Stewart Milne on RedTV
Aberdeen Chairman Stewart Milne admits that next Monday’s vote on the reconstruction of Scottish football is a watershed in the game’s history.
Speaking on RedTV, Stewart said, “I think it’s probably the most important decision football has ever had to take and I just hope that at least eleven of the twelve clubs make the right decision on the day.”
Commenting on St. Mirren’s apparent change of heart to vote against the proposals, Stewart added. “It’s very disappointing on two counts. First of all, that they’ve changed their minds after us going public on all twelve clubs being in agreement and secondly, the manner in which they’ve done it. If they were having second thoughts, these should have been voiced at next week’s meeting rather than through the media.”
The Chairman confirmed that there was no ‘Plan B’ going forward, as over the course of the past three years, other models had been rejected due to financial and commercial considerations. “To introduce something like a 16 or 18 team top league at this point in time would finish many clubs due to a huge reduction in broadcast revenues and erosion of sponsorship income, while the most concerning aspect is the number of meaningless games that would have to be played.”
The proposed model, which would see the top two divisions of 12 split into 3 leagues of 8 after 22 matches will add genuine excitement throughout the season. “We’ll be creating a situation whereby the first 22 games will be absolutely crucial to attempt to stay in the top eight, and post split everyone has something to play for. The top eight will be playing for the title or three or four places in Europe, the middle eight will be playing primarily to be one of the four clubs to get into the following season’s top flight, as well as battling against going into the play-offs and the threat of relegation. Every game will mean something. “
Stewart does admit that, if the vote does go through, there is still a selling job to be done to the fans. “If we’re being honest, it’s probably the one area where we haven’t invested nearly enough time in, there’s been a massive amount of time invested in putting this plan together and getting it into a position where everyone would buy into it but stepping back, I take on board that we could have done a lot more to sell the benefits of the new structure to our supporters.”
And, as Stewart confirmed, the controversial 11-1 voting structure will only be retained for protected subjects going forward, a move that all clubs have bought into. “The new organisation will be run with a 75% vote but there are certain key areas that will be controlled by an 11-1 vote and these are rights that every club wants to have protected for the interests of all of the clubs.”
Should the vote not go through, Stewart envisages dark times ahead. “Operating a football club right now involves massive challenges. The game is virtually on its knees and we’ve all got massive financial challenges as it is. Those challenges are only going to get greater if the vote does not get through. If we fail to deliver, there’s going to be a lot of clubs across the whole of Scottish football where the financial pressure is just going to continue to build and build.”
RedTV | to watch the interview in full please click here
