Fortune Favours the Brave - Dave Cormack, April 3, 2013 1

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL SCOTTISH FOOTBALL STAKEHOLDERS

Amalgamation of football clubs necessary to improve Scottish game

Former Aberdeen FC director, Dave Cormack, is a US-based Scot, multi-millionaire, and
leading entrepreneur in the multi-billion dollar global healthcare technology market. Dave and
his wife Fiona maintain strong links and an affinity with their homeland, recently raising
£250,000 to support Monty’s Maggie’s Appeal to open a cancer centre in Aberdeen.

A lifelong Dons fan, Dave applies his acute business sense and ‘outside of the box’ thinking
towards provoking a discussion about improving the Scottish game. As the pace of decline
increases, Dave argues that fans can be a catalyst to making Scottish football relevant again, but
only if they embrace the amalgamation of clubs that control the game.

Fortune favours the brave, by Dave Cormack

It would take a brave soul to predict a bright future for professional
football in Scotland. Take your pick from the daily news of
bankruptcies and dangerously high debt. Dunfermline, for example, is
the latest in a line of illustrious clubs that failed to live within their
means. Are Hearts next in line for administration? And before the
‘new’ Rangers first season ends they expect to lose £7 million.

It’s no coincidence that the worst Scottish national team ever is

directly linked to the poorest Scottish league football I can remember.
Apathy abounds. With falling attendances and the commercial value
of television rights plummeting, radical change is necessary to reverse the mediocrity and
improve competitiveness.

Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting
different results. Yet the wise men of our game have presided over the utter boredom of the
SPL’s Top 6/Bottom 6, and the lunacy of an expansion from 38 to 42 so-called professional
clubs with no pyramid system.

Why the SPL did not adopt a play-offs system ten years ago for both European qualification and
relegation is beyond me. Play-offs would have led to an increase in the number of meaningful
games, and provided an exciting end to the season while increasing gate receipts and desperately
needed television income.

What were we thinking when the number of clubs increased to 42? Teams with attendances of
300 cannot be relegated below the Third Division, and their directors have significant influence
on our game.
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The latest league reorganisation proposal sees the deckchairs on the Titanic being suitably re-
arranged again, with claims that one national body comprising three divisions of 12-12-18, or the
threatened SPL2, will secure the game’s future. Both options mean spreading the wealth across
more clubs, reversing the reason why the SPL was born in the first place. Both options reek of
compromise with the order of the day being self-preservation.

England spreads its wealth among 92 clubs, with teams like Aberdeen unable to compete for
players with third tier English teams. But if we were to truly compare England to Scotland
(population 55 million to five million) we’d have room for only eight teams (yes, eight).

Unless we drastically reduce these 42 teams, our relevance as a footballing nation will continue
to wane. Can anyone seriously argue that 42 clubs with 42 stadiums is sustainable with the
turnover that Scottish football generates? Clubs are in debt to the tune of tens of millions,
saddling the game with millions in annual interest payments, with no end in sight.

We do not need SPL2 or a 12-12-18 league reorganization. Both set ups are all about
compromise. Scottish football needs to reduce its clubs to 12 or 14 ‘super’ teams, embrace the
concept of playoffs, and provide a pyramid system to encourage competition and discourage
stagnation.

What say do fans have? We ignore them at our peril. Aberdeen’s Vice-Chairman George Yule
is right when he asserts that clubs need to treat fans like customers, just as any business does, and
focus their marketing efforts on being customer-facing. Unfortunately, Scottish football has a
habit of stifling visionaries. We are the Downton Abbey of the game.

I’d advocate for amalgamation of clubs.

Why can’t the Kingdom of Fife bring Dunfermline, Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath together as
one team that embraces the history of each club, but moves forward with a team competing at the
highest level. The economies of scale from managing one club, with increased attendances,
make this a real proposition. Not to mention the cash injection from the sale of stadiums. But
hold on, you only need one board of directors and turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

Supporters are better organised than ever, and they are crucial to any amalgamation. Historical
rivalries could of course render this a non-starter. But isn’t the status quo a slow death anyway.
An exciting joint venture like the Fife teams merging would get my attention from an investment
perspective because it would make much better financial sense than just trying to buy a
Dunfermline.

Let’s consider the Dundee teams. I know it’s impossible to merge. But really. In 1903, three
teams in Aberdeen amalgamated. It’s not unheard of. Can you imagine a Tayside United with
the two big Dundee teams, Arbroath, Brechin and Montrose. Build a new stadium just north of
 Fortune Favours the Brave - Dave Cormack, April 3, 2013 3

Dundee. My goodness, if these teams could embrace their past into one new team they would be
a force to reckon with.

What about Hearts? The Jam Tarts are my second team because my great grandfather,
grandfather and father were all fans. How do Hearts get rid of their massive debt? What have
the fans to lose by organising a new company, working out a deal to merge with a smaller club to
resurrect themselves, and then rent Murrayfield?

And what about a new team to compete with Rangers and Celtic? How about Club Ecosse!?
The tartan army is made up of tens of thousands of non old firm fans, including thousands who
have given up supporting a club team. Would some of the bigger clubs dare to merge? To
garner support and maximize prior club affinity Club Ecosse could play their home games across
Scotland by renting Murrayfield, Hampden and Pittodrie?

Yes, amalgamation is a bold move, but one which can be a catalyst for the good of our game.
We need radical change, not a new coat of paint.

April 3, 2013