Ripples from the Rangers saga

Last updated : 17 June 2012 By Fargone

From the Sunday Mail:   DUNFERMLINE chairman John Yorkston last night called on SFL and SPL chiefs to bin the rulebook rather than just bend it for Rangers.

He said: “We’ve sold more season tickets for the First Division than we did in the SPL – I’m sure that tells you something.

“But at the moment we’re building a team for the First Division. We’ve made signings and released players on that premise.

“We’ve signed some excellent players on that basis from the likes of East Fife, Arbroath and Ayr. Players we believe will grow with us but who we may not have signed if we were still an SPL club.

 

“So the longer it goes on, the harder it would be for every club in our boat to change that strategy.”

The Pars chief was responding to suggestions a Gers newco could be given access to Division One as a trade-off for concessions on league change.

And he believes if league bosses are going to stray that far from their current statutes, they may as well toss the whole lot out and start bargaining for a bigger top flight.

Yorkston said: “The rules aren’t there just now to cover that scenario.

“So if we’re going to talk about forgetting the rulebook, lets forget it properly. Let’s do it for the good of the game and use the situation to reconstruct the league.

“Let’s face it, somewhere around 90 per cent of fans say they want a bigger SPL. It’s time we all listened and if the opportunity is there, why not examine it?”

Yorkston, however, insists his plea isn’t entirely driven by self-interest. He revealed Dunfermline’s season tickets are actually UP on last year.

But he warned that if there is going to be change, it needs to come quickly to allow teams the chance to change strategy.