Four leagues of 14-10-10-10 is solution to reconstruction
The obvious and elegant SPFL restructuring would entail four tiers: 14-10-10-10 (top tier of 14). Were this to be done, every first-order moral problem would be solved.
Here are the immediate virtues of the plan:
(1) The current grievances of the five most indignant clubs – Hearts, Partick Thistle, Falkirk, Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts – would be resolved completely.
(2) Then there’s Stranraer, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Edinburgh City and Brechin City. They can hardly have been indignant but they won’t be complaining.
(3) Earlier, there was talk of 14-14-14. But, in de facto terms, that would have taken promotion away from League 2 winners Cove Rangers – if being champions and going up is understood as getting away from the teams you’ve been used to playing against and getting a chance to test yourself against teams with a higher ranking.
(4) Also, under 14-14-14, Clyde, Forfar and Peterhead would have been “relegated” in the same sense. However, the Cove-clyde-forfar-peterhead effect isn’t replicated further up the system – so it’s unnecessarily unfair on those four clubs. The 14-10-10-10 plan removes that unfairness, too.
Accordingly, only 14-10-1010 fits with the stated position of Hearts that no club should be unfairly penalised because of Covid-19. Indeed, if Scottish football was run independently and transparently on the basis of objective accountability, I think 14-10-10-10 would be the solution.
DAVID WEMYSS
Aberdeen
The proposal to reconstruct the SPFL is becoming farcical. In Moira Gordon’s article [The Scotsman ,20May]shementions perhaps a top division of 14 or even 16 clubs. Why stop there? How about 18 or 20 or even 42 – would that satisfy Hearts owner Ann Budge?
At the time of the Hearts agm Mrs Budge was quoted to the effect that in the last three years the club had benefitted from benefactors’ donations of £9 million and Foundation of Hearts donations of £9m. That’s £18m over and above normal commercial income.
What on earth has happened to this largesse? Most clubs in the league would sell their grandmother to get that kind of extra money. All Hearts seem to have managed is an unfinished grandstand, grossly over budget, and a huge playing squad with high basic wages and low bonuses – hardly a surprise that on-field performances have been terrible resulting in a bottom of the league position.
Yet, having frittered away a gold standard financial position, Mrs Budge seems to think it’s fine for other clubs to suffer financially so that Hearts can be saved – as they would if there was a bigger league.
At the same time she seems to have no problem with four or five clubs being emptied into the bottom league where one bad season can see a club dropping out of the SPFL. Perhaps
this fits in with the view she had in an interview three or four years ago when she thought Scotland could support about 21 clubs.
IAN LEWIS Edinburgh
So the SPFL board has finally decided call an end to the Scottish
Premiership as there was no realistic chance of being able to complete the remaining fixtures. I assume that to make such a decision they had to know when season 2020/21 will commence. Could they please let us know?
JOHN WANN
Edinburgh