Gretna relinquish league status

[MickeyPaul]

Gretna have lost their battle for survival and resigned from the Scottish Football League.

The administrator running the troubled club concluded that Gretna could not continue running as a business.

Gretna only entered the SFL structure in 2002 and completed an astonishing rise to the Premier League in 2007.

However, the club ran into financial problems when benefactor Brooks Mileson withdrew his support and they were relegated from the top flight.

Gretna went into administration in March with debts totalling about £4m.

They were immediately penalised 10 points by the SPL and 22 players were made redundant, ensuring the already struggling team would be relegated.

The administrator called in was only able to see Gretna through to the end of the season after an advance of prize money from the SPL.

With doubts over the club's ability to fulfil fixtures next season, the SFL took the decision to drop Gretna down to Division Three.
But the one previously interested party withdrew their offer to purchase the club and Gretna are now out of business altogether.

An SFL spokesman said: "I have received intimation from the Gretna FC administrator of their resignation from the Scottish Football League with immediate effect.

"I have accepted this resignation on behalf of the Scottish Football League and accordingly, we now have a vacancy in the Third Division and are seeking applications."
The SFL have set a deadline of 12 June for prospective new clubs to apply for membership.


The SFL Management Committee will then visit each applicant club by 27 June.

Applicant clubs will then be invited, following assessment, to present their business and football plans to all 29 members of the SFL at a Special General Meeting to be held at Hampden Park on 3 July.

The 29 SFL clubs will then vote on the day to decide which club has been invited to join the SFL as a Third Division club with effect from the 2008-09 season.
Spartans, Annan Athletic, Preston Athletic and Cove Rangers are all preparing applications.

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Gretna | Gretna relinquish league status

[kompressaur]

sounds like an interesting development Mick. Im glad to see the back of them. The club coming in is the question now. It will probably be a southern league club. I cant see them letting another highland league club in and a junior club is probably out the equation too. We was just talking about that over here
http://www.thedailypunt.com/forum/gr...sh-league.html

Just a shame i couldnt rss that to the forum. just a test

[AnothrSpacecat]

i dont think anymore highland league clubs want to after whats happened with elgin

i know cove were interested but that would be on the back of local businessmen investing in them, bit like gretna on a different scale, i dont think the football league want that

i honestly dont know or care who comes into the league, there should only be 3 leagues (if not just two of 16) in scotland with the bottoms clubs forming the middle ground to a new pyramid system.

theres precious few full time clubs in scotland those that do exist shouldnt have to lumber around the second division struggling financially like airdrie, county, raith and especially ayr united. other clubs who have the potential to support full time football like peterhed, stirling albion and maybe somebody like east fife shouldnt be playing brechin, berwick and queens park every week.

the lower leagues arent in a healthy enough state to say that all teams should earn their place on merit, how the football league can allow a team like gretna to soar into the uefa cup and premier league while ayr united flirt with relegation to division 3 is criminal. clubs finances should be far more heavily regulated so that nobody is allowed to spend more than they are realistically capable of managing, motherwell spent 8million of credit and paid back less than 2 million, how the hell can they get away with it? dundee, airdrie and falkirk all had to get bailed out by their fans either for being in the lower reaches for too long or spending wildly beyond their means.

the whole system is a joke, id have two leagues of 12 with a further league below that which takes in teams from the highlands, east, west leagues.