Scottish game in peril, crisis and jeopardy warns McLeish

WHEN Henry McLeish 
announced the initial findings of his SFA-commissioned 
Review of Scottish football more than two years ago, he described the game as “under-performing, under-achieving and under-funded”, with phrases such as “pathetically inadequate” and “an embarrassment” thrown in for good measure.

It’s safe to say the former First Minister felt things couldn’t get any worse. He now knows 
better.

The tumultuous events which have unfolded at Rangers since February, spreading chaos throughout the Scottish game and reaching a crescendo with the current controversy over which level of football the newco Ibrox club can play in next season, have prompted McLeish into another grim assessment.

Taking the opportunity yesterday to have his say on the issues surrounding tomorrow’s pivotal meeting of Scottish Football League clubs at Hampden, when he believes acceptance of Rangers into the First Division would be the best option, McLeish claimed progress towards his recommended improvements of the game are now being hindered by the 
crisis.

“The game is in the worst situation I have seen since I was asked to take it on,” said McLeish. “I exclude the SFA from that, because they have gone a long, long way to implementing my proposals.

“When I was called in, the SFA was literally on its knees. The 92 member clubs then got together at their agm and voted 92-0 to accept the proposals for change in my review. It was because it was seen as a tipping point, that things couldn’t get any lower.

“There is an analogy there with the Rangers issue. There has been complacency in the Scottish game and the seismic events at Rangers have made people realise how fragile it is when what happens at a club like that can potentially tip us all over the edge. I just hope a shock to the system like that can be used in a positive way.

“What we are saying to Rangers is that they have put in doubt not only the future of their own club but have created problems for every other club in Scotland. While it is unlikely ever to happen to Rangers again, the message to all 42 clubs is that none of them must ever put the game in such peril, crisis and jeopardy again.

“I’m not insulting anyone when I say Rangers is a massive issue, but we have to move on. It’s time to move on. A nation can’t have all its resources absorbed by one single issue to the distraction of all other issues in the game for this length of time. It is peculiarly Scottish. If we can move forward from here after Friday’s meeting, then I think we are doing a great favour to everyone.

“I don’t think it is right that there is such a lack of respect, trust and confidence in the game as there is at the moment. The SFL chairmen don’t need any more advice ahead of Friday. There are 30 of them who reflect clubs, communities, brands and some fantastic histories in the game. So it’s not about putting more pressure on them.

“What it’s about is the whole game facing up to the fact that once Rangers have been found a home, we can get them out of the courts and on to the pitch. Then we can actually start to concentrate on some of the bigger issues.”

One of those issue is league reconstruction, something McLeish has altered his view on since publishing his review. In it, he backed SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster’s insistence that a ten-team top flight was the only financially viable way forward. Now, however, McLeish is ready to embrace the prospect of a 14 or 16-team top tier which may emerge as a trade-off for SFL clubs agreeing to accept Rangers into the current First Division.

“When I worked with the SPL on my report in terms of finances, they were looking at a ten-team league because any increase impacted the size of the cake financially,” added McLeish. “But things have moved on since then. The fans have engaged, the SFL and SPL have engaged and there’s now strong possibilities of new league configurations that will not be on the basis of ten in the SPL going forward. It has opened up.

“Conditions have changed with the shock to the system caused by Rangers and I suspect that a 16-team league could now be a possibility. It’s an issue where the fans’ voices need to be heard. One of the concerns of the fans is that they feel a lot of people are going to go unpunished for their role in bringing Rangers down and the consequences for Scottish football. That may or may not be the case. But it is important for the fans to acknowledge this can be dealt with through the police and other inquiries by football regulators. They are right to make sure this never happens again but there are other ways of doing it without heaping any more punishment on to Rangers.

“There are consequences which will flow from Rangers being in SFL1 or SFL3. The biggest consequence we have to look at is the financial impact on the game. The clubs are not in good shape, maybe with the exception of Celtic.

“The game can only grow and progress if everyone takes responsibility for what they are doing. The great danger is that we end up with people at the top saying things which creates bitterness, animosity and enmities. I think we have 42 chairmen who have a vision for the future of Scottish football. The 30 in the SFL certainly have a mission to get this right on Friday.

“I’m so convinced of the reconstruction proposals and how good they will be for Scottish football, I just want them to make a decision and find a home for Rangers. If it is in the Third Division, we accept that. If it’s in the First Division, we accept that.

We are two weeks away from the start of the season and we have a newco in there somewhere. We have a fixture list which has to be completed, so the fans and everyone else need to know where we are going.”