Peter Lawwell has warned that maintaining the status quo in Scottish football is unpalatable.
SPL clubs meet tomorrow to vote on wide ranging changes that will see one body look after all league clubs and a redistribution of income that will see clubs currently in the First Division better off by £300,000 per season.
That figure could be the difference between part-time and full-time football for clubs like Falkirk and Hamilton Accies who have suffered badly from SPL relegation.
Last week St Mirren announced that they’d be voting against the proposals meaning that all 11 clubs must vote in favour to bring about the new look 12-12-18 set up for next season.
“From Celtic´s point of view, come Monday night if it doesn’t go through, we´ll be disappointed because we put a lot of work into it,” Lawwell explained. “We see it as the right thing for the game.
“We are coming to the end of the process and it´s either change or the status quo. When you look across over the wall, if it doesn’t happen, then what is the flip side? And the flip side is it stays the same. That, to me, is not palatable.”
Lawwell added: “It would be unfortunate for the longer term interests of the whole game in Scotland as it would be a huge opportunity lost. We felt it was unanimous, up until recently, that this should be taken forward.
“It´s not perfect but it´s the best available. The reason we think that is because it gives the one body which is a positive. It gives redistribution to the SFL which actually transforms, financially, the majority of the SFL clubs.
“And it also provides more meaningful games and that I think we can see even in the last week. The last three times we went to St Mirren there were 6,000 there. Nine thousand were at the Ramsden´s Cup final, so too at Partick Thistle against Morton, and St Mirren also took about 17,000 to Hampden.
“When there is something to play for, when there are meaningful games, the fans come out. It will give more meaningful games and therefore more attraction to the fans. Therefore, more attraction to broadcasters and therefore more attraction to sponsors.
“It will also give us stability. We´ve been at this for three years and we´ve never come as close to an agreement. I think stability is vital. If we get two or three years´ stability it gives the league credibility and something back to our broadcasters and sponsors. In football, stability is everything.”
“The status quo is not palatable”. That seems like a strange choice of words to me. The status quo is not acceptable (or pleasant to taste). It sounds as if Peter’s not that bothered either way.
Hasn’t he learned anything from the SFA or the sevconians. If he really wanted to influence the vote, he should have said: “The status quo will bankrupt us all. The status quo will mean civil unrest and rivers of blood washing into the sea. The status quo will mean Armageddon with a large meteorite crashing into the earth”.
To be honest, I’m not that bothered myself whether the vote goes through or not. I’ll accept it if it does get voted through, but I don’t think it’s going to solve any of Scottish football’s problems. The biggest one being not lack of competition but a rotten standard of football. We need clubs to amalgamate, not a convoluted league system. Maybe the new ( proven to have failed) structure is the best solution in the short term, but I don’t feel very excited about it- which can’t be a good sign. It should be exciting and it’ not.
Besides, I think Celtic will adapt and survive whatever the rest of the lemmings do.
All for change as long as it doesn’t help cheatco,thats if they are still around next season
Sounds like this new format would lead to a stronger div 1 through more financial returns for their teams which in turn could only help the overall quality of spl,might see an improvement in time,it’s got to be worth a try…….
I think you’re getting Peter mixed up with chuckles or the p!sh stained blogger legless, Para.
Poor peter, can’t do right for doing wrong!
HH
I don’t always agree with PL, but I’d never mix him up with any of that shower.
Didn’t think it had any chance of success to start with after being ditched by Austria & Switzerland – stupid idea with our weather anyway. Furthermore to keep it for another 3 years if it proved unworkable was really pushing it.
Better to continue as we are, so other clubs might go to the wall – then that is their problem – get their own houses in order rather than ask others for more cash.
Only problem is still having 3 x bodies running the game and not ONE of them capable of doing a decent job of it. Even reducing the SPL – SFL & SFA into a new single entity, we would need to empty 90-95% of them out & start anew.
Now at least we know where we stand….look after No. 1