SPL change to save Scottish football?

Or just shifting chairs on the Titanic?

The top brains in the SPL are meeting to discuss proposals about changing the structure of Scottish leagues yet again, with the focus on the SPL. There is a lot of displeasure about the 12 team league and of the footballing culture it creates so the time is probably right for change.

Although the main focus should be on improving the game….the initial thoughts are likely to fall on how to make the product more attractive to marketers, TV executives and then if we’re lucky, the punters.

We don’t think that the broadcasters would take too much umbrage at expanding the SPL beyond 12 teams.

The broadcasters are mainly only interested in Celtic and Rangers, with the majority of the remaining teams merely bring seen as opposition to the big two. You can’t have a league without all the teams so every team needs to be represented and the needs of all have to be considered but we don’t think the TV execs are too fussed about who supplies the supporting role in their weekly filmed productions.

Would Sky and ESPN think Partick Thistle v Celtic or Dunfermline v Rangers are lesser clashes than St Mirren v Celtic or Kilmarnock v Rangers? Very much doubt it. (We do know that if Thistle change league this season it’ll likely be down the way but it was hypothetical).

There isn’t any noticeable gap between the bottom of the SPL and the top of the SFL.

Bringing some additional teams into the top flight will increase their income (even slightly) and will likely dilute the income from the existing lower SPL teams. These teams will therefore be on a very level playing field, increasing competition.

In this regard, an 18 team SPL doesn’t look any poorer than a 14 team SPL. It would do away with the controversial split but it would mean teams only had the big Glasgow teams at their stadium twice in a league campaign.

Non Celtic and Rangers fans are always giving it the big chat about how the “gruesome twosome” aren’t needed and that they should piss off to another country. If the chairmen of these clubs felt the same, an 18 team league would be the likely option.

It won’t be though, a 14 team SPL with a more abstract split but at least one more guaranteed big money game will see the chairmen follow the cash.

Let’s not forget it was these chairmen that have helped damn Scottish football by chasing the short term Setanta cash when the big clubs recommended against it. The tail wagged the dog and everyone suffered when it went against the wall.

A 14 team league would bring about 2 promotion / relegation spots, which should see a play-off return to the top flight. Play-offs are exciting and this is exactly what is needed in the SPL. Two possible relegation spots keep more bottom teams involved and the end of season deciders always make good watching. These games may not be about good football but they offer passion and excitement in abundance.

A 14 team split is likely to be created with a 6/8 split. The proposed plan is for two full rounds of the fixture list and then the split. This will be followed by two rounds of home and away matches in the prospective sections. No more uneven games, no more difficult decisions for the “SPL computer” to make.

If there is any sense it will be a top 6 and bottom 8 but again, chairmen will want to maximise their income so a top 8 could bring more cash. The section with 8 teams will play 40 games; the section with 6 will play 36.

Asking the top teams to play 40 games on top of the two domestic cups and hopefully European football (again, hypothetically speaking) would be madness. The two additional home games for the bottom clubs would hopefully be enough to offset any cash they may lose by not playing the bigger clubs.

There are good and bad points in the split and the WeKnowSFA team probably come down against it. Mind you, a lot of this is due to the fact that we go to games and having short notice for games can be an inconvenience. Armchair fans don’t really have this issue.

The split does bring excitement so it’s not all bad but in the crazy world of Scottish football, is this a good thing? There are crackpots on all sides who are convinced the split is against their side, so taking this away isn’t a bad idea. However, at least the split means the title race or relegation battle is evenly matched.

If the proposed split of balanced home and away fixtures comes in, it would do away with the unfair ’3 away games’ that some teams suffer to a certain stadium and will hopefully bring more transparency. Transparency is good and we need more of it in Scottish football.

Our choice would be an 18 team league (we’d like a 16 team league but 30 games a season isn’t enough) but that’s largely because we think the 4 league games against a side had become very tiring and dull. However, we don’t see the majority of SPL chairmen signing off on half of their big home games a season so we expect the 14 team SPL option to be the one that clubs prefer.

Of course, why just stop with SPL restructuring?

Surely now is the time for full change in Scottish football. The creation of a pyramid system, more emphasis on localised leagues further down the chain and helping clubs find their natural level. The massive amount of love and passion for the game in Scotland sometimes overshadows the small population size we have.

Football has to be available to all of those who want it but it needs to be done in a manner that is of benefit to all.

We are fully behind ideas that will help the national team and our top teams improve their European performances but equally SFL Division 3 teams need to be catered. Junior teams should feel as though they can go as high as they want, if they want to…and there is a need to get people back to watching games in person. It’s not an easy task….

How would you change Scottish football?

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