Coming soon to a Division 3 ground* soon… Rangers! (*average attendance 475)
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UPDATED:
20:17 GMT, 13 July 2012
Scottish football remains in chaos as its governing body, the Scottish Football Association, tried to win support for restructuring the four-division system into a two-tier Premier League — SPL 1 and 2.
This followed the dramatic and historic vote by Scottish Football League chairmen to demote Rangers to the Irn-Bru Third Division. As it stands, one month from now Rangers will begin next season at Peterhead’s Balmoor Stadium, where 396 spectators saw Berwick Rangers in March. Glasgow Rangers’ average at Ibrox last season was over 46,000.
However, the SPL chairmen re-convene at Hampden Park on Monday and, after a weekend of potentially intense consultation, there will be pressure on SFL clubs to accept a restructuring.
See ya: Alloa director Ewen Cameron (left), SFL president Jim Ballantyne (centre) and SFL chief executive David Longmuir announce the verdict on Rangers
WHO RANGERS WILL PLAY
Annan Athletic, Berwick, Clyde, East Stirling, Elgin, Montrose, Peterhead, Queens Park, Stirling, Stranraer
Rangers’ official response yesterday
was to thank the SFL for admission to the Third Division but the club
website also mentioned ‘the SPL will introduce a plan for SPL 2’. This
was later amended.
Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston
captured the uncertainty and intrigue when he said: ‘We’ll have to see
what develops on Monday and I’m not sure it’s over yet. I’m sure
there’ll be a twist in the tale, and that will come out on Monday when
the SPL meet.’
The SFL president Jim Ballantyne had
already said: ‘We don’t have any control over the SPL. They are entitled
to do whatever they wish, within their own rules. But it’s important to
mention that the Division One clubs went out of their way to make it
clear that their route regarding a solution involved all 42 teams.
‘The talk of financial meltdown is
scary for everybody but that completely ignores the views of the fans.
The fans have been vociferous.’
Only way: The clubs voted overwhelmingly against Rangers
Turnbull Hutton, the Raith Rovers
chairman who has become something of a spokesman over the past
fortnight, warned of ‘interference and gerrymandering’. Last week Hutton
called the game in Scotland ‘corrupt’. While many of his compatriots
celebrated the ‘sporting integrity’ of the decision — 25 of 30 SFL
chairmen voted against accepting the Rangers ‘newco’ into the First
Division — others worried about the economic consequences.
Central to this is the agreed, but as
yet unsigned, five-year Sky Television deal, which is worth 80million
across five seasons to SPL clubs. It is due to begin this coming season.
The deal was based on the prospect of
at least four Old Firm games per season but if Rangers are in
Scotland’s fourth tier next season, they cannot be in the SPL until
August 2015 at the earliest.
What now Rangers boss Ally McCoist
Reaction from Sky as well as ESPN is
awaited, but if they walk away from the agreed deal they would
jeopardise the future of SPL clubs such as Kilmarnock and Motherwell
more than lower-division clubs who are less reliant on TV money. Sky
will also have to consider the possibility of subscriber backlash if
they do not proceed as agreed.
As Ballantyne said, his chairmen have
been petitioned by fans to a degree unseen previously and, if the
perception is that league restructuring is to accommodate Rangers and
broadcasters, then the grassroots reaction is likely to be equally loud
and antagonistic.
That local pressure has had an effect
and so far has carried more weight than the dire predictions of Stewart
Regan, the SFA chief executive, who last week spoke of ‘meltdown’ and
even ‘social unrest’ in the event of Rangers’ ‘newco’ being excluded
from the First Division. Regan looks exposed by yesterday’s
developments.
The original Rangers FC, who entered
the Scottish league in 1890 and have never been outside the top flight,
fell into administration in February. The company was liquidated last
month and a ‘newco’ formed.
Players signed to Rangers believe
liquidation represented a breach of contract and many have left.
Rangers’ new chairman-owner Charles Green disputes this but the reality
for manager Ally McCoist is that he has barely a handful of recognisable
first-team footballers. McCoist’s future is also uncertain.