Doncaster not learned from last year

[hibbyboy1]

I can't understand how Doncaster and the rest of the sfa learnt nothing from last season regarding playoffs and Scottish cup final, playoff final first leg 19th may, Scottish cup final 21st may, playoff final 2nd leg 22nd of may.

[allezsauzee]

I can...it's because they are buffoons

[Slicer]

What a joke.

[Weststandwanab]

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I can...it's because they are buffoons

That is a tad harsh on Buffoons.

Difficult to disagree though.

[Slicer]

I'd love to see a list with all the idiotic decisions these guys have made. This is the same mistake as last year. They just do not learn.

[dangermouse]

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I'd love to see a list with all the idiotic decisions these guys have made. This is the same mistake as last year. They just do not learn.

It would be a long, long list

[Slicer]

I'll start with the Inverness semi final last season kicking off 15 minutes before the first train from Inverness arrives in Glasgow.

[Big_Franck]

This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Doncaster's ******ed.

Can't do links on my phone but..

http://m.stv.tv/sport/football/clubs/celtic/317427-neil-doncasters-most-memorable-blunders-as-spfl-chief-executive/

[Slicer]

Here it is...

Not for the first time, Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster finds himself the subject of criticism.

The U-turn over the final day of Championship fixtures - with the decision to move Hearts' clash with Rangers reversed after much furore - is just the latest controversy to hit the Scottish football chief.

Doncaster has been placed under plenty scrutiny since the formation of the SPFL in 2013 - as well as before in his role as Scottish Premier League chief executive - facing criticism over a number of issues.

From controversy over TV deal renegotiating, to a lack of sponsorship revenue, the SPFL chief executive has faced the heat over the past two years. Here are some of his biggest blunders in that time.

Television 'cashback' deal
Under the terms of a renegotiated television deal following the removal of Rangers from the top-flight in 2012, a clause was inserted making the league liable to additional production costs incurred setting up at lower league grounds.

That means that the SPFL is contractually bound to pay broadcaster BT Sport up to £250,000 a season to show Rangers games from lower league venues.

Doncaster and the league thought it was necessary to agree the deal in order to protect their revenue from broadcast contracts, in the fear that such deals would be compromised without any 'cashback' for airing Rangers matches.

Failure to secure a league sponsor
The league body's failure to secure a sponsor for any of its four divisions and the League Cup goes down as arguably the biggest indignity of Doncaster's tenure as SPFL chief executive.

Scottish football has been without a title sponsor since 2013, when Clydesdale Bank, Irn-Bru and the Scottish Government pulled their backing.

Doncaster has insisted that companies and brands are willing to invest in the Scottish game, but that belief has yet to result in the securing of a sponsor for the Scottish Premiership, or any of the league structure's lower divisions - although QTS did sign up to sponsor this season's League Cup from the semi-finals onwards.

Sports promotion mogul Barry Hearn used his appearance at the first ever Scottish FA convention to level a number of criticisms at Scottish football and Doncaster's running of the sport north of the border.

Hearn expressed his belief that Scottish football must stop wallowing in self-pity in order to promote a more positive image of the sport and help it flourish.

"Put it this way, if you worked for me you’d be sacked," Hearn said of Doncaster over his failure to secure a sponsor for the SPFL, offering a damning verdict on his leadership of the authoritative body.

Hibs v Kilmarnock final day television black-out
With the final day showdown between Hibernian and Kilmarnock all all-or-nothing clash BT Sport made an approach to the SPFL for permission to show the game.

Under the terms of the contracts with broadcasters, only six games can be broadcast per season from the home ground of any one club, a change from the four stipulated in SPL rules.

And so one of the most important games of the season suffered a TV black-out, with Hibs refusing BT Sport's request to show the match from Easter Road as Terry Butcher's team were thrown into the play-offs.

Inverness fans left in no-man's land (literally)
With their team's League Cup semi-final against Hearts scheduled for a 12.15pm kick-off at Easter Road in Edinburgh, a group of Caley Thistle fans travelled to Hampden to meet with Doncaster to explain just how difficult it would be for them to attend the match in time.

The trouble in making the game was exacerbated by the lack of public transport options on Sunday, and yet Doncaster insisted that Easter Road was the only "practical" option for hosting the fixture.

"I think the [Caley Thistle] supporters have left with a better understanding of the challenges we face and why, actually, Easter Road and Tynecastle for these two games really were the only two realistically viable venues," Doncaster explained.

Championship final day fixture farce
And so to the latest disaster as the SPFL were forced into a U-turn over the final day of Championship fixtures after the decision to move Hearts' clash with Rangers was reversed.

The match had been switched to Sunday, May 3 so it would receive television coverage - a decision which sparked anger among supporters.

The remaining four Championship games remained scheduled for 3pm on the Saturday before, leading to united criticism of the decision by Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers.

A number of clubs criticised the decision, with an initial response from the SPFL underlining the body's defiance in playing the matches as scheduled.

However, the game between Hearts and Rangers was eventually moved back to its original date of Saturday, May 2 with a 12.15pm kick off with the remaining four matches taking place at the same time.

[EH6 Hibby]

He should have been sacked as soon as his disgraceful attempt to get The Rangers put straight into the Premier League was rejected.

How can a man who has spent months shouting from the rooftops that our game is worthless without The Rangers then be allowed to negotiate a TV deal and try to secure sponsorship deals.

[jacomo]

Doncaster is a moron. But the clubs appointed him and should share the blame.

[Michael]

I just don't understand how this idiot is still in a job. It's just cock up after cock up.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Couldnae run a ****ing bath !!!

[Nutmegged]

Read today that SPFL Attendances at the weekend was 2.15% of the Population while down in England's four tiers they made up 1.36% of the population.

This is free publicity, Doncaster should be hammering this home to all who'll listen, those who don't listen we should make them listen.

These stats are great and the best thing about them is theres still plenty of scope to get attract fans

[cabbageandribs1875]

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Here it is...

Not for the first time, Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster finds himself the subject of criticism.


Doncaster has insisted that companies and brands are willing to invest in the Scottish game, but that belief has yet to result in the securing of a sponsor for the Scottish Premiership, or any of the league structure's lower divisions - although QTS did sign up to sponsor this season's League Cup from the semi-finals onwards.

.

how utterly embarrassing

[cabbageandribs1875]

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Doncaster is a moron. But the clubs appointed him and should share the blame.

indeed, the chairmen will be quite happy that this doughnut gets all the blame...takes the attention away from them

[Jim44]

He was also tilting towards some form of reconstruction in the League Cup and linked probably to a Premiership shake-up. That was at a time where Sevco's future looked decidedly shaky and I wouldn't be surprised if that is off the radar now, given Sevco's probable promotion.

[Onion]

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He should have been sacked as soon as his disgraceful attempt to get The Rangers put straight into the Premier League was rejected.

How can a man who has spent months shouting from the rooftops that our game is worthless without The Rangers then be allowed to negotiate a TV deal and try to secure sponsorship deals.

No one takes anything that guy says seriously, he's a figure of fun and an embarrassment to the game and the people who put/kept him there. In many ways, he sums Scottish football up perfectly.

[SunshineOnLeith]

Neil Doncaster hasn't learned anything since he was first shown a tub of wet look gel in 1994.

[KeithTheHibby]

As much as Doncaster has made a James Hunt of things over the years I wonder if our opinion of him will change if league reconstruction goes through this season and we get promoted via this route as he seems to be to be the one talking about it?

[Pretty Boy]

The fact he's not long helped secure a long term sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes for all the leagues probably means he's going nowhere soon regardless of his previous failings.

[scoopyboy]

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I can't understand how Doncaster and the rest of the sfa learnt nothing from last season regarding playoffs and Scottish cup final, playoff final first leg 19th may, Scottish cup final 21st may, playoff final 2nd leg 22nd of may.

If I was him I would argue what is the problem, there was no problem.

In that horrible day in 2012 if we had been in the Champions League final we wouldn't have had to play in the Scottish Cup Final.

I see no point in worrying about us being in the Scottish Cup Final and Play Off final.

[sambajustice]

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If I was him I would argue what is the problem, there was no problem.

In that horrible day in 2012 if we had been in the Champions League final we wouldn't have had to play in the Scottish Cup Final.

I see no point in worrying about us being in the Scottish Cup Final and Play Off final.

Its a media thing as well though, both events should have their own build up and be spectacles in their own right. As it stands, one or t'other is more or less forgotten about come Monday depending on who has done what at the weekend. Last year it was all about Der der Hun and the Scottish Cup barely got a look in which is wrong.

There's a thread on here somewhere about when Barry Hearn was speaking to the SFA, looks as if they've not picked up anything from what he was telling them!