Just waht is the right size for a football league? There will always be somebody who is not happy no matter what is agreed.

Expansion is the way to go says Calderwood
There is always ways of improving football. The structure of the top league has always been a bit of a problem with nobody really happy with however many teams are in it or how many get relegated. The recent move by First Division clubs to re-structure the Football League includes a new play-off tie to give more chances of promotion. Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood is of the opinion that instead of having in effect an SPL II that take the SPL should expand to 18 teams. The Dons boss thinks adding a relegation play-off between the 11th-placed side in the SPL and the runner-up in the First Division, as is currently being discussed, would only serve to increase the fear factor in Scottish football.

Calderwood said: "I don't think a promotion play-off is a good idea for the game in Scotland as a whole because more clubs will now suffer from the fear of relegation, which will only hurt the overall standard of football on display. I would rather see an 18-team Premier League and with that I think there would be a greater incentive for more sides to adopt an attacking approach, instead of concentrating first and foremost on not losing. I don't think it is ideal that we play each other four times in a season, or even more including cup games, especially because the opposition begins to know you back to front and inside out, meaning it can be far harder to break down teams. But with a change in attitude due to a bigger Premier League, there would also be the possibility of giving young home-grown players a run in the side a lot earlier. Ultimately that would be to the benefit of the Scottish national team and we could see an improvement in our game right across the board."

Calderwood does not believe a change in structure to the SPL would help keep Scottish players from the lure of playing in England though, as he insists the finances on offer south of the border often outweigh the benefits of staying in Scotland. He said: "The only players I have tried to sign or keep at Aberdeen, but who I have missed out on, have been down to finances, aside from Markus Heikkinen who didn't like living in the city. Even although we are bigger in name than a lot of (English) Championship sides, they all have larger budgets than us so changing the size of the league won't stop players moving to England for more money."

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