Over the last 24 hours I have been contacted by two sources from within the Scottish Football League.They both told me a very similar tale.
One source said that within the higher echelons of both the SFL and the SPL discussions are at an advanced stage for a “rapid restructuring” of Scottish football.
This will accelerate Sevco’s progression up the leagues.
The other source was more specific and he stated that a 16 team SPL a ten team “championship” and a bottom 16 team SFL was being considered.
Both of these sources, contacting me independently, were very angry that “another stitch up”, as one man characterised it, was being hatched by the people in charge of the national game in Scotland.
Both these men said that this move, if it materialised beyond the stage of discussions, would be strongly resisted on the grounds that it was being created to benefit one club.
Developing story.
Ralf
About time there was restructuring, bring back the play off for 2nd bottom club of the SPL and 2nd in the First Division, can anyone confirm ? Is the scottish first division the only league in the world where a team finishing 2nd doesnt get rewarded wiith promotion or at least a play off.
September 30, 2012 at 11:14 am
Margaret Hart
telling you if they even try it i want to see all fans that are against this protesting, show them they cant get away with this crap! people power can make a difference, just everyone is too bloody apathetic to bother their arse for most things but i say no more!
September 29, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Jhimbhoab
Sevco didnt sign the players they did without prior knowledge it wasnt going to be at least 3 years before they reached ther SPL. as soon as Templeton was attracted i smelt raw fish……..and it appears something fishy is indeed going on behind the scenes.
September 29, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Shaun Gibson
Said all along, this needs a vote and will the SPL want to lose more money creating an SPL? I don’t think so, IMO. Speak to a few chairmen myself, mostly opposed for same reasons, all for one team. SFA lead, but only custodians of the game. The clubs decide on structure.
Cheers
September 29, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Proud scot
Phil, I think we need a new structure of 16-16-10 -1 where the 1 equals Sevco voted OUT on their own and filled by a team who deserve to be there………..
September 29, 2012 at 6:07 pm
Marc
I am shocked that anybody is surprised by this. Sevco and Oldco have consistently shown a complete lack of contrition and morality throughout this saga.They still have the arrogant mentality that everyone should accede to their wishes without question and that they are untouchable.In this they are aided and abetted by the compliant MSM and the inept SFA and SPL.Corruption is all around and with the type of support Newco have I don’t see anybody brave (or fool) enough to step up to the plate and drive through reconstruction for the right reasons. Change & reconstruction is badly needed,it would be all the better were Sevco not around when it happens and this may not be a forlorn hope.
September 29, 2012 at 5:41 pm
miscuse miscuse
Sevco the stench of the great scottish football game permeates IBROX & the STENCH capital of scotland hampden
September 29, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Frankier
masonic walker Your paranoia is boundless. What are these wrongs that were heaped on your troubled club other than the ones that were self-inflicted as the result of anti-Catholic/Irish hatred, sectarian policies (ongoing), tax evasion, thieving, corruption, misuse of legal EBTs and general mayhem wherever your “loyal” follow followers went? As for a just punishment; since the abolition of capital punishment no just punishment exists. Even if you were awarded a right good kick up the ar$e as a punishment it would still be greeted with a call to arma. Is there no walks on anywhere where you could go and kill a bit of time?
As for cooper, he seems to forget the time not so long ago when even the “sodgers” were turning down the free tickets for their annual Europen gubbings. Mind you, if Peter Lawwell had been handing out free tickets with a couple of pies and bovrils thrown in I’m quite sure there would have been more than the 14,000 he WRONGLY claims was at the Raith Rovers game. It’s easy enough to get a crowd when all of your fans come from a radius of about half-a-mile from your playing field. Celtic fans come from all around the globe which makes it a wee bit more difficult to go to a game, especially when you have just got home from the last one.
September 29, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Raels leather jacket
Well I never ! small minded dodgey individuals harbouring “bowling club” tendencies behind locked doors accommodating their team ! Surely not in this little country of ours? Gosh you learn something new everyday!
September 29, 2012 at 12:15 pm
tallybhoy
If this does go ahead there will be uproar from the vast majority of clubs! Or will there?
If there is league reconstruction at the end of this season and the zombies win SFL3, next season they will be in the 2nd tier. If they win that they could be in the SPL by 2014. I did say IF!
I’m all for league reconstruction – a European League involving Celtic that is!
HH!!
September 29, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Adam
Under the 16-10-16 proposal they will still be in the third tier.
September 29, 2012 at 2:09 pm
tambutnotbam
Great reporting Phil.
Forewarned is forearmed and the earlier the better.
We now know what the SFL and SPL want to keep hidden from Scottish footballing fans and we can judge them on that secrecy.
But just think how much poorer we would all be if it were not for courageous journalists like yourself.
Keep up your great work Phil.
September 29, 2012 at 11:56 am
Bornatim
Heard this last week from a Dunfermline player sevco tried to sign on last day of transfers was offered 2year contract with promise of spl in 2years so think its already in place
September 29, 2012 at 11:08 am
JD
Any proposal to change the structure that is in place at the moment must have at least a75% backing of fans & clubs alike ,if there is any doubt of a fakeover all and sundry involved in the proposal must be run out of town,no going back to the table to try again,I know which my money would be on.
September 29, 2012 at 10:06 am
Jim Wood
Never mind bhoys and ghirls.
I remember that Oldco and the tax case were expected to come to a close around October. This was the time-frame expected, I think, by one of your sources earlier this year. What chance of this gerrymandering getting past the fans of the rest of Scottish football when the full extent of the cheating is fresh in peoples minds.
Anyway the romance of the cup today,eh fellow Celts, he he.
Keep at them Phil.
September 29, 2012 at 9:51 am
Ed Dunne
The apparent relentless push from ALL fronts towards ensuring the establishment club is back in the top league is now embarrasing. There seems to be no need to hide their coruption from plain view. The attitude seems to be that everyone knows we will bend/break rules to suit so why bother to try and dress it up as anything else.These people will be the ‘downfall’ of our beloved game.The REAL shame of Scottish Football.
P.S. Enjoying the book.
September 29, 2012 at 9:43 am
Jono
Hi,
So say the 16-10-16 plan goes ahead, how does this help sevco? Maybe i’m missing something but that plan would absord 4 clubs from SFL1 into SPL, then SFL1 would absorb 4 clubs from SFL2, withe rest, including sevco, still in the bottom 16. Please help me figure this out.
September 29, 2012 at 9:38 am
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
I am only passing on what was given to me by two independent sources. As I said. Developing story…
September 29, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Kevin Gallagher
3 leagues rather than 4. 1 year less to get back to SPL.
September 29, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Cooper54
It might be a good idea for some teams to merge in light of the poor attendances at SPL grounds this year . Maybe Celtic could merge with Thistle after only 14000 attended the Raith game last week !
September 29, 2012 at 9:15 am
Ben mcginlay
At least we mobilised to help our troubled club. All you loyal fans believed all the info from your club and the puppet MSM. If you did mobilise you might be in a better state. You are a Newco remember. Your old club died through not paying taxes, cheating and greed.
September 29, 2012 at 3:50 pm
PaulMc
Ah yes, every week we see desperate fans of The Rangers forlornly clinging onto the memory that was Rangers football club. They are left comparing attendances of all the games in Scotland and boast of their continued “superiority” if one more person turned up for a game at Ibrox. When you’re that low I suppose petty games of crowd counting might boost your spirits.
Bless.
September 29, 2012 at 6:23 pm
Neil
lets see how many of you take up shares when the time comes, or will you let your club die AGAIN!
September 30, 2012 at 10:30 am
paul McCann
if they want reconstuction then as there are 42 teams why not 3 leagues of 14 as 3times 14=42 at least it was when i was at school and can anyone tell me why stewart(social unrest)regan and neil(armageddon)doncaster and president what schooldid you goto ogilvie still in there jobs
September 29, 2012 at 8:45 am
Ignoranceisnodefence
Signs were all there that some kind of deal was / is being done and zombie fc are involved in this WITH the powers that be. All the rhetoric from Green is just smoke and mirrors to fool the people into believing they are at war with the SFA et al.
The whole episode still reeks of corruption at every level and the administrators were and are involved in this…..to enable a split where the assets can be sold for a pittance and the ‘name’ and ‘history’ can continue, they can walk away from their debts, continue as a ‘going concern’ with everybody losing out apart from them.
Scotland at every level…government, policing and law all turning a blind eye……………with these changes it is …same old same old
September 29, 2012 at 7:48 am
tom dolan
Well,well,the “establishment”are doing all they can to keep us tims down again,no suprise there then!!
September 29, 2012 at 7:19 am
Ben mcginlay
I wondered how long it would take for this to happen. All the clubs should call a meeting to get rid of these fools running our game. I know I keep saying it, but where are UEFA/FIFA. Is it also true that Charlie boy was over at Belfast drumming up support, bringing out a new orange top, in talks with Adidas. If it is true, is desperation creeping in. He really is scraping the bottom of the barrel as regards to the top, talking about pandering to the ‘KLAN’
September 29, 2012 at 7:18 am
Kevin
We have seen how Scottish fans reacted by forcing SPL clubs to boot Newco out of the SPL.
These same fans will be very angry that all this is being done to benefit just one club – especially when 18 months ago (i.e. old Rangers was still in the SPL) a similar proposal was turned down.
September 29, 2012 at 6:58 am
The Wallace
Unlike Palacio67 I think the SPL will go for it. Don’t be surprised if this supposed restructuring (beneficial it will be called) also has some other link to a new Euro-diddy (I think I have invented a new piece of terminology) competition/league. It is well known and can be seen from TV evidence and match reports, that apart from only few of the bigger Euro teams, from the Caucus mountain range (I wonder if they have Caucus Mountain rangers) in the East (where Europe really starts) to the low lands of Holland and Belgium the actual attendances for what we would call reasonably well off teams are paltry when compared to the crowds at Paradise Park and Satan’s Grotto and Humpdome Park (certain cup games and finals, decent Internationals etc), even in Engurlunt any team would be delighted with followings as large as the ‘Glasgow two’.
Scottish Football fans are well known for how far and in what large numbers they are willing to travel for a game. Celtic reserves have a take on in the Pitcairn Islands and 3000 Tims turn up, more than half of them having hitch hiked, this I suspect would apply to the main backbone of the other SPL teams (I’ve seen more of the World because of following Celtic and Scotland and it is the most tremendous fun). New Euro-diddy trophy will be a carrot for other main teams in the SPL(Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen in the main) to accept a larger top league (therefore less perceived monies from Glasgow visitors) and other reconstruction of Scottish leagues.
It is a pity but some of the smaller and some not so small clubs have no more cloth to cut accordingly and may have to be amalgamated, rationalised or simply taken vet for humane disposal (I was going taken out the back and shot just like Ol’ Yellah, but I don’t want to be intentionally misconstrued).
And lo and behold Ibrox’s new football club shoot prematurely up the ranks.
This is just the conspiracy theorist in me, but I believe such reconstruction has been on the back boiler for a while. But needed the club that plays at Ibrox to be less financially toxic and now we know how quickly that can be done ‘with a little help from your friends,’ to quote the Beatles.
September 29, 2012 at 4:53 am
PaulMc
Wow. I was more surprised when I found out black was a dark colour.
September 29, 2012 at 3:28 am
Paddybhoy
Well shockaroony not…totally expected something like this would happen…The ‘Powers’ that be did say they were looking at restructuring the minute the Zombies’ were heading for Div 3… a case of ‘we’ll get our way eventually’ The Zombie establishment must remain!
There are quite a few twists and turns and more glorious pitfalls for the Zombies to come yet…bring it on!
First again Phil for the truth as always!
Keep Digging Away Mate!
Paddybhoy
p.s. Loving your book ‘Downfall’ and I got the auld boy a copy as well…He’s lovin it too!
September 29, 2012 at 2:51 am
Burnsy Bhoy
Is there no other League we can play in? Anywhere… I don’t care where… we can leave this all behind us and let it all rot…
September 29, 2012 at 2:49 am
Paul Brady
All that would happen is a repeat of the same response from the SFL and SPL fans, and their clubs in turn, and this “fix” will be voted down. However the would be fixers would be voted out of office this time too.
September 29, 2012 at 1:29 am
Adam
A 16-10-16 set up will not accelerate Rangers into the SPL. Year1 = Present, Year2 = Bottom 16, Year3 = Championship 10, Year4 = SPL 16. So it’s still 3 years minimum for them in the lower leagues. My money is on a 16-16-10 set up to faciliate a 2 year absence. Restructuring is the right thing, but in this case for the wrong reasons.
September 29, 2012 at 1:06 am
Francis
If they go into administration again, which is a real possibility, it wouldn’t make a difference if the leagues were restructured. A further points deduction might not even see them go up at this rate. They’d need to sell all the top earners and they’d be back to where they were when Green took over, probably even worse as Greyskull and the RBS funded training ground would have to be sold on. Can’t wait to see the pavement pirates screaming “the big hoose must stay open” once again, with the look of utter bewilderment upon those ‘distinguished’ faces! Aaarrgh!
September 29, 2012 at 1:00 am
Dhougal
How much would Messi cost ? .I think we should borrow as much as it takes ,and then not pay it back,win the C/L ………then do a YEAR!!! in div 3 …….well worth it .
September 29, 2012 at 12:40 am
luke
charles green told the vangaurd bears in NI on his visit there recently that he would not have sevco playing in the SPL under his leadership while he was still there
they all cheered and applauded to a man!
bought your book-downfall for my dad and he’s loving it (halfway through it at the moment)
looking forward to reading it after him
September 29, 2012 at 12:27 am
Hurricane67
I think this was to be expected Paul, As Sally has already hinted to some of his signings, Ogilvie is obviously keeping him informed of their plans to help Sevco! Traynor will be all over this story tomorrow!
September 29, 2012 at 12:22 am
Cill Dara Caledonian
Interesting news this, but that’s about it. The SFA, SFL & SPL announced during the various negotiations that a league restructure would be taking place & to be honest it’s long over-due.
The next step is the really controversial one whereby, the SFA encourage some of the “diddie” teams as they are quaintly called, to amalgamate. There are simply far too many clubs in the top echelon of Scottish football & too few folks going to watch them.
September 29, 2012 at 12:19 am
Kenny McCaffrey
Oh for god’s sake… and Green has just announced that he has some proper money lined up, after months of no takers and worsening relations with the SFA, SPL, etc – and just a day after bigging up Sir Dave too. Funny that
September 29, 2012 at 12:18 am
Palacio67
Phil, I was happy at Celtic FC’s silence through all the recent turmoil and rule breaking over sevco’s admission to the bottom tier, however I hope and I do believe the PL will stand against this. I’m sure he stated this a few weeks back, that it would have to be proved to be better than what we have got. If this comes to pass, then I am afraid I am finished with Scottish football, it will break my heart not following Celtic, but have seen enough corruption up to now.
September 29, 2012 at 12:07 am
Omar Sharara
Unfortunately I think it’s inevitable. Particularly in light of your previous blog posting…how can Rangers survive without lots more working capita or revenue….
September 28, 2012 at 11:59 pm
NumbNuts
Quite right. And they should throw in a couple of bonus titles too by way of apology for inconveniencing them with this SPL 3 nonsense. #sarccyme #restoretherangersone
September 28, 2012 at 11:56 pm
De Profundis
It will probably be confirmed at Stormont tomorrow as a highlight of the Convention celebration as was mentioned in the RTIDNI press statement.
September 28, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Johnny
Shocking!!!
September 28, 2012 at 11:31 pm
Ian
Rangers haven’t been punished for anything yet.Regan and Doncaster have tried everything to allow them get away with leaving 256 creditors in the lurch and carry on regardless.Why Oldco and Newco fans criticise these organisations is beyond me.They’ve done nothing but try and sweep the toxcity that is Oldco and Newco under the carpet i.e trying in every way they can to help the fallen club.
September 29, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Ben mcginlay
Are you for real. The men you mentioned tried to help your dead club(not troubled as you put it). All problems you have are your own doing. It’s always everybody else’s fault but your own.
September 29, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Robert G
Obviously this is for access to the champions league and all prize money……… This would be awarded to the team that finishes in the position The Rangers finish in.
September 30, 2012 at 3:35 pm