Richard Gordon: No need for Scottish Championship, League One and League Two reconstruction

Press and Journal

03-05-2025

There was good news earlier this week when the SPFL made it clear any plans for a restructuring of the Premiership were dead in the water.
In a statement, the league governing body announced there was 'no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format' for the top-flight of Scottish football. While that is to be welcomed, I was disappointed to learn that talks are ongoing over potential changes to the Championship and Leagues One and Two.
It begs the question why?
The present set-up has been in place since 2013, followed the year after by the introduction of the pyramid play-off at the bottom of League Two.
In terms of possible league reconstruction, it has been the most stable period during my time involved in the game, and that is no accident. It has been that way because we have a format that works, certainly in terms of the excitement, interest and the drama it creates.
Ahead of last weekend's fixtures, almost all of the 30 clubs across the lower leagues still had something to play for. That penultimate round did settle a few of the issues, but even so, a dozen teams went into matchday 36 with their fates still undecided, either in terms of automatic promotion, being involved in the play-offs, or their positioning within them.
The Championship winners had yet to be crowned, while at the other end of the ladder, the issue of which side will face a shootout to preserve their SPFL status was also unresolved.
Just as it has been since 2013, the SPFL has this season been full-on, the challenges and pressures unrelenting, and every game has mattered.
There have been examples down the years of teams dominating divisions like Falkirk did in League One last season, but they are relatively rare, and in the main, our set-up has delivered competition and intrigue in equal measures.
It is beyond me why anyone would want to move away from that.
I accept it is not flawless, and it can get a bit wearing playing each other four times, but even if the authorities were to move towards larger leagues, that element would have to remain.
I have heard three divisions of 14 being mooted, and I can see some benefits there if it were to be implemented properly, but that would still have to involve a split at some point, almost certainly after 26 games, so sides would still have to meet each other four times.
Our country is not big enough, nor does it have sufficient strength in depth to sustain 16 or 18 team leagues without a split or extensive play-offs.
There is absolutely no point in tinkering for the sake of it, and I would hope clubs firmly reject that notion, but the one area which would make a huge difference to those further down the SPFL is a redistribution of the prize money, and the solidarity cash paid out by UEFA.
I accept that the Premiership teams should expect the bulk of the TV and sponsorship income, even if I am sure they could afford to let a little more trickle down to the other 30 members of the league.
The UEFA windfall is however a different matter. Millions are paid out each year with the seven clubs who failed to qualify for the European competitions sharing that sum between them.
In Germany, part of that pot is handed down to the sides below the top-flight, but not here in Scotland.
A sliding scale across the divisions would make a huge difference to all the clubs for whom every penny is a prisoner.
If they were to distribute £50,000 each to the Championship clubs, £30,000 to League One and £20,000 to League Two, that would slice just £1million off the overall pot, and that additional income would be a real lifeline for many.
If the SPFL is serious about implementing change which would be of tangible benefit, they should be looking at that, not tampering with a league set-up that clearly works just fine.