Thanks for your reply Leeann/Alan/Whomever else had input.
I will in turn reply to you point by point.
Prize money
I appreciate that the club has an open door policy and has always been very good at responding promptly to individual requests and emails (certainly in my case anyway) – however the argument can certainly be made that in instances such as this; sometimes any reply is better than none – even just to say “we’re considering the points made and will make a further statement in due course”. The fact that you replied to me is great, and I appreciate that – but there is still no statement on the club website – the official outlet for your news – surrounding reconstruction updates, colt teams or prize money in recent times. You need to have your finger on the pulse of fan sentiment more.
Anyone who knows anything about Scottish football knows that it is reported in the media in a way that spends no particular time or effort on those teams or issues that do not impact the largest teams in the league. So surely it must come as absolutely no surprise to you that the issue of prize money is a bone of contention now. At the time it was “widely” publicised and reported, it was certainly never made clear to me, nor many of the fans on this site, that the team that finished 1st in the SPL retained the same % of prize money as the year before and 2nd lost a significant proportion. Never mind 3rd remaining the same and everyone else gaining 0.5% - that’s not the issue here. It was “publicised” as Celtic making a grand sacrifice to ensure the survival of the other SPL teams. Please excuse my language, but what total bullshit. I’m sure you had your reasons for voting this through – but why not explain it to your fans at the time; considering you must surely have known this would happen.
Which leads me onto my next point.
Why did you think it right to support this one season only solution? I, as a Motherwell fan, don’t concern myself with other clubs finances, but I care about the club you run for us. A starting point for change? Why not just force change instead of starting it? What are you so scared of? Were you that convinced that we wouldn’t finish 2nd or 3rd this year that you didn’t want to keep it as was? Or, perhaps more to the point, what did Celtic threaten you all with if you didn’t agree to this?
How do clubs benefit from a small additional prize fund? If Motherwell finishes second, they aren’t benefitting? They may stand to earn a small fortune less than what they could previously have finished with in that position. How is 3rd place benefitting from this? What is the prize money for finishing 3rd this year, compared to last year?
In my view this is interesting that it’s come up now because we feel as though we’ve had the wool pulled over our eyes by the SPL and the Scottish game. And the only reason we are having this backlash is because it wasn’t communicated properly.
RE: Colt teams: I’m glad for that very simple response – hopefully it’ll be recognised as the power grab it is and get booted into touch by the SFL member clubs and in turn, the rest of the Scottish game. David Longmuir has obviously enjoyed his wee taste of the Old Firm pie this season, which has left him begging for more. Makes us all feel a wee bit like crack addicts needing to rely on them so much.
Finally. League Reconstruction.
Where to start!
Actually, I’ll start by telling you what I’m going to do if this goes through. I’m going to not buy a season ticket, I’m not going to attend any more SPL games and will only attend on cup games/friendlies/European games. Please don’t take this as insincere bluster, and don’t think me as the only person that is likely to do this. I don’t want to do it, it’d be very difficult for me to do it – but I just cannot justify it anymore. The game is broken, from the ground up – and the only way to fix it is to grab the bull by the horns and do it. Not just make a couple of wee changes to tide you over till Rangers re-join the league. This is not aimed at just you OfficialMFC, but every single club in Scottish football.
If the only options on the table are Status Quo or the proposed new set up – why don’t you all not just get together, sort your own futures out (without the meddling of Doncaster and the SPL) and say, do you know what? We all believe so strongly in this that we are not agreeing to either, and as such, here’s a new proposal. We have to be prepared to make big sacrifices for the long term viability of the game. If we don’t, our club won’t exist in 25yrs time, I’m sure of it.
The ‘Well Society members have agreed on the proposed suggestion because you haven’t provided them with another option. 11 clubs having a public vote of no confidence in the SPL or Neil Doncaster would soon make them go back to the drawing board.
Why do you think the crowds are as they are now? The reasons are clear to see:
Too expensive
Poor Quality
Television
Playing the same time 3/4 times a season
Lack of Competition
Winter Football
Financial tightening of everyone's belts
I could name a few more. This new proposal, in my opinion, will have an impact on attendances and season ticket sales – What’s the point in buying a season ticket when you don’t know which part of the three sections you’ll end up in and you might even end up with points being reset?
On April 15th 2013 – I hope and trust that you will do what’s right for our club. Not what’s right for this season or next, but what’s right for the long term future of the Scottish game.
Competitiveness and fairness wins over greed. If the SPL aren’t playing ball – then the clubs shouldn’t play ball with them.
