The Threat Of A Breakaway Begins.

[Bryan]

Basra was it you that added the line I have highlighted ?

 

I might be missing something but does that indicate that after the meeting at broadwood on Friday we have pulled out / not been invited or whatever ?

 

I wonder if Douglas Rae will make his stance on this public. Greenock Telegraph where are you ?

Last week us and thistle just attended the meeting but had no say in the desicon, and its the same this time as they are inviting all the sfl clubs. It looks like only teams in the first have been invited on the steering group.

[Guest BasraTon]

Basra was it you that added the line I have highlighted ?

 

I might be missing something but does that indicate that after the meeting at broadwood on Friday we have pulled out / not been invited or whatever ?

 

I wonder if Douglas Rae will make his stance on this public. Greenock Telegraph where are you ?

 

 

Sorry mate, i pasted this from another site but according to one of the lads the part you highlighted is meant to be so. But until we hear concrete from DDR & Co then i wont believe a thing. Just put it on to see other folks reactions.

 

 

 

I know there is another thread ref McInally's comments on Inverclyde Now ie needing another 3 players, i wish to hell that DDR would come on the main site and let us know what their plans are. Im getting right hacked off with the silence coming out of scappa and to add to that the constant hammering we are taking from certain other teams due to not going up. FFS give the fans something to be confident about than leaving us all out to stew and possibly look forward to the fact that we are in for a really crap season.

 

I will probably buy another season ticket but if MORTON F.C. want a decent crowd next season they need to get their act together.

[GMC]

I HAVE A FEELING THAT THIS IS GOING TO RUIN SCOTTISH FOOTBALL !!!!!!!!

[Paton]

I wonder if Douglas Rae will make his stance on this public. Greenock Telegraph where are you ?

 

It's in today's Tele. The chairman says he would have to consider it carefully if Morton were invited. He sees the plusses as increased visiting attendance and a better chance of getting in the SPL. He says he would need to know if the club could still get in the SPL if they stayed in the SFL too. If not, he reckons we'd have no choice but to join, because we'd otherwise go bust.

He also says no one has said anything to him about it yet and he thought the whole thing was 'dead in the water'.

[Tonsilitis]

I do not necessarily agree with it but

 

1) A Scottish/Irish cup competition to make the league attractive to Setanta has to be good and makes sense. We do not, however, need a breakaway league for that

 

2) If it goes ahead and Morton are invited in, we have no choice but to accept. Otherwise we could be frozen out and facing an even bigger financial crisis

 

3) If as part of the deal, the SPL can be persuaded to accept two up two down or maybe even a play off for the second promotion spot, that would be a big plus.

 

I do not agree with the requirement for all clubs to be fulltime. At this level, part time is not an issue and our own experience is that the most successful Morton team in living memory - the Andy Ritchie team - was part time. Having said that, clubs with real ambition have to be fulltime.

 

It would also be essential that there was proper promotion and relegation and any sponsorship deal should pay a proportion to the lower league as it is in everyone's interest that they survive. To secure that they could told told it was only a goer if they agreed to relegation/promotion at the bottom end of the league.

[mortonjag]

To be honest, I know nothing of the details, but anything that moves us UP in status should be grabbed with open arms IMO. We've blown it three times in this division 2 s***heap-no money, no atmosphere, and everybody wanting to hump us, and we would actually do much better in the higher division.

 

I wouldn't care if we didn't win-it would just be nice to feel you were playing with your peers in terms of ability and fanbase.

[Real_Hoops]

Is this the day that the break-away clubs meet?

 

-any news?

[The Viking]

Think it's been postponed until Monday

[Wee Dublin End]

aye it has , this was on the BBC this morning http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/s...v_1/4766247.stm and in this mornings comics

[forza ton]

 

2) If it goes ahead and Morton are invited in, we have no choice but to accept. Otherwise we could be frozen out and facing an even bigger financial crisis

 

 

 

I wouldn't care if we didn't win-it would just be nice to feel you were playing with your peers in terms of ability and fanbase.

 

agree with the above. we are a provincial team with a reasonable support. i liked roger graham's idea in the tele

[Savo]

Mileson supports league reconstruction

 

Brooks Mileson has now entered the debate and declared his support for the breakway backers.

 

I wonder if we should also read anything into the following comment?

 

He has considered sponsoring the SFL but said: "I would certainly not be interested in the structure as it is now."

 

I have a feeling the SFL may be unable to stem the tide, unless they come up with something dramatic in terms of sponsorship and/or a TV deal at the meeting on Monday. It seems as though there is a growing consenus for the introduction of a pyramid system - at the very least.

[Tonsilitis]

I happened to be in the car listening to radion Scotland about 2.30 this afternoon and the panel - Gordon Smith and the rest plus Brooks Mileson and the new Dundee chief executive. What they had to say was quite interesting. Brooks Mileson, a guy for whom I have an increasing amount of respect (even if he is subbing the wrong club!) is of the view that change is absolutely necessary although Gretna have not been involved in the present rebellion other than as invitees to the first meeting. He says that Scottish lower league football will die over the next few years without change. All the clubs would reduce to the lowest common denominator to become clones of the smaller clubs or they would go bust.

 

The Dundee guy thought change was needed also but he preferred to achieve it through the SFL/SFA.

 

Apparently the breakaway group have:

 

1) a sponsor lined up

2) a TV deal lined up

3) the blessing of the SPL who would be prepared to accept a 2 up 2 down from the new league.

 

That is a hell of lot more than the SFL have to offer at present and if there was a decent promotion opportunity for lower league clubs, especially a decent pyramid in Scotland it could be very good for the game. It was mentioned that there would be criteria like the SPL for the new league which would include a groud with the ability to accommodate 6000 seats (althought the seats do not have to be there at present. They would also want predominately fulltime clubs. That would mean a certain percentage of the playing staff being fulltime but not sure what persentage.

 

There would also be other cross border competitions organised.

 

All in all, if this goes ahead, I am of the view that Morton have to be part of it. It might not work, but at least its a chance. If we declined, we would be left with the Forfars and Alloas to play on a permanent basis which would kill Morton.

[Savo]

I think the time is right for a rethink. Davie MacKinnon of Dundee is spot on when he says that the first division must be made into a league that clubs aspire to.

 

If you think about it, the standard of football in Division 1 has been declining for quite some time.

 

Think back to 1996 and our near miss: Dunfermline; Dundee United; Morton; St Johnstone and Dundee were all in there competing.

 

Players like Brewster, Winters, Pressley, McCann, Jenkinson, Sekerlioglu, O'Boyle, Vrto, Weighorst, Lindberg and McInnes were star men.

 

Now you can comfortably win the First Division with people like Andy Millen and Alan Reid in your team.

 

If they really are able to find a sponsor and sell some sort of TV rights (and I will remain sceptical until they confirm they can) to Setanta then it would be act of folly for us not to get involved in this. A cross border competition would be also be a breath of fresh air, and a pyramid system to weed out the dross would provide another shot in the arm.

 

 

[forza ton]

good post savo

[TRVMP]

Fair points there, Savo.

 

My key concern is that, if this is seriously going to offer a 2-up, 2-down system to the SPL, there must be access from below allowed as well. Otherwise, it becomes as much of a closed shop as the SPL used to be.

 

I also think this full-time requirement is a bit of a red herring. Certain full-time teams (Dundee, PTFC, Morton ) underachieved greatly last season, while Clyde and Hamilton Accies (who still have quite a few part-timers, IIRC) excelled. It's just a euphemism for clubs with a big support, really.

[theoceanfloor]

 

Players like Brewster, Winters, Pressley, McCann, Jenkinson, Sekerlioglu, O'Boyle, Vrto, Weighorst, Lindberg and McInnes were star men.

 

 

 

You didn't even mention any Dunfermilne players (who actually won the thing) - just shows how much the 1st division has declined.

[ianton]

savo also noted that out of the teams you mentioned we have probably got the biggest support among them.yes i think now is the time to change not just for morton's sake ,it will also be beneficial for the other clubs around us too.