Another reason to get out L1 a.s.a..p.

[JAGSMAN1968 110]

From Beeb site today:

Plans to introduce Celtic and Rangers B teams into League Two for the start of next season are being finalised for a vote by SPFL clubs.

Two teams each from the Highland and Lowland Leagues would also be added to expand the fourth tier to 16 sides.

A strategic partnership between Premiership clubs and lower-league teams is also being looked at.

[Auld Jag 1,982]

For years these 2 have made it plain that they  want to be playing in the Premier league in England, everybody knows that will never happen. Now again they want to have their colt teams playing in the lower leagues in Scotland, no way.

[Third Lanark 606]

Fans against this are urged to contact their board and let their views be known ahead of the vote

[East Kent Jag II 115]

So if I read the proposal correctly, the Colt teams wouldn't progress beyond League 1.  So if both Colt teams get promoted from League 2, and end up 1st and 2nd in League 1, who goes up to the Championship?  Does the team coming  3rd in League 1 get promoted?  4th, 5th and 6th in the playoffs?  Or do the bottom two teams in the Championship whinge about fairness, and try to get the drawbridge pulled up?  Do we end up with the situation that nobody can get relegated from the Championship, and nobody promoted from League 1 season after season? 

Once again the SPFL not really interested in anyone bar two clubs.  NFI in this proposal!

[ClydebankJag 226]

You know that if they won League 1 they’d immediately push to change the agreement and obtain promotion to the Championship. Then they’d start to defer promotion to the Premiership if teams finished behind their colts. It’s a creeping death.

[policemans whistle 84]

Although I am in favour of premier clubs colts  playing in our leagues, I think league 2 would be far enough. I think just limiting to the old firm  would be a grave error, and it must be open to all premier club that wished to join.

If your are like me, who sometimes went up to see stenny or East Stirling, you would find that most of the players players were much older than  the players we have just signed. For the good of Scottish football, we must create greater openings for younger players.

I don't know if it is still operating, but a few years ago the SFA or the SPFL, brought out a scheme offering grants to clubs who played youngsters in the first team. When I asked for details, I was told it was just available to Premier clubs. When you look at the players who not only made the grade, but went on to represent the country from the lower divisions, It was my opinion, this was the wrong decision.

[gianlucatoni 225]

What’s wrong with re-instating a functional reserve league set up?

Why the hell should only two teams be allowed to develop their youth?

This stinks to high heaven.

Edited March 16 by gianlucatoni

[Dick Dastardly 831]

9 hours ago, policemans whistle said:

Although I am in favour of premier clubs colts  playing in our leagues, I think league 2 would be far enough. I think just limiting to the old firm  would be a grave error, and it must be open to all premier club that wished to join.

If your are like me, who sometimes went up to see stenny or East Stirling, you would find that most of the players players were much older than  the players we have just signed. For the good of Scottish football, we must create greater openings for younger players.

I don't know if it is still operating, but a few years ago the SFA or the SPFL, brought out a scheme offering grants to clubs who played youngsters in the first team. When I asked for details, I was told it was just available to Premier clubs. When you look at the players who not only made the grade, but went on to represent the country from the lower divisions, It was my opinion, this was the wrong decision.

I generally agree with what you say and certainly colt teams work in other countries. I do have an idea along similar lines which is loosely based on Gimcheon Sangmu who play in the K League. Sangmu's playing staff is made up of young South Korean professional footballers serving their compulsory two-year military duty. Fifteen players join up at the start of every season and spend two years with the side before returning to their previous professional club.

My take is to create a Scotland U21 team to compete in the SPFL, perhaps with a boost to start them in Championship or even Premier League. Basically the team would loan U21 players, eligible to play for Scotland and return them at the end of the season. These guys would get top quality training and regular games, plus they would get to learn each others ways of playing, potentially building a better Scotland team in future years. Obviously it would need buy in from the clubs and I can see problems in getting players from the English Leagues, but that is why we have executives getting big salaries to sort out the details.

[javeajag 844]

a useful article on this 
 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/26/pep-guardiola-reserve-teams-championship-spain

[Woodstock Jag 500]

Get this streaking steaming shitty pish into the ******* sea.

[Woodstock Jag 500]

I'd urge people to email the Club asking it to vote against this. I have.

[JAGSMAN1968 110]

politely, I hope!!!!!  

[Fawlty Towers 752]

10 hours ago, Woodstock Jag said:

Get this streaking steaming shitty pish into the ******* sea.

Excuse me this is not Westminster!

[elevenone 463]

4 hours ago, Woodstock Jag said:

I'd urge people to email the Club asking it to vote against this. I have.

Out of interest, any response? 

[Garscube Road End 2 73]

I don't see the problem. We won't face them. As we will probably be in the Lowland League. 

[Muscat Jag 181]

4 hours ago, Woodstock Jag said:

I'd urge people to email the Club asking it to vote against this. I have.

Done

[Muscat Jag 181]

20 minutes ago, elevenone said:

Out of interest, any response? 

Honestly wouldn't expect a personal response. I would hope the club would take notice of the views of their supporters. So the more people that make contact the better. 

I would also hope that it just reinforces the decision that the club would have taken anyway. 

[Auld Jag 1,982]

Was this not turned down last year when the talk of league reconstruction was going on. Also if they are allowed in should they not start lower down the pyramid than league 2 ?

[gianlucatoni 225]

They are, quite simply, the two teams LEAST likely to ever give a chance for youth to break through to the first team.

Nothing better to sweeten the deal than by offering struggling lower league teams a bit of guilt free cash.

As the SFA/SPFL are a member led organisation, I'm sure they will listen to the membership and have undertaken due diligence and detailed planning of this proposal. I would like to read it - anyone got a link to the finer details?

[Woodstock Jag 500]

5 hours ago, JAGSMAN1968 said:

politely, I hope!!!!!  

I'll let you be the judge:

Quote

 

Morning Gerry,

I hope you are well.

I just want to put on record that I - and I suspect the vast majority of Thistle fans - are completely against any proposal that would allow the introduction of Colt teams into the Scottish football pyramid.

It is a Trojan horse. Cash strapped lower league clubs are temporarily being offered a relatively insignificant amount of money at a point of maximum vulnerability for the benefit of two clubs who are already at a spectacular unfair advantage in our game.

This proposal will incentivise Rangers and Celtic to hoard young players on contracts even more than they do already (both more players and for longer) which will make the leagues below the Premiership less fun to watch, less competitive, and less well funded (as clubs will have fewer young prospects to cash in on having developed them).

I have absolutely no trust in the football institutions that they will protect promotion and relegation from the Championship/League One for other clubs in the event a Colts team wins League One, and there will inevitably be pressure at some point to let a Colts team into the Championship. Letting this proposal happen now is thin end of the wedge stuff and appalling for our game.

Colt teams will not increase attendances; fans of larger clubs don’t go to watch their Colt team on a Saturday and, frankly, a lot of fans from other clubs will boycott or not bother going to these games (the attendances will be worse overall).

If the league is serious about player development it should be reinstating a proper reserve league structure to get young players game time alongside first team regulars, and Rangers and Celtic should be loaning out/releasing more of their young players, so that other teams who are able and willing to give them game time at an appropriate level are able to do so. We don’t need Colt teams.

Simply put, if Thistle doesn’t vote against this complete and utter pish proposal I’ll be very disappointed.

Best,

WJ

 

2 hours ago, elevenone said:

Out of interest, any response? 

None yet.

[JAGSMAN1968 110]

[gianlucatoni 225]

Doing so well WJ up to the pish bit 

Time for a quick forum poll which might give those at HQ a better feel of the opinion on the ground?

Edited March 18 by gianlucatoni

[a f kincaid 293]

14 hours ago, Auld Jag said:

Was this not turned down last year when the talk of league reconstruction was going on. Also if they are allowed in should they not start lower down the pyramid than league 2 ?

Yes AJ.   [Shameless plug.  See my "Factions and Fractions" article in The Thistle Archive.]

In May (?) 2020 Hearts tabled a proposal for 14-14-14 and Rangers produced their Colt proposal for 14-14-18. Neither proposal received sufficient votes to implement.

 

 

[AlgarveJag 231]

Scottish Supporters Network running their own survey but I can't find a way of posting the link - anyone got it?

[jaggy 325]

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/XLJSRN2?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b_teams_survey&utm_term=2021-03-18