League Reconstruction 20/21 season

[wastecoatwilly]

18 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

Ill informed arrogant rubbish

Are you actually Gordon Strachan?

 

You're better at red dots than posting comments.

[Bohemian]

25 minutes ago, Sparticus said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52807905

So come Wednesday when Hearts are told ta do one,  what then? To the courts? 

[Fife Saint]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52807905

A proposal released on the morning of a discussion is bound to be a great proposal imo.

Edit- I see it has been leaked already

[Sparticus]

2 minutes ago, Bohemian said:

So come Wednesday when Hearts are told ta do one,  what then? To the courts? 

I doubt it.They know they cannot win and it would waste money.They'll be told no and they'll use it to whip up a storm.

Us against the world type thing, buy your season tickets here, subscribe to foundation of hurts etc.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

The Sun say that it’s 14-14-14 for two years


https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5636897/hearts-spfl-reconstruction-proposal-in-full/

[HibsFan]

I’ve tried to be nice, but the fucking nick of that c**t. Get her and her tory cesspit of a club punted pronto.

[Bohemian]

10 minutes ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

The Sun say that it’s 14-14-14 for two years


https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5636897/hearts-spfl-reconstruction-proposal-in-full/

For anyone who doesnt want to click on the sun website 

LAST CHANCE 

Hearts’ SPFL reconstruction proposal in FULL – based on 14-14-14 for two years with option for 14-14-16

HERE is the Hearts League Reconstruction proposal sent to Scotland’s clubs this afternoon.

SunSport Online can reveal the plan being put forward by Jambos owner Ann Budge

Her bid to revamp the set-up of Scottish football will be discussed by the SPFL board tomorrow.

Budge wants a 14-14-14 structure in three divisions - with an option to increase to the bottom league to 16 teams.

Hearts would be saved from relegation from the Premiership with Inverness Caley Thistle promoted along with Dundee United.

But crucially only for the next TWO YEARS

Budge writes: “This document, at the most simple level, addresses two major issues, currently facing Scottish Football.

• The widely accepted and much debated unfairness and unjustness of relegating Clubs as a result of the early termination of Season 2019/20.

• The need to implement a more flexible League structure to cope with the huge challenges facing Clubs of all sizes, as they fight to survive the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The proposed restructure involves moving to 3 enlarged Divisions, each of which would focus on tackling the specific and different challenges facing the larger, the medium and the smaller (often part-time) Clubs within Scottish Football.

With a growing awareness of what might be involved in getting back to playing football, so too is there a growing acceptance that not all Clubs may manage to play next season. The focus for many is turning to long-term survival.

“If, unfortunately, some Clubs are unable to compete, there will be a greater likelihood that League competitions will still be able to continue, if these larger groupings are put in place, albeit not necessarily in the proposed format. We might end up with 14 teams in the Premiership, with 10 or 12 in the Championship, and with even fewer in League 1. Some are suggesting that we may end up with only 2 Divisions next season. However, every Club should have the option to make a choice.

“There are broadly 3 scenarios facing Clubs for the coming season:

• Play games behind closed doors for as long as necessary to get the season underway

• Delay the start to the season until supporters are able to get back into stadiums

• Hibernate for a season until the emergency is over

“It is not for me to suggest who should and who shouldn’t play football. It is for Clubs themselves to make that decision. For that reason, the suggested format assumes all 42 Clubs, structured in such a way as to allow each Division to decide what is best for them.

“This is not about permanent reconstruction. It is about finding a path to deal with the emergency situation, which is likely to impact all member Clubs for the next 2 seasons. When we are through this emergency we can look then at how best to move forward to start to rebuild Scottish Football.”

Edited May 26, 2020 by Bohemian

[BonniePrinceCharlie]

6 minutes ago, Sparticus said:

I doubt it.They know they cannot win and it would waste money.They'll be told no and they'll use it to whip up a storm.

Us against the world type thing, buy your season tickets here, subscribe to foundation of hurts etc.

You are getting better. You now use a capital letter now and again and you even used an apostrophe;  but you still don't leave a space after a punctuation mark. I hope you learn that when the schools start up

[Pet Jeden]

1 minute ago, HibsFan said:

I’ve tried to be nice, but the fucking nick of that c**t. Get her and her tory cesspit of a club punted pronto.
 

You reckon Ron’s a socialist, then?

(tbf AB’s  words not best chosen if you are trying to influence people. Maybe she’s reached the “fck it” stage)

[Sparticus]

So no club should suffer due to covid19 Ann?

What about  Clyde FC? Peterhead FC? Forfar FC? Cove Rangers FC?

They would suffer because of covid19 under these proposals.

[Bose]

Aberdeen supporting it according to sky on twitter

[Sparticus]

2 minutes ago, BonniePrinceCharlie said:

You are getting better. You now use a capital letter now and again and you even used an apostrophe;  but you still don't leave a space after a punctuation mark. I hope you learn that when the schools start up

Hurting worse than bad?

[Bohemian]

The document continues:

We are, as we all know, in the midst of a global pandemic, which has already brought untold misery to millions of families all over the world. The effects of this pandemic are not going to disappear overnight. They will be with us for some considerable time.
Every business is fighting for survival. Football is no different. Determining how best to deal with the challenges posed by COVID-19 has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, incredibly complex. Across Europe and indeed across the world, different approaches have been taken and everyone is trying to learn from each other.

Here in Scotland, we are following Government guidance and we are watching other countries to learn from their experiences. We are trying to plan for the quickest and most effective way of getting Scottish Football back to normal. That said, we all know that there is going to be a “new normal”.

What that “new normal” will look like and what it will mean for Clubs, for Players, for Supporters and indeed for our Governing Bodies is a question none of us can answer right now. What we do know is that it is going to be different and it is going to bring enormous challenges both in the immediate and in the medium term. It is going to demand change and flexibility. A flexible, not a rigid, approach to meeting the challenges ahead will be vital.

The challenges we face are going to be very different depending upon whether we are involved in grassroots football, amateur football or professional football. If we consider the latter category, it will also be very different depending upon whether you are a League 1 or League 2 Club, a Championship Club or a Premiership Club. In the same way as the challenges are going to be different, so too are the solutions. There is no “one-size fits all” solution here.

I initially set out to put forward a Member’s Resolution to propose an adjustment to the League structure to address one specific problem; namely, how to avoid 3 Clubs being relegated as a consequence of recent decisions, given that these decisions, will have huge financial consequences for each of these Clubs. A discussion paper was issued to Premiership Clubs on 8th May, 2020 suggesting a way forward.

This current paper adds some detail to my initial proposition, which is largely unchanged. What has changed, however, in the intervening 2 weeks, is the growing realisation of just how badly Season 2020/2021 is likely to be impacted by the effects of Covid-19. There is a growing fear that a number of Clubs will be unable to play next season. More than ever, the focus is on survival. Changes to the League structure seem almost inevitable.

In light of the increasingly uncertain times we are facing, I want to urge every Member Club to look at this proposal not as a way to save Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer from relegation, but as a better way for Scottish Football to deal with the current emergency, while at the same time righting an unintended injustice.

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This is not about permanent League Reconstruction, with all the angst that topic brings. Please do not assess the proposal in those terms. Rather, look at the proposal as a way to enable Clubs with hugely varying levels of resource, to group together to help as many Clubs as possible to survive through this difficult period.

Doing nothing will simply lead to us being forced to take action in the very near future. It is better to take steps now in an organised, considered and timely way rather than wait until some of our clubs hit crisis point. Doing nothing could be seen as unforgiveable by fans who wish to see Scottish football come together at an unparallelled time in the game’s history.

I have proposed that the 42 Clubs be split into 3 Divisions. While far from homogeneous groupings, these groups of Clubs have a better chance of survival if they work cooperatively together to meet the different sets of challenges they each face. We need 3 survival plans to get through this. One size most certainly does not fit all!

a) There is pressure to get our Premiership Clubs back to playing football as quickly as

possible to protect our Broadcasting contract with Sky. This contract contributes a large percentage of the income of the majority of Clubs, across all leagues. Assurances have been given by the SPFL Chief Executive, following discussions with his senior counterparts at Sky, that enlarging the Premiership to 14 teams will not be unacceptable to Sky and will not be used as a bargaining tool in any future negotiations. In fact, the proposed enlargement of the Premiership will be seen positively, bringing with it as it does, both Edinburgh and Highland derbies. It is also be noted that based on recent viewing figures published by the SPFL, Sky’s numbers would be considerably impoverished by the current plans to relegate Hearts.

Having said all of this, not being able to return to play early in Season 2020/21 is another matter entirely in terms of the new Sky deal. It looks increasingly likely that the only way to address this and get the season started will be to initially play games behind closed doors. This will bring major challenges for Premiership Clubs, not least in financial terms.

The demands on Premiership Clubs will be enormous in terms of complying with safety and protection requirements. The “return to training” and, the next stage, the “return to playing” protocols currently being outlined are hugely demanding and will be very costly to implement. We need Clubs who have the resources and the infrastructure to be able to meet these requirements, and indeed the willingness to do so, if we are to generate this much needed income stream from Broadcasting for everyone. Hearts is one of those Clubs. This is not the time to be expelling one of the League’s biggest and best resourced Clubs from the Premiership.

Everyone knows that the financial support we receive from our fans is exceptional. For over 7 years fans have contributed almost £1.5m per annum to support the Club. Since football was cancelled our supporters’ organisation, Foundation of Hearts, has amazingly had over 800 additional/increased pledges. Our benefactors too, continue to stand behind the Club. They have committed to continue to support us, not just throughout this current crisis, but for the next 5 years. Strong clubs are essential for a strong League and a strong Hearts has a big part to play in this.

With this kind of financial backing, Hearts is in a position to fund the Testing Equipment and other resources needed to enable a safe “return to training and to playing” in line with Government guidelines. We are also willing to share these

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5

resources with other Clubs, across all Divisions in the League, as requirements become clearer. The possibility of operating through “Hubs” is currently being considered and if that route proved to be sensible, Hearts is very well placed to help. Geography would undoubtedly play a part in this, but we would be happy to offer the use of Tynecastle’s facilities, on a non-profit basis, to other Premiership, Championship or League 1 clubs, where fixture scheduling allowed. Our recent infra- structure investment has provided us with 2 sets of UEFA standard changing rooms, medical facilities, tunnels and technical areas. Hearts could make these facilities available, as well as TV and media facilities. For example, were it desirable for scheduling purposes, with duplicate sets of facilities, 2 games could even be played on one day, without the need for deep cleaning in-between.

We also have access to highly flexible training facilities. Hearts not being in the Premier League at this time would seriously limit our ability to help Scottish Football.

b) Many of our Championship Clubs are going to have to work hard to survive. Few, if

any, could afford to get involved in Behind Closed Door matches. Few, if any, have the facilities to enable social-distancing measures to be complied with, even for training. There are already discussions underway around postponing the start of next season for these teams until such times as supporters are allowed back into our stadiums.

A whole different set of solutions are going to be required for these Clubs. Once again, I would argue that this is not the time to be expelling well resourced, well run and well supported Clubs like Partick Thistle from the Championship. They will be able to meet whatever is required of them to ensure they can play next season. This proposed adjustment to the Leagues would enable them to contribute at this level.

c) Our League 1 and League 2 Clubs are similarly going to face different challenges.

They are, in the main, going to struggle to fund the measures that might need to be implemented to enable them to play football at all next season. There has already been talk about some of these Clubs choosing to “moth-ball” their operations for the season. If that is indeed the best option for survival for some Clubs, then that is indeed what should be accommodated. If not, then they have to work together to determine what alternative solutions are best for them.

The proposed changes, creating 3 bigger leagues, means that if, unfortunately, some Clubs cannot see a way to play this season, there will hopefully be sufficient Clubs in each League to allow the Season to go ahead, albeit in a modified form. Maximum flexibility is crucial.

In short, the Premiership needs Hearts more than the Championship does. The Championship needs Partick Thistle more than the lower Leagues do. Let’s focus on dealing with the problem of saving Scottish Football from a position, which plays to our strengths and minimizes our weaknesses.

This paper is not about restructuring. It is about survival. The need to protect Scotland’s national game and our professional clubs is of paramount importance, not just to our staff, our players, our supporters but to the communities we serve. The impact of a club disappearing will hit local communities hard, both from a social and an economic perspective. Given everything else that our communities are dealing with at this time, we must stand together to try to ensure they do not lose their football clubs too.

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6 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CURRENT LEAGUE STRUCTURE

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7 OVERVIEW

Background

Scottish Football was suspended by the Scottish FA on 13th March 2020. As a consequence of that suspension, the SPFL Board (via a Written Resolution on 8th April 2020) called an end to the season for the Championship, League 1 and League 2 Divisions on 15th April 2020. The Premiership was subsequently ended on 18th May 2020.

Determining how best to deal with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic for the football world has been and continues to be incredibly complex. This is widely accepted by all. Across Europe, only one other major Professional Football League (the French League), along with the SPFL, has opted to allow teams to be relegated. In France, this case has now been referred to the Court d”Etat in what could be a protracted legal process. In Scotland, the option still remains to avoid this route, simply by adjusting the structure of the League. As things stand, the principle of Sporting Integrity has been compromised and there is widespread agreement that relegation under the current circumstances is unjust. The fact that there is a growing realisation that some form of league restructuring will be needed to help Clubs to protect their businesses and ensure their own survival, suggests the time to do this is now.

Options

a) Financial Compensation

There have been many expressions of sympathy for the Clubs, which have been relegated due to the early closure of Season 2020/21. However, sympathy is not what is needed; sympathy does not make these decisions right; sympathy does not save jobs!

Some Clubs have expressed the view that the Clubs impacted should be offered financial compensation. While this sentiment is appreciated it is difficult to argue that this would right the injustice.

In Hearts recently submitted Representation Letter to support our UEFA Financial Fair Play submission, we advised that relegation would lose Hearts, under normal circumstances, between £3-4 million in income. This figure takes no account of any further financial damage that might be caused by COVID-19 disruption continuing into Season 2020/21, which now looks inevitable.

For other Member Clubs to compensate for this level of loss in any meaningful way they would themselves lose out significantly at a time when everyone is facing their own financial challenges.

Hearts being relegated will not only cause significant financial damage to Hearts, but will result in other Premiership Clubs funding a £300k parachute payment next season. This money, plus any compensation payments agreed, could be much more effectively utilised in the fight for survival.

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8

b) League Change

I firmly believe that introducing a 3 League structure, for a 2 year period while we deal with these extraordinary circumstances, is the only sensible way to achieve the following outcomes.

• Avoid causing significant and unnecessary financial hardship to all Member Clubs.

• Facilitate Clubs of different scales to work together to focus on how each group is going to survive.

• Send out a strong message to the fans and to the football world in general, that Scottish Clubs are standing united to defeat our common enemy; namely, this pandemic, which is threatening to decimate, if not destroy, Scottish Football.

All of the above would be to the significant benefit of Scottish Football.

PROPOSED CHANGE

In a previous paper, I made the point that “emergency situations call for emergency measures”. Surely, no-one would question that we are dealing with an emergency situation.

The emergency measures being proposed involve implementing an amended structure, for two seasons, to minimise the negative outcomes created by the current emergency.

The proposal would see:

• an enlarged Premier Division of 14 teams, based on no relegation and 2 promotions (Dundee United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle) from Season 2019/20

• an enlarged Championship Division of 14 teams, based on no relegation and 6 promotions (Raith Rovers plus the teams in position 2-6 of League 1) from Season 2019/20

• the combining of the remaining League 1 Clubs with League 2 Clubs to create a new 14 team League 1. *(See below)

This proposal would see a more streamlined League structure that would facilitate improved communication and cooperation both within and across all 3 Divisions. This would also ensure no teams are further disadvantaged due to COVID-19. Most importantly, it would provide greater flexibility to deal with likely on-going problems over the next 2 seasons.

(* There is still an outstanding matter to be addressed regarding the Highland and Lowland League Play-off competition. One way of handling this would be to further increase the new League 1, to 16 teams. This would be in keeping with the underlying principle behind enlarging the Divisions and could be accommodated very easily.)

[FREDDYFRY]

So back to Clyde, Peterhead and Forfar being disadvantaged, aye cheers for that Ann!

Get that well and truly in the sea!!

[Bohemian]

And there's more....

9

COMPETITION STRUCTURE

League Set-up

Were the Divisions to be re-grouped as suggested, the details of the competition would be as outlined below, assuming a “normal” season. It is highly unlikely, however, that Season 2020/21 is going to be “normal”. Significant disruption is anticipated, in terms of starting dates and numbers of games played, across potentially all Divisions. It is also entirely possible that some part-time Clubs may choose not to play football at all, if the constraints imposed by COVID-19 are too demanding. Changes to what is outlined below, seem inevitable for next season. Hopefully, however, season 2021/22 will see a move towards greater stability, facilitating a normal competition.

a) Premiership Clubs would play each other twice (once at home and once away) providing 26 pre-split League Matches. Following this the top 6 teams would play each other twice more (once at home and once away) providing further 10 post-split League Matches and a total of 36 League Matches for the Season. The bottom 8 teams would also play each other twice more (once at home and once away) providing 14 post-split League Matches and a total of 40 Matches for the Season.

One criticism that has been levelled at the above structure is that the earlier split means there could be too many “meaningless” matches for the bottom 8 teams following the split. It has been suggested that this could be addressed by introducing a Play-off situation between teams that finish 5th, 6th and 7th to gain the new UEFA Conference League entry spot.

Concern has also been expressed that Clubs in the bottom half of the Division could lose out on a possible home game against either Celtic or Rangers, which would impact their gate receipt income. This would be offset by virtue of being guaranteed an extra home game.

On the plus side, fixture congestion would be eased slightly for the 6 Clubs at the top of the Premiership, which has been a long-stated objective, particularly for Clubs involved in European competitions.

b) Championship Clubs could follow the competition structure of the Premiership described above. Alternatively, Clubs may prefer to divide into a top 8 and bottom 6 post- split after 26 League Matches. This alternative model might provide greater jeopardy and interest amongst the bottom 6, in terms of fighting to avoid relegation or play-off. Similarly, it would extend the interest in the Season for Clubs 7 and 8 at the split by providing the opportunity to improve their position in the remaining 14 League Matches to compete for promotion or play-off positions.

c) League 1 Clubs could either follow the competition structure of the Premiership or the alternate option as described for the Championship.

The major advantage for Clubs in the Championship and League 1 is that it addresses the current problem of playing every Club 4 times a season, which is not at all popular with Clubs, with players or most importantly with supporters. It is often stated that the current format is so unpopular that it negatively impacts attendances. Anything that encourages supporters to come to live games can only be good for the game.

10

Fixture Scheduling for the proposed structure

This structure would see an overall increase in the number of matches played across the full season, as follows. The figures exclude Play-off matches.

Premiership Current 12 team structure : Each team plays 38 games per season

New 14 team structure : 6 teams play 36 games per season 8 teams play 40 games per season Lower leagues

Current 10 team structure : Each team plays 36 games per season

New 14 team structure: 6 teams play 36 games per season 8 teams play 40 games per season

This would result in an overall increase of matches across the Season. Having discussed this with Iain Blair, he is confident that this can be accommodated. While fixture congestion is regularly discussed as a challenge, this occurs in the main in the Premiership as a consequence of date restrictions and is, therefore, not a major consideration.

This structure would mean that 24 Clubs would play additional matches, providing potential for additional gate receipts; 12 Clubs would see no change in the number of games; 6 Clubs (Top 6 Premiership Clubs) would play 2 fewer League fixtures, which would be seen as advantageous, as stated earlier.

The potential for greater variety of fixtures, coupled with an increase in the number of League fixtures should be seen as a benefit to most Clubs.

Promotions, Relegations and Play-Offs

Rules governing Promotions and Relegations would continue to apply as at present.

That said, should disruption caused by COVID-19 be significant in Season 2020/21, resulting in it being impossible to play a full round of fixtures, then it may be appropriate to vote by a simple majority, for no promotions or relegations for that Season only.

Play-offs competition rules would similarly continue to apply as at present.

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DISTRIBUTION MODEL

The only change to the current model would arise if Clubs in positions 13 and 14 (ie. the 2 additional Clubs promoted to the Premiership) were to see their percentage share of funds increased to bring them more in line with other Premiership Clubs. Currently, the Club in position 12 receives 4.5% in line with the Premiership Distribution Model. The Club at the top of the Championship receives 2.25% in line with the Championship Model. This proposal suggests increasing the percentage for Clubs 13 and 14 to remove this anomaly.

11

There are a number of possible options in terms of modifying the distribution table. One possible model is shown in Appendix A, which is based on the Premiership Clubs percentages being varied to accommodate Clubs 13 and 14 in the Premier Division. This model would see no change to the distribution percentages of the non-Premier Division Clubs, in recognition of the fact that many of these Clubs may well be facing serious financial challenges.

This option is suggested since, as stated earlier in this paper, if no restructure is approved and Heart of Midlothian FC remains relegated, then Premiership clubs will be faced with a reduction in funds of £300K to cover the parachute payment.

Additionally, should the 3 relegated teams be offered financial compensation, this will clearly mean less money paid to all Clubs, with any deductions in line with the current distribution table.

The financial impact on Clubs of this proposed adjustment to the League structure is not considered to be material and should certainly not be a reason for rejecting the proposed model.

[Bohemian]

In Summary:

As stressed throughout this document, it is generally accepted that the coming Season is highly likely to be significantly disrupted by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contingency plans will have to be put in place, although at this time, what these plans will have to deal with is not at all clear. Questions regarding when and how we will be able to return to play, are still not able to be answered. There is genuine concern around how many Clubs will be able to play at all next season and indeed whether all 42 professional Clubs will survive.

The proposed change to the structure for the next 2 seasons, making as it does greater use of the split concept, allows for greater flexibility to modify the season length by Division. Streamlining the structure to create enlarged Divisions, allows for some Clubs being able to opt out of playing next season if they are forced to do so for survival reasons, while hopefully still allowing the competition to continue without too many additional changes.

In summary, these changes will help us deal with the perceived unfairness issue caused by these one-off extraordinary circumstances and will build in greater flexibility for dealing with the as yet unknown challenges that lie ahead over the next 12-18 months. We will then have the opportunity when we are through this emergency to assess the best way forward for Scottish Football. Unless, via the normal voting structure, there is agreement to do otherwise, this paper assumes we would revert to our current League structure at the end of Season 2021/22, consistent with this being an interim arrangement to deal with an emergency situation. We would recommend that in January, 2022, Clubs would be asked to vote, based on what the landscape looks like at that time, whether to automatically revert or to further consider the most appropriate way forward for the betterment of Scottish Football.

[Sparticus]

How are Hurts automatically promoted to the 14 ahead of ICT and Dundee?

[RandomGuy.]

So it's just the exact same plan shes peddled unsuccessfully before?

Great stuff.

Add in another absolutely stupid "the Premiership needs Hearts" line to annoy fellow chairs who shes already spent the past 5 years insulting, and you've pretty much got a full house.

[Well Well]

So basically there is no point ever having relegation. If we accept a temporary reconstruction then every club threatened with relegation in future will just rebadge and reissue this proposal every single year if this is passed.

[Guest SJP79]

Many will not vote for a Temporary reconstruction.