Friday 12 March 2010

Here is my idea in full.

1. Travel
People say well how can you travel such distances?
Well these are grown men. They can get on a coach and travel down the country not trouble. Just 3 away games in summer is not too much too ask. Motherwell traveled to Albania, Romania and South Wales at the start of the season in a few weeks, wihtout even being warned well in advance of their opponents, as this was a cup, in the Europa cup. Clubs from Ireland have traveled to Russia for Europa cup matches. So how can traveling to Yeovil or Exeter be too much to ask even for Peterhead. Clubs in the Welsh league travel to the Latvia and Estonia in the Europa cup, Some go to Malta and Cyprus. How is getting on a coach to Yeovil or Torquay too much?
Some people talk like we live in Siberia, or like that the motor engine does not exist. These games would in late summer to early autumn, and early spring to early summer so call offs would not be an issue.

Alta Idrettsforening is a sports club from Alta, Norway in the Norwegian second division they travel 1731 KM to get to Olso. They play a full league with huge away journeys every week. I am talking about a club whose record attendance is 3000. I am talking about trophy where it would only be 3 away games in the group stages.
In the USA they have a MLS traveling across an entire continent of North America. In Norway they travel a far larger geographic area for their national league.

2. Size of clubs - not glamorous enough
The English naysayers claim look how am I supposed to as Milton Keynes fan get excited about a game to Partick Thisle. My response is well you play in league one not La Liga. Fair enough if you play La Liga getting worked up about a game against Partick Thislem but look you play in League one against trams like Oldham and Tranmere. If you get decent crowds against them I do not see why you would get decent crowds against similar teams like Partick Thisle. Plus the group stages would contain two English sides of the ilk of Oldham and Tranmere. So this would allow you to playu some othert teams from other countries. if similar level. Milton Keynes will never play in Europe So this is the best way top play in trans national competition.

The Scottish naysayers
One Hearts fan told me hey One would not even pe the curtains to see Plymouth play Hearts. Well why? Plymouth are a massive club by Scottish standards they would be up there with Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts they are bigger than Dundee United./ Why is playing such clubs worse. What gets me is these are them people who argue for an 18 team league which would just bring in clubs like Ayr, Airdrie ad Raith Rovers who struggle to 3000 at homes matches but. These supporters of an 18 team league claim bringing in such clubs would revolutionaries Scottish football because clubs would get to play different teams and the league would therefore in their mind more completive. Yet when you ask for them to play bigger clubs from league one and league two where clubs get upto 20,000 fans at Norwich and Leeds or more typically 6000 fans you here people say oh well I would not open my curtains to watch these English league on teams.
Teams in league one are like Dundee United and Motherwell in terms of attewndances between 5000 and 8000 normally, and league two is like St Johnstone and Airdrie and Hamilton in attendances so it would be a decent level to play against. If it make sense in the SPL to play teams like Hamilton and St Mirren why does it not make sense to play teams like Bury and Aldershot.

3. Too many games
In England they play a 46 game season plus 7 games in the Football league trophy. So this is only another 4 games on top of that if you remove the football league trophy, if a team goes all the way. So mot much difference.