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League restructure


Jack Waddington

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14 hours ago, Jack Waddington said:

Heard something about a potential outcome being Hearts and Partick being punted right down the pyramid. Though, I doubt it would happen, as the pair of them would raise hell with CAS and UEFA

I believe that is a possibility as the articles of association for the SPFL say something about being able to expel members if they take them to court or something like that .... dont know the exact wording, but someone did mention it in the discussion somewhere - or perhaps I read it online elsewhere. Bottom line I think is that Hearts and the League are waiting to see who blinks first .... but the outcome in the end, i believe will be that Hearts get a few extra dollops of cash to sweeten the blow (while Stranraer and Partick get ignored) and that things proceed as planned with relegation/promoton

Scottish football has really shot itself in the foot yet again and proven that it is still stuck in the early 20th century. It comes from Doncaster down and includes some very small minded and parochial individuals who cannot see past the bifocals perched on the end of their noses. They can reconfigure and rename the leagues as many times as they like while basically staying the same. it does not improve the product, it is not progressive, and it does nothing to develop the game in the country and thereby improve the image and competitiveness of the sport at a national or international level. Improving the product on both those stages could and probably would lead to more investment, interest and sponsorship. We are on a downward spiral, and have been since the 90s yet no-one has the gumption to try and reform from the ground up. 

This time in history, with a global pandemic on a scale none of us have ever witnessed is/was an opportunity to press the reset button on many things in our lives and the methodologies by which we approach them ... it just seems ludicrous that an organisation who know their model is broken and needs to be fixed wont even pay it scant regard. 

  

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I agree that Doncaster is dreadful and that a stronger, more progressive and forward looking leader would do far better.

However, any replacement, under the current structure, would still be at the mercy of the collective club chairmen, and they are mostly men. A collection of often inarticulate, parochial and self interested dinosaurs.

We need a democratic structure where not all of the voting power rests with the clubs but perhaps with 40% or so of the vote being in the hands of an appointed body of appropriate professionals from outside the game.

We certainly need a voting structure more democratic than one where just two clubs from the top tier can stymie any significant change.

If a mere 52% was enough to tear us out of the EU, then surely a two thirds majority overall with the need for that to include a simple majority in each division would suffice.

We are still waiting for the any single one of the 26 clubs who wouldn't even debate a change that benefitted many and disadvantaged none to come out and logically and coherently defend their view

 

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On 6/20/2020 at 2:27 PM, Scotty said:

I believe that is a possibility as the articles of association for the SPFL say something about being able to expel members if they take them to court or something like that .... dont know the exact wording, but someone did mention it in the discussion somewhere - or perhaps I read it online elsewhere. Bottom line I think is that Hearts and the League are waiting to see who blinks first .... but the outcome in the end, i believe will be that Hearts get a few extra dollops of cash to sweeten the blow (while Stranraer and Partick get ignored) and that things proceed as planned with relegation/promoton

Scottish football has really shot itself in the foot yet again and proven that it is still stuck in the early 20th century. It comes from Doncaster down and includes some very small minded and parochial individuals who cannot see past the bifocals perched on the end of their noses. They can reconfigure and rename the leagues as many times as they like while basically staying the same. it does not improve the product, it is not progressive, and it does nothing to develop the game in the country and thereby improve the image and competitiveness of the sport at a national or international level. Improving the product on both those stages could and probably would lead to more investment, interest and sponsorship. We are on a downward spiral, and have been since the 90s yet no-one has the gumption to try and reform from the ground up. 

This time in history, with a global pandemic on a scale none of us have ever witnessed is/was an opportunity to press the reset button on many things in our lives and the methodologies by which we approach them ... it just seems ludicrous that an organisation who know their model is broken and needs to be fixed wont even pay it scant regard. 

  

Absolutely agree with that.  This is why the 14:10:10:10 model as temporary measure would have been the sensible option from the word go.  Apart from ensuring no major disadvantage to any of the member clubs, it could have given breathing space to agree a more radical review of the way Scottish Football is structured.

Hearts and Partick are right to feel aggrieved and betrayed by others member clubs but I think they are on dangerous ground here.  They not only have the SPFL's Articles of Association to contend with but also those of the SFA.  The SFA's require that when clubs are in dispute they should use the SFA's arbitration services, and the fact that the 2 clubs have chosen not to is why the SFA have written to both clubs to explain themselves.  The clubs say that they are in dispute with the SPFL and not with any other club, however, the SPFL is a member organisation and it was the clubs themselves who voted to make the decision.  

Of course, you need to be a lawyer to understand the convoluted wording of these legal documents so I may have it all wrong.  But it seems to me that the courts will simply tell Hearts and Thistle to go away and use the SFA's arbitration process.  They could then be deemed in breech of both organisations' Articles of Association and be on the receiving end of sanctions from both.  Added to that, if their action causes any delay in the Premiership season starting off, they could be liable for paying other clubs some compensation.

One thing I don't understand here is why they have asked the courts to scrap promotions.  Stopping clubs being promoted clearly harms other clubs as much as the vote which took place harms them.  If they simply asked the courts to scrap relegations then there is a ready made solution in the 14:10:10:10 model.  It seems like there is still some mileage in this saga and if we can be sure of one thing it is that the outcome will not be the right thing.

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Why on earth have the SFA waited so long to raise their heads above the parapet? 

As the responsible body for the game in this country they should have been more involved from the beginning.

And they wonder why they're no longer relevant...🤔

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  • 4 weeks later...

To fair to the club's involved I do think it is unfair to demote clubs when there is a possibility of escape. If it was all cut and Dryed fine but it not. Being a caley supporter I feel a bit agrieved we didn't get promoted but to get relegated is not fair.

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1 hour ago, bigman said:

To fair to the club's involved I do think it is unfair to demote clubs when there is a possibility of escape. If it was all cut and Dryed fine but it not. Being a caley supporter I feel a bit agrieved we didn't get promoted but to get relegated is not fair.

Which is why increasing the size of both the Premiership and Championship at least for one season was the fair and obvious solution that the selfish club chairmen who's own clubs would not benefit, but neither would they be Prejudiced, moronically refused to vote for.

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1 minute ago, Satan said:

Same money, split more ways for placings and  for tv coverage. 

But I always thought the money trickled down through the divisions not just the top flight. So who ever was 14th in the premiership would then get the equivalent of 2nd in the Championship. 

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That's news to me, and considering the old SPL was a complete separate entity from the SFL , and currently runs along similar lines in the new SPFL I'd imagine it's still has it's own prize money and definitely it's own sponsorship and tv deal.

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2 hours ago, Satan said:

That's news to me, and considering the old SPL was a complete separate entity from the SFL , and currently runs along similar lines in the new SPFL I'd imagine it's still has it's own prize money and definitely it's own sponsorship and tv deal.

Where there were 3 bodies - SPL, SFL and SFA there are now just two ... SPFL and SFA. The basic prize 'pot' based on finishing position is shared with all divisions but I think you may be right about some of the other extra payments like TV money etc. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
22 hours ago, Satan said:

Its all over then? 

Relegation completed & promotions upheld.

Big legal bills to pay.

Given that the litigation was relatively short lived and the arbitration concluded swiftly, I would expect the legal expenses of each of the parties to be in the tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.

The arbitration has been continued to allow the matter of expenses to be settled. Given that the SFA were largely successful and Hearts and Partick largely unsuccessful, the clubs are likely to have to pay the association's expenses as well as their own and possibly any expenses separately incurred by Dundee United, Raith and Cove Rangers who they were trying to deprive of promotion.

Sensible compromise and league reconstruction, even on a single season basis and all this could have been avoided but insular self interest won the day as always leaving some losers and very few winners. It seems that Scottish football never learns from past errors.

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  • 3 months later...

Can't remember all the details from the first voting debacle, did Albion actually vote against restructuring citing the travel distance to Brora as one of their reasons?

Always seemed like a no-brainer to me and couldn't understand the selfishness of those voting against such a great opportunity to start sorting out the mess of our league structure.

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