Just say no

Good news on the football front this morning - the Scottish Football league teams have told the SPL where to stick their plans for SPL2.

From the minute I heard the plans, I didn't agree with them. The current SPL clubs, as well as a group of the bigger First Division clubs, have proposed the formation of an SPL 2, which would supposedly help promote full-time football in Scotland.

But the plans would come at the expense of a fair promotion and relegation system. While I'm all for SPL clubs having all-seater stadia with a minimum 6,000 seats, to insist that clubs in the next division down have all-seater stadia of at least 3,000 seats is frankly ridiculous, given the average attendances.

Whilst Livingston, St Johnstone, Airdrie, Dundee and the other full-time clubs in the SFL already meet the minimum requirements, where would the new rules leave the likes of Brechin City, Stranraer and their fellow part-timers?

If the proposed set-up were implemented, and a smaller club experienced a successful season, winning what is now Division Two, they would be barred from promotion due to their ground not meeting the minimum requirements. Smaller part-time clubs can't afford to build stadia with 3,000 seats, most of which would never be filled, just in the off-chance that they could reach SPL2 some day.

The proposal would create a division in Scottish Football that would be insurmountable to most, unless another Gretna comes along with money to burn.

Scottish football needs to be sorted out properly from the top down, with an emphasis on allowing clubs to progress as far as they can regardless of their financial muscle. The SFA has no problems with Rangers or Celtic visiting non-league grounds in the Scottish Cup, so why should there be a problem with St Johnstone playing at Glebe Park in the league?

In the interests of Scottish football, the league should be revamped to a 16-team top flight, with all teams playing each other twice in a 30-game league season. The League Cup should be brought forward in the season, with its final held in October or November, and the Scottish Cup would remain in its current format.

The 26 remaining clubs in the current SFL should be split into two divisions, one of 16 teams, one of 12, with the two additional places made up by the top sides from the Highland League and from the East of Scotland League. Two teams each season would be promoted from each of the two lower divisions, with two relegated from the Premier and the First Division each season.

A pyramid system connected to the Highland League and other junior leagues should also be instigated to give sides a chance to progress. Each season, the bottom two clubs from Division Two would be relegated to the most relevant junior league, with two coming up to replace them.

Under my proposals, the Scottish league system would look something like this:

Premier Division
Celtic
Rangers
Hearts
Hibs
Aberdeen
Dundee Utd
Kilmarnock
St Mirren
Inverness CT
Motherwell
Falkirk
Dunfermline
Livingston
St Johnstone
Dundee
Gretna

First Division
Partick Thistle
Hamilton Accies
Ross County
Clyde
Queen of the South
Airdrie Utd
Morton
Cowdenbeath
Stirling
Brechin
Ayr
Raith
Peterhead
Stranraer
Forfar
Alloa

Second Division
East Fife
Stenhousemuir
Arbroath
Albion Rovers
Berwick Rangers
Montrose
Dumbarton
Queens Park
East Stirling
Elgin
Deveronvale*
Spartans**

*Promoted from Highland League
** Promoted from East of Scotland League

The Premier Division's current rules on minimum stadium requirements would be retained, but clubs would be given two years' grace to install the seats, during which time they could ground share. There would be no minimum requirements for the other divisions.

This set-up would increase the level of competition in Scottish football, giving the SPL sides eight fewer league games in a season, which would provide less tired players for the national side. There would be more interest in the league, as the clubs wouldn't be playing each other up to six times a season. The clubs in the First Division would be given the chance to win automatic promotion every season, and the clubs in the bottom league would be given the chance to win promotion and challenge themselves against full-time clubs.

But will the powers that be see sense? No. They'll no doubt push on with plans for SPL2 and once again and money will be the deciding factor, sounding the death knell for Scottish football's smaller clubs.