This summer will see the end of the failed experiment that was the SPL as the SPL and SFL decide that their divorce way back in 1998 hasn't been for the better. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22864944 I for one am pleased that the SPL and SFL will be replaced by the SPFL as it was ridiculous to have so many bodies running various parts of Scottish football. What I find most interesting though is the fact there will be a new Lowland League which will bring the long needed pyramid system to Scottish football. This brings together clubs from the East and South of Scotland Leagues. For too long many ambitious clubs in the non-league ranks have found making the step up near impossible as clubs have required to wait for a position to open up in the SFL and then go through a voting process to win make the step up. Once the pyramid system is under way the Lowland and Highland League champions can play off for a position in the SPFL. I'll be interested to see how the pyramid develops below the likes of the Lowland the Highland Leagues. Currently the Highland League is a closed shop. A new batch of clubs were elected a few years ago to readdress the balance following the departure of two Inverness clubs, Ross County, Peterhead and Elgin but there are still various clubs interested in making the step up to that level too.
I agree with everything you've said. Personally, I think that if Highland/Lowland League clubs truly want a pyramid above them, they should accept it below them too. So that we have integrated leagues running from the top, right to the very bottom. So even friends etc can form teams and enter them into the lowest level if they meet certain criteria.
An interesting side effect of this might be on how any future liquidated clubs are dealt with. Essentially Rangers last year were voted back into the league to fill the spot created by the liquidation of Rangers. The process was legit as that is how spots in the Scottish League system have traditionally been filled (albeit it is not usually the same club getting voted to fill the spot that created the vacancy in the first place). In the future, with a new system (ie promotion through the pyramid) of filling vacancies...would a Rangers' type situation be permitted? Would a liquidated and reformed (from a legal perspective....not intending to open up the "history" discussion there) "big" club have access back in via a vote or would they be replaced by the next ranking club from the Highland/Lowland leagues?
In all likelihood, were it a club of aimilar standing to Rangers, the footballing powers-that-be would probably try to shoehorn them back into the SPFL leagues again lower down, like they did with Rangers. Let's use Hearts as an example, should they go bust and reform, they would probably not drop down to the Lowland League, even though that's really what should happen in the spirit of sporting fairness. Let's not forget that it was only the mobilisation of the Scottish footballing support as a whole (excepting Rangers supporters, obviously) who campaigned to have Rangers either admitted into Division Three or kicked out of Senior professional football altogether. If the game's decision makers had had their way then Rangers would have remained in the SPL, then when they initialy saw the backlach from fans they suggested dropping them into Division One as a half arsed show. Fan power was the only thing that got them admitted to the lowest possible place in the SFL and I have never seen any event before or since that united and mobilised so many fans of so many clubs to complain and campaign to get the appropriate decision to be take. Even then, Rangers really should have had to stand against other hopeful applicants before being admitted into Division Three, so even though the end result would have been the same, the authorities still got it a little bit their own way as though Rangers were dropped lower than they wanted them to be, they didn't have to stage a full application process where multiple non-league clubs would be able to state their case for election in competition with Rangers for the spot that had opened up. Scottish football's authorities are as self-serving a group as you are likely to ever encounter in any walk of life and they will try any means to keep the status quo in order to appease their Old Firm masters.
In England re-formed teams enter at a much lower level, but at a far higher level than they might. The top 4 leagues will still have it's own self contained voting system and in theory could vote a new team in wherever they wanted.
Looks really rather sharp!. I'm still wanting to call the top division the SPL instead of the "Premiership". I still need to train myself to not do that. But yes, it looks very nice and is easier to navigate throughout the levels. I'm not sure how many leagues the world over really do this, but the SPFL itself should sell logo wear, if feasible.