Celtic’s efforts to bribe our B-team into the Scottish league system took another bizarre turn today when it emerged that we’re trying to bribe the Lowland League into letting us compete there for a year. Along with Ibrox, of course, which makes this yet another example of us following an Old Firm Inc. For that reason alone, these plans should fail.
What in God’s name are we doing at the moment? Is this the kind of nonsense we’re wasting our time on? Why haven’t we worked with other clubs on youth football reforms, proper ones which benefit everybody, instead of making I clear that we’re only really interested in ourselves? That’s what comes through loud and clear here, our selfishness.
In some ways, we need to be selfish here. I didn’t think we should have been trying to get our B team into the league system, but had we managed to somehow swing the vote I would have shut up about it because although I think the decision would have been ridiculous and the benefits virtually non-existent, I realise it’s better than nothing.
This is less alluring again, and even more corrupt. I don’t see how our footballers will benefit even a little from playing against part-timers; it’s not a solution any more than slapping a sticking plaster on a broken leg is.
The next time the Lawwell lovers try to tell you how good he’s been on the board of the SFA, this is another example of where he’s failed. Every top flight team should be required – required, by regulations – to field a reserve team. It was when one of them – and we know who – asked for special permission to pull out because it was costing too much that the whole structure of reserve league and under 18 football began to collapse.
The obvious answer here is to re-instate that system.
It will be costly; this is costlier, especially to clubs like ours.
But we were planning to bribe teams with a £1 million pay-out, so maybe we should look at doing that to get the reserve league back up and running … it’s surely better than this scrambling around in the dirt with Ibrox.