League Reconstruction

'Raith chairman critical of Celtic & Rangers colt proposals'



Quote, 'Raith Rovers chairman Turnbull Hutton believes the idea of Celtic and Rangers departing Scottish football and fielding colt teams is a "nonsense".'


Quote, '"I think it's bizarre that we're worrying about what happens when Rangers and Celtic depart the Scottish scene, but they've been going to depart the Scottish scene for the last decade. Where are they going to go? It's a nonsense, frankly."
Hutton also suggested that the new plans had only been put forward because the favoured format of three leagues of 12, 12 and 18 teams, proposed for next season, would mean that Rangers would remain in the third tier of Scottish football - even if the Ibrox club won the current Third Division title.
"It's a simple solution because there's pressure no the need for this two leagues of 10 at the bottom, where the proposal for the 12-12-18 was perfectly fine and it played to what supporters wanted in the third tier with home and away matches.
"But suddenly, someone wants to win a championship and move through - and they would need two teams."'


Full article here: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21764124

Quote, 'David Longmuir: 'League reconstruction may not be in place for next season' '



STV 13 March 2013 15:02 GMT


'Longmuir added: "My view is an objective one and the Colts team idea was laid out in the McLeish Review.

"All I am trying to do here is stimulate debate. We are going through a huge round of deliberation. All I am doing is putting another option forward.'



Full article here: sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/airdrie-united/217482-david-longmuir-league-reconstruction-may-not-be-in-place-for-next-season/

Why on earth should the OF get their reserve sides into the league ahead of clubs like Spartans or the highland league champions? Where is the incentive for those clubs as presumably if the OF reserves can't get promoted they also can't get relegated out despite the supposed proposal to open up the bottom of the league, and if they do come 1st & 2nd who gets promoted? Nobody? The 3rd best team in the 3rd tier? All it achieves is their reserves getting potentially harder games than they would in a reserve league & more income for the OF.

Arrange the following words into a well known sentence:
Taken, asylum, the, over, have, lunatics, the.

Exactly.
they claim they are going to redistribute the income but then they are inventing a way for the OF to reclaim it.
Cant make it up in a sane world

'Scotsman'



'Tom English: Longmuir sounds like Old Firm talking'



Published on Wednesday 13 March 2013 23:27



Quote, 'YOU really do have to wonder why David Longmuir, the supposed “shrewd man of the SFL” decided to reheat the already rejected notion of Old Firm “colt” teams in a newly-reconstructed domestic game.
Did he sit there with Charles Green and Peter Lawwell and work it through? Did they collectively decide that this was the answer?'



Full article here: www.scotsman.com/news/tom-english-longmuir-sounds-like-old-firm-talking-1-2835125

Good to read GcD's comments & see that he at least is urging caution against rushing into change for the sake of change & asking why we want to adopt a failed model.

STV Sport



19 March 2013 18:21 GMT



'Colts not part of league reconstruction plans'



Quote, 'A proposal to add colt sides to Scottish senior football will not form part of final plans for league reconstruction, STV understands.

Members of both league bodies met to discuss the finer detail of a final proposal to put to clubs. It is understood the document will instead call for a vote on a 12-12-18 league structure, incorporating all 42 current league sides.

SFL chief executive David Longmuir's proposal to push for a 12-12-10-10 setup, with the inclusion of the reserve sides in the bottom tier, was met with resistance by a number of SFL clubs when it was suggested last week and was not on the table at the Hampden meeting.

Calls from Rangers chief executive Charles Green for his side to be promoted to the second tier of the new structure, on account of being potential Third Division champions this season, are also understood to have not been heard and not referenced in the plan.'




Full article here: sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/aberdeen/218267-celtic-and-rangers-colts-not-part-of-draft-league-reconstruction-plans/

When are the SPL and SFL sitting down to ratify this then?

Look, should us the fans have a say on this?
never mind trying to be loyal to one person or another, how many of us prefer to have 12 12 18 over a 18 22 structure?
I like difference, I hate repetition.
I hate our national game failing.
12 10 10 10 is failing so why will 12 12 18 be different, when the professional part of that league is in the same format?

I remember two fans forums ago, that a fan made that very same remark about why would a supporter buy a season ticket when they did not know a significant amount of the fixtures.
Looks as if the board took that message on.
In light of the number of failed clubs and the frequency of its happening, should we be even more extreme and look at other models such as franchising

'Herald'



Friday 29 March 2013



Quote, 'SCOTTISH football looks certain to go into next season with the same league structure after the lower division clubs refused to be rushed into immediate change yesterday.'


'A five-hour meeting of the Scottish Football League clubs ended with them agreeing in principle to league reconstruction, but crucially not until the start of the 2014-15 season. Neil Doncaster, the Scottish Premier League chief executive, later revealed the 12 top-flight clubs will continue to discuss an immediate change to a 12-12-18 format – and vote on it – at a scheduled meeting on April 15.

The SFL board will soon agree a date for the clubs to vote on the matter. Longmuir said he was not concerned that unhappy first division clubs, those who did want immediate league reconstruction, might become receptive to breaking away to join the top flight and create SPL2. A group of first division club representatives were seen in discussions after the broader meeting yesterday afternoon but Longmuir said he had spoken to them and was "comfortable" the SFL view would eventually be unanimous.

Turnbull Hutton, the Raith Rovers chairman, was one of those frustrated by the outcome. He wanted change in time for next season and warned the landscape could be entirely different in a year. "We saw what was on the table as a good deal. It leaves a confusing message in terms of what gets fed back to the SPL clubs.

"The reality is that what was on offer, was on offer now. There wasn't an offer there that said 'can we pick it up in a year's time?' I think there is almost a failure of understanding or a naivety that says we can negotiate something that will take place a year from now. Clubs are keen on change but just not now, that, to me, isn't a violable position, frankly."

Doncaster later insisted his top-flight clubs would continue to pursue change in time for next season. "We have spent a very long time, years frankly, getting to this point. We have spent months negotiating the detail of the deal which was announced at Hampden on January 8. There is no attempt to rush anything, but we will be going forward on April 15 with documents that reflect the deal that was done for implementation this summer."'


Full article here: www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/sfl-clubs-refuse-to-rush-into-change.20649068



Also 'Scotsman'



By STEPHEN HALLIDAY
Published on Friday 29 March 2013 00:00



Quote, 'An alternative strategy for the SPL may be to take 12-12-18 off the table and instead try to persuade First Division clubs to breakaway from the SFL and join them. But despite the financial inducements which have been dangled in front of his clubs by the SPL, Longmuir feels it is far from unreasonable to expect them to wait a further 12 months to get the structure they want.'



Full article here: www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/league-reconstruction-longmuir-calls-for-spl-delay-1-2865068