Game Off- Are there any standards at the SPL?

‘Game Off’ two of the most disappointing words in the game for any supporter or ‘Game Of’ as they described it at Keanie Park Johnstone today.

The St Mirren-Celtic u-19 match had been scheduled for an 11.30am kick off but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

To be fair to St Mirren they did announce this on their website and also on Twitter but with under 300 Twitter followers there was still a steady stream of cars turning up expecting to see the match.

Whether the game should be played at a junior ground and what effort St Mirren put in to getting the game played is another matter.

There had been concerns about the pitch during the week with St Mirren turning down the option to switch the game to Celtic and reverse the second fixture between the clubs.

If the SPL is to retain any credibility they really should start laying down ‘ground’ rules on how professional clubs act.

In the past clubs were obliged to field a reserve team, with some club’s struggling financially that rule was dropped and with it went the SPL Reserves providing players and clubs with worthwhile match practice.

The Reserve league was far from perfect but it’s absence is badly felt. Any player over 19 has nowhere to play whilst players over 21 find their place on the substitutes bench obstructed by the under-21 rule which requires three u-21 players in the matchday squad.

With money saved from scrapping the Reserve league surely higher standards should be asked for at u-19 level?

It’s unrealistic to expect clubs to have facilities like Celtic where they can choose between Lennoxtown and the Barrowfield to host matches.

The lack of facilities throughout the Scottish game is widely known but surely if clubs want to use Junior grounds to host matches they should be expected to put some resources in to create a playable surface?

Ensuring that a groundsman inspects the pitch every couple of days would ensure a decent playing surface for players to develop on- and play regularly.

When games are called off due to waterlogged pitches after no more than average rainfall then what chance is there of matches being played when winter begins to bite?

Some give and take is required, an acknowledgment of the circumstances that clubs find themselves in.

But if a suitable playing surface can’t be found in October for youth team footballers what hope is there that the standards in the SPL will ever improve?

Whose leaking at the SFA?

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