A bright new future indeed! Since the financial revolution in Scottish football in the mid-eighties there was always talk about breakaway leagues and the dream came true in 1998 with the self-grandiose disaster that is the SPL. Years earlier Celtic had vetoed the 'Super League' before the bank squeezed out that particular dynasty, but we're now stuck with it in another form. The idea was to let the 'big' clubs negotiate their own sponsorships, TV deals, etc. without the alleged "tail wagging the dog", ie. smaller teams like Stenhousemuir, Albion Rovers, etc. out voting them on these issues. It was all about money. Now, having seemingly never learned how to do simple Arithmetic, the clubs are falling one by one.

During the past decade or so these bigger clubs have been treating the others like dirt. Take Falkirk's non promotion last season, or how about the crazy ruling about Stadia criteria this season - undersoil heating. All aimed at self preservation. To rub salt in, all the clubs had to upgrade their grounds to comply with the Taylor Report of 1990. Whilst clubs like Airdrieonians, St. Mirren and Raith went into a terrible mess trying to keep up and be ready, whilst others like Dunfermline, Heart, Hibs, Dundee and others were keeping their teams 'up there' until the league was formed before hastily getting their grounds redeveloped. And what a mess they've made of that? Dunfermline are teetering, Hearts are selling their home and alienating their support, Hibs are in deep doodoo and Dundee are in administration. What about the ones who were making the commitment the right way? The SPL's promotion/relegation tactics created a bottle neck at the top of D1 that financially crippled the SFL clubs ambitions to aid the Self Preservation League.

The case of Livingston is as tragic as it is crazy. Four years ago they took approximately 1500 fans to the Challenge Cup Final at Broadwood. Not even 30 miles from the Town but on that small support base they must have been paying decent wages to attract the quality of player that they had. A £3.5m football debt for a club with no real asset and a paltry support. Looking back, how many times over the past decade have you looked at what is going on scratched your head trying to understand it? Some sensible chairmen decided to draw back from the overspending before it got out of hand (St. Johnstone were one particularly vocal club), but what can you do when Dunfermline sign a player from another SPL club and then ask him to re-negotiate his contract within a fortnight? Diabolical!!

For me, the SPL has to be disbanded immediately. The SFA have to act to protect the game for everyone. There must be a transfer embargo placed on all the clubs in administration and/or even threatened with it. The clubs in administration should be relegated to Divison three. Would that mean they go bust? NO. Don't listen to the doom merchants. Dundee fans would watch 11 under 21 players play their way out of Division 3. The cream always rises, there is no alternative. The players union can't let players contracts be reduced the way it's been proposed at Dunfermline without that club being severely dealt with. When Airdrieonians defaulted on Eddie Forrest we had a transfer embargo place on us. When Hamilton's players legitimately took industrial action when they weren't paid the club was effectively relegated by a conveniently calculated 15 points.