Topsy Turvey world! A change for better football?

Good afternoon from a sunny Barcelona balcony.

Spending a fair amount of your time contemplating on a balcony can result in an over active imagination and I suppose that is the reason for this weeks PnB.

Sometimes the bests ideas are the craziest ones.




Paella and Bovril

Hidden contracts, presidents leaving the country, and missing millions have been all over the front and back pages of the Spanish press. What exactly did a certain Brazilian starlet get and where did this cash go? The figures they talk about are beyond comprehension of a fan "diddy" team, several million here and few 100,000 there. These clubs are living and playing a style of fantasy football . But maybe we should play a different kind of in a different type of league?

The Scottish game has changed a lot over the past the decades, divisions and clubs have come and gone. Club's antics have not been confined only to the back pages: celebrity columns and financial papers are bulging with football stories and not "all publicity is good publicity". But times are tough and we all have to learn to live within our means, just that some people's "means" are a lot larger than others'. The wee teams get smaller and the big teams get humongous while we watch the samepredictable winners and champions drink champagne from their familiar trophies. But what if we saw someone new taking a wee swig from one of those cups?

Season 1984/85 was the last time we saw (well I didn't see I was only 3) a team outside Glasgow win the league. Aberdeen and their youthful manager Mr A Ferguson were in the process of creating Aberdeen's glory days and with that came a break from the usual winners and losers. 30 years later and we are waiting for anotherclub to have its 15 minutes of fame and to wear the champion's crown and let's face it we ain't gonna see a change anytime soon so if we want it we need to help bring it about. Ladies and gents, I give you the Topsy-turvey fixed-term league! Ok, yes the name is ridiculous and the idea may have a a few flaws but it is a start. Here are a few key points.


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  • After 5 years of consecutive wins a team would move to bottom of thedivisions with a fixed budget and capped squad size, after 5 years of Champions League money survival in the bottom leagues is possible
  • Every year this takes place an extra play-off place would be available, making it an exciting season for a few more clubs.
  • The super-champs would carry a large support and bring good crowds to the clubs they travel to on their way back up through the leagues.
  • Other clubs would get a chance to make some money in Europe and take some TV Euros.
  • Fans would maybe see their club lift a little more silverware.

Now I can hear the grumblings and "this wid never work hen"s from over here but Rome wasn't built in a day and sometimes the crazy idea is the best one. I for one would like to see a few more Scottish clubs coming to take on the mighty Barça, I am sure the locals could master the pronunciation of Eeerrraet Errobberz !

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