Neil’spositivevibe is givingourgame the jolt it so needs

THERE are two types of people, drainers and radiators – life suckers and those who emanate positivity.

Who’d have thought SPFL chief Neil Doncaster would step from the shadows and prove to be the shining light for a sport finally emerging from civil war and daily Zooms of doom.

Some context as to how far crisis management of our game has travelled in the matter of a few months comes from an issue earlier this year.

Remember when banning kids from heading was all the rage?

It seems an age since the SFA outlawed Under-12s from getting their bonce on the bladder and the health and safety police won the day.

It was two weeks before Scottish football became paralysed by the pandemic and all games from grassroots to elite level were suspended.

Who’d have guessed we’d soon be talking in terms of our very game’s survival as lockdown replaced top-flight action with Twitter videos of keepie-uppie challenges.

Doncaster doesn’t speak the language of the people and having never been much of a fan, it makes his recent display of leadership all the more surprising.

Throw in the fact his handling of vote to call time on the season was pretty abysmal.

But let’s not dwell on the negatives and focus on a new dawn, a start to the Premiership season in August and a new Sky deal that should see Doncaster take a bow if it all comes to fruition.

Over recent days his stock has risen with several high-profile, top-flight figures privately conceding they’ve been taken aback by his negotiation and leadership skills.

For a man who’s made a career out of sticking to the party line and rule book, his letter to the top two tiers was a refreshing break from his usual stance of “only being a servant of all the clubs”.

He’s grabbed the bull by the horns and asked clubs if they would back a 14-team Premiership for next season and, if not, why and what solutions can be found.

Are clubs willing to accept a bloated top flight for the next five years?

Seizing the initiative appears to be a new trait for the league’s top man.

The streaming of games by Sky that would see fans get virtual season tickets to watch games from their living rooms is also the product of some much-needed, out-of-the-box thinking.

Another big tick comes on the back of

Seizing the initiative seems to be a new trait for league’s top man

Sky agreeing to write off a potential clawback claim of £5.5million after last season was kiboshed without all fixtures being fulfilled.

That figure has been renegotiated down to £1.5m to be recouped over the course of a new five-year contract at a cost to clubs of £300,000 per season.

Problems are being solved and innovative solutions found to ensure football can safely return and Doncaster is at the heart of it.

Credit where credit’s due. He’s worked away in the background, amid all the firefighting and the noise, and appears to be leading from the front at a time of much-needed clarity and vision.

Long may it continue.