Saints SPL Status Under Threat?

One of the proposals comes from as high up as FIFA (although the SPL have an interesting interpretation of it), whilst the other comes from some clubs in the SFL.

Let's have a look at the FIFA idea first, which doesn't just affect Scotland but leagues across Europe. They want all elite leagues (you could argue the SPL isn't an elite league!) to have just 34 matches a season, instead of 38, which would see leagues such as the English Premiership or the Italy's Serie A have to relegate an extra two teams (a nifty way around the Juventus saga perhaps!) to comply. The idea behind the plans, apparently, is to allow for a few more international dates and also so the players have more rest for big competition.

FIFA want these proposals to be implemented for the start of season 2007-08, which isn't realistically going to happen. They'll no doubt face challenges from the G14 group of clubs as well. But let's ignore that for the moment.

The SPL currently has 38 games a season thanks to the strange split system we have. The two logical things to combat this would be for everyone to play each other twice, then the league splits and everyone plays home and away. Alternatively, the SPL could expand (it is allowed you know Mr. Gold) to 18 teams, with each team playing each other twice. Both theories give the magic number of 34 games.

However, going by newspaper reports, the SPL has a different, apparently better idea. Aside from plans to introduce three splits in the league (god knows why) they want to reduce the league to just ten teams or, even more radically, nine. Neither number makes any sense (and ten teams still leaves 36 games), but both do mean more than just one team being relegated.

As this is an SPL idea, it's no surprise that it's a bit silly. It could also be bad for Saints as, let's be honest, we're going to be fighting with Falkirk and Dunfermline to avoid the drop. However, if the SPL plans to reduce to nine teams, we can might as well just stuff signing players and accept our fate now.

The proposal from the SFL teams, compared to this, is a lot better and more sensible. What they want to do is take their play off system one stage further, with the second bottom SPL team being involved with the second, third and fourth placed teams in the first division. Fair enough.

Every Buddie's favourite chairman, Pearse Flynn, and Dundee chief executive David Mackinnon will put the proposals to the SPL and they will be discussed at a meeting a week today. To me, the whole thing smacks of hypocrisy.

Currently there are four teams, Livingston, Dundee, Partick Thistle and St. Johnstone, in the SFL who have spent at least two years in the SPL. As far as fans are led to believe, not one of them made any sort of attempt to get the promotion/relegation issue changed. They had the power to do something about it then and didn't.

Now that they find themselves on the outside looking in, they've decided that it needs to be changed. Quite frankly lads, you can all take a running jump. Mirren Mad can be a hypocrite too. For years I've wanted an extra promotion place, but now we're finally in the SPL I couldn't care less about them. They couldn't care about us when they were playing with the big boys, so why should we?

Flynn has moaned that if the proposals are rejected then clubs will end up playing part time football (what's wrong with that?) or go into liquidation. Considering most of us have managed to struggle along before this idea I think we can ignore his ramblings. He's also shown himself to be incredibly thick by claiming the SPL clubs will think of the greater good of the game when voting on the proposals. Did you not learn anything before you were relegated?

SPL clubs don't think like that, they only think about themselves. However, a few SFL clubs have been shown over the past few weeks that they think the same way and are only looking out for what's best for them. Flynn couldn't have cared less about an extra relegation place in the past, now it's a great idea as it will benefit his club.

Chances are that the SPL will reject this proposal when they vote on it, going by the usual "turkey's voting for Christmas" theory. Any club outside of the Old Firm and Edinburgh clubs could find themselves easily involved in a relegation battle. No point increasing the danger to yourself when there is no obvious benefit, is there?

There's also the fact that last year an SPL spokesman said they wouldn't be adopting the playoff system the SFL had introduced as England didn't have them. In that case then, any chance of removing the split?

So, there you have it. Two proposals which could see our stay in the SPL reduced to a single season once again. Personally I hope the SPL vote against both of them. As I said earlier, Flynn isn't the only one capable of being a hypocrite.