Yoss

Absolutely, no disagreement there.

This doesn't matter to anything, but as far as I can see Renton didn't suffer any penalty and played on for two or three years afterwards.

Yes. Or at least we think so at the moment but watch this space.

Looks that way. There's a sort of amusing prospect that their appeal could be successful, they could get a ten point deduction instead of relegation - plus another fifteen points for failing to fulfil the fixture and start back in the first division on minus 25. (Doubt that'll happen but several such unlikely and farcical things have happened already this week.)

http://www.scottishfootballleague.com/news...amp;newsid=2845 Edit: Yeah, like the previous poster said. Looks like the SFL have not agreed to this.

Superb.

As just posted on the other thread, the SFL have defrred a decision to tomorrow morning as to whether the three affected games will go ahead: http://www.scottishfootballleague.com/news...amp;newsid=2840

It would have been helpful to everyone if we'd had a decision last week. But unfortunately it wasn't Longmuir's place to make that decision, it had to be down to the Management Committee who didn't have chance to discuss it until yesterday.

As anyone who was following the thread maybe a hundred pages or so back will know, I'm generally in agreement with Skyline Drifter and qos_75 here, it's easy to pile in on the SFL and say they should have acted sooner but much more difficult tosee exactly what they could have done and how. That doesn't let them off the hook though, Livi's implosion was not difficult to see coming and there were a number of specific and quantifiable warning signs that coule have been acted on, in particular late wages and Inland Revenue payments. In the latter case we could follow the rule that's been introduced down south of a transfer embargo in the even of clubs falling behind with the HMRC, in the case of wages the current rules probably already allow them to act, but it's arguable and fraught with difficulty - they'd be have to act on the catch all terms about conduct contrary to the reputation of the league rather than on a specific rule. But that's something that should be looked at, a specific rule that repeated late wage payments would allow the SFL to make points deductions or any action it sees fit, though the emphasis in both these scenarios should very much be on nipping trouble in the bud rather than allowing it to develop to unmanageable limits before any action is taken. Other ideas like wage caps are good in theory and might perhaps be explored as well but would probably be more difficult both to implement and police. I don't see why those two things I've suggested there should be particularly difficult even within the existing limitations of the SFL's current organisation - both of them are things that are knowable and measurable without anyone needing to employ a small army of accountants.

I doubt I'd be too rational if I was facing the loss of my club, so I won't take you to task for the various manfiest flaws in your arguments there. I hope you're able to find a way of continuing in the third division or, failing that, in some other league next season.

When were the other two?

A good half dozen have said it already so don't be shy.

Fair enough, thanks for the info.

Am I right in saying you now have an external backer though?

They could have taken some sort of action based on the late wage payments. Tricky though.

If they ever break them, I imagine so. Your point?

Why would they even get involved at all and waste £50K to pay off Massone if that were the case?

I don't think could or would have maintained a full-time squad in the first division either though.

No, fair enough, I'm not dancing on any graves here. Insofar as I'm pleased it's not because I want Livi to go under or even because I necessarily agree with the SFL's decision (which is harsher than mine would've been). I'm only pleased insofar as at least the SFL have made the decision they felt to be the right one, whatever that may be, without being bullied or otherwise influenced into softening their stance by other factors.

From a Raith point of view, I'm not sure. A crippled Livi would have been better for us than Airdrie, I think. Airdrie will be relegation favourites, inevitably, having prepared for division two, but I don't think it'll be that simple at all.

Well f**k me, that's a relegation further than I would have gone for, and two more than I was expecting from them. But I can't argue with it if that's what they've decided.

Ooh. Source?

If they're there on McGruther's invite as preferred bidders, I don't see a big problem with it.

This is something that should perhaps be followed up on once the dust has settled here.

The idea that because all businesses have to borrow to invest we can't make any judgements about a company / club who have wilfully and recklessly overborrowed is fatuous.