Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Rangers - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - May 1, 2022 General view outside the stadium before the match. Picture taken with a drone. Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
Celtic have been accused of being involved in a bribe to bring around league reconstruction.Â
On Monday the chairman of the Lowland League cast the deciding vote in favour of admitting three guest teams after the members were split 8 v 8.Â
Each team will pay £40,000 to play in next season’s 38 match programme with Lowland League clubs given the incentive of a review to increase access to the senior ranks of the SPFL.Â
Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts and Edinburgh City have cut through the deadwood in League Two with East Stirling, Berwick Rangers and Brechin City dropping out of the SPFL after years of treading water.Â
Stenhousemuir chairman Iain McMenemy has a background in Communications and appears to be a spokesman for part-time clubs in the lower divisions of the SPFL.Â
Speaking to the Daily Mail about the deal for Lowland League guest teams, McMenemy said:Â
Those at the negotiating table have offered to look at relegating more League Two clubs from the SPFL in order to bribe the Lowland League into accepting Premiership colt teams into their league next season.Â
The manner in which they have gone about this is just not acceptable. Clubs in Leagues One and Two are not here as bargaining chips for Premiership clubs and our fate won’t be decided in grubby backroom deals behind our backs.Â
I can tell you now that reconstruction will not happen under these circumstances. I feel sorry for the Lowland League clubs who have been deceived into thinking this was likely.Â
Celtic will field an u-20 side in the Lowland League which will have to include seven players eligible to play for Scotland.Â
In my humble opinion not a Penny of TV money should be given to them The Premier league should to it’s own TV and Sponsorship Deal other 3 leagues get there own lf they crash tough.
Motion Seconded.
Far too many so called professional / semi professional clubs out there for a Country of Scotland’s size.
They are draining resources from the top table to sate the egos of usually middle aged Chairmen who are the the ‘top dog’ in the toon. Cited as successful local businessmen because they own 2 Chippies and a tattoo parlour.
They offer nothing to the game. They are not a career path for young players. Young players with any talent have already been recognised at a young age and snapped up by Premier / Championship in both Scotland and England. The rest are playing glorified Amateur level football in our lower 2 leagues staffed with players on £150 a week, if lucky, and working 4/5 days a week at real jobs to make ends meet.
It’s no wonder Scotland’s National game is a disgrace when it has no thought out structure. Plenty of levels but no structure.
It doesn’t help that we have a Football association that Is run like a Poorly run Bowling Club staffed with the same lowered league Chairmen, those lucky enough to have climbed that ‘brotherly’ greasy-pole, It’s those same Chairmen who sit in judgement on the Professional Game and garner for it the riches of Sky sponsorship (joke).
Those same Chairmen that can’t even get a sponsor for the SFA’s showpiece Cup Tournament.