This is SPLâ??s mess, not ours

[Steve1872 4]

GORDON McDOUGALL last night told SPL clubs facing up to financial oblivion: Youâ??ve only got yourselves to blame.

 

 

 

Caley Thistle chief Kenny Cameron caused outrage among SFL clubs on Friday when he blasted them for not voting Rangers into the First Division.

 

The Highlanders chairman claimed the decision could wreck Scottish football â?? even though SPL clubs also rejected newco Gers at a July 4 vote.

 

Livingston chairman McDougall has every sympathy for clubs who are now in grave danger of going under.

 

But he is adamant it was NOT the SFLâ??s problem to solve.

 

He said: â??The SPL model, in my opinion, has failed.

 

â??I would feel sad if clubs go bust and hope they come through via a CVA or whatever, but I wouldnâ??t feel responsible.

 

â??We are all concerned about the future of the game â?? money has never been harder to come by.

 

â??But everyone I have spoken to feels this is an opportunity to start again. To improve the situation.â?

 

McDougall didnâ??t hold back as he reflected on the most tense period in Scottish football history.

 

He is SICKENED by recent events and will be stunned if SFA chief executive Stewart Regan survives this shambles.

 

Asked if heads should roll at Hampden, McDougall said: â??Yes. Itâ??s fairly obvious, but that is out of my remit.

 

â??I feel there are positions which are untenable. Iâ??m not really concerned about the SPL, Iâ??m talking about the SFA.

 

â??Weâ??ve been railroaded, weâ??ve been threatened. Everything about the whole exercise has been wrong.

 

â??Itâ??s been very difficult, itâ??s been all-consuming, brain-numbing at times.

 

â??You spend hours working on it. Itâ??s not a nice situation and not a good situation.

 

â??I could never have imagined on the day Rangers went into administration that weâ??d be standing here in this position now.

 

â??Itâ??s been a changing picture all through. But go back 20 or 30 years, could you ever have imagined Rangers in this position?

 

â??There have been so many aspects to this â?? the Craig Whyte scenario, the different bidders, the Duff & Phelps situation.

 

â??Itâ??s maybe unfair to say it could have been sorted out, but I do think the football administrators could have dealt with things quicker.

 

â??Thereâ??s a bit of apprehension to see what is next. But if itâ??s accepted and itâ??s finished with, then great.

 

â??Letâ??s get on with the football, letâ??s get on with the game.

 

â??But I couldnâ??t guess whatâ??s going to happen next.â?

 

McDougall insists the SFL decision was based solely on the â??sporting fairnessâ?? reason put forward by chief executive David Longmuir.

 

And he wished boss Ally McCoist all the best in his battle to revive new Rangers.

 

He added: â??I hope Rangers will come back stronger and obviously without the baggage theyâ??ve had.

 

â??Ally and Charles Green are sincere that they will come back with a new company that does well in Scotland.

 

â??The Rangers people said what they had to say, one or two surprising things. I donâ??t want to expand on that.

 

â??But I donâ??t think anything about Rangersâ?? business plan had an impact on the SFL decision at this stage.â?

 

McDougall is preparing for Rangers to start again in the Third Division â?? although he fully expects SPL clubs to be working behind the scenes to find an alternative solution.

 

But he has told the SFA and SPL they are wasting their time if they try to start a breakaway league.

 

He added: â??There was a proposal â?? not on a resolution just a discussion â?? strongly in support of a 42-club model to fix Scottish football.

 

â??If clubs are invited to break away, they would have to make that decision when it comes up.

 

â??But the people at the SFL vote were in support of 42 clubs looking after the future of the game.

 

â??Realistically, there are only 11 out of 30 clubs that could adhere to the criteria youâ??d want in the SPL.

 

â??But around the hall there were no dissenters. We are looking for a 42-club model for Scottish football and thatâ??s it.

 

â??As far as we are concerned, SPL2 is dead in the water.

 

â??As far as the powers-that-be are concerned, who knows?â?

 

McDougall, who expects the SPL to pay their annual settlement figure to the SFL in due course, believes Scottish football should move on from this affair and ponder reconstruction over the coming months.

 

He insists there is no ideal solution that will lead our game back to the heady days of the last century, but reckons an expanded top flight would be a good place to start.

 

He said: â??There is no utopia. Personally, I loved football when there were 18 teams in the top division.

 

â??I went every week for years and I canâ??t remember any meaningless games.

 

â??People disagree with me, but that was just football then. You went to see your team and you enjoyed it.

 

â??Iâ??m not fussy on numbers, I just want equitable distribution so there are no cliffs to fall off.

 

â??The main thing wrong just now is when you drop from 12th to 13th place. Itâ??s an £800,000 drop and that is unsustainable â?? you canâ??t sustain your youth programme.

 

â??I hope whatever happens itâ??s going to improve Scottish football. I sincerely hope itâ??s going to be a fresh start.

 

â??The damage is hard to measure. Whichever way the cards fall, you hope it turns out in the fullness of time to be good for the game.â?

 

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4430291/This-is-SPLs-mess-not-ours.html#ixzz20eY0OWs8