New chief executive confident about SPL future
New Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster knows all about the trauma of seeing a lucrative television deal go up in smoke.
He was a year into his tenure as Norwich chief executive when ITV Digital infamously went bust back in 2002.
However the 39 year old has insisted the collapse of the Setanta television deal need not spell disaster for top-flight clubs.
Doncaster insisted English clubs bounced back from the ITV Digital debacle and he is certain the SPL can do the same.
He told Press Association Sport: "It was a difficult time but the clubs got through it at that time and I think they're stronger for it.
"If I were concerned about the prospects of the SPL, I wouldn't be here.
"I'm not concerned; I'm very excited about the prospects and the challenges ahead."
He added: "I think everyone at the moment, throughout the whole world - let alone football - has challenges.
"Football is not immune from those at all and I understand from a club point of view exactly what they're going through.
"I've been through that with Norwich City for the last number of years."
Reports claim the joint bid from Sky and ESPN is around half of what Setanta were prepared to offer.
Doncaster is concerned that the SPL does not sell itself short.
"I think the quality of the product is not in doubt," he said.
"I think that the SPL has a great standing within Europe. I'm very excited about the prospect of the SPL and if I weren't, I wouldn't be here."
Tribal Games
Tribalfootball Store
- home
- News
- Leagues
- English Premier League
- English Championship
- Barnsley
- Coventry City
- Peterborough United
- Birmingham City
- Blackpool
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Bristol City
- Burnley
- Cardiff City
- Crystal Palace
- Derby County
- Doncaster Rovers
- Hull City
- Ipswich Town
- Leeds United
- Leicester City
- Middlesbrough
- Millwall
- Nottingham Forest
- Portsmouth
- Reading
- Southampton
- Watford
- West Ham United
- Football League One
- AFC Bournemouth
- Brentford
- Bury
- Carlisle United
- Charlton Athletic
- Chesterfield
- Colchester United
- Exeter City
- Hartlepool United
- Huddersfield Town
- Leyton Orient
- Milton Keynes Dons
- Notts County
- Oldham Athletic
- Preston North End
- Rochdale
- Scunthorpe United
- Sheffield United
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Stevenage
- Tranmere Rovers
- Walsall
- Wycombe Wanderers
- Yeovil Town
- Scottish Premier League
- MLS
- A-League
- Argentine Primera División
- Swiss Super League
- Swiss Challenge League
- Belgian First Division
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
- Brazil Serie B
- Chinese Super League
- Eredivisie
- German Bundesliga
- German Bundesliga 2
- Italian Serie A
- Italian Serie B
- French Ligue 2
- Italian Serie C1
- J-League
- Ligue 1
- Portuguese Liga
- Prva HNL
- ASB Premiership
- Russian Premier League
- Segunda División
- Segunda División B
- Spanish Liga
- Super League Greece
- Turkish Super Lig
- transfer news
- Results & Fixtures
- football store
- video games
Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat May 12th | |||
| Dunfermline Athletic | Kilmarnock | 1 - 2 | 14:00 |
| Inverness CT | Hibernian | 14:00 | |
| Aberdeen | St. Mirren | 14:00 | |
| Sun May 13th | |||
| St. Johnstone | Rangers | - 4 | 11:30 |
| Celtic | Heart of Midlothian | 11:30 | |
| Motherwell | Dundee United | - 2 | 11:30 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic | 33 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 52 | 81 |
| Rangers | 33 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 40 | 63 |
| Motherwell | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 55 |
| St. Johnstone | 33 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 50 |
| Dundee United | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 49 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 33 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 48 |
| Kilmarnock | 33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | -18 | 37 |
| Aberdeen | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | -6 | 36 |
| St. Mirren | 33 | 7 | 14 | 12 | -14 | 35 |
| Inverness CT | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | -18 | 32 |
| Hibernian | 33 | 6 | 9 | 18 | -28 | 27 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 33 | 4 | 8 | 21 | -40 | 20 |
Related Stories
- May 28 Rangers in danger of having to give titles back
- May 24 Bolton, Cardiff among potential suitors for ex-Dundee United keeper Pernis
- May 23 Celtic commence talks with Southampton target Hooper
- May 21 Southampton set to swoop for Celtic’s Hooper
- May 18 Celtic focused on Europe, not Rangers – Forrest
Popular Stories
- May 28 Hazard tells Man Utd, Chelsea and Man City: I've made my decision
- May 28 Chelsea move ahead of Man Utd in Hazard battle
- May 28 Tottenham's Saha: Hazard will join Chelsea
- May 27 Hazard wants Man Utd: Glamour over cash
- May 28 Chelsea ahead of Man City as AC Milan decide to 'sacrifice' Ibrahimovic


Post new comment