Spl,sfl.sfa Joint Statement On Reconstruction

[coldonmac]

Have to say I like the statement from Aberdeen's Board. At least one Board is prepared to listen to their fans and make their position clear.

[trainbus]

Thought long and hard about a season ticket this year, haven't had one for 4 or 5 years and despite all that's going on I bought one, a wee show of faith in the club. I was then thinking of other ways I could help the club out, a monthly direct debit, etc. Now I read they may be put in the 1st, I give up. If this comes to pass then I will just pack it in. You need some integrity, order and rules in life and sport, even a semblance of those values however vague, makes you feel while watching our game that

it's just and fair, even a little bit. I believe it's important to at least feel that's how it is, how life is. Whatever punishment Rangers suffer it has to be fair, it would have apply to anyone in a similar posion. If that is not the case then football in Scotland would feel a lot more tainted and a little dirty.

[johnstone]

It's now a farce on a massive scale.

 

We have all the football governing bodies clambering over each other to save Rangers (Rangers who are currently not even a football team). When are they going to realise that nothing but application into the SFL will do? It baffles me at how far they are pushing the huge majority of fans on this. All we want is the system to be fair and the simple example is that if Motherwell had gone through what Rangers had in the last few months then we would be sitting furiously putting together a bid to get back into the SFL. Its that simple.

 

We also have this from Andrew Wilson:

 

Article

 

I would say about 99% of Rangers fans want to start again. They want to work their way up from the bottom and come out the other end a clean fully functioning football club. If they are let in through some 'hook or crook' scheme then they will never come out of the shadow of their past.

 

Forget the money - it will always come back. But what won't is the systematic erosion of the Scottish game to accommodate a corrupt non entity.

 

Game over if this goes through.

[nethertonwellfan]

Well Andrew Wilson, I will not be uniting behind this plan to "save Scottish Football". Scottish football, in my eyes, will die with this plan.

[underboyleheating]

The idea that Motherwell FC could have actively played a role in this - including 'allowing' the Well Society to decide how we vote - is depressing. Thankfully, I fully expect a statement refuting this idea ASAP.

This is what is required.

 

If the plan was known to Motherwell beforehand, it makes a mockery of any Well Society vote.

 

 

 

[Jay]

Well Andrew Wilson, I will not be uniting behind this plan to "save Scottish Football". Scottish football, in my eyes, will die with this plan.

 

I've been vocal in my praise for Andrew Wilson after his attempts to answer lots of questions on Twitter etc, but that article just seems a little bizarre to me.

 

Surely he is aware that fans of all clubs ARE united in a bid to save Scottish football?! And I include Rangers fans in that - the majority of their fans want to go into the 3rd division.

 

It seems a heartfelt plea and there are those who are still just laughing at Rangers, but I think the vast majority have now moved beyond that. Saving Scottish football is exactly what this is all about.

[Wellfan1984]

The Andrew Wilson article is a little bit of nothing. Is he saying we should back these proposals for the good of Scottish Football or is he saying we need to support our club?

 

If the first then how is blackmail good for Scottish Football? How is saying agree to this or we will cut ties good for Scottish Football?

[another number]

This is what is required.

 

If the plan was known to Motherwell beforehand, it makes a mockery of any Well Society vote.

 

Totally agree, hopefully they'll get a statement out today clarifying the clubs position

[Ya Bezzer!]

I've said it all along that Rangers deserve punishment but this is a bigger question than just punishing Rangers.

 

There might be people gleefully digging a grave for Rangers but WE could be going in right after them.

 

Are alarm bells not ringing when £200,000 is cut from the player budget over one close season? When the manager says we cannot even compete at English non league level for wages? When we have probably the smallest squad we have ever had and can't add to it unless we sell our good players? When the club claims we could lose almost £1 million pounds income on last season and that the club could be facing an insolvency event?

 

There is no rich owner in place and one bad year could see us in a perilous financial position. This time next year without any exaggeration it's possible we could be going out of business.

 

When people talk about Rangers getting off 'scot free' they should do well to remember Motherwell already have an administration behind us when we really did get off scot free with not so much as a point deduction and of course we were saved from relegation by SPL rules which others might interpret as 'preferential treatment'.

 

If we are ever forced into that situation for a second time we would most likely not get much sympathy across Scottish football, much like happened to Dundee.

 

I don't contribute to these threads very often because most people seem to have unalterable options but please read these words and really think about it.

 

This is not about Rangers this is about THE FUTURE OF MOTHERWELL FC.

 

If Rangers can be punished to the degree they deserve then good. If that is impossible to achieve given the financial situation then that's the bitter pill you swallow, to ensure survival and I trust the people at the club to do the right thing which ever way it goes.

 

I hope Rangers end up in the 3rd division, but not at the expense of possible liquidation of my club and I'm certainly not going to condemn anyone who puts the survival of my club over the punishment of an other.

[nethertonwellfan]

It's no about punishment. It's about the new Rangers followng the same route as any other new team.

[Ya Bezzer!]

It's no about punishment. It's about the new Rangers followng the same route as any other new team.

 

OK, maybe 'punishment' may not be the right word to use but that still doesn't address my points.

 

There is a reason why the new Rangers might not use the same route as any other new team and that relates to the my post above.

 

This is not ABOUT Rangers any more. If it was this situation would be a lot more straight forward.

[NottsMFC]

I am in a similar position to trainbus, never had a ST before but decided I would buy 1 this season, even though I won't use it more than a few times. This was due to a belief that the right thing was being done & understanding that our club was going to face some financial loss due to this.

 

I was also going to look into joining the WS & to be honest was feeling great about being a 'Well fan as I honestly felt that in a roundabout way, this catastrophe would turn out to be a good thing for our club, & Scottish football as a whole in the long run.

 

I believe there are many more like me who have been doing the same, thinking how they could do a bit more to aid the club financially.

 

If the club (statement ASAP please) is in any way involved in the shocking blackmailing revealed yesterday, I hope they realise the damage this will cause to MOTHERWELL FC.

Image the irony - Motherwell end up going under in order to Save Rangers!!

[mjw]

I've said it all along that Rangers deserve punishment but this is a bigger question than just punishing Rangers.

 

There might be people gleefully digging a grave for Rangers but WE could be going in right after them.

 

Are alarm bells not ringing when £200,000 is cut from the player budget over one close season? When the manager says we cannot even compete at English non league level for wages? When we have probably the smallest squad we have ever had and can't add to it unless we sell our good players? When the club claims we could lose almost £1 million pounds income on last season and that the club could be facing an insolvency event?

 

There is no rich owner in place and one bad year could see us in a perilous financial position. This time next year without any exaggeration it's possible we could be going out of business.

 

When people talk about Rangers getting off 'scot free' they should do well to remember Motherwell already have an administration behind us when we really did get off scot free with not so much as a point deduction and of course we were saved from relegation by SPL rules which others might interpret as 'preferential treatment'.

 

If we are ever forced into that situation for a second time we would most likely not get much sympathy across Scottish football, much like happened to Dundee.

 

I don't contribute to these threads very often because most people seem to have unalterable options but please read these words and really think about it.

 

This is not about Rangers this is about THE FUTURE OF MOTHERWELL FC.

 

If Rangers can be punished to the degree they deserve then good. If that is impossible to achieve given the financial situation then that's the bitter pill you swallow, to ensure survival and I trust the people at the club to do the right thing which ever way it goes.

 

I hope Rangers end up in the 3rd division, but not at the expense of possible liquidation of my club and I'm certainly not going to condemn anyone who puts the survival of my club over the punishment of an other.

 

 

That treatment was given to us by the other clubs maybe the fact we didn't lash out and send 'ambassadors' out threatening those clubs worked in our favour.The peeple are hard to stomach just now,rewrite the rules to save them and they will come snarling back nastier than ever!

[tottenmfc]

I don't buy into this patter of "this is about the future of Motherwell" because in my opinion it's about the future of Scottish football. The reason we find ourselves in this mess where the SPL is built on greed and many clubs run on unsustainable business models is because too many teams have taken decisions based on what they believe are their "best interests".

 

As much as I hate both the Ex Firm, this stopped being about Rangers or any other club a while ago and is now about fans uniting to try to preserve some sort of fairness and equality in our national sport.

 

 

[JimH]

I don't buy into this patter of "this is about the future of Motherwell" because in my opinion it's about the future of Scottish football. The reason we find ourselves in this mess where the SPL is built on greed and many clubs run on unsustainable business models is because too many teams have taken decisions based on what they believe are their "best interests".

 

As much as I hate both the Ex Firm, this stopped being about Rangers or any other club a while ago and is now about fans uniting to try to preserve some sort of fairness and equality in our national sport.

 

 

 

I agree, but would go further.

 

When you see Rangers being treated in a preferential way to keep sponsors (Sky particularly) happy, then questions really have to be asked about how far would they go (or have gone).

 

We have all been at games in the past where outrageous decisions mostly fall in favour of the Old Firm. Similarly we've had the jokes about warm and cold balls during cup draws. But after this who is to say that our half hearted claims of bias haven't been in fact the way Scottish Football is run - ensure Rangers and Celtic have and extra chance of winning games, reaching later stages of cup competitions to keep the sponsors happy.

 

Then of course, as been asked before, what would happen if Rangers, or Celtic, were vying with another club for the final top six place. Would the referee be "instructed" to ensure that the Old Firm teams wins to ensure a 4th "Glasgow Classic".

 

The powers that be don't seem to realise that bending the rules because of one team (a team that has been found guilty of gaining unfair advantage through not paying taxes and "possibly" through double contracts)they end the last vestage of hope that the game in Scotland has any integrity left.

[PJM]

Players will just have to be more realistic with wage demands.

[Jay]

There's also the fact that these proposals are quite obviously about making sure Rangers are only out of the SPL for one season.

 

That is the most important fact here. The only way forward according to those that run our game is to have Rangers in the SPL within one season, nothing else is doable.

 

I assume this then means that should Falkirk find themselves at home to Rangers on the last day of next season in a winner takes all title match, or the playoffs are indeed reintroduced and a 2nd placed Rangers find their way into the final - those in charge of our game will actively ensure that Rangers win promotion.

 

We've went from the SFA declaring that the only thing worse than the antics of Rangers is match-fixing, to putting our entire national sport in a situation where match-fixing, orchestrated by those in charge of our game, could become paramount to these plans succeeding.

 

That's corruption. It's as simple as that.

[Steve Diggle]

I've said it all along that Rangers deserve punishment but this is a bigger question than just punishing Rangers.

 

There might be people gleefully digging a grave for Rangers but WE could be going in right after them.

 

Are alarm bells not ringing when £200,000 is cut from the player budget over one close season? When the manager says we cannot even compete at English non league level for wages? When we have probably the smallest squad we have ever had and can't add to it unless we sell our good players? When the club claims we could lose almost £1 million pounds income on last season and that the club could be facing an insolvency event?

 

There is no rich owner in place and one bad year could see us in a perilous financial position. This time next year without any exaggeration it's possible we could be going out of business.

 

When people talk about Rangers getting off 'scot free' they should do well to remember Motherwell already have an administration behind us when we really did get off scot free with not so much as a point deduction and of course we were saved from relegation by SPL rules which others might interpret as 'preferential treatment'.

 

If we are ever forced into that situation for a second time we would most likely not get much sympathy across Scottish football, much like happened to Dundee.

 

I don't contribute to these threads very often because most people seem to have unalterable options but please read these words and really think about it.

 

This is not about Rangers this is about THE FUTURE OF MOTHERWELL FC.

 

If Rangers can be punished to the degree they deserve then good. If that is impossible to achieve given the financial situation then that's the bitter pill you swallow, to ensure survival and I trust the people at the club to do the right thing which ever way it goes.

 

I hope Rangers end up in the 3rd division, but not at the expense of possible liquidation of my club and I'm certainly not going to condemn anyone who puts the survival of my club over the punishment of an other.

 

The punishment for Rangers isn't for entering administration - that's been dealt with - we dodged it then a rule came in since and unfortunately they copped 10 points.

 

Livi went to div 3 after the mad tally ran them into the ground - so a precedent has been set.

 

THis is not about the future of Motherwell - it's about THE FAIR PUNISHMENT OF RANGERS

 

Not for administration - but for the numerous other entries on the charge sheet.

 

Grow a set man!

[nethertonwellfan]

OK, maybe 'punishment' may not be the right word to use but that still doesn't address my points.

 

There is a reason why the new Rangers might not use the same route as any other new team and that relates to the my post above.

 

This is not ABOUT Rangers any more. If it was this situation would be a lot more straight forward.

See this is what concerns me me, the same as the whole if Rangers are suspended or expelled will lead to financial meltdown. If this goes through Rangers and Celtic will know that. Perhaps they always did but now this will be confirmation of it for the whole world to see. What is to stop them going further? they can break the rules whenever they want and the worst that will happen is them being relegated a division. They can bribe referees, play suspended players fix matches etc. I know those are extreme examples but what punishment is there out there to prevent it?

 

 

Rangers have to be in division 3 next season to send out this message. Sport and in this case football should be about a level playing field and no amount of money should change that.

 

I always though that football country favoured the Old Firm but there was always in a part of me that thought that it was paranoia. Well if this goes through then it will be confirmation my thoughts and I will be 100% certain, therefore what is the point in being part of a corrupt league? What is the point in me paying £270 for a season ticket, £300 to be in the Well Society and hundreds more in merchandise when I know that the big 2 can trod all over the rest of us knowing safe in the knowledge that we need them? Well to me there will be no point, and I don't say it lightly and I can assure the club and any doubters that it is not an idle threat. I wish to be no part of a unjust Scottish Football where everytime one of the Old firm wants to shed their debts we go through this same scenario. Teams need to be accept full responsibility for their actions. That includes Livingston, Gretna, Dundee, Airdrieonians, Motherwell and aye Rangers and Celtic.

[Well Well]

See this is what concerns me me, the same as the whole if Rangers are suspended or expelled will lead to financial meltdown. If this goes through Rangers and Celtic will know that. Perhaps they always did but now this will be confirmation of it for the whole world to see. What is to stop them going further? they can break the rules whenever they want and the worst that will happen is them being relegated a division. They can bribe referees, play suspended players fix matches etc. I know those are extreme examples but what punishment is there out there to prevent it?

 

 

Rangers have to be in division 3 next season to send out this message. Sport and in this case football should be about a level playing field and no amount of money should change that.

 

I always though that football country favoured the Old Firm but there was always in a part of me that thought that it was paranoia. Well if this goes through then it will be confirmation my thoughts and I will be 100% certain, therefore what is the point in being part of a corrupt league? What is the point in me paying £270 for a season ticket, £300 to be in the Well Society and hundreds more in merchandise when I know that the big 2 can trod all over the rest of us knowing safe in the knowledge that we need them? Well to me there will be no point, and I don't say it lightly and I can assure the club and any doubters that it is not an idle threat. I wish to be no part of a unjust Scottish Football where everytime one of the Old firm wants to shed their debts we go through this same scenario. Teams need to be accept full responsibility for their actions. That includes Livingston, Gretna, Dundee, Airdrieonians, Motherwell and aye Rangers and Celtic.

 

 

 

Och..stop being a drama queen...

[Stu]

This is not ABOUT Rangers any more. If it was this situation would be a lot more straight forward.

You're right. It's about now about Scottish football as a whole. I think most of us realise that.

 

However, to suggest protecting Rangers is necessary to save Scottish football is utter nonsense. Why? Because there is no future in Scottish football if the fans of every other club in Scotland feel that they only exist to maintain the corrupt hierarchy.

 

We will lose far more fans from clubs all over Scotland by protecting Rangers than we will lose Rangers fans if we force them to apply to the SFL and division 3.

[nethertonwellfan]

You just can't go in to the first division, it would be lacking integrity, morality and everything. It would make scottish football look a sham.

 

From a RANGERS fan on SSN.

[johnstone]

The shit has hit the fan. SPL clubs are generally shitting themselves at the prospect of no Rangers for 3 or more years and a few even us might go into administration due to this, but what they sent out yesterday was totally shocking and total desperation.

 

This will never get voted through, but if it the case that all SPL clubs were involved in it then the damage may already be done.

 

Scottish football is on the edge here and its down to greed that it could be delivered a fatal blow.

 

Shambles.

[Wellfan1984]

I just don't get it though. How can say this is for the good of the Scottish game. We've had the Old Firm collectively in the top division for ever. The SPL has been here since 1998 and well our national side technically (first touch/keeping ball) is behind even some of the minnows of our national game.

[Steve Diggle]

Alex Thomson of Channel 4 suggesting via twitter that there's a bit of an all in bitch slapping contest going on behind the scenes at the governing bodies.

 

Says a seniour source at Hampden is beilin about the SPL proposal powerpoint