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celtic concerned over SPL power shift(shitting themselves)


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Tensions within the Scottish Premier League spilt over at Thursdayâ??s informal meeting of the member clubs â?? minus Rangers â?? The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

 

The spat, which saw Celtic isolated, is a sign of the changing balance of power within the SPL now that the Old Firm axis has been split by Rangersâ?? demise.

 

 

The meeting had been called so that clubs could discuss next weekâ??s special general meeting, at which the Rangers newcoâ??s application to join will be heard. Seven clubs â?? Aberdeen, Caley Thistle, Dundee United, Hearts, Hibs, St Johnstone and now St Mirren â?? have already decided they will oppose the application, rendering it dead in the water.

 

 

The most immediate consequence is the invitation to the Scottish Football League to accept Rangers into the first division, in return for a variety of inducements including a £1 million payment for the TV rights to the newcoâ??s games as well as play-offs for promotion. Should these proposals be rejected, there is a backup plan to start a two-tier SPL â?? with Rangers in the second division â?? although that idea is not favoured by the Scottish Football Association, who want the two league bodies to unite in a pyramid structure within two years.

 

 

In the meantime, those SPL clubs who were frustrated in their desire for changes to such substantive matters as the distribution of TV revenue because of the need to gain an 11-1 majority â?? impossible while Celtic and Rangers voted as a unit â?? have a unique chance to exert control.

 

 

When this intention was alluded to near the end of Thursdayâ??s meeting it prompted an sharp outburst by Robert Howat, Celticâ??s company secretary, who took the place of Peter Lawwell because the Parkhead chief executive is still on holiday.

It is understood that Howat was particularly irked by the notion that the other SPL clubs have been talking amongst themselves without including Celtic. â??Are we all in this together?â? he at one point exclaimed.

 

This position is regarded as risible by the non-Old Firm clubs on the grounds that Lawwell and his former Rangers counterpart, Martin Bain, engaged in monthly meetings to discuss matters of mutual interest such as their SPL voting strategy.

 

â??Basically, the toys came out of the pram,â? said one source. Another added: â??It was lively for a while but it calmed down. After all, what can Celtic do about it?â?

 

Meanwhile, an SPL based on the Belgian Jupiter Pro League format has emerged as a possible outcome of any restructuring of the Scottish game to emerge from the current crisis.

 

The Daily Telegraph understands that Caley Thistle and St Mirren are amongst those who are attracted by the Belgian set-up, which has 16 teams playing one another home and away, for a total of 30 games each, before splitting into a play-off format.

 

The top six play then play one another home and away. Each team starts the playoffs with half the number of points they acquired during the regular season (rounded up to the nearest integer). At the end of the play-offs the top team are declared champions.

 

Teams 7-14 divide into two groups of four with each team playing the others twice. Teams 7, 9, 12 and 14 form one group and Teams 8, 10, 11 and 13 form the other. The winners of each group go into a two-leg final.

 

The winner of that game would play home and away against either the 4th or 5th placed side (unless the winner of the Scottish Cup finishes in the top four of Playoff One). The winner gets a European place.

 

The relegation playoff proposal is for five games between the two bottom sides. Team 15 starts with 3 points and Team 16 starts with none. The loser is relegated while the winner engages in a final round playoff with three top teams from the first division. The winner of the group of games would play in the SPL.

 

When The Daily Telegraph put this idea to one Scottish football administrator, he replied: â??Anybody who wants to explain this to an audience will have to start by saying, â??You are going to feel sleepy.â?? But I have heard talk about the format and it does have support â?? although how much is difficult to say.â?

 

St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour, meanwhile, said: â??As events unfold this may be an opportunity for real change in Scottish Football.

 

â??St Mirren shall throw their weight totally behind a 16-team league structured in a similar way to the Belgium system, with a large number of crossover games at the end of the season to determine relegation, European places and champions.â?

 

Maurice Edu has hinted he will seek a way out of the Rangers turmoil as he wants to test himself at the highest level.

 

The United States midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Bursaspor, was not among the 13 players who turned up for the start of pre-season training on Thursday.

 

Chris Hegarty, who was out of contract with Rangers, has signed on to play for the â??newcoâ?? Ibrox club. The central defender, 19, has agreed a one-year deal.

 

Rangers chief executive Charles Green has urged fans to back his consortium instead of resorting to what he described as attempts to undermine their rescue plans for the club.

 

A crowd of around 1,500 staged a protest against the new regime outside Ibrox on Wednesday night, led by former defender John Brown.

 

Green said: â??Itâ??s not right that a proportion of Rangers fans continue to attack my consortium and try to undermine our rescue plans.

 

â??Itâ??s not right that every two weeks a Mel Gibson appears, delivers a Braveheart statement, then doesnâ??t deliver anything.â?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9365386/Rangers-in-crisis-Celtic-concerned-over-SPL-power-shift.html:drum::drum:

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It is understood that Howat was particularly irked by the notion that the other SPL clubs have been talking amongst themselves without including Celtic. “Are we all in this together?” he at one point exclaimed.

ABSOLUTELY F***ING RAGING more like!!!!

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Liewells big plan is falling down around his ears, did he really think if he gave the rest of them a glimmer of power they wouldn't snatch it with both hands and run for the hills.

 

It's easy to keep your morons of a fan base in line Liewell, not so easy with free thinking people.

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