DAY 3 OF CRAIG MOORE’S OLD FIRM LIFE:
WANTING everything is usually a wish by those who want for nothing.
It’s not an old Chinese proverb but just something made up on the hoof to suit the current state of finance in football.
Take a look down south and how Project Big Picture is projecting a light onto the greed and want-it-all approach of some Premier League clubs who are blocking a package to help clubs further down their pyramid system.
It appears not even a global pandemic which threatens the existence of some lower-league teams is enough for the big boys to throw them a few scraps from their plates which are already overflowing with TV cash and sponsorships.
We’ll get to the Scottish game in a minute but those proposals, led by Liverpool and Manchester United, have triggered panic within some chairmen who’d much prefer a safety first, abandon ship approach and allow the less fortunate to do a Titanic.
Under the plan, the EFL would get 25 per cent of future TV deals, plus a £250million bailout. Reducing the Premier League from 20 to 18 clubs and scrapping the EFL Cup is also part of the revamp.
All good and well in principle but good luck with getting 14 of the 20 current top-flight clubs to vote in favour. Project Big
Picture? More a metaphor for the me-me-me mentality.
Closer to home the problems continue to pile up.
The SFA’s £5m loan from Santander Bank is a worrying state of affairs, especially as the National Stadium is being used as part security.
The SFA were already scratching down the back of the funding couch well before being told they are staring at a £3m loss in revenue unless fans return soon.
The word on the street is that more than a few clubs are living on borrowed time unless they get some punters through the turnstiles by the turn of the year.
They shouldn’t wait for Neil Doncaster and his SPFL board to be racing to their rescue. Their failure to bring in a decent telly deal and their assortment of biscuit-brand and bargain-basement sponsorship deals ensured there was never going to be a rainy-day fund.
Junior clubs are accepting the reality of Covid-19 and no fans inside grounds. The penny’s dropped at teams such as Auchinleck Talbot and Pollok who have now mothballed themselves.
The have-nots beware – when the SFA are putting their house up as security and the SPFL have a begging bowl out to government, you know there is no white knight riding to your rescue.
They should not wait for Doncaster and rest of SPFL board to race to their rescue