Youâ??d think Gers were in a 2-team league with Al Qaeda.. SHUT UP!

[ian1964 10,487]

PLENTY has happened over the past year to justify Rangers throwing a hissy fit.

 

The glee so many took in seeing them melt into liquidation. The transfer embargo that followed.

 

The presumption of their guilt in THAT case with the Taxman.

 

But their place in this 12-12-18 league reconstruction fiasco?

 

Give it a rest.

 

The way theyâ??ve reacted to the plans, first in a bullying website rant from new bouncer-in-chief James Traynor and then in chief executive Charles Greenâ??s vow to up sticks and quit Scotland, is RIDICULOUS.

 

Youâ??d think theyâ??d been ordered to play in a two-team division against Al Qaeda.

 

Fact is, though, this revamp â?? pointless as it is â?? doesnâ??t change one thing about the direction Rangers are going in.

 

They started this season hoping to win a title that would put them into the gameâ??s third tier alongside the East Fifes and Forfars.

 

Whether 12-12-18 goes through in time for next season or not, they WILL be in the gameâ??s third tier alongside the East Fifes and Forfars.

 

That they might also still be playing the same teams theyâ??ve met in the fourth tier this season is irrelevant.

 

Whatever the set-up come August, theyâ??ll STILL be on course to be in the second tier by 2014 â?? and, thanks to the idea of the two 12s splitting into three eights after 22 games, they might actually have a chance of playing top-flight opposition six months AHEAD of schedule.

 

So whatâ??s the problem?

 

Why are they taking it all so damn personally?

 

Green asks why Rangers should even bother playing the rest of their fixtures in the Third Division?

 

A pedant might suggest one good reason is that itâ??s what the players are paid to do and what the fans have bought season tickets to see. Or maybe if the title is wrapped up by February theyâ??ll all just agree to scrap the rest of the schedule and head for the beach.

 

Green also â?? with no apparent irony â?? asks what kind of league makes the team who wins it play in the same division the following year.

 

Maybe his bouncer-in-chief, as a former journalist, could have advised that the league in question is the EssPeeEll, which spent years keeping the â??wrongâ? kind of promotion-winners out for reasons nothing to do with football... and which was bulldozed into existence by, in no small part, Rangers.

 

No, Iâ??m sorry, there really IS plenty for Rangers to be angry about after the toughest year in their history. But this is NOT one of them.

 

And itâ??s time they got off their high horse and realised that rather than bleating and blustering, theyâ??d be far better off helping Scottish Football League boss David Longmuir convince their fellow member clubs to become part of a new, single governing league body and help change the system from within.

 

Because right now, Longmuir is taking the biggest gamble of his life as he tries to sell 12-12-18 to those who employ him.

 

Itâ??s his reputation against their ability to see the big picture of whatâ??s in it for them if they accept a league set-up none of them wants.

 

If he wins, he might just be the man to lead the all-new, singing and dancing One-Stop Shop thatâ??ll run that revamped set-up.

 

If he loses, some of Scotlandâ??s most famous footballing institutions could be signing their own death warrants on a point of principle.

 

And thatâ??s the thing Green and Rangers should remember â?? that itâ??s not just them who doesnâ??t want 12-12- 18.

 

They are just the only ones who think they can walk away from it and play elsewhere.

 

Donâ??t be fooled by Longmuirâ??s smiles in those pictures with SFA boss Stewart Regan and EssPeeEll goon-in-chief Neil Doncaster.

 

He isnâ??t up for two divisions of 12 any more than you or I. He also knows that by being seen to have agreed to it, heâ??ll be branded a turncoat, a Judas and far worse.

 

More than this, though, he knows only too well that any chance of pushing through the 16-team top flight the SFL wanted has gone for now.

 

And that the only way forward for everyone outwith the existing elite is to accept that fact, sift out the positives from the negotiations and cling to them grimly.

 

There ARE positives, too. Even a confirmed pro-16-teamer like me can see it once he opens his eyes and his mind.

 

For a start, the EssPeeEll itself is stone dead. Thatâ??s not how Doncasterâ??s spinning it, of course, but itâ??s how it is.

 

A busted flush, a toxic brand, past its sell-by date and ready for the knackerâ??s yard.

 

It will, if SFL clubs agree to it, soon be replaced by this single governing body with promises of a fairer, top-to-bottom distribution of income, a less elitist youth development system and the possibility of a pyramid system.

 

Of course, the key word here is â??promisesâ?. Which is where Longmuirâ??s gamble comes in.

 

He has to convince a sceptical roomful of chairmen that not only is all this long-term stuff more important than the short-term annoyance of 12-12-18, but that all the promises wonâ??t turn to dust the minute they sign up.

 

My understanding is that no solid talks have been held so far on whoâ??ll be in charge of the one single governing league body.

 

My fear â?? and itâ??s one that will surely be shared by many â?? is that the SFL bods will be shafted and all the power will go to the Doncasters, Lawwells, Petries and the rest who already rule the roost so cack-handedly.

 

Hereâ??s the dilemma, though. Vote FOR 12-12-18 and you run the risk of that shafting.

 

Vote AGAINST it and Doncaster, Lawwell and Petrie buy off the 12 top SFL clubs anyway and leave the other 18 to wither in the wilderness.

 

It sounds, on the face of it, like a lose-lose.

 

Longmuirâ??s job is to convince those he represents that thereâ??s a win in among it all.

 

Think Iâ??d rather have that face-off with Al-Qaeda...

 

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4735683/Youd-think-Gers-were-in-a-2-team-league-with-Al-Qaeda-SHUT-UP.html#ixzz2HWnwp6TX

[DUDE 0]

And itâ??s time they got off their high horse and realised that rather than bleating and blustering, theyâ??d be far better off helping Scottish Football League boss David Longmuir convince their fellow member clubs to become part of a new, single governing league body and help change the system from within.

 

My point. We just ridicule ourself with all these threats to turn our backs to Scotland. Rest of it is the usual dross, my favourite being the bit about playing with Al- Quaida, very subtle.