Elite Football Is More Important To Me Than Grassroots.
I am Scottish. To me the major priority in Scottish football
is to have great international teams, clubs that do well in European football,
and for great players to come to Scotland.
I was annoyed when I read someone claim that grassroots
football is the priority above the elite level of football. But I think that is
a fantasy land nonsense logic.
Let me point out my main interest is for Scottish football
to do well, and develop great players. I support Scotland and Scottish clubs in
Europe. I want Scotland to have the strongest league, teams, players and clubs
they can have.
Some Scottish people are unpatriotic and do not care about
the international side.
People will claim that football is about grassroots in terms
of making friends, and exercise for the whole population, and enjoyment. But
that is a nonsense. There are plenty of ways for people to socialise and exercise.
We have many sports, that can be used for improving fitness
and socialising. The point of our national sport is to have a sport that we as
a nation at international and cross border level are strong at. And we should
organise the sport of football to have strong elite sides.
The problem is that some people claim we should not have b
teams in the lower divisions, simply because in their view it is damaging to
grassroots level football. But that is a nonsense logic.
1.
Let me re-iterate that I do not hate grassroots level
football. A national sport needs people to be playing it at grassroots level. By
the very definition. But do not fob me off with nonsense that having a strong
grassroots level is more important than having a high quality elite level of
sport in terms of our national sport.
2.
Socialising and improving fitness can be done in many
different ways. To claim that the purpose of our national sport should only be
about the grassroots level football is just unpatriotic.
3.
In fact grassroots can be helped by Scottish football doing
well at elite level. The better Scotland does at a sport the more likely that
that sport will be taken by Scottish youngsters and attract interest from
communities.
4.
If we destroy the elite level then it could destroy grassroots
football. In the same way that countries with a strong rugby union sides tend
to grow or remain strong at grassroots level because people are interest in
sports that their nation do well at.
5.
What is the point in a country being obsessed about football
if we end up being rubbish because we do not allow b teams in our lower divisions,
and players rot away in non-competitive football?
6.
Elite football is
what kids grow up wanting to be in. Why destroy that by having deliberately
weak sides?
7.
It is not an insult to grassroots level football to have b
teams in the lower leagues. Only a warped pedant thinks it is an insult. We had
b teams in the lower divisions after WW2. The Spanish. Germans, Dutch,
Belgians, Portuguese, Croats, and French have all had big clubs playing b teams
in the lower divisions of their own nations.
8.
Some people seem to want Scottish people to support
non-Scottish sides. They do not care about the quality of the Scottish national
side or club sides. I want all Scottish clubs to do well, including Celtic and
Rangers.
9.
The authorities in football should do everything they can to
have strong international sides and club sides in European football.
10. It is humiliating
to deliberately do rubbish at international level just because some warped
pedants think playing b teams in the lower leagues is an insult to smaller
clubs.
11. I want to
have strong clubs in the Scottish Lowland League, Scottish Highland League and
lower divisions. But that does not mean that I put a part time team finishing 3
places higher in the non-league system is more important than Scotland
developing great players.
12. Let me re-iterate
I want t a strong grassroots level. But I want strong club sides and
international sides from Scotland. That is part of football being Scotland’s national
sport. It is integral to a national sport that a nation does well at it elite
level.
13. I want the
entire population to have fun and be healthy. But do not use that as an excuse
to deliberately do rubbish at elite sports as if they are mutually exclusive
outcomes.
14. I want b
teams in the Scottish Challenge Cup and lower divisions, because I want a
strong Scottish elite status.
