the new setup where you would keep two thirds of the top tier intact. Why is that any different from what we have at the moment? You buy your season ticket without guarantee of 4 games against any team. Personally, whilst I would be disappointed to see us in the bottom 4 come the split, I'd actually be looking forward to a second half of the season against some new opposition and a chance to visit some different grounds. I'm also not so sure the drop in crowds argument holds much water....you're team are effectively starting afresh and pushing for promotion back to the top tier for the new season. A scenario that is far more likely to get fans out supporting their team than the many meaningless bottom 6 clashes that we have at present. I've never agreed with the standpoint that there's a huge gulf between top half of Div 1 and bottom half of the SPL, so I think games will be far more competitive than you give credit for. What's more, because the split is due to come at the start of January, teams will have the transfer window in which to make preparations for the remainder of the season as they'll know where and who they will be playing against. A situation that doesn't exist at present and one which will allow the middle tier to become even more competitive and exciting.

Mary Jane

That's pretty much where I am at in my thoughts, DoofersDad. It's not my preferred choice of setup, but I've resigned myself to the fact that we're not going to get a 16/18/20 team top tier....and although I don't have all the information to hand, I can kinda see why moving straight from what we have to that would generate financial issues which rarely get a mention when the issue is being discussed by fans. As I've said elsewhere...the status quo is not working and everyone wants rid. For that reason I see the new proposal as progress, because the only workable alternative from what I can gather is going back to a 10 team top league. The bit that worries me most about the proposals is the 18 team third tier which is going to generate a shed load of travel for smaller teams....and the expense that comes with that for clubs and fans. They'd be better inviting in another two teams and splitting that into two regional leagues of 10.