Could Scottish football go the way of the dodo?

Does Scottish football really face the same fate as the dodo?

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell thinks so.

Complaining of a "chronic lack of investment", Lawwell says our game faces extinction unless "radical thinking" can alter the current set up.

Is he right and if so what can be done about it?

Some, hearing his comments, will say that Celtic and their great rivals Rangers, are to blame for many of the ills in the game.

Their superior financial muscle has squeezed the life out of the competition, making Scottish football a two-horse race.

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell fears for the future of the Scottish game

Many will also see his remarks as yet another signal to England that Celtic are ready and willing to join their top flight at the drop of a hat.

Whether the comments from the Celtic chief are based on self interest or not, there is a great deal of truth in them.

If matters are not addressed soon, our game could well be heading the same way as the dinosaurs.

At every level, finances are tight and cutbacks are in evidence.

It is getting tougher and tougher for Scottish clubs to compete with others in Europe whom we once regarded as minnows.

But having posted the apocalyptic warning of Scottish football's potential demise, it is now up to the Celtic chief executive and others in power to offer some radical solutions.

At SPL level the proposed move to a 10-club league is dead, with the 12-club format here to stay.

Just to get back to their original starting position was a long, tortuous process for our top clubs as self interest held sway.

So what hope is there now, of clubs engaging in a root and branch reform which will give us a truly competitive and vibrant set up, to allow us to compete at a decent European level?

Now we need an open, honest and transparent debate about the problems facing our top flight football and what the answers might be to safeguard its future.

Otherwise, Lawwell's dire prediction of extinction could come true.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jimspence/2011/10/could_scottish_football_go_the.html

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