It's time for change in Scottish football...but we have to get it right
Jan 12 2013
by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express
All the talk this week has been about league reconstruction in Scottish football - and it’s about time.
It’s just a shame that it’s taken the virtual collapse of Rangers Football Club to have brought it to a head.
We now seem to be going down the road of a 12-12-18 format and I think that’s a great idea.
Of course, it might initially have an adverse effect on certain clubs – those who win leagues and don’t get promoted, for example – but we can’t suit all of the people all of the time.
I’ve also heard it said at one of my old clubs, Aberdeen, that they might not be able to hang on to top scorer Niall McGinn if these changes take place, but you can’t structure the entire game around the needs of one or two players or clubs.
It’s high time that clubs and individuals stopped focusing solely on the need to protect their own interests and, instead, started to look at the bigger picture.
Only then will we have a chance of saving our game – and, believe me, that’s what we’re talking about here.
We have a great chance to re-model Scottish football, make it a success and ensure it’s a strong proposition in 10 years’ time.
My main problem is this – why should we give the job of saving Scottish football to the very people who broke it in the first place?
If I had a say in the matter, I would bring in a 100 per cent external body and give them carte blanche to get us back on a sound footing again – like the people who saved German football when it was on its knees.
They came in and cleared the decks – and just look at how that league is doing now.
Flourishing would be an understatement.
The atmosphere at Bundesliga games is electric. It’s colourful and exciting and the stadiums are packed to the rafters.
German clubs dropped their admission prices and enticed people back to the game with the promise of a good night’s football.
The solution for Scottish football’s woes isn’t as simple as just dropping prices.
Chairmen at clubs across the country have to work to budgets and need to know how much they’re bringing in.
My argument is that, if you halve the prices, you might get double the people in, which equals the same money, and the cash coming in through merchandising and food etc would surely grow.
I reckon we’re at a crossroads in Scottish football.
The landscape is ripe for change but we need to tread carefully and make sure we get it right.
We also need football people to be running football.
I’m well aware that the game is big business now but, for too long, we’ve relied on the likes of TV money. We have to be more self-sufficient.
Let’s allow people with sound business acumen to work away behind the scenes to put our game on a firm financial footing. You know it makes sense.
