F IZZ OR M ISS?
Radical revamp of IRN- BRU Challenge Cup has left a bad taste in the mouth of some fans, while others relish a fresh flavour to a tired old format. Here, two of MediaScotland’s sport gurus outline if they agree with the competition’s overhaul
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
That must sum up how the SPFL chiefs feel after announcing the Challenge Cup changes.
Those who are quick to talk down the game jumped on the new proposals straight away and didn’t even need to know the facts before they started moaning.
‘ Teams from Wales and Northern Ireland, what’s the point of that?’. ‘ Under- 20s teams? Are you having a laugh?’
I’m sure Neil Doncaster and his cronies shared a chuckle at the predictable online backlash.
The two aforementioned additions are the sticking points for most punters but I believe these changes are huge positives for the entire Scottish game.
Firstly, our football will hit a wider audience thanks to the inclusion of four sides from two countries and the novelty of the situation will garner interest from outside Scotland.
It also opens up potential for cross- border tournaments in the future and that can only be a positive for the entire game. But the big plus which comes out of this is the addition of top- flight Under- 20s sides.
For youngsters across the country, this is a huge chance to break into the first team and many sides will be looking to win this trophy.
Motherwell’s Under- 20s won the Scottish Youth Cup this year with a handful of players who are on the brink of playing first- team football.
Premiership sides have been slammed in the past for loaning players out to lower- league clubs and not giving them a chance.
Now they can get the best of both worlds by seeing how their players fare against these clubs whilst still keeping a watchful eye over them.
Under- 20s teams are not in this tournament to make up the numbers — they are in it to win it and develop. The best way for our youngsters to improve is by giving them meaningful game time and the IRN- BRU Cup does just that.
For anyone who claimed ‘ if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ this revamp has the whole country talking — When was the last time the Challenge Cup was discussed so much? Is a travel allowance available? Give me a shove when you see me nodding off in the Somerset Park press box next season.
This so called IRN- BRU Cup will be a winner on only one front — it’s a perfect remedy for insomnia.
Surely the most crazily thought- out competition in the history of the game and one that will drive fans AWAY from the sport.
Pardon me for not falling off my chair in excitement at last week’s first- round draw.
St Johnstone Colts v Turriff United.... Cumbernauld Colts v Hamilton Colts.... Rangers Colts v University of Stirling.
Exactly the type of nonsense fixtures that Scottish football doesn’t need.
Ayr were twice finalists in the old Challenge Cup and, although we lost both, it gave our fans a day out in the sun.
No one claimed it was the perfect competition but it still had a bit of stature.
And it at least gave lower- league teams a realistic chance of winning some silverware.
But the polish has gone off the cup with this crazy revamp.
Giving Highland League and Lowland League clubs a shot is one thing.
But bringing in Under- 20 Premiership sides is a watering down of a tournament that was already short in the credibility stakes.
And as for the parachuting into the last 16 of two teams from the Northern Irish Premiership and two clubs from the Welsh Premier League?
Linfield, Crusaders, The New Saints ( TNS) and Bala Town are hardly box- office material.
Ayr will have to quell their excitement until the first weekend in September before they make their grand entrance along with the nine other Championship clubs.
Incredibly, some games will be beamed live on BBC ALBA, Welsh Language channel S4C and the Premier Sports subscription channel.
I for one won’t be joining the anticipated stampede to watch. Can clubs play ties at another ground?