Scottish football survey results

[Boab 73]

Scottish football fans are fed up watching their clubs playing each other four times a season, according to a survey of supporters' trusts.

More than 1,300 fans from across 31 trusts in Scotland told the Supporters Direct survey that they want the league structure to be overhauled.

And 83% of those surveyed said teams should play each other twice a season.

"Fans feel disenchanted and disempowered by the current set-up," said Supporters Direct's James Proctor.

Of those who took part in the online survey, 13% said they would prefer sides to play each other three times a season and 4% said they were happy with the status quo.

Fans are passionate and committed to the game but want to see significant improvement in how it is organised and run

Supporters Direct's James Proctor

Five out of every six fans, the three-week survey found, would prefer a pyramid league structure with promotion and relegation below the Scottish Football League.

And 90% would also like to see a streamlined administration with one body organising and running the professional game.

In addition, 91% of respondents felt that fans were powerless to influence decisions and would like to see greater fan involvement in the running of the game.

The findings come ahead of the publication of the Scottish Football Review on Friday, chaired by the former First Minister Henry McLeish, which is expected to call for a major shake-up.

Proctor said supporters were keen to improve the game in Scotland, but felt their voices were not being heard.

"With the publication of the Henry McLeish report imminent, the message to football's hierarchy is that fans are passionate and committed to the game but want to see significant improvement in how it is organised and run," he said.

"They have also stated powerfully that they want to be involved in those discussions."

Among other things, the Scottish Football Review is understood to call for £500m of investment in football facilities and infrastructure, a football academy to nurture top youth talent and professional clubs being properly audited to show how they spend the public money they receive.

The first part of the review will be published on Friday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8638789.stm

[Ozblue 4,331]

It's about time these dunderheids who are running the SFA,SFL,SPL get it into their thick skulls just who are the most important people in Scottish Football at all levels of the game.....THE FANS.

The game in Scotland since the beginning of professionalism has been run by cardigan wearing cigar smoking eedjits who have no knowledge of Football and are only interested in their own ego and self centred

importance, while running this,the most simple and enjoyable game ever invented into dust.

If fans of Scottish Football continue to have their voices ignored regarding how the game should be re-structured for the 21st Century and beyond, then a total revolution is required to force these changes.

This would only happen if supporters groups from ALL CLUBS that wish to see real change get involved, from the SPL right down to the Minor Leagues.

Supporters from the little clubs are too parochial to the point that it is THEMSELVES that are killing their clubs and choking progress. Anybody with any brains can look at attendance figures for any club outwith the OF and point to why their clubs are dying a painful death and can never make a realistic challenge for Silverware.

Mention the forbidden word that is AMALGAMATION and you are about as popular as a Pork chop in a Synagogue, because they want to see "Their wee team" that plays in front of 400 people that loses money hand over fist every week.

Scotland has a population of just over 5 million or so people which is just slightly higher than the Australian city of Sydney and its suburbs

and yet there are 42 Clubs plus the Highland League and other minor grades......A blind man on a runaway fucking Horse could see where the problem lies, because you don't have to be Einstein to work out

that too few fans into too many clubs is a recipe for disaster.

This is probably the last chance for the people with power and who have the best interests of the game at heart to do something constructive and sensible because if they dilly and dally and hope the problem will disappear once more, then I'm afraid that Scottish Football as we know it will be a distant memory.

[Bobby83 0]

Mate, any change will not happen as a few greedy chairmen will cling to their extra old firm visits. The long term game means nohing to these idiots. Even if the authorities take the initiative (which they already have) nothing will ever happen as it will be Vetoed by these clubs.

Also you can't expect a supporter to feel affiliation with a newly formed club rather than his local one. If amalgamation occurs, wee team supporters will become old firm fans, which gets us nowhere.

[Gaffbear 4,096]

Yes we all want that but with the greedy fat bastards at the SFA,SPL and SFL getting rich while watching the game collapse then nothing will change.

Scottish football is fuckin dreadful just now and that shows with the crowds and i think Rangers and the beggars won't sell all their season tickets next season...

Bring back the winter break.

SFA to run the whole show with a shake up at head office.

Bigger league with money made filtering through the clubs and youth systems being set up at all top pro clubs.

Just 3 things that won't happen i'm afraid

[tangledupinblue 0]

agree with bobby 83 that you cant force clubs to amalgamate, imagine being asked to form a glasgow united to play in a european super league?

be interested to find out exactly what fans were polled. "31 trusts" ? does the cowdenbeath supporters trust, with its three men and a dug, have as much say as RST for example? Granted the RST doesnt speak for our entire support, but the point id make is rangers fans and the other mob easily account for more than 50% of scottish footballs paying customers. If you're going to ask the fans, how hard would it have been to post a questionaire to every season ticket holder in scotland?

[Ozblue 4,331]

agree with bobby 83 that you cant force clubs to amalgamate, imagine being asked to form a glasgow united to play in a european super league?

be interested to find out exactly what fans were polled. "31 trusts" ? does the cowdenbeath supporters trust, with its three men and a dug, have as much say as RST for example? Granted the RST doesnt speak for our entire support, but the point id make is rangers fans and the other mob easily account for more than 50% of scottish footballs paying customers. If you're going to ask the fans, how hard would it have been to post a questionaire to every season ticket holder in scotland?

I understand all the objections about the amalgamation of the Wee teams outwith the OF and the reasons why fans don't want it, but if push comes to shove, something has to break somewhere.

If a Club can stand alone and be financially viable if operated properly ie: Aberdeen, the 2 Dundee sides, the 2 Edinburgh sides, etc! then that's not a problem.It's the other ones like Airdrie/Albion Rovers/Motherwell that need to have a good hard look what they want out of the game.

There is no easy solution to this ( If there is a solution at all ) and hard and painful decisions will have to be made, even although there are supporters that would rather see their team die than amalgamate. It is these factors that are pushing Scottish Football further into the abyss in this modern world of financial and technological choices.

[tangledupinblue 0]

What I'd really like to see is ALL the paying customers getting a chance to have their voices heard.

How many teams do you want to see playing in the top flight?

What league structure overall would you favour?

Do you think the standard of football has changed in the last 5 years?

Would you be in favour of summer football?

Would you like to see a return of selected terrace areas?

What suggestions do you have for improving scottish football?

What do you think of the cost of football?

etc etc.

Every other business has to ask their customers these type of questions, why not football?