Revamp and we will look elsewhere, warns Green

Sports writer

Thursday 10 January 2013

Charles Green will advise the rest of the Rangers directors to consider the club leaving Scottish football if the current plans for league reconstruction are implemented.

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Richard Wilson

The Ibrox chief executive believes that the proposals are not radical enough, but is also frustrated that only the opinion of a small number of Scotland's 42 clubs were sought before the proposals were drawn up.

During an interview on Rangers TV yesterday, Green criticised the plans for the 12-12-18 league set-up that the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League have negotiated with each other. As with every other SFL club, Rangers backed the league's original plan for a 16-10-16 proposal, along with fairer revenue distribution, play-offs and a single governing body. Some of those aspects have been retained in the joint proposal, which was agreed upon by some SPL and SFL clubs at Hampden last Tuesday.Although there is currently no route for Rangers to join a league in England or abroad and the Rangers board are prepared to investigate all potential options. "If this is going to transform Scottish football, my advice to the board is that the quicker we leave Scottish football, the better," Green said. "I understand that FIFA are very unhappy about cross-border leagues, but we saw recently Standard Liege making their comments [about a Belgian/Dutch league] and Peter Lawwell made his comments when he had his agm a few weeks ago about the changes in Europe. Right now, there isn't an option, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't start looking for an option. If all we have to look forward to over the next four years is more madness, we'd be failing in our duties as directors not to explore the alternatives."While Rangers take further soundings about their future, Green questioned the prospect of Rangers, and other third division clubs, essentially facing a meaningless end to the season, since all would become part of the third-tier 18-team National League, should the plans receive a 75% majority vote of all Scottish clubs and be brought in for the start of next season.Restructuring would not mean that it would take the Ibrox side longer to return to the top flight. Indeed, should Rangers be promoted into the mid-tier Championship 12, then be in the top four after 22 games, then post-split they would be in the middle league of eight clubs and so be competing against SPL sides again earlier than expected. However, Green was still critical of the proposals, which Rangers will not vote upon because they are only associate members of the SFL."I would hardly call that a revolution," he said. "If that's what we've sat about in the last years to come up with, then it's a sorry state. The majority of supporters I speak to, and not just Rangers supporters, are people looking for a bigger league and for it to be changed. There have been meetings running along with different clubs asked to give a view. If we are genuinely looking at transforming Scottish football, why wouldn't you include the biggest club, to see what their suggestions might be, to assist with sponsorship, with financial input?"I can't see any point carrying on with meaningless games. I see the madness of Scotland having no parallel."

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Revamp and we will look elsewhere, warns Green

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