GRETNA RESIGN FROM SFL

[Kingsmills]

That's right Gretna's parachute payment for next season and the season after has already been paid and long since spent.

[BA]

According to Sky Sports News Gretna have been demoted to the Third Division and therefore Airdrie United go into 1st Division and Stranraer to the 2nd Division

[Scotty]

Guess they didnt pay their internet bill either ....

http://www.gretnafootballclub.co.uk

[Scotty]

According to Sky Sports News Gretna have been demoted to the Third Division and therefore Airdrie United go into 1st Division and Stranraer to the 2nd Division

confirmed on BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...tna/7426281.stm

[Kingsmills]

Where they play next season is not the main question, the real issue is will they exist at all and that doesn't seem to be any closer to resolution.

The new season starts in ten weeks time. Surely in fairness to the teams waiting to apply for league entry that matter needs to be resolved in the next few days.

In my opinion if Gretna are not in a position to guarantee that they will be able to take up their place in the SFL by this time next week they should be expelled from the league so that a new member can be selected and given at least some time to prepare for the step up.

[RiG]

Why are they still getting away with missing deadline after deadline? It is clear as day that they won't be able to fulfil their fixtures. Get them out of the league altogether and get one of the more ambitious Highland League or Junior sides in.

Gretna are a sham of an outfit and finally people are realising this. I am delighted at this latest result though I feel for the fans who supported the team before Brookazade came in and destroyed the club. The lack of stick he is getting is shocking.

Gretna now has less than a week to escape expulsion from the League altogether as officials will not accept the continuing status as a club in administration.

Fantastic stuff!I look forward to the inevitable "Death of a Dream" guff from the BBC although that depends whether they've managed to get their backsides out of Gretna's arse first time around.

[Kingsmills]

I see that they have been included in today's draw for the first round of the Challenge Cup. I presume that if they're replaced in the league whichever team joins the SFL in their place will play Clyde in their stead.

[BornCaley]

just been confirmed on the news , that they will play in the 3rd division next season if they find a buyer...i think the current consortium might get cold feet with this news

[tm4tj]

Lucky break for Airdrie moving up into the first division.

The dream is now officially a nightmare...........but not any reason for gloating as we could be in the same dream if we don't keep a tight grip of the purse strings, one of the reasons for having to be shrewd in the transfer market.

[alimci]

just been confirmed on the news , that they will play in the 3rd division next season if they find a buyer...i think the current consortium might get cold feet with this news

clicky

Gretna Supporters? Society action group chairman Malcolm Dunn, a member of the creditors? committee who voted for the club to continue, said: ?As far as I?m aware, all we need now is for the SFL to agree to Gretna playing in Division One.

?I think we deserve that after everything we?ve done on the pitch.

?We need to get money into the club and the best way to do that is playing in Division One.

?If we?re playing the likes of Dundee, Partick Thistle and Morton we?re more likely to get decent crowds. If we?re playing teams like Cowdenbeath and Ross County, then it?s not so likely.?

There's a man who knows a lot about Scottish football...

[starchief]

Not sure if I agree.  If they can't play next season by a certain date, kick 'em out.  But why demote them from the 1st to the 3rd if they clear their financial problems?  Possibly a ten-point penalty like in England.  I hope the next team to have financial problems (ICT, St Mirren or whoever) are treated in the same manner.  I doubt it though.

[Kingsmills]

Since when have the various authorities that run Scottish football been logical or consistant. That said, I believe that, in the circumstances, Gretna have been treated very fairly.

[troublegum007]

Looks like a case of having everything in place for a new team to arrive in division 3 when Gretna eventually cease to exist

[caley100]

For sure,  they ( SFL) dont need the hassle of shifting teams, up the leagues later in the summer when Greetna eventually go out of exsistance.

Stranraer and Airdrie will be happy as well.

[alimci]

Not sure if I agree.  If they can't play next season by a certain date, kick 'em out.  But why demote them from the 1st to the 3rd if they clear their financial problems?  Possibly a ten-point penalty like in England.  I hope the next team to have financial problems (ICT, St Mirren or whoever) are treated in the same manner.  I doubt it though.

But Raydale doesn't meet Division 1 standards, and Gretna are not going to have the money at the moment to rectify that. They had over a year to do something about the stadium, but they never did.

[Scotty]

If I were a Gretna fan I might disagree with what I am going to say but I think the football authorities have bent over backwards to treat them fairly.

[li]When they went into administration they were docked 10 points by the SPL, effectively relegating them (or demoralising them to a point where relegation was not mathematically assured but pretty much inevitable). You could argue the rights and wrongs of this and use Motherwell or Livingston as examples of teams that managed to avoid the penalty but ultimately they were treated within the rules.

Whose fault is it that they went into administration? .... It is the club's fault and also Brooks Mileson who withdrew his backing. It was not the SPL's fault even if they did contribute by making them play away from home. However, Gretna didnt do themselves any favours there either. ICT were in the same boat a couple of years earlier and moved heaven and a lot of earth to make sure the TCS could be SPL compliant ASAP. The result ... the SPL let us play there once it was ready. If Gretna had done anything to Raydale to make it compliant, I am sure the SPL would have done the same.
   
[/li]
[li]The SPL bent over backwards to keep the team operational until the end of the season. We have all heard the parachute payments were paid in advance, and Motherwell also contributed by reducing the ground rent at Fir Park despite having to relay the turf near the end of the season. This was quite obvious self preservation from the SPL as having to expel Gretna would have caused all sorts of controversy in deciding the league title, final positions etc and it was in the SPL's interest to keep them going. I read this week on one of the news sites that the SPL also came to a deal to pay players' salaries to the end of season .... not sure if this was with the parachute payment but bottom line, rules were severely bent to accomodate and keep Gretna limping along to the end of season.
   
[/li]
[li]
The SFL sought assurances that the now relegated Gretna - who at one point could not confirm they would fulfill all their SPL fixtures - would be able to do this in Division 1. With no realistic rescue package in sight, and the administrators unable to confirm anything one way or the other, they did the only thing they could within their rules which was to demote the team to the lowest division and protect their other members who deserve to know exactly who they are playing next season so they can prepare for it. Anything else would have been unfair and would have caused untold chaos had Gretna pulled out a few games into the season and the SFL had to consider promoting other teams. Again, this is not the fault of the SFL or the other teams but of Gretna themselves who could not give assurances that they would not make a mess of the SFL like they could have done to the SPL
   
[/li]
[li]
The SFL have also said they only have until next week to confirm participation or face expulsion. Again, I have no problem with this as the bottom division teams also have a right to know what is happening. We could say that Gretna should be allowed to stay in the league and drop it to 9 teams if they pull out, but lets face it, Div3 teams get small enough crowds as it is and the loss of two home games for each side wouldnt help much
[/li]

Incidentally - I see Cove Rangers are positioning themselves for an application .... http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/664743/

[Kingsmills]

They seem to be the only Highland League team keen to gain entry this time. The Elgin City exoerience has deterred a lot of others.

[Guest couchpotato]

Who decided Airdrie should go up rather than Stirling stay up?

[The Mantis]

They must have decided that reaching the playoff final was a higher feat than finishing bottom of the league!

[Guest couchpotato]

They must have decided that reaching the playoff final was a higher feat than finishing bottom of the league!

Aye, but Stirling didn't have the oppertunity to take part in the playoffs as Clyde and Airdrie did even though they were effectively 2 places above Airdrie at the close of play

[Scotty]

Think the rules state that the bottom team must be relegated ..... Didnt County also gain a promotion in 3rd place one year .......

[CaleyD]

That was in 2000 when the SPL increased from 10 to 12 teams....They had 3 up & 1 down that season to balance the numbers.

As to the situation with Airdrie Utd/Stirling.

When Airdrieonians went bust in 2001/02 they still had relegation with Raith getting relegated and Falkirk were saved from relegation/play-offs despite being second bottom.  So this year is consistent with that.

[Scotty]

That was in 2000 when the SPL increased from 10 to 12 teams....They had 3 up & 1 down that season to balance the numbers.

As to the situation with Airdrie Utd/Stirling.

When Airdrieonians went bust in 2001/02 they still had relegation with Raith getting relegated and Falkirk were saved from relegation/play-offs despite being second bottom.  So this year is consistent with that.

Yes thats right .... but I seem to remember at the time when County were promoted, the question was asked as to why there wasnt just 2 up and none down and it was said that the rules dictated that there must be a team relegated. When Airdrie went bust they were regarded as the relegated team so its all consistent (for a change).

[troublegum007]

Looks like it'll finally be over next week, so we can count the  "End of a dream" headlines.

Gretna cease to exist tomorrow?

[MissICT]

I have to admit that I feel sorry for Gretna fans!!

they will have to find a new team!!