East End Park

By Graham Barnstaple
November 16 2011

Today has brought a number of announcements which confirms where Scottish football is heading, financial meltdown.

The first announcement we heard today was from Hearts when the Tynecastle side confirmed they had major cash flow problems which have caused them to once again miss paying the player’s wages. This is the second month in a row the wages have been late.

Today we also heard thatDunfermlinewill not be opening their North Stand for the rest of the season. They are doing this with a view to saving £20000, although they admit they need to save five times that!

This comes on top of Rangers tax case being held in January which could lead to the Ibrox side going into administration, Hibs in debt to the tune of £900000, Killie are in massive debt, Dundee Utd have sold their best players in the summer and so the saga goes on.

It is hard to determine the reasons behind all of this, many have said it is down to Setanta going bust with the clubs planning on this money coming in over the course of the contract.

This contract finished a couple of years ago, and therefore the clubs have had the chance to cut their cloth to suit. This doesn’t seem to have got through to some, who still have wage bills close to their total income.

This could be the turning point for Scottish football with clubs realising they need to get back to their roots and bring through their own talent. They also need to engage with their communities and look to get people back into the grounds.

We could be in for a bumpy ride in the next few months and years, but the clubs could come through it leaner and fitter and ready for a brighter future.