Gretna Soap Opera: Talk About Your Relegations

Greta FC, which was recently relegated from Scotland's premier league, was further relegated two steps further down on Thursday to the fourth level of Scottish soccer:

An offer from football agent Paul Davies has been made for the club, which is currently under consideration, but should the club be saved it will have to start next season in the lowest tier of league football again.

It represents a massive drop for the crisis club, which went into administration in March, and offers promotion lifelines to Airdrie United - who will step up to Division One - and Stranraer, who move up to Division Two.

SFL chief executive David Longmuir said Gretna's administrators had not been able to guarantee the club would be able to fulfil its fixtures.

"We and the SFL had to make sure we protected the integrity of our league,"

"There was no commitment from the administrator that Gretna could fulfil the fixtures at all in the coming season, which means we had to do what we thought was right for our league."

If they don't clean their act soon, they will either be expelled from the football (soccer) league or go out of business.

Can Gretna FC Be Saved?

It could well be touch and go:

At a meeting with employees on Monday, administrators appointed in March after English owner Brooks Mileson fell seriously ill and severed all financial ties with the club, made all 40 staff, from goalkeeper to groundsman, redundant.

Not all is lost: a potential buyer is in talks with administrators, but the prospect of losing Gretna FC has fans asking whether having a rich benefactor, a phenomenon that is increasingly common in British football, is such a good idea.

"We'd rather not have had Mr Mileson's money if this was the outcome," said Heather Bryden, a Gretna fan of 30 years who used to work on the gate at home games.

Gretna's difficulties, including debts of some four million pounds ($7.92 million), are partly linked to their success. Their pitch, which one former employee said needed 350,000 pounds' worth of refurbishment, was not up to SPL standards, forcing the team to hold all their home matches 120 kms away in Motherwell.

This meant many fans were no longer attending Gretna matches as trips to Motherwell were too expensive.

I have written in an earlier post this week that this club had gone through three consecutive promotions to reach the top flight in Scotland. This also could make a valid argument against US Soccer adopting a system of promotion and relegation.

Talk About Your Relegated Clubs

The end may be near for a club that was recently relegated from the Scottish Premier League:

The staff were summoned to an 11am meeting with administrator David Elliot of Wilson Field Ltd, where the news that money has run out was confirmed.
There remains a glimmer of hope for Gretna, who have been relegated from the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, with one potential buyer still looking at the club.
Director of football Mick Wadsworth, who loses his job, said: 'All the staff have been made redundant this morning.
'We're told there is still one interested party, but because there are no funds at the moment to carry on then everybody has been made redundant.
'So the assumption from that, for most of us, is that it's the end of the line regarding employment at Gretna.'
Gretna could still take their place in the Scottish Football League next season, if a quick sale can be achieved and the club can be revived.

I believe that this was the club that won three consecutive promotions to climb up to the top flight in Scottish soccer. Unfortunately, they certainly looked like they were in way over their heads.