Colt teams

[greyman]

Sun reporting the arse cheeks want Colt teams in the league. Considering they are actively looking for a way out of Scotland to chase the money they can f**k off. More deserving clubs could get the two places they want.

CELTIC and Rangers are lobbying for entry for their Colts teams into SPFL League Two — possibly as early as next season.

SunSport can reveal that Celts chief executive Peter Lawwell and Gers supremos want to ensure they get the benefit of their revolutionary Irn-Bru Cup experience on a WEEKLY basis for the immediate future.

And it’s believed the feeling of the majority of SPFL clubs has been positive on their involvement.

Now there are discreet moves behind the scenes to prepare a formal proposal for League Two to be extended by the addition of Celtic and Rangers’ development teams.

Premiership chiefs met last week and SunSport understands Lawwell made clear how keen they are to set the ball rolling on it.

There are a number of lower league clubs concerned about the idea — but the Old Firm, buoyed by general feedback from other teams, reckon they can be persuaded to agree to it.

The SPFL would also have to consider what would happen if either of the kids’ sides were to win the league.

But SunSport’s information is that both Celtic and Rangers would initially be happy to forego promotion.

It has also been suggested they would consider playing every game away from home, although it’s unclear if that could be practical.

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Respective first-team bosses Brendan Rodgers and Mark Warburton — who go head-to-head for the first time at Parkhead on Saturday — are supportive of the concept, anxious to provide a better platform for their up-and-coming starlets.

An SPFL insider said last night: “There’s an appetite, certainly among the bigger clubs, about the idea of colts and Under-20 teams in League Two.

“Even though both clubs lost games in the Irn-Bru Cup there’s a feeling at the top level of clubs that the experience has helped the young players.

“There would be some challenges regarding making it happen but the feeling is there’s a will for it. It’s something the League itself would also appear willing to consider.”

[Ivo den Bieman]

Where's all the mouthbreathers who were saying that the introduction of Colt teams into the league was "sheer paranoia" when the re-vamped challenge cup was being discussed over the summer?

If this happens I'm done with Scottish league football.

But there's a calculation been made. Between 5-6000 paying punters watch the ten league games in Leagues One and Two most Saturdays. The SPFL are clearly caculating that they can lose most of us to be replaced by no-one / slavers who can't afford the bus fare to Glasgow, but will turn up to wtach "their" team's reserves at the local ground.

Very sad stuff if true.

[WILLIEA]

2 minutes ago, Ivo den Bieman said:

 

If this happens I'm done with Scottish league football.

.

You won't be the only one

[LongTimeLurker]

So much for being a delusional bumpkin for thinking this was what was on the agenda with the Challenge Cup. Although the Old Firm gets talked up, it won't just be about them. Seriously doubt they'll get straight into the SPFL, because there will be too much opposition to that. Entry into revamped Highland and Lowland leagues will be the "compromise" solution and if it's U-20 rather than a U-23 format, there probably won't be too much upwards movement from there.

[CityDave]

I wonder what the clubs in the 5th tier (HL & LL) think about this?

[yoda]

tbf, the experience of visiting Elgin City, Arbroath, and Annan Athletic will really benefit the youngsters when they're playing at those grounds in five or six years time.

[RiG]

Is there a reason why Rangers and their dreadful development side should be getting parachuted into the league ahead of Hamiltons?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015–16_SPFL_Development_League#Development_League_table

[williemillersmoustache]

This shite needs nipped in the bud pronto. I'm not so fussed about the fizzy pop cup but, there were plenty of folk who correctly pointed out that this was just a precursor to them getting into the league set up, and I'd advocate civil disobedience and minor acts of disorder to stop this from happening.

[LongTimeLurker]

45 minutes ago, RiG said:

Is there a reason why Rangers and their dreadful development side should be getting parachuted into the league ahead of Hamiltons?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015–16_SPFL_Development_League#Development_League_table

None whatsoever, and how does a 12 team division work at that level, anyway? 33 games or 44 games, a split? Don't think they would be able to get that through and this Old Firm angle is probably more about the attention grabbing headline for The Sun than anything else. What adding the U-20 teams from the development league a level lower would do is it would enable a split of the Highland League into two divisions of a more manageable size (they are having huge problems getting their season finished before the playoffs right now), and would also enable east and west divisions in place of the current Lowland League in the central belt. There were rumours along those lines recently of new regional divisions due to a Lowland League restructure in an interview with the new East Kilbride FC manager recently on a Juniors orientated website. It would be more difficult to argue with teams playing their way in from the bottom of the senior grade pyramid.

[harry94]

Taking the argument away from the Old Firm for a second, I thought our under 20s had a very tough match against Cove and see the argument that it is beneficial to young players. If I had to pick between  the young boys playing against Highland/Lowland sides or other teams their own age, I'd go for the former every time.  Ideally, we'd get our young players out on loan but it's a lot harder to get everyone out than it seems (only very few players actually get decent spells out on loan and the rest seem to use the emergency loan system).

I have no idea how we structure it but the post above is a very good start. I appreciate why lower league fans wouldn't take to it but at the end of the day, we can only compromise as much as possible to accommodate their worries the best they can and provide compensation to ensure income isn't reduced. They shouldn't have a veto on something that is for the progress of Scottish footballers.

[WILLIEA]

1 hour ago, harry94 said:

. They shouldn't have a veto on something that is for the progress of Scottish footballers.

Good Lord!

[Ivo den Bieman]

1 hour ago, harry94 said:

Taking the argument away from the Old Firm for a second, I thought our under 20s had a very tough match against Cove and see the argument that it is beneficial to young players. If I had to pick between  the young boys playing against Highland/Lowland sides or other teams their own age, I'd go for the former every time.  Ideally, we'd get our young players out on loan but it's a lot harder to get everyone out than it seems (only very few players actually get decent spells out on loan and the rest seem to use the emergency loan system).

I have no idea how we structure it but the post above is a very good start. I appreciate why lower league fans wouldn't take to it but at the end of the day, we can only compromise as much as possible to accommodate their worries the best they can and provide compensation to ensure income isn't reduced. They shouldn't have a veto on something that is for the progress of Scottish footballers.

^^ mouthbreather found

[CowdenConvert]

1 hour ago, harry94 said:

Taking the argument away from the Old Firm for a second, I thought our under 20s had a very tough match against Cove and see the argument that it is beneficial to young players. If I had to pick between  the young boys playing against Highland/Lowland sides or other teams their own age, I'd go for the former every time.  Ideally, we'd get our young players out on loan but it's a lot harder to get everyone out than it seems (only very few players actually get decent spells out on loan and the rest seem to use the emergency loan system).

I have no idea how we structure it but the post above is a very good start. I appreciate why lower league fans wouldn't take to it but at the end of the day, we can only compromise as much as possible to accommodate their worries the best they can and provide compensation to ensure income isn't reduced. They shouldn't have a veto on something that is for the progress of Scottish footballers.

You can get in the sea along with Doncaster and the OF.

[Boghead ranter]

Doncaster's in favour of it, that's the most powerful argument against it that there can be.

[Dons_1988]

Bring back the reserve league is the answer, not this pish.

[LongTimeLurker]

It already basically is back in some ways in the shape of the Development League that now allows 5 overage players in the matchday squad of 18. What killed the traditional reserve league format was the move to expand the number of subs well beyond the 11 plus 2 subs format that held sway back in the 70s.

[harry94]

3 hours ago, WILLIEA said:

Good Lord!

 

3 hours ago, Ivo den Bieman said:

^^ mouthbreather found

 

Well why not? If the general idea can be agreed upon, that young players would develop better off by playing in that format, and then it's agreed that no decision may be made that brings an additional financial burden on some teams - why shouldn't we look towards implementing it?

Teams playing in the senior league system subscribe to the organisation voluntarily (many junior fans were given abuse on here for their opposition to joining the set-up) and part of that involves accepting the package that is on offer. If a majority of teams (I said veto, I didn't say that they don't get a say and that their concerns shouldn't be taken into account) are convinced that this sort of move is better for them, it's in the national games interest to push forward with it.

There's always complaining on these forums about the state of our game but when an idea that has genuine support from people who know what they are talking about at the top of the game is put forward, it seems we always want to take the easy approach and put everything down to some sort of conspiracy against them. I don't think it's fair for the Old Firm to be taken ahead of the pack and for it to be directed to those two but it's narrow minded to cite that as a reason to treat the idea with hostility.

[bennett]

A stupid idea and one that we should have no part in, leave things as they are.

[1320Lichtie]

Here's me thinking Harry94 was a sensible poster as well.

Gtf.

[paranoid android]

Get them to f**k.