ST JOHNSTONE OWNER OFFERS AN SPFL ALTERNATIVE CELTIC FANS WILL APPROVE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
I wrote the other day about the latest nonsensical proposal by the SPFL to reduce our top flight to ten teams.
The reaction from various clubs and their fans online suggests that, less than 3 days after the announcement, the proposal is already dead in the water.
However, one club owner has spoken out on the need for change, and his words will probably resonate with many Celtic fans.
A Bigger League Suits St Johnstone, Celtic and Everyone Else
Speaking to Sky Sports, St Johnstone owner Adam Webb said reducing the current 12 team league to just 10 would be a “huge mistake”.
Admittedly, that’s pretty much what we’d expect to hear from the owner of a club currently sitting in 12th place in the table. Nonetheless, his point stands.
Webb highlighted that Scottish football is often, in my personal opinion unfairly, compared to its far wealthier and far better marketed counterpart in England.
Ever since the introduction of the current structure in 1996, the twenty team top flight has remained a consistent feature south of the border.
Teams play each other twice, once home, once away. It’s simple and its fair. This makes it a lot easier to market, both to fans and TV companies.
Under the current system, let’s just say for arguments sake I was a potential investor in Scottish football, maybe an international TV company owner, but I'm based in Asia.
If I called up the SPFL today and said: “I’ve got 100 million pounds ready to invest in your league, but I want to see your showpiece game: Celtic vs Rangers. When is the next one?”
“Erm, we’re not sure,” would be the likely response. “Probably sometime in late April or early May?
“We’ll get back to you once more games have been played.”
It’s amateurish and its embarrassing.
Now, as Webb rightly points out, Scotland is far smaller than England, both geographically and in terms of the number of full-time football clubs. So, a 20-team league isn’t feasible, for now.
What he instead suggested was that we should have a period of “phased enlargement” of the top division. Move up to 14, then 16, and eventually 18. Once enough clubs have reached the necessary level to be competitive, then the endgame of a 20 team top flight becomes doable.
Although almost nobody watches it, the Scottish Championship (our second tier) is one of the most competitive professional leagues in Europe. Every year, there’s a good spread of 4, 5 maybe even 6 teams capable of challenging for the title.
Indeed, few would have predicted the current leaders Falkirk would be up there at the start of the campaign.
To be blunt, if you’re a team like Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen or Hearts, is there really that much difference between playing Kilmarnock and St Johnstone as opposed to Falkirk and Partick Thistle?
Once you get outside the top 6 of the Scottish Premiership, there’s about 15 to 20 teams who are all of similar size, and who, with the right management and a bit of luck could cut it in the top flight.
I still maintain that one of the most entertaining games of football I’ve seen at Celtic Park all season was when we played Falkirk in the League Cup. Their dynamic playstyle and their “let’s have a go” approach were such a refreshing sight to see.
Scottish football needs more of that. We don’t need to keep playing each other 4 times a year.
It’s a shame Adam Webb’s club probably won’t be in the Scottish Premiership next season. The man spoke more sense in those few minutes with Sky Sports than any other Scottish club owner has all season.