FORMER First Minister Henry McLeish will be guest of honour at Pittodrie this week – with my club the latest on his list of destinations across Scotland.
McLeish agreed in February to head up the SFA review into Scottish football – and I will be interested to hear his views.
Looking at the current calendar and discussing whether a switch to summer football would work is part of his remit, but I would like to see us delve deeper than that.
I have my own ideas which I have happily made public – and been castigated for. I can see a team from Dublin and one from Belfast being asked to join our league and I also believe encouraging teams to amalgamate would help strengthen quality.
I believe we have a competitive league in the SPL with the championship, European and relegation issues often going to the final weekend of the campaign. But do we have the quality?
The results of all of Scotland’s European representatives tells me there is plenty room for improvement.
I have called for clubs like Dundee and Dundee United to consider merging and it has brought the response I anticipated with clubs insisting any idea is out of the question. I used Dundee as an example as we only have four major cities in our country.
Glasgow can sustain the Old Firm, likewise Edinburgh for Hearts and Hibs. Aberdeen is a one-club city and, while the two Dundee clubs have decent supports in Scottish terms, I can see one club in a modern stadium attracting an average home gate of 17,000 – which would be fantastic.
Jocky Scott and Craig Levein have both defended their respective clubs, as is their right, but I can assure you I am not a lone voice in believing drastic change is required.
In speaking to people in the game I am convinced change is in the air and if enough people can get themselves motivated enough to offer drastic plans to revolutionise our game then let’s go for it. I cannot see us having anything to lose as our ability to compete outwith Scotland is becoming more difficult.
Both Celtic and Rangers have reached the final of the Uefa Cup this decade, but they have been exceptional occurrences rather than the norm. The gulf is widening as the financial disparity between clubs increases.
Dermot Desmond is one of the richest men in the country and a man with a vested interest in Celtic. He has the ear of some very important people and if his club is going to stay in Scottish football then he must help improve the product.
If we can provide more thrilling games and increase the profile of our clubs then we will attract more interest. Interest creates demand and that is when TV broadcasters will be prepared to pay more for their slice of the cake.
How we go about reaching that stage, however, is a debate everyone has to get involved in. Some difficult decisions are going to have to be made, but do we have the people brave enough to make them?