TALKING THE BLUNT TRUTH
Topping on... DONCASTER I think he does a good job and I actually think he is underpaid Topping on... TV DEALS We’ve met with BT Sport and talks with Sky will happen too
ON the subject of Neil Doncaster’s £200,000 annual salary as chief executive of the SPFL, Ralph Topping is blunt. As far as he’s concerned, it’s not nearly enough.
‘People will talk wistfully about Neil Doncaster when he is gone,’ claims the league’s outgoing chairman.
‘I think he does a good job but it’s a job where he is going to be constantly criticised because he is the front man for the organisation.
‘But what will dawn on my successor as chairman is that, when Neil leaves, he will have to pay a lot of money to get the right replacement.
‘If I’m being truthful I actually think Neil is underpaid.’
Biting into a bacon roll in a Bridge of Allan cafe, Sportsmail resists the urge to splutter on a nation’s behalf.
To supporters, Doncaster has become a demonised figure. A punchbag for Scottish football’s problems.
Portrayed as distant and out of touch, the former Norwich chief executive is a human shield for football clubs. A bulletproof vest the chairmen pay handsomely to absorb the shrapnel of public opinion, allowing them to duck beneath the parapet.
To anyone who follows the machinations of club politics in Scottish football, it should be clear who makes the major decisions.
Doncaster isn’t to blame for resisting annual calls for a 16-team league or wretched kick-off times designed to keep broadcasters happy. Ultimately, the clubs make the big calls and some are more powerful than others.
Yet, this raises an uncomfortable question. If a chief executive has no executive power, why pay him £200,000 a year before bonuses?
‘When I look at what people in industry who make difficult public decisions earn, I think Neil is underpaid,’ adds an unrepentant Topping.
‘That will raise eyebrows, but I don’t care. I give a view and I wouldn’t necessarily go with the herd on this one.
‘Everybody in public life is overpaid.
‘Peter Lawwell is overpaid. Roy MacGregor earns too much money. The lady who runs Bet365 earned £140million last year in dividends.
‘Everybody in public life, relative to others, is overpaid, of course they are. But are they paid the going rate for the job? Yes.
‘There is actually an argument for saying Neil should possibly be on more and I think that will become evident when Neil eventually leaves.
‘Because, like it or not, the game will have to pay even more to replace him.’
There are plenty who would happily see the SPFL take their chances.
Blamed for the league going twoand-a-half years without a sponsor prior to Ladbrokes’ arrival, it’s not entirely clear who was first to coin the term ‘armageddon’ to describe the possible consequences of Rangers entering the bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012.
Yet the jabbing fingers of accusation rarely stray far from the sixth-floor office at Hampden occupied by the chief executive of the SPFL.
‘Neil will have made mistakes like everybody else,’ Topping acknowledges.
‘But is Neil Doncaster good for the SPFL? Yes.
‘Is he the fall guy for the business? Yes, that’s part of his job.
‘But has he delivered a lot of good for Scottish football and the SPFL? Undoubtedly. ‘He has a skill set which suits the SPFL. He is a bit of a diplomat and when you go to herd cats, you have to herd some powerful, conflicting views. ‘Getting 11 men to agree to the one thing in a vote takes a particular skill set. ‘In rugby union in England, you have an empowered chairman, an empowered executive team and they make the decisions. ‘It’s fair to criticise them for the decisions they make. ‘But key decisions in Scottish football are most definitely made by the clubs. ‘And I still don’t think people understand that.’ It’s easier, sometimes, to rail against the wind. To blame men in grey suits for the collective failure of everything from the national football team to the Pittodrie floodlights.
In the mind of Joe Public, the SPFL and SFA are incompetents, unfit for purpose.
‘If I was sitting outside as a fan, I might have the same view,’ chuckles Topping. ‘But being in the game, I take a different view.
‘Scottish football is full of a lot of smart individuals with good intentions. They get denigrated unfairly.’
This might explain why Topping spent much of his seven years in office maintaining a low profile.
His role as chief executive of William Hill, FTSE 100 company, demanded much of his time.
Yet those who have worked with him in Scottish football’s boardrooms say his loss to our game in July will be immense.
‘I do things behind the scenes,’ he says. ‘When I was a chief executive of William Hill it was easy to make change because you are the decision maker.
‘The SPFL is a strange structure. It’s a big golf club. And getting the members in the golf club to agree on everything is difficult.
‘I’ve had to employ straight talking behind the scenes.’
His straight-talking streak was rarely seen publicly. Conspicuously, he accused the BBC of ‘short-changing’ Scottish football by paying more for Gary Lineker’s salary than they did for rights to the SPFL.
‘I was outspoken about the BBC because they are a state broadcaster,’ he says.
‘I think the BBC has a duty to all parts of the United Kingdom. That’s why I said enough is enough.’
He will leave negotiations for the next major television deal to others.
Confirming discussions have begun with BT Sport over a deal
which would shatter the record contract of £31million a year in return for exclusive rights, Topping expects SPFL chairmen to meet rivals Sky shortly.
Ultimately, money talks. Yet the SPFL chairman claims the thorny issue of early, inconvienient kick-off times will also enter the equation.
‘Fans feel the game is not getting the investment it should be getting,’ he says.
‘I think that’s a very powerful weapon and I think BT and Sky need to acknowledge that.
‘We’ve met with BT Sport. And talks with Sky will also happen.
‘There will be an invitation to each broadcaster to tender for the SPFL. But it won’t necessarily be decided solely on money. One of the things that may be part of it is: “What’s in it for the fans?”.
‘Will there be better scheduling of games? The early kick-offs arouse huge passion.
‘To a degree, you have to give the broadcasters their place if they pay the money.
‘But it will be interesting to see if they are receptive to feedback on the disruption 12.15pm kick-offs cause.
‘Take the Aberdeen v Hibs Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
‘It’s a long way from Aberdeen getting up for the 7.40am train to make it there on time. It’s a long way down for an early kick-off.
‘When we talk to broadcasters, it will be in the mix.’
Topping accepts Scottish football has issues but believes he will leave the game in ‘not bad shape’.
He didn’t achieve everything he might have wished. An SFA board member, he believes the governing body would benefit from more independent voices from the real world.
‘Anybody looking at the structure coming into it thinks: “What? Hang on a minute...”.
‘You have to just serve your time and after three years you’re promoted.
‘A business like the SFA, with a £35m or £40m turnover, should be run differently.
‘But I’m encouraged by the people coming through, guys like the Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney. I think Mike is a powerful force for good in Scottish football and maybe one day he will get his chance at running the SFA.
‘Other guys like Les Gray at Hamilton also deserve to be listened to. So long as people like that are around in positions of authority, the game can continue to move forward.
‘And if they’re not? What we’re left with then are blazers and bowling club committee men.
‘I don’t know about anyone else. I wouldn’t want to be part of that.’