INTRODUCING summer football into a country beset by cold, wet and long winters seems such an obvious idea it remains something of a head-scratcher that, 125 years on from the inaugural Scottish Football League season, fans are still paying good money to sit in freezing conditions watching teams lump a ball around sodden and muddy pitches for several months at a time.

The revelation in Herald Sport last week by Mike Mulraney, the Alloa Athletic chairman and SPFL board member, that an overhaul of Scottish football's traditional calendar was under serious consideration was, somewhat appropriately, given a warm reception, with Celtic manager Ronny Deila almost those joining the chorus calling for change. Only now in Scotland are we finally emerging into something that could be termed spring , meaning for the last six months football fans have traipsed wearily out to matches as if undergoing an Arctic expedition.

"Anyone who has witnessed me squeeze through a turnstyle [sic] in seven layers can guess where I stand on this," tweeted Christopher Brookmyre, the acclaimed author and long-suffering St Mirren fan. It seems almost illogical to ask supporters, and their children, to sit outside in single-digit temperatures on uncomfortable plastic seats, covered more often than not by a roof that is as adequate at keeping off the rain and snow as a colander for an umbrella. And when they are in situ, having more often than not paid good money for the "privilege", these same supporters are then told to sit still, don't stand up, and no complaining, thank you very much. This has been accepted for generations for the simple reason that it has always been this way. Little wonder, with attendances tumbling and increasingly loud grumbles being sounded over the nation's television deal, that an alternative way of doing things is now being belatedly sought.

There are certainly a number of precedents elsewhere. Consult a map of Europe and not a single other country on the same latitude as Scotland or further north plays through the winter. Most start in spring (March/April) and continue until the autumn (October/November), thus missing out on the coldest months. That is the model adopted by Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Belarus. Of the two northern European countries that use a more traditional football calendar, both have lengthy winter breaks. In Denmark they play from July until June but shut down for two and a half months between early December and late February. In Russia they recently converted to a winter season but don't play at all between December and March. In Scotland there is the option for clubs to take one weekend off in January, should they choose to do so, but beyond that the default setting is to grimace and get on with it. And we wonder why the inevitable backlog of postponed games can sometimes take months to clear.

Some other leagues have chosen to play through the summer just because it suits them better. And so the League of Ireland switched to a summer programme a dozen years ago to great success, including an improvement in the clubs' European records. It has been one of the biggest gripes of many of their Scottish counterparts in recent years that the ever earlier start to the Europa League and Champions League qualifiers has left them ill-prepared for competitive fixtures just weeks after their players have come off a sun lounger. A summer season, or at least a campaign with an extended winter break to recharge the batteries, should leave them better placed to progress.

A move to summer football would in all likelihood prove appealing to broadcast partners such as Sky and BT Sports who, with no competitive football from May until August, will probably be grateful for something to fill their competitive schedules beyond speedway, county cricket and rolling giant cheeses down a hill. That, in turn, should put the SPFL in a stronger position when renegotiating their deal.

Like everything in Scottish football, however, there will be dissenting voices. Some clubs will not want to lose the revenue earned from games played over the winter, especially the busy festive period. There will be an argument that supporters prefer to spend their summer weekends on holiday, playing golf or having barbecues. The most sensible thing would be to ask the main stakeholders in the game, including the fans, for their opinions. If the consensus is for a move to play from March until November then that could be looked at. If others would prefer the current structure but with no matches from December until February then that should also be given serious consideration. With a slightly earlier start and later finish to the season, more midweek games, and scrapping Scottish Cup replays, then it could be achieved.

There will also be the argument that the inclement Scottish weather could strike at any time. Pre-season games in July have been known to go off because of flash floods. There could be snow in April, or frost in November. It is about playing the percentages, however. Predicting the weather is a precarious business but it seems a safe bet that, by and large, it is more consistently unfavourable in the winter months than it is the rest of the year.

There will also be points raised about the difficulty in starting the season at the same time as our clubs (well, Celtic) will be entering the knock-out phase of European competitions, and that summers with international tournaments could prove a logistical problem. These are all issues worth debating. Better to have the conversation, however, than simply putting up with the status quo as it has always been done that way.