Back Again

[Caley Stan]

I like Robbo's proposal. I've always favoured a 16 team league with an expanded League Cup (seeded group stages) to compensate for lost games but the 14 game proposal might be more palatable to chairmen and is certainly a damn sight better than the split we have now.

As for how to promote/relegate to/from regional leagues, it's being done all over the world - i'm just not sure how.

[12th Man]

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

Good answer !! Thanks John....

I hope TB is reading this!!

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

Hi John, have already contacted them, the uneven split isnt fair, my suggestion was a 14 team league but splits in to top 6 bottom 8, 7 and 7 means 2 teams don't play each week, slightly less games in the top 6 but bigger crowds and more space available for so called european fixtures, should in theory get further in the cups and more games in the bottom half= more income.

Just now its 38 games, or, top 6 plays 36 games and has bigger crowds

bottom 8 plays 40 games, with smaller crowds = 2 extra midweek fixtures + setanta coverage?

top teams will play more games due to cup runs domestic and euro anyway

everything is fair again with a balance between home and away matches, eg We could be playing hamilton 3 times at home this season if hibs finish in the top 6 or hibs 3 times at home if motherwell go up

As you have also mentioned this has a positive effect in lower leagues, the standard is a lot higher in div1 now, if 2 teams come up, then 2 go up from div 2 which helps the existing 1st div clubs maintain fulltime football as the 2 new teams are more likely to go down again at the end of the season.

[troublegum007]

I like Robbo's proposal. I've always favoured a 16 team league with an expanded League Cup (seeded group stages) to compensate for lost games but the 14 game proposal might be more palatable to chairmen and is certainly a damn sight better than the split we have now.

As for how to promote/relegate to/from regional leagues, it's being done all over the world - i'm just not sure how.

I wasn't sure how that'd work either. Suppose the most obvious way is if the 30 "regional" teams are divided up on a season to season basis, so each year the teams are split into 3 regions based on location. Would probably mean every now and then a side on the "border" of 2 regions moves from one region to another, but on the whole it'd probably work.

[latviaman]

I like Robbo's proposal. I've always favoured a 16 team league with an expanded League Cup (seeded group stages) to compensate for lost games but the 14 game proposal might be more palatable to chairmen and is certainly a damn sight better than the split we have now.

As for how to promote/relegate to/from regional leagues, it's being done all over the world - i'm just not sure how.

I wasn't sure how that'd work either. Suppose the most obvious way is if the 30 "regional" teams are divided up on a season to season basis, so each year the teams are split into 3 regions based on location. Would probably mean every now and then a side on the "border" of 2 regions moves from one region to another, but on the whole it'd probably work.

I have never asked you a question before, but how do you decide on who must / go stay. A lot of the players are preforming badly, at the crunch, so were you to have the chance to manage a team again, would you envisage a Good youth structure and giving them a chance , not the whole match but maybe the last 10 mins, or would you stick with the older players?

[JohnRobertson]

hears one for u john. what do u think of munro as captain? who would u give the captains arm-band?

i would leave captains armband with grant as i reckon he is well respected by players read previous post for certain others

[JohnRobertson]

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

Not a bad idea, but what happens if Ross County finish bottom of the Championship and lose to Berwick in the play-off final? What regional league do Ross County go into? The North would still have it's 10 teams since no one was promoted and obviously being relegated to the Central East league defeats the purpose of a regional system.

i take your point completely but this is where your pyramid system would kick in it would not really matter county would join the north division and make it 11 teams you just rejig the fixtures and if no one from the east of scotland league or the east junior league wanted to join you would simply play with 9 teams of course ther wil be ocassions like this but also would as in your scenario berwick have the criteria to join the championship as that would be set at a reliastic say 3000 seats with minimum 5000 capacity in that case they would not be able to go up we need to see which clubs generally want to improve while still allow a good league set up for them to flourish in time everyone would find their level but thats the kind of feed back i need

[JohnRobertson]

3.set up a conveyer belt of local talent and keep them up north(acheived)

Come on Robbo! We haven't brought through a first team regular since Grant Munro. Most of our 'local' players have been Pele signings from the Highland League and Aberdeen rejects. Most of them are getting on a bit now having served the club well for a number of years.

Brewster tried to bring through a few youngsters but that all went a bit t1ts up and one of Butcher's first acts was to sideline them.

your missing the point caley stan our youth set up only started 5 years ago when we had only 4 full time youth players!!!! the conveyor belt is starting to show fruit now with the likes of Duff Vigurs Wood breking through terry has left them out at the moment as in this present scenario nearly every team in our position go for experienced players thats why falkirk brought in Elvis until Danny started the youth set up we had very few quality young players as the club was not geared up for it

fraser low munro were the only local lads to come through recently but we now have a great youth team in the semi of the cup competing on an equal footing with the best of scottish football and almost all especially at the younger age groups doing exceptionaly well mark my words get down and see the u13 u 14 sides these lads are top quality and if you look at the changes from top to bottom the club is in a particularly healthy state look beyond the first team look at years ago who had top youth academy?? it was hearts and look how many good local players and scouted ones came through!! then 10 years ago hibs overhauled there set up and look at that now its a long process and not often seen but the 3 lads previously mentioned are the first shoots of what is going to be a very strong crop of talented and at last mentaly tough young local players

[JohnRobertson]

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

Good answer !! Thanks John....

I hope TB is reading this!!

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

Hi John, have already contacted them, the uneven split isnt fair, my suggestion was a 14 team league but splits in to top 6 bottom 8, 7 and 7 means 2 teams don't play each week, slightly less games in the top 6 but bigger crowds and more space available for so called european fixtures, should in theory get further in the cups and more games in the bottom half= more income.

Just now its 38 games, or, top 6 plays 36 games and has bigger crowds

bottom 8 plays 40 games, with smaller crowds = 2 extra midweek fixtures + setanta coverage?

top teams will play more games due to cup runs domestic and euro anyway

everything is fair again with a balance between home and away matches, eg We could be playing hamilton 3 times at home this season if hibs finish in the top 6 or hibs 3 times at home if motherwell go up

As you have also mentioned this has a positive effect in lower leagues, the standard is a lot higher in div1 now, if 2 teams come up, then 2 go up from div 2 which helps the existing 1st div clubs maintain fulltime football as the 2 new teams are more likely to go down again at the end of the season.

yes i understand one team would be spare but at end of long season clubs would see it as a blessing plus i cant see the sense or fairness and the league agreeing to a system that sees some teams playing 40 games and others 36 but unless we throw these things about we wont get anywhere

[Caley Stan]

It's good to hear you talking up the youth system at ICT Robbo, and i'm sure it's come a long way in the last few years - putting Celtic out to reach the Youth Cup semis is a testament to that.

However, i was responding specifically to this quote:

"set up a conveyer belt of local talent and keep them up north(acheived)".

Far from achieved Robbo! First shoots maybe - let's hope they are the first of many.

[JohnRobertson]

I like Robbo's proposal. I've always favoured a 16 team league with an expanded League Cup (seeded group stages) to compensate for lost games but the 14 game proposal might be more palatable to chairmen and is certainly a damn sight better than the split we have now.

As for how to promote/relegate to/from regional leagues, it's being done all over the world - i'm just not sure how.

I wasn't sure how that'd work either. Suppose the most obvious way is if the 30 "regional" teams are divided up on a season to season basis, so each year the teams are split into 3 regions based on location. Would probably mean every now and then a side on the "border" of 2 regions moves from one region to another, but on the whole it'd probably work.

I have never asked you a question before, but how do you decide on who must / go stay. A lot of the players are preforming badly, at the crunch, so were you to have the chance to manage a team again, would you envisage a Good youth structure and giving them a chance , not the whole match but maybe the last 10 mins, or would you stick with the older players?

as a manager you are looking for players to show you something through the whole season and depending on your league position or division you have to prioritise most fans at every club are not really bothered about youth set ups all they want is the first team performing and doing well as a manager you have to decide your priority is it looking after your job and the first team only or trying to build the club as a whole? at caley and livingston i concentrated mainly on first team but with a big input into a strong youth set up as finances dictated this for long term at hearts and county the youth set up was fine so could look at 1st team only as to players as said earlier young lads have to show something that they can improve and become part of your 1st team squad to keep them on some simply dont get the chance due to an outstanding 1st team player in their position ultimately do you keep a young lad on knowing he may never feature or release him to flourish elswhere some you get right some wrong Barry Robson the perfect example

if i owned or was chairman of lower league club i would love to say to my manager just get the best young talent in and nurture them sell them on as long as you attempt to play good football even at bottom of 3rd you get managers getting slaughtered by their own fans cos they are bottom

[caleyboy]

Sorry John but our youth setup did not start only 5 years ago and Danny MacDonald didn't start it. A massive amount of work had been put into youth long before you came to the club but because we were in the lower divisions it was not possible to have a full-time youth team. The club could only afford to have a very limited number of full-time youths when we were in the 2nd and 1st divisions but from that limited resource Grant Munro and Ike Fraser (both Inverness boys) came to the fore. For what was being spent at that time compared to the investment now being made, I would strongly suggest that this was an exceptionally good return. Now that we are an established SPL club and enjoy the money this attracts, the two full-time coaches the club employs and the resources available, I would be expecting a better return on this investmet. As you know, very few players are retained after U19 level and even fewer make the first team squad on a regular basis and because the SPL are disbanding the Reserve league I see even fewer being reatined in the future. Only Jamie Duff of the 3 players mentioned by you have come through the system as Vigurs and Wood came from the Elgin City setup and joined us at U19 level. I also find it bizarre that Danny, a qualified European Lic coach spends his time fund raising and not coaching! I normally value your opinions John and I have a great respect for what you did at the club but I think you should make sure your facts ar correct and also show some respect for what went before you.

Edited March 27, 2009 by caleyboy

[JohnRobertson]

It's good to hear you talking up the youth system at ICT Robbo, and i'm sure it's come a long way in the last few years - putting Celtic out to reach the Youth Cup semis is a testament to that.

However, i was responding specifically to this quote:

"set up a conveyer belt of local talent and keep them up north(acheived)".

Far from achieved Robbo! First shoots maybe - let's hope they are the first of many.

of course its acheived theseguys are the first of the conveyor belt we now have all the best young talent in the area playing for caley and not being taken down the road we have great coaches at all levels and the best head of youth in scotland with danny the fact we are keeping them here in our teams and competing on a level playing field is testament to that this is the start the fact we dint have car loads of boys going south to play for other teams and more importantly wanting to play for caley"!!! we have acheived that by keeping them here and bringing them through our system look at the local park even from arriving 5 years ago the young boys and girls are predominately wearing caley tops 5 years ago it was celtic rangers and aberdeen these guys are the firs off the production line started 5 years ago and they have made the first team how many have been clamouring for duff and vigurs to play recently??? 5 years ago these lads would have been playin down the road and recently the appeal of our youth set up has seen 30r 4 lads snub aberdeen and they were local aberdeen players to come to caley!!! as said set up conveyer balt of young talent acheived its in place

[BornCaley]

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

Good answer !! Thanks John....

I hope TB is reading this!!

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

John- some great ideas and even some Jambos i work with liked it, however someone asked about the regional leagues. If a team who was promoted from one of the regional leagues, was relegated...would they simply fall back into the league they came from. If so would this not cause a number problems

thoughts?

Edited March 27, 2009 by BornCaley

[JohnRobertson]

Sorry John but our youth setup did not start only 5 years ago and Danny MacDonald didn't start it. A massive amount of work had been put into youth long before you came to the club but because we were in the lower divisions it was not possible to have a full-time youth team. The club could only afford to have a very limited number of full-time youths when we were in the 2nd and 1st divisions but from that limited resource Grant Munro and Ike Fraser (both Inverness boys) came to the fore. For what was being spent at that time compared to the investment now being made, I would strongly suggest that this was an exceptionally good return. Now that we are an established SPL club and enjoy the money this attracts, the two full-time coaches the club employs and the resources available, I would be expecting a better return on this investmet. As you know, very few players are retained after U19 level and even fewer make the first team squad on a regular basis and because the SPL are disbanding the Reserve league I see even fewer being reatined in the future. Only Jamie Duff of the 3 players mentioned by you have come through the system as Vigurs and Wood came from the Elgin City setup and joined us at U19 level. I also find it bizarre that Danny, a qualified European Lic coach spends his time fund raising and not coaching! I normally value your opinions John and I have a great respect for what you did at the club but I think you should make sure your facts ar correct and also show some respect for what went before you.

i am not here to disrespect anyone who went before and trust me i know all the hard work that went on before i arrived and understand only to well why the club could only bring in so many players at this time in partivular the work of a certain MrBeaton who was and still is one of the most important figures in youth football in inverness currently with his work at clach and also his work in the park leagues summer leagues etc

if it is indeed correct that Duf and Wood started in the Elgin set up they finished at Caley and i would praise the fact that the youth set up now have the scouts in place to get the players into our system

as regards to Danny the reason he spends a considerable amount of time fund raising is that to the best of my knowledge the entire youth system up to but not including the full time youths is to be self sustainable!!! no money directly from the club therefor to keep every team/coach plus office expenses and travel expenses he has to raise it and second point of not having enough money to run a team in the first division ross county,dundee,st johnstone,livingston,dunfermline,all run youth teams as said earlier its about priority in youth or 1st team and i have no issue with that and certainly no issue whatsover with what went before indeed nothing but praise i am merly stating in my opinion at the time one of the most important things was to set up a good well run youth system to attract and keep the best young talent i knew danny well from uefa pro license course saw what he had in place at county and wanted him not only to replicate it but better it at caley i beleive he has delivered that system and that caley will benefit long term

i wish to place on record here and now at no point have i or would i disrespect anyone from the previous set up as ultimately it was far harder then without doubt merely pointing out that this was an area of the club that we could improve on and build thats all

paramount to everything then and now was the 1st team making the premier league as youngsters i beleive want to play for their local team and this will continue with participation in the spl

the current across the board youth set up was started 5 years ago and could not and would not have been a success with all those who worked previously fact i beleive the current set up is run or used to be under team ict to raise all monies to self sustain the running

i applaud the fact that the previous set up produced fraser,munro and to lesser extent ridgers and low all who have played 1st team football merely stating that the system is now in place to hopefully start producing a reglar stream of new talent and i am certain had this been in place from clubs inception we might have had many more who knows but now we do have it and lets enjoy it

[JohnRobertson]

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

Good answer !! Thanks John....

I hope TB is reading this!!

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

John- some great ideas and even some Jambos i work with liked it, however someone asked about the regional leagues. If a team who was promoted from one of the regional leagues, was relegated...would they simply fall back into the league they came from. If so would this not cause a number problems

thoughts?

as said earlier if someone was relegated say airdrie as example they would simply play in the west region and if a north or east region team went up you would simply play with one team less or invite another team in its not a bad thing for onre league to have 11 and another 9 as geographicaly its impossible to get it 100% plus i think it would allow all clubs to find a relistic level to compete say a tem like east fife or stirling albion peterhead with ambition and stadia in place made they could go up where as a team say like berwick or elgin may feel that they dont have the stadia the money or the attraction to go into a full time league

it is flawed when it comes to exact regional leagues but the highland league would then become a pyramid league for the north region etc

[caleyboy]

Sorry John but our youth setup did not start only 5 years ago and Danny MacDonald didn't start it. A massive amount of work had been put into youth long before you came to the club but because we were in the lower divisions it was not possible to have a full-time youth team. The club could only afford to have a very limited number of full-time youths when we were in the 2nd and 1st divisions but from that limited resource Grant Munro and Ike Fraser (both Inverness boys) came to the fore. For what was being spent at that time compared to the investment now being made, I would strongly suggest that this was an exceptionally good return. Now that we are an established SPL club and enjoy the money this attracts, the two full-time coaches the club employs and the resources available, I would be expecting a better return on this investmet. As you know, very few players are retained after U19 level and even fewer make the first team squad on a regular basis and because the SPL are disbanding the Reserve league I see even fewer being reatined in the future. Only Jamie Duff of the 3 players mentioned by you have come through the system as Vigurs and Wood came from the Elgin City setup and joined us at U19 level. I also find it bizarre that Danny, a qualified European Lic coach spends his time fund raising and not coaching! I normally value your opinions John and I have a great respect for what you did at the club but I think you should make sure your facts ar correct and also show some respect for what went before you.

i am not here to disrespect anyone who went before and trust me i know all the hard work that went on before i arrived and understand only to well why the club could only bring in so many players at this time in partivular the work of a certain MrBeaton who was and still is one of the most important figures in youth football in inverness currently with his work at clach and also his work in the park leagues summer leagues etc

if it is indeed correct that Duf and Wood started in the Elgin set up they finished at Caley and i would praise the fact that the youth set up now have the scouts in place to get the players into our system

as regards to Danny the reason he spends a considerable amount of time fund raising is that to the best of my knowledge the entire youth system up to but not including the full time youths is to be self sustainable!!! no money directly from the club therefor to keep every team/coach plus office expenses and travel expenses he has to raise it and second point of not having enough money to run a team in the first division ross county,dundee,st johnstone,livingston,dunfermline,all run youth teams as said earlier its about priority in youth or 1st team and i have no issue with that and certainly no issue whatsover with what went before indeed nothing but praise i am merly stating in my opinion at the time one of the most important things was to set up a good well run youth system to attract and keep the best young talent i knew danny well from uefa pro license course saw what he had in place at county and wanted him not only to replicate it but better it at caley i beleive he has delivered that system and that caley will benefit long term

i wish to place on record here and now at no point have i or would i disrespect anyone from the previous set up as ultimately it was far harder then without doubt merely pointing out that this was an area of the club that we could improve on and build thats all

paramount to everything then and now was the 1st team making the premier league as youngsters i beleive want to play for their local team and this will continue with participation in the spl

the current across the board youth set up was started 5 years ago and could not and would not have been a success with all those who worked previously fact i beleive the current set up is run or used to be under team ict to raise all monies to self sustain the running

i applaud the fact that the previous set up produced fraser,munro and to lesser extent ridgers and low all who have played 1st team football merely stating that the system is now in place to hopefully start producing a reglar stream of new talent and i am certain had this been in place from clubs inception we might have had many more who knows but now we do have it and lets enjoy it

Thanks for coming back John. I think you hve probably hit the nail somewhere near the head when you mention scouting system. It is my belief that this is the key to our future because I can assure you that ICT will NEVER be in a position to field squads of 16 - 18 LOCAL boys at U12 to U17 level. It is vital that we have football people scouring the North, East, West, Islands and Central belt for talent which could be developed. However, it is more important that these kids are coached by people who have played the game at a reasonable level. John Beaton and Co put in huge amounts of time and effort into Clach and ICT before it, but they have very little practical football experince. I know being a talented and experienced footballer does not make you a good coach but surely it must help. It is my opinion that not enough former players put enough back into the game and help these kids develope. I personally wish the ICT Youth Development Programme avery success but with the amount of self-generated money being pumped into it, it HAS to be. If Danny has 5 to 6 boys coming from the U17's to the U19's and they do well where do they go from there? There will be no reserve team so they will go out on loan to Elgin. If we retain our SPL status it will become more and more difficult for them to play 1st team football for ICT so we will see very little return for our Youth Development investment. In your day, you had a reserve team made up of first team squad players, the 3 or 4 full-time Skillies and kids from the U17's playing most Saturdays against the FREE highland league team - maybe this is where we will have to go back to - who knows. We then get into the debate of is it worth having 15 or 16 full-time U19 players with no "intermediate" step to the 1st Team? I could go on and on all day but I won't bore you.

[JohnRobertson]

Sorry John but our youth setup did not start only 5 years ago and Danny MacDonald didn't start it. A massive amount of work had been put into youth long before you came to the club but because we were in the lower divisions it was not possible to have a full-time youth team. The club could only afford to have a very limited number of full-time youths when we were in the 2nd and 1st divisions but from that limited resource Grant Munro and Ike Fraser (both Inverness boys) came to the fore. For what was being spent at that time compared to the investment now being made, I would strongly suggest that this was an exceptionally good return. Now that we are an established SPL club and enjoy the money this attracts, the two full-time coaches the club employs and the resources available, I would be expecting a better return on this investmet. As you know, very few players are retained after U19 level and even fewer make the first team squad on a regular basis and because the SPL are disbanding the Reserve league I see even fewer being reatined in the future. Only Jamie Duff of the 3 players mentioned by you have come through the system as Vigurs and Wood came from the Elgin City setup and joined us at U19 level. I also find it bizarre that Danny, a qualified European Lic coach spends his time fund raising and not coaching! I normally value your opinions John and I have a great respect for what you did at the club but I think you should make sure your facts ar correct and also show some respect for what went before you.

i am not here to disrespect anyone who went before and trust me i know all the hard work that went on before i arrived and understand only to well why the club could only bring in so many players at this time in partivular the work of a certain MrBeaton who was and still is one of the most important figures in youth football in inverness currently with his work at clach and also his work in the park leagues summer leagues etc

if it is indeed correct that Duf and Wood started in the Elgin set up they finished at Caley and i would praise the fact that the youth set up now have the scouts in place to get the players into our system

as regards to Danny the reason he spends a considerable amount of time fund raising is that to the best of my knowledge the entire youth system up to but not including the full time youths is to be self sustainable!!! no money directly from the club therefor to keep every team/coach plus office expenses and travel expenses he has to raise it and second point of not having enough money to run a team in the first division ross county,dundee,st johnstone,livingston,dunfermline,all run youth teams as said earlier its about priority in youth or 1st team and i have no issue with that and certainly no issue whatsover with what went before indeed nothing but praise i am merly stating in my opinion at the time one of the most important things was to set up a good well run youth system to attract and keep the best young talent i knew danny well from uefa pro license course saw what he had in place at county and wanted him not only to replicate it but better it at caley i beleive he has delivered that system and that caley will benefit long term

i wish to place on record here and now at no point have i or would i disrespect anyone from the previous set up as ultimately it was far harder then without doubt merely pointing out that this was an area of the club that we could improve on and build thats all

paramount to everything then and now was the 1st team making the premier league as youngsters i beleive want to play for their local team and this will continue with participation in the spl

the current across the board youth set up was started 5 years ago and could not and would not have been a success with all those who worked previously fact i beleive the current set up is run or used to be under team ict to raise all monies to self sustain the running

i applaud the fact that the previous set up produced fraser,munro and to lesser extent ridgers and low all who have played 1st team football merely stating that the system is now in place to hopefully start producing a reglar stream of new talent and i am certain had this been in place from clubs inception we might have had many more who knows but now we do have it and lets enjoy it

Thanks for coming back John. I think you hve probably hit the nail somewhere near the head when you mention scouting system. It is my belief that this is the key to our future because I can assure you that ICT will NEVER be in a position to field squads of 16 - 18 LOCAL boys at U12 to U17 level. It is vital that we have football people scouring the North, East, West, Islands and Central belt for talent which could be developed. However, it is more important that these kids are coached by people who have played the game at a reasonable level. John Beaton and Co put in huge amounts of time and effort into Clach and ICT before it, but they have very little practical football experince. I know being a talented and experienced footballer does not make you a good coach but surely it must help. It is my opinion that not enough former players put enough back into the game and help these kids develope. I personally wish the ICT Youth Development Programme avery success but with the amount of self-generated money being pumped into it, it HAS to be. If Danny has 5 to 6 boys coming from the U17's to the U19's and they do well where do they go from there? There will be no reserve team so they will go out on loan to Elgin. If we retain our SPL status it will become more and more difficult for them to play 1st team football for ICT so we will see very little return for our Youth Development investment. In your day, you had a reserve team made up of first team squad players, the 3 or 4 full-time Skillies and kids from the U17's playing most Saturdays against the FREE highland league team - maybe this is where we will have to go back to - who knows. We then get into the debate of is it worth having 15 or 16 full-time U19 players with no "intermediate" step to the 1st Team? I could go on and on all day but I won't bore you.

you are certainly not boring me and as we have discussed it can only help to try and get it right to me you could probably sumit up as abit like the chicken and egg argument if you dont have it how can you bring through good local talent and if you do have it what is the route forward

surely if it can work for teh likes of hibs and hearts it can work for caley!! this is were we must make use of our location and target the boys from perth upwards to wick and as far east and west as w can

i agree that alot of fottballers dont put enough back in i really do i find it disappointing that despite my background knowledge and credentials i cant seem to find a job with clubs(i have offered to do youth) with the sfa (so despite having the top pro licensei cant get a job ahead of their community coaches) it makes you wonder why i trailed over europe and britain and considerable expense when in real terms the badges are worthless as they still allow teames to employ managers and coaches who have not got relevant badges and if your not backed by the assosciation what chance do you have

i see in the youth set up now that we are starting to get players recognised and being selected for the international squads at the younger age groups and really do have high hopes for the future

and on another answer it may well be that the best way forward for caley may well be to enter a :B side in my proposed regional league?? who knows but healthy debate might one day see us get it right

[EWS]

Will you be at Ibrox tomorrow to cheer on the youth team that you are so glowing about?

[Guest Mahonio]

Hi Johnny, Do you go to watch our reserves and/or Youth teams and if you do who should we be looking out for in the Future?

By the way can i get your autograph? ;) :thumb04: :018:

[JohnRobertson]

Will you be at Ibrox tomorrow to cheer on the youth team that you are so glowing about?

no my contract with the bbc means i am unfortunatly unable to attend so i will be covering the county v dundee game but my best wishes go to the players and the coaches and i hope they continue to the final with an old firm double

[JohnRobertson]

Hi Johnny, Do you go to watch our reserves and/or Youth teams and if you do who should we be looking out for in the Future?

By the way can i get your autograph? ;) :thumb04: :018:

up antil my full time job with orion i was regular attender to reserve games but dont get to many now i was at the last round v celtic and was delighted to se them get through i reckon young shane sutherland looks an exciting prospect and as a former striker i like to see forwards do well

have a great weekend everyone and good luck to the caley lads in the cup and scotland v holland and i will be back monday if you need any other questions or anything else for that matter can i thank everyone so far for the questions and for taking the time to be involved

robbo x

[EWS]

Will you be at Ibrox tomorrow to cheer on the youth team that you are so glowing about?

no my contract with the bbc means i am unfortunatly unable to attend so i will be covering the county v dundee game but my best wishes go to the players and the coaches and i hope they continue to the final with an old firm double

That is a shame. I am quite looking forward to it, and with a lot of the Rangers team out on loan to other clubs (including I think Fleck) then they have a real chance. Hopefully there will be a good crowd for it as well, especially the ICT lot.

Another question:

What do you think about the MLS?

[JohnRobertson]

Will you be at Ibrox tomorrow to cheer on the youth team that you are so glowing about?

no my contract with the bbc means i am unfortunatly unable to attend so i will be covering the county v dundee game but my best wishes go to the players and the coaches and i hope they continue to the final with an old firm double

That is a shame. I am quite looking forward to it, and with a lot of the Rangers team out on loan to other clubs (including I think Fleck) then they have a real chance. Hopefully there will be a good crowd for it as well, especially the ICT lot.

Another question:

What do you think about the MLS?

HI ews

Sorry for late reply but was down the central belt with Orion yesterday

MLS not convinced it is as strong as it should be given the investment ploughed in to it and also given the size of the country and its vision about being the best they can be at any sport i dont think it has really taken off.

it will always struggle to push the hugely popular american football basketball and baseball and golf

however i do beleive that below the main leagues american soccer league and the regional leagues below that there is a lot on natarul young american talent it is huge at grass roots level with more participating at this than any other sport and ther may well be a few gems to be un earthed given some contacts and scouting network

there will always be the work permit problem for the american boys/men however with the huge mix of ex pats and european communities there will be a substantial number that could be obtained through blood line and european passports italian greek spanish portugese etc etc so worth taking a lok but not without its difficulties i would say

cheeers

robbo