Murgie McDubh

I can see Maloney, if he comes covering the strikers position as well as playing out wide. That's some snout Rodgers has got on him. He wouldn't be too popular at an Adam Rooney party that's for sure.

It wouldn't catapult but it would be a step in the right direction. They have the massive advantage in resources but they have all subtle advantages as well. What was the reason behind its failure? Was it bickering, format or interest? The ingredients are there for an exciting tournament and just because of one failed attempt doesn't mean a few adjustments couldn't make it work.

I knew at some point I'd be accused of hypocrisy but there is a distinction I think. My proposal is an attempt to provide as many title challengers as possible and give as many people in Scotland a reason to care about it as possible while the European league is designed to preserve the rich teams' legacies and maximise their earnings. I appreciate how absurd it looks attempting to increase variety by closing the competition but to make the league winnable for more teams you have to eliminate as many advantages Celtic have as you can. One of those advantages is the stability of being safe in the premiership and that's something only one other team could argue they have. You may have more authority than me on the intensity of the Dunfermline Raith rivalry but I don't think you can say with certainty that some Raith fans couldn't embrace the idea of 1 team representing fife football in a 16 league if it's sold properly. Not every fan feels the same level of dislike as others towards their traditional rivals. Despite being a Dandy I quite like Dundee United. That feeling changes on match day right enough but I'd back them against many teams in Scotland. You talk about sporting merit and I agree with you with the system we have in place Hamilton have earned their right to compete. With the system we have in place Hamilton are contributing just as much to the strength of the premiership as anyone else could in their place because with the system we have in place it doesn't matter who the 11 are to act as canon fodder for Celtic it will be the same result come May. The system we have doesn't work. None of us have any plans short or long term to challenge for the title so what's point in any of us right now being in the premiership? You've accused me of closing the door on clubs but the door's already closed. What's the point of promotion and relegation when there's glass ceiling you can't penetrate? What I actually want is the door to be opened for as many as possible but to do that you need clubs as strong as you can get them. I don't agree with your view of the relegation battle. If it doesn't involve your team most people are meh and if your team are in a relegation battle because they have shown a lack of fight they won't get bumper crowds for a relegation decider. Aberdeen under Mark McGhee were in real danger of relegation and we were getting crowds of less than 8000. The story of the top of our game is what matters. If you want captivate the folk who only watch the EPL, the folk who've lost interest in Scottish football and the folk who are folk apathetic to anything that doesn't involve their team, you need to change the story at the top. It's the main course and everything else is sauce and right now we're being served roast dung so the other stories of Scottish football however good, can't improve the flavour. I think you've too readily dismissive of a transnational tournament between 4 similar sized nations. First it's not a 3rd tier European tournament. The best 8 teams of each nation compete even if they don't all compete in the group stage. You've asked me to provide details regarding travel expenses and TV deals, which you know I can't but I look at the pro12 rugby who already have to fly twice to Italy, 4 times to Ireland and have invited a South African team to play in the in the league, I can't see travel being a big issue for us. I'd say it was up to you to provide evidence to dismiss outright. Say there was no Europa league and I tried to pitch the idea of 4 qualifying rounds where you're team could be flying off to the likes of Moldova, Armenia and Kazakhstan and yet we celebrate the achievement of qualifying for this tournament? If you can get a TV deal for the league cup group stages I'm pretty sure a little something could be worked out for tournament featuring Rosenborg, Malmo, Copenhagen, Brøndby amongst others. You brought up the champions league and their control of broadcasting and I've already said what I think of that but whatever the situation there you could still play and broadcast on europa league days. I'm in no position to say for sure this tournament would work but to neither are you in any position to dismiss it as a non starter. Youth system and again I'm no position to prove it could work but you asked what's in it for the clubs. For most clubs I don't see what they gain from a youth system. They must be expensive to run and most of the time they don't churn out first team players. I would say stage 1 (the academy) and stage 2 (education at a league club) work and we're producing capable first team players then I don't see the difference between getting these players at 14 and getting these when they're ready for first team football.

Think a debt free Aberdeen will get the deal we're looking for. It might take a bit of squabbling but I think (hope) our board understands they can't sell a player for £1m+ then crack open a bottle of champagne. Need to make sure we put as strong a team as we can on the field.

*I started off writing this in the form of article before I found this thread so it might feel a bit like I haven't read any of the previous posts but I can't be arsed editing this. All my points are contained but there's probably waffle so by all means skim through till I get to my point. Hello, first time poster and having read others' ideas for restructuring Scottish football, I thought I would offer my own thoughts on revitalising our game. They are fanciful, idealist and no doubt dripping in as much ignorance as a piece written from the perspective of one person can be and I offer no evidence but my own heart and logic to back them up. I want to highlight what I believe to be the problem before detailing my solution. People will point to a lack of quality but I think that is a relative issue. Arguably 10 years ago the player quality was higher but the decline hasn't been noticeable because we've all declined more or less at the same rate. It's my opinion but if you pit a sub-standard winger against a competent full back then the winger looks sub-standard it if you pit a sub-standard winger against a sub-standard full back they both look competent so quality is only noticeable when you're playing superior/inferior opposition. I've often laughed at English football fans where they use the EFL scale to measure the quality of other teams, They're league 1, they're championship, they're league 2 at best. No they're not. They're SPFL standard. There is no point our clubs trying to put together a team that can live in their league 1/championship when it's the Scottish premiership they play in. Players from up here go down there and do well but others don't but then players from down there come up here and do well but others don't. There's one way to judge quality and that is a competitive match, that's why we have European football and since championship teams aren't invited to that party there's no point comparing our football to them. For me football is all about the story and right now the story is Celtic through superior resources and tactical competition management, will win the league and likely both cups, that is the story for the foreseeable future and that is the problem with our game. If I was to ask those with the authority to say, whether Celtic will win every league title from now until the death of football and they say, no! hopefully Rangers are able to reach a level where they can put in a credible challenge, then I am done with Scottish football. I would say to my club find another tournament to play in or lose me as a supporter. I'm not masochist. I won't support such a one sided competition much longer if there's not a genuine strategy put place to try and address it. It has been said we shouldn't compare ourselves to the English game and that's true. I don't watch it. I think it's an abomination but one thing it has/had is the story. Rises and falls, periods of dominance. Liverpool in 80s, Manchester United under Alex and the clubs that stood up to them. For one decade we had that. Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts' near miss and then David Murray came and ruined things. That's what I believe we should try to aspire to return to and even if that's not realistic I believe the gap could be closed significantly enough for a club outside the old firm to build a team to provide a credible challenge. There is a lot of spin from sections of the media when they try to talk up our game, they'll talk about attendances and how if you divide the number of clubs by two you'll our league is no more unvaried then what you see across Europe. Those people I believe are deliberately overlooking the subtle differences of other leagues. Take the Dutch league, they have 3 clubs bigger than anything we have in Scotland and it's not a surprise to see these teams occupy the top 3 positions of their league but it's also not a surprise to see other teams split them up and that is the subtle difference. Their big 3 dominate but they aren't untouchable. PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord have all finished below the top 3 in the last 20 years and will all likely finish below the top 3 within the next 20. There is belief in the Netherlands that the smaller provincial club can rise to be the best team in the country and it's been proven by AZ and Twente in recent years. We don't have that belief in our game. Celtic are in position of such control they are suffocating the competition. When I think of Scottish football I visualise a fat chieftain (I used to think of 2 but those days have changed) lying on a large shield being carried by malnourished slaves standing on quicksand. We're sinking but we're all sinking at the same rate and if we want to save Scottish football we have to do something about the fat fucker on top. My belief is narrowing the gap between Celtic and the rest of the competition will raise the prestige of our game. A more prestigious game attracts a better quality of player whether that's foreign imports or keeping the talent we're producing and the game gets stronger. So for the solution. Structure Starting with the top league, expand to 16 teams with 30 games a season. This 16 team league will be closed. No relegation or promotion. This is going to be a difficult sell but bare with me. There's a train of thought that states Scotland has too many clubs. I don't think that's the case but I do think we have too many clubs competing for the same slice of pie. In this system I'm trying to promote the idea of a single club being giving the task of representing football in their area, discarding the local rivalry and allowing bigger rivalries to form. I know I'm not selling it yet but hing on. Closing the league is my attempt at protecting the strength of the competition. The goal is to provide as many clubs as possible the means to grow and close the gap on Celtic. 16 teams provides variety, it also means every area of Scotland capable of supporting a decent sized football club can be represented and having a handful of teams competing for the same fan base doesn't help. It's not my intention to obliterate the local team. You can't make Raith Rovers fans support Dunfermline instead but could you not have it so they would support them as well as? I want to create a system where communities have their "capital" team as well as their local team. People are capable of having their wee team and supporting one of the cheeks so passionate fifers may be able to support two teams as well. Relegation promotes a negative mindset. I don't think it adds anything to the sport. You can't reach your potential when you're mindset is to avoid being the worst rather than aspiring to be the best. Teams under threat from relegation tend to adopt a negative style of play to avoid it. Any progress a club has made is lost if they're relegated. The system works in big countries. The contrasting word promotion balances the negativity in large countries but they have whole communities with big clubs looking to work there way to the top of the ladder. We don't have that in Scotland. We can just about scrape together a league of 16 and with switching to a 16 team will likely initially a drop in resources per club but closing the league will at least provide stability for the clubs and from there we can grow the game. A 30 game season playing each team twice would be a breath of fresh air to football fans. It also serves as one part of the puzzle to bridge the competition gap. The format we have in place is the worst I've seen for handing the advantage to the club with the greatest resources. To win the league you have to play the club with the best resources 4 times which is worth up to 11% of the possible points whereas the head to heads in a 30 game season are worth 6% of the total points. Power also shifts away from the club with the big squad, we've all heard the phrase "it's a long season" well a 30 game tournament isn't quite so long and lessens the advantage of having a big squad a little. And to those foaming from the mouth suggesting I'm trying cheapen the league by making it easier for the wee club, how about looking at it from the point of view that I'm trying to improve it by making it harder for the big club? The league champions should've shown ability, tactical discipline, determination and being able to perform under pressure. Right now they can get by on ability alone. There are never any questions over Celtic's bottle, it's never tested. The phrase, "you can only beat what's in front of you" was invented in Scotland. The media in Scotland perversely bestow praise on the qualities that Celtic haven't had to show because it would appear churlish not to. The current set up Celtic favours Celtic so much we know they will win 10 in row. It's not question of if, it's not even a question of when. Replacing the league cup This tournament I'm proposing was fun to think about and it may be pie in the sky but I genuinely believe it could work and be worthwhile for all involved. It is also crucial to making a league without relegation work. The league cup in every country lacks prestige but in our game there's very little of that as it is. For small nations like ourselves transnational tournaments are the way to go. In Scotland European football is everything. The crowds come out for these matches and it doesn't matter how prestigious the team is, it's a chance for Scottish football to prove its worth. The tournament would be contested by teams from ourselves, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. * The top 8 league finishers of each nation qualify for the first round of the tournament. In Scotland those who don't make the cut play in the Scottish league cup. * In the event a club has qualified for group stage European football they get a bye into the next round and the next highest league finish from that league takes its place in the first round. * The first round consists of 8 groups of 4 with a club from each FA represented. Each club in the group plays each other home and away. * The winners of each group earns themselves a home tie for the third round. * Depending on the number of teams qualifying for group stage football, they will be drawn against the corresponding number of worst scoring second place finishers over 2 legs for a place in the third round. In the event there are more than eight European qualifiers then the worst scoring 2nd place finishers are eliminated until there are 16 teams to be drawn against each other for a place in the third round. Away goal will play no part and will go to extra time and penalties if required. * In the third round is a winner takes all match played at the home ground of the group winners. The game will go into extra time and penalties if required. * Both the the quarter finals and semi finals will be 2 legged and will go to extra time and penalties if required. * The final will be played at a suitable venue decided in advance. First thing I'll say is I believe a tournament like this would capture the imagination of supporters. It's a chance for our clubs to get out of Scottish football and breathe. A tournament featuring the best clubs from four nations has got to be more worthwhile winning than a tournament of one nation. The media would take to it, writing articles commenting on the success or failure of our game depending on how many of our clubs are able to top their groups. Second I believe this answers a few questions you may have had when reading about the structure of the league setup. If you think playing the same 15 teams every season may get boring then I believe this tournament will compensate for variation and If you thought clubs may get complacent with the safety of a league with no relegation then I believe this could be the incentive to ensure a competitive team is put out. Knowing that top half finish will get you in this tournament should be enough to convince clubs to push as hard as they can but also knowing that 9th, 10th etc may also get you in depending on how well our clubs do in Europe. Third a tournament like this could help clubs from all four countries with their European ambitions. At present if a team qualifies for group stage European football, they are at a disadvantage domestically as they have to play 6 more games. For clubs out with the cheeks, we don't have the squad size to cope and will consequently struggle in the league. This tournament serves as preparation for European football. Fourth scheduling may well be tricky although as we're losing 8 games from our domestic league there must be Saturdays free. I concede it won't be a tournament for away supporters but your home crowds will I'm sure make up for it and there will be a demand for televised matches which brings us to the champions league problem and their grip on the midweek slot. Ideally we'd challenging and winning back the right to broadcast on champions league days. Youth system The system we have is in my opinion ridiculously inefficient. Each youth team produces maybe a couple of players that could play first football a season but more often than not they don't get near a bench let alone on the pitch. For a player to get their first taste of football lightning has to strike. How does young player get in the team when already experience and in most cases physique is against them? He needs to have qualities the manager is desperate for. Say my team Aberdeen has a young penalty box striker with a knack for being at the right place at the right and real potential if he could work on some areas of his game but at the moment that sort of player doesn't suit our game and what we need is a tall player to hold the ball up. Hearts have such a player on their books but what their really after is a penalty box striker. That example doesn't really convey the subtle qualities different players have but it does highlight the inefficiency of our current youth system and seeing as we are a small nation we could possibly get away with something more innovative that larger nations couldn't pull off. First step in reforming our youth system is to take power away from the clubs. Take the responsibility of of having a youth team away and set up SFA run academies in their place. To fund the system each of the 16 pays a share proportional to their playing budget - league titles are precious if you want to buy them you have to put back into the game. This where the teams who didn't make the 16 come in things, they play in a 20 team league. When players are ready to handle the physicality of the men's game, they are found a club within the 20 that will suit their qualities and give them best chance for further development. The SFA not the club will own the players registration and pay the players wages. If one of the 16 decide they want to sign a player then in the transfer window they can offer the player a contract which will be worth at least the basic wage of a squad player to ensure that clubs don't attempt to hoard kids on cheap contracts. It gives the player freedom to learn the game and develop as a player and then being able sign for a club when he's ready to play for that club. The clubs would be in a position to recruit talent they need to improve rather than develop talent they don't want to risk playing. Concentrating our resources into academies where the best talent we have can feed off each other and develop under the best coaches and facilities we can provide and then be thrust into a competitive men's game as early as possible where they have to learn the demands of playing in front of a crowd is perhaps an idea born from a lack of knowledge of what it takes to produce footballers but my heart tells me it's an efficient way to run a youth system and would work in small countries like ours. Keeping talent in Scotland I can't be the only one frustrated when I see kids who were lucky enough to break through to first team football, spin the roulette wheel again and hope for another double zero at a championship club. Mind you our clubs don't help matters when they sell on their talent for a paltry couple of hundred thousand and in doing so costs them league position (a couple of hundred thousand) and they've had to sack their manager for fear of relegation (a couple of hundred thousand) so If they've broken even, all they've managed to show for it is a season of misery for the supporters. This 16 league won't work unless the clubs understand the concepts of pride and ambition. Clubs however are hampered by financial constraints we need incentive for staying in Scotland and this where the SFA could help reverse the exodus of talent. Similar to what the Australian and New Zealand RFUs do, they enforce a policy for selecting players for the national team. The way I see this policy looking is only those who play top league football or those who have a significant amount of caps already are eligible to play for the national team. Right now the English championship looks a necessary risk for a young player looking to improve their game it has all the carrots of prestige, money and international recognition. The English championship does not produce international quality players as we are all too aware. They may have players that could be considered better than what we have here but in my opinion not by much and I can't say I wouldn't prefer to see players playing in our league fighting for Scottish footballs reputation. Taking back one carrot for Scottish would help convince players to stay here, hopefully work their way into the national team which will help them get notice from a good team. Teams to play in the 16 Below are the teams I believe should play in a 16 team closed league. I'm also proposing two merged teams. I won't offer any justification for the teams I think should be as I feel I've spouted enough ignorance so I'll concentrate my efforts on upsetting the supporters of 4 clubs. Aberdeen Celtic Dunfermline Team from Dundee Falkirk Hibernian Hearts Team based in Inverness Kilmarnock Livingston Motherwell Partick Thistle Queen of the south The Rangers St Johnstone St Mirren Merging teams Dundee and Dundee United I'm going to provide my own fanciful idea on what a merged Dundee team would look like but whether my vision is palatable to either set of supporters, I don't believe an idea of one team Dundee is unsellable but It can't come from the suits, it has to be the fans who want it and push it through. I see the potential for something unique to football being born. Imagine two sets of fans supporting one team. A club with 2 identities, 2 colours, a Harvey two face of a team if you follow the batman metaphor. They wouldn't have a home or away kit, they'd have two kits, playing half their home games in dark blue and half in tangerine and always forcing the away team to play their away kit. If the merge is successful then the rivalry with Aberdeen intensifies. 2 single team cities in close proximity to each other, I'm confident it would galvanise both clubs. Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County One team representing football in the highlands to conform with my philosophy. ICT had the misfortune of being formed a decade or 2 too late. If they were formed in the 70s or 80s when Scottish football believed in itself then I believe they'd look a lot stronger. As it is the project hasn't worked out and Ross County are the bigger club. I don't believe you can pick one or the other. This is more of a rebranding of ICT I'm proposing rather than a merge. Ross county if I had my way with restructuring would play in the 20 team league but I think for supporters of Ross county to back a team from Inverness to represent them in the 16 then some admission has to be made that they were bigger than ICT. Finally I'd like end with one final musing. One final glimmer of hope if we can't change things for the better in Scottish football is the proposed European league. The brain child of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Two clubs who looked at what the Old Firm did to Scottish football and thought there's a good idea, let's take this back to Spain! They have come up with an idea to take everything that's evil and wrong with modern football and stick them in a closed 20 team league. Fantastic! Shove them in a corner somewhere so the rest of us can concentrate on a competitive European cup. It would be fascinating to see 20 teams built on the foundations of a glory hunting support take part in a competition where only one of them can win. I mean I wouldn't watch a minute of it but I'd certainly keep an eye out for which clubs are finishing in the bottom half of that league with their egos well and truly deflated.