SFL chief David Longmuir trumpets the launch of SFL TV

[ian1964 10,578]

SFL chief David Longmuir trumpets the launch of SFL TV as he prepares for shake-up of Scottish game

 

LONGMUIR says talk of the Scottish game falling off a cliff due to Rangers demotion was "nonsense" but he insists the structure of our game needs a shake.

 

SCOTTISH Football League chief executive David Longmuir will next week announce the launch of SFL TV, bringing one live game per week and a highlights package on a pay-per-view basis.

 

Then heâ??ll gather his member clubs, including Rangers, and inform them of the latest developments in a scheme to promote the growth of Scottish football rather than handle the management of its decline.

 

You and I know it as league reconstruction.

 

And if you were going to back one of the three leaders of the gameâ??s governing bodies to deliver what he has promised then Longmuir would be the odds-on favourite in the race for credibility at the moment.

 

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has become embroiled in the mess that has followed the removal of Craig Levein from the Scotland managerâ??s job and now faces the possibility of legal action.

 

The SPLâ??s chief executive Neil Doncaster is mired in the latest financial horror story to hit, with Hearts on the brink of closure and threatening to cause this seasonâ??s championship to descend into farce.

 

Meanwhile, Longmuir looked like a model of serenity in his Hampden office as he explained his good news package for the betterment of the SFL and, ultimately, the whole of the game itself.

 

â??A total of 150,000 people access the SFLâ??s website every month,â? he began. â??Rangers have brought the three divisions outwith the SPL the kind of exposure we havenâ??t enjoyed for years.

 

â??People use all sorts of technology to access football, apps, iPads and websites are what weâ??re tapping into with our scheme to start our own TV channel.

 

â??The game used to be what I call Glasgow-centric but now there are Rangers fans who are developing an interest in the history of the clubs theyâ??re playing against each week.

 

â??Weâ??ve carried out a properly executed survey and 65 per cent of people are interested in SFL TV. There will be starting up costs and the need to meet our monthly investment but for a small subscription fee and the payment of £3 or £4 to watch a live match weâ??re confident we can make this work when we start off in January.â?

 

It was the signing of a TV deal with Sky and ESPN that prevented the SPL, minus Rangers, from being thrown into the kind of turmoil that would have endangered more than just Heartsâ?? existence.

 

And Longmuir believes the SFL werenâ??t given sufficient credit for helping to facilitate that arrangement.

 

He said: â??Scottish football would have collapsed if we hadnâ??t assisted in the completion of that broadcast deal.

 

â??We agreed to allow the showing of 15 games involving Rangers and the SFL did that to protect the game.

 

â??We could have gone into the open market with our product, and there were positive inquiries regarding that idea, but we did what we thought was the right thing to do for the good of all.â?

 

Longmuir didnâ??t follow his conscience for philanthropic reasons. The SFL will receive £800,000 for selling the rights to Rangers games in the Third Division this season.

 

That money will rise to £1million next term and £1.2m in the one that follows.

 

The cash will be distributed among the 30 clubs for whom Longmuir has a duty of care, as will the additional sums coming into an organisation benefitting from the decision to absorb Rangers into the lower orders following liquidation.

 

Thereâ??s even a royalty payment to come from Stirling Albion who are releasing a DVD to commemorate the day they beat Ally McCoistâ??s side at Forthbank.

 

Longmuir said: â??Weâ??ll take fifty pence from every DVD sold because royalties are a standard arrangement whenever we release footage thatâ??s the SFLâ??s property.

 

â??Rangers have brought an exciting new dynamic to the SFL.

 

â??Weâ??re talking about family clubs with players who have never performed in front of more than a thousand people before suddenly finding themselves in front of almost 50,000 fans at Ibrox.â?

 

The decision not to allow Rangersâ?? newco in the SPL brought forward stories of death threats being issued to head men.

 

Longmuir wasnâ??t exactly left unscathed but his conscience remained clear.

 

He added: â??Financial considerations had to be separated from fairness. The idea that the game would have fallen off a cliff because Rangers were going into the Third Division was a nonsense.

 

â??It was a time to trust your judgment. That meant ignoring the threats that the game would suffer financially unless we agreed to a compromise and let Rangers into the First Division.

 

â??The game had the ability to recover from its financial problems but you canâ??t get over having nothing to do with whatâ??s right and fair. Your credibilityâ??s shot to pieces if that happens.â?

 

Itâ??s the image of the game that now has Longmuirâ??s attention after asking himself four questions on the general well-being of the national pastime.

 

He said: â??Scottish football needs a shake. We need to reinvigorate football.

 

â??Is the present league structure serving the game well? Are we doing enough to attract investment? Are we running something thatâ??s capable of getting the fans back? Is the national team being helped by the league system as it stands?

 

â??My answer to all of those points is no, it isnâ??t. My vision is to create more meaningful games and have any wealth generated divided on a more equitable basis than it is at present.â?

 

Longmuir will share his vision with club representatives as a way of starting the ball rolling towards a plan for the consideration of every senior club in the country.

 

Heartsâ?? admission that they teeter on the brink of bankruptcy has only served to highlight the need for change.

 

The chief executive said: â??Iâ??d like to think thereâ??d be a willingness to change. In terms of revenue the gameâ??s in decline.

 

â??I get on well with Neil Doncaster and I donâ??t have any issue with the SPL. But I do have a problem with the structure as it stands at the moment.

 

â??The game will be better if everyone works closer together.â?

 

The autonomous body known as the Premier League was formed to create an elite who were after the pursuit of excellence. It wouldnâ??t take any special powers of perception to deduce it hasnâ??t worked out that way.

 

Longmuir added: â??The top teams wanted to be even more detached from the rest when I became the SFLâ??s chief executive five years ago.

 

â??At that time we had no sponsor for our three divisions and no contract with any broadcaster for our product.

 

â??Now weâ??ve got Irn Bru sponsoring our leagues. BBC ALBA film our matches and the Scottish government sponsors the League Cup. Then thereâ??s Ramsdens looking after our Challenge Cup.

 

â??There might be another year of financial pain for everyone but we have a growth strategy that the SFL can work on.â?

 

Longmuir, the man who represented Scotland as a carpet bowler and cut his salesmanâ??s teeth in the whisky industry, celebrated his 48th birthday last Monday.

 

His legacy could yet be what he can do to change the disfigured face of Scottish football.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sfl-chief-david-longmuir-trumpets-1427990

[RANGERRAB 3,387]

Liewell, Petrie & Thompson won't like reading that

[GovanAllan 0]

Liewell, Petrie & Thompson won't like reading that

 

They should pay attention, this is what happens when the biggest draw is looked after and made feel welcome everybody wins.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

so basically sky deal is secure untill we are back in the spl. thats bad news.

[aweebluesoandso 290]

Longmuir is no fool he has seen the writing on the wall, the SPL is a spent force.

 

Rangers have been a much needed blood transfusion for the smaller clubs, it will not be lost on the SFL chairmen either that in any reconstruction where are the financial benefits for their clubs.

 

If they allow the status quo to continue whereby should the SPL go tits, but then having all the bigger clubs in the new top division. Without going through the lower divisions first and redistributing whatever financial benefits for their members.

[aweebluesoandso 290]

so basically sky deal is secure untill we are back in the spl. thats bad news.

 

Green has said he refused to sign the new Sky deal, where does that leave Rangers though?

[Ergatrude 0]

The only way I could see the sky deal affecting us would be refusing us entry to the SPL but since Green has said a few times that we may not return then he's either serious or using it as leverage of some sort?

[Guest BoK360]

The only way I could see the sky deal affecting us would be refusing us entry to the SPL but since Green has said a few times that we may not return then he's either serious or using it as leverage of some sort?

 

green (or whoever is in charge at the time) will have to answer to his shareholders. rangers will go where they can get the best returns for their investment.

 

grats on 1234 posts.

[Tumshie RFC 0]

Longmuir has more common sense than Regan and Doncaster combined. The SFL are now holding a lot of cards with the SPL's financial position getting worst by the week it seems.

[pete 2,499]

green (or whoever is in charge at the time) will have to answer to his shareholders. rangers will go where they can get the best returns for their investment.

 

grats on 1234 posts.

 

Green said he will give the supporters the choice if we want to go back or not but he will not be in charge if we do. Slightly different as he said earlier that we will not return. It is now he will not return. Things will probably change 100 times before we have the choice.