Roy MacGregor: I had no option except to vote against SPL proposals

[ian1964 10,513]

COUNTY chief reveals he voted against reconstruction because he listened to fans throughout the country.

 

 

 

ROSS COUNTY chairman Roy MacGregor last night told how he had no option but to sink the SPLâ??s plans for reconstruction.

 

An emotional MacGregor opened his heart to Record Sport shortly after playing a key role in destroying proposals to force through a controversial new 12-12-18 structure.

 

In fact, MacGregor joked that he had to be driven out of Glasgow in the boot of a car, following his decision to team up with St Mirren and torpedo the blueprint.

 

But the energy business high flyer was deadly serious when laying out his reasons for voting â??noâ? â?? and adamant that the other 10 clubs should have done exactly as he did, by listening to the wishes of fans up and down the country.

 

MacGregor said: â??I donâ??t feel great about what happened today. I donâ??t feel great for my colleagues and for the First Division clubs who need more money now.

 

â??So there are no winners out of this. For a day or two there will be some soul-searching and challenging decisions. But I can look myself in the mirror knowing I acted for all the right reasons. I couldnâ??t do that if I had voted the other way. Thatâ??s why I had no option.

 

â??I just hope sense will prevail and somehow in the not too distant future we can try to resurrect this in a way that can get backing from everyone.

 

â??Unfortunately, there were road blocks placed up against any other kind of league structure. That was the surprising thing for me as a businessman.

 

â??In all walks of life, if you know you are going to lose something, you try to find a compromise. But in football circles that doesnâ??t seem to work for whatever reason. The situation we were in was all or nothing and I donâ??t know why.

 

â??I canâ??t tell you whether there are agendas going on that I donâ??t understand. I certainly donâ??t see them. But maybe there are things going on that I donâ??t understand.

 

â??Maybe the city clubs should have a look at this sort of God-given right to be in the top six or the top eight. I donâ??t know.â?

 

MacGregor then added: â??Itâ??s not a good day. But itâ??s a day for reflection and hopefully, once the dust settles, we need to move forward again.

 

â??In my time in the SPL there has been a real positive attempt to make changes. But maybe we all need to go back to our fans and start listening to them a bit more.

 

â??I feel privileged and honoured to have been round the table. Iâ??ve had a vote today when Iâ??ve only been in that league for nine months.

 

â??Iâ??m only a beginner so I may have made the wrong decision, in the long term interests of the game. I feel humbled that I might have made the wrong decision for football but I can only make my judgement on what my shareholders and fans are telling me to do.

 

â??If I didnâ??t do that there would be no point in me being chairman. I would be committing suicide.â?

 

Rival chairmen were furious about yesterdayâ??s collapse with Aberdeenâ??s Stewart Milne apparently close to tears.

 

And MacGregor believes much of that anger is down to the fact clubs experiencing financial hardship are now set to lose out on a share of almost £2million in sponsorship.

 

He said: â??Itâ??s going to be difficult to get a sponsor without having one league. As it stands they get around £2m from the Clydesdale Bank so, yes, there is a financial hit for the clubs. I understand that.

 

â??But you have to make a judgment on where you see it. Do you see the benefit of all the good things against those things that are not so good?

 

â??The split into an 8-8-8 was probably our only difficulty. Itâ??s too complicated and difficult to understand and we believe it will have a detrimental impact on season-ticket sales. We cannot take the loyalty of fans for granted.

 

â??These are deeply held views. If they werenâ??t so deeply held then you would go with the redistribution of wealth and the one league body.

 

â??We listened to our supporters and came down on their side. A chairman doesnâ??t vote for himself, he votes for his club and his fans and has an eye on the greater good.â?

 

County are one of the few rampant success stories in the crisis-hit SPL and are fighting it out for a European place in their first top-flight season.

 

But he believes some of Scotlandâ??s traditionally biggest clubs are clinging to the past.

 

He said: â??The other side, particularly the larger clubs, believe the eight at the top end will generate more revenue, provided they can get into it.

 

â??If you think you are always going to be in the top eight then it makes sense. But this season shows thatâ??s not necessarily going to be the case.

 

â??Some of these big fish have been swimming up hill and they havenâ??t been watching whatâ??s happening. There has been a major swing to the north and a major swing to different models.â?

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ross-county-chairman-roy-macgregor-1834844

[ian1964 10,513]

St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour: I'm convinced that voting against SPL revamp was the right thing to do

16 Apr 2013 09:06

 

THE Saints chief was adamant as he left Hampden that his refusla to accept the 12-12-18 plan was the right thing for Scottish football.

 

 

 

ST MIRREN chairman Stewart Gilmour last night pled not guilty to the charge of killing Scottish football.

 

And the man who led the revolt against the SPL’s reconstruction proposals at Hampden yesterday pledged his conscience would make him do the same thing again.

 

Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne was furious when the proposed 12-12-18 set-up was destroyed by St Mirren and Ross County, accusing Gilmour alone of potentially killing Scottish football.

 

Gilmour reacted to the welter of criticism that came his way from fellow SPL chairmen when he explained himself to Record Sport.

 

He said: “Let all of them blast their shotguns. I’m still firmly of the belief, with all my heart and not letting it rule my head, that what I did at Hampden was the right thing to do.

 

“I still want to see elements of the reconstruction proposals – like a single league body – implemented.

 

“But not at any cost. First of all I’ll tell the St Mirren supporters later today the reason for doing what the club did at Hampden.”

 

Gilmour was unrepentant and SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster was equally certain that the collapse of the 12-12-18 league set-up for next season wasn’t a resignation issue for him.

 

He said: “These matters are for the clubs themselves to decide and for me to carry out the will of the clubs.

 

“I can’t control them. I also have no mandate as yet for any Plan B.”

 

Doncaster denied TV contracts would be affected by yesterday’s rejection of reconstruction but admitted First Division clubs could feel a financial draught leading to part-time football.

 

He said: “The five-year broadcast deal signed last summer remains in place.

 

“The hunt for someone to replace the Clydesdale Bank as title sponsor for the SPL goes on. However, I’m most disappointed for the First Division clubs who would have received more money under the reconstruction proposals than they do now.

 

“They needed that extra cash to sustain full-time football. At present they receive about £100,000 per year from central funds and that might not be enough to keep full-time football going.”

 

Doncaster, as the representative of all 12 clubs in the SPL, couldn’t single out St Mirren or Ross County for criticism after they scuppered the plans.

 

He said: “I have a duty to all and a respect for all. What happened today was the will of the clubs.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/st-mirren-chairman-stewart-gilmour-1834890

[Blue Moon 1,150]

There are agendas going on that no-one understands.

 

It is disgraceful that the media have handled this in this way.

 

It is time for the truth.

[Frankie 8,200]

“In all walks of life, if you know you are going to lose something, you try to find a compromise. But in football circles that doesn’t seem to work for whatever reason. The situation we were in was all or nothing and I don’t know why.

 

“I can’t tell you whether there are agendas going on that I don’t understand. I certainly don’t see them. But maybe there are things going on that I don’t understand.

 

“Maybe the city clubs should have a look at this sort of God-given right to be in the top six or the top eight. I don’t know.”

 

This is what the media should be concentrating on - specifically the point in bold.

[Darthter 542]

The situation we were in was all or nothing and I don’t know why.

 

This is what the media should be concentrating on - specifically the point in bold.

 

That is indeed a rather worrying statement. If one of the clubs who were involved in the discussions doesn't know the reasons for the "all or nothing", then who actually does. Is it simply a scaremonger tactic???

[der Berliner 3,357]

What was that line again ...

 

One Club to rule them all, One Club to guide them,

One Club to bring them all, and in the Darkness bind them.

[Zappa 0]

This is what the media should be concentrating on - specifically the point in bold.

 

I agree and as someone else said in one of these recent threads, we should be hounding them about our withheld prize money too. You can't howl on about sporting integrity then illegally withhold the competition prize money. Doncaster should be forced to explain before he clears out his desk and leaves.