Kari Arnason’s choice another slap in face for SPL

wITH the greatest of respect to Rotherham United, it was another eye-watering blow to the prestige and credibility of Scottish football when they completed the signing of Kari Arnason last week.

The inability of Aberdeen to compete financially with a club from the fourth tier of the English game as they sought to retain Arnason’s services is a mortifying indication of the current economic environment in and around the SPL.

Icelandic international midfielder Arnason would be no-one’s idea of an elite player, yet the 29-year-old was one of the more effective performers in a poor Dons side last season. Even if his decision to move to South Yorkshire was motivated by money alone, it would, sadly, be difficult to argue that he will find himself playing in a lower standard of football in England’s League Two.

So far this summer, we have also seen winger Danny Swanson snub Europa League involvement with Dundee United to instead commit himself to a Peterborough United side which finished near the bottom of the English Championship. League One outfit Stevenage, meanwhile, tempted midfielder Greg Tansey to leave Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the SPL behind him.

All of this as chief executive Neil Doncaster tries to persuade potential new sponsors that the SPL is a vibrant and growing product worthy of their investment. Even Don Draper, the slick advertising guru in the brilliant American TV series Mad Men, would struggle to make that pitch sound convincing.