‘Embarrassing’ Scottish football should seek salvation in the south

SOME good may yet emerge from Hearts’ humiliation and the Old Firm’s travails last Thursday. Those SPL dinosaurs who fought reconstruction and fondly imagined the world’s TV audiences were queuing up to buy their product will now surely have had their eyes opened. Scotland is falling light years behind, and our league must currently rank with Ireland and Wales and Iceland.

A few years ago Celtic could beat the Italian champions and Manchester United in the Champions League. Now they struggle against minnows in the secondary competition and TV cash flow has dropped alarmingly. The gulf has widened to a toe-curling, beyond embarrassing level.

What needs to be done is simple. Every political favour must be called in; every ounce of energy and diplomatic persuasion must be used in a concerted effort to get our top five or six clubs integrated into the English leagues. The rest could compete here in a Conference-type Scottish league with promotion to the lucrative English lower divisions the prize.

The Old Firm would fit comfortably into the Championship down south; Hibs and Hearts perhaps a division lower; Aberdeen and Dundee United a lower level still. Within a season or two a natural balancing out process would occur. Our national team would feel the benefit.

Of course the difficulties are enormous. Many in England would object. The nationalist dinosaurs in Scotland would not like it either. But a British League is clearly the only answer. Graeme Souness once said all it would need to bring the Old Firm south was for Sky to wish it to be so, perhaps therefore diplomatic and business interests in a British League should concentrate on convincing Sky and ESPN of the positives of such a move.

We have long passed the last chance saloon.

ALEXANDER McKAY

New Cut Rigg

EDINBURGH

Negative play to blame for dwindling attendances

NEGATIVE football is becoming standard, with passing back to the keeper endemic now. Even from halfway into the other team’s half it is not unusual to see the ball being returned to the keeper of the attacking side.

Add to this the habitual shielding of the ball to allow it to go over the line for a goal kick, the same for throw-ins, and the continuous flopping to the ground by attackers in the penalty area, and it is not surprising that attendances at matches in Scotland have shown a marked reduction over recent years. As a TV match spectator I am less keen to look at football on the box, and this is because of how generally negative the game has become.

Another disappointing aspect is players being penalised for tackling the player with the ball despite the tackler making solid contact with the ball. This was exemplified in last weekend’s Inverness Caley match with Rangers when Ross Tokely of Caley was red-carded for what appeared to be an exemplary tackle that succeeded in moving the ball from the attacker’s possession.

Later in the game, what seemed to be a non-contact tumble provided a second penalty to the Glasgow team. If this typifies top league football, it is no surprise that attendances are diminishing.

IAN JOHNSTON

Forman Dirve PETERHEAD