Football ManifestoWhen I look at the top football leagues around Europe, I notice something I believe explains the poor state of Scottish football. There is little doubt in my mind that a small country is at a disadvantage when it comes to club football. There are fewer home-grown player to choose from, fewer fans to attend games, and fewer people watching on TV. Sad as it is, money makes the world go round, and without a healthy bank balance a club is screwed. Of course, with a few good imports the national league may attract foreign viewers and more foreign players, but if unlucky, club football may well find itself in a poor state of affairs. Such is the way with Scottish football. There may once have been a time when Scottish clubs triumphed in Europe, but that time is long gone. Now European success is either lucky or nonexistent. Without the influence of great foreign players, young Scottish footballers will be slower to develop and more inclined to emigrate should talent find them. The lure of English teams outweighs that of Scottish teams. Who wouldn’t prefer to play alongside Thierry Henry? But there may be a solution. I notice that most European countries have top club leagues of around twenty teams. Scotland currently has twelve. Surely twenty teams would be far better for Scottish football. Instead of playing against the same teams four times a season, a club could play against more teams fewer times. This variety would certainly draw more fans to the game. Also, clubs currently in the first division would have the chance to play against the top teams in the country more often, and this could surely only be of benefit. A fixture against an Old Firm team for a smaller club is always a wealth of experience and financial gain. Borderline teams – those that find themselves constantly being promoted and relegated between the top two divisions – could finally find themselves in one league for more than a season. The financial losses and the loss of players that come with relegation would be forgotten, allow these clubs to improve. This in turn would provide more competition for the larger clubs, forcing them to improve. The possibility of European qualification would drive teams not usually in the running for such places, and with the threat of relegation less likely for mid-range teams, the market for investment and signings would open up. I have another idea that would surely be of nothing but gain for Scottish (and possibly English) football. Why not scrap the Scottish and English league cups for Premier League teams? Let the lower league teams compete for the league cup and enter the Scottish and English Premier League teams into a new competition. I’m sure clubs like Arsenal and Man Utd wouldn’t mind. They play their second rate team in the league cup anyway, so it would be little trouble to play them against Scottish opposition. Think of the financial boost for Scottish clubs entertaining the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd. The experience afforded to the players and the joy of overcoming top quality opposition would be of massive benefit to any Scottish team. Also, with the prospect of competing against top flight English teams, surely Scottish teams could sign better players from abroad. The competition and talent at Scottish teams would raise the standard for youngsters, improving future generations of Scottish footballers.
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