Football clubs in the English Premier League are not the only ones with money worries. It's all a question of scale.

Cross the border, move down a league or two, and you'll find a different type of scramble for money. Even those in relatively good health are looking for a new business model.

Scotland's well-known banking problems don't help with the overdraft funding, as Rangers' manager Walter Smith has said candidly.

Its Glasgow rival, Celtic, is the only major Scottish club to have spent any money on new players recently.

Among the smaller clubs, a common problem is the close link to local construction companies; as sponsors, builders of stadiums, re-developers of grounds, and often with representation on boards.

With the commercial property and construction industry in a deep slump, that source of funding has come under pressure.

Meerkat moment?

At Stirling Albion, however, it's the local council that owns its ground, Forthbank.

And Stirling Council is pursuing nearly £100,000 in rent through the courts, putting the Scottish Second Division club at risk of being put out of business.
Stirling Albion's Forthbank Stadium
Stirling Albion run the risk of being evicted from Forthbank Stadium

Fans are trying to buy the company from its current owner, businessman Peter McKenzie. Having apparently subsidised Stirling Albion for years, the 83-year old has said he wants to sell, but seems reluctant to agree a price.

The supporters' trust plans to buy the club, and then to sell its name to a sponsor.

Having had talks with the online price-comparison firm, Compare the Market, the proposal was a link to the furry Russian stars of its television advertising campaign by naming the club The Stirling Meerkats.

That failed to find favour with the Scottish Football Association (SFA).

An SFA spokesman told the BBC: "A name change for commercial purposes would have huge implications, and the integrity of the game would be paramount in any decision-making process."

But the supporters' trust is hopeful that doesn't rule out their idea.

The trust's Paul Goodwin says: "The reality is that if we didn't come up with something innovative like this, what's the alternative? No club.

"If the SFA faced a choice between approving a temporary name change and seeing one of their member clubs disappear forever, we hope they would give serious consideration to the sponsorship option."

"Part of our plan is that it's a five-year contract, so at the end of five years, you'd go back to the original name, Stirling Albion, with all the heritage."

With Compare the Market doubting its meerkat campaign will last as long as a five-year sponsorship deal, that option now seems unlikely.

But two other companies are now in talks with Mr Goodwin.

"They're deadly serious and not scared by the money," he says.

Stirling Albion wouldn't be the first club to take on a sponsor's name.

In India, they drink to Kingfisher East Bengal FC, Americans get a buzz from Red Bull New York, German fans focus on Carl Zeiss Jena, and the Turks and Caicos Islands accounts for KPMG United FC.

In Britain, Welsh leagues have pioneered the use of corporate name sponsors, including Technogroup Welshpool, Airbus UK and Total Network Solutions.

It's unlikely that Peterhead football club could get as much as Arsenal did from airline Emirates, but its directors plan to see how much they can raise that way.

Privately, the reckoning is that there could be £100,000 a season in it, depending on what other sponsorship elements are included.

"This opportunity will provide maximum lasting media exposure to your company that will last long after the deal expires," says the promotional blurb.

Chairman Rodger Morrison says he has spoken to several companies about the new Balmoor ground, with its 3,700 capacity, also offering options on sponsoring a stand and the family section.

Having been at Recreation Park in the Aberdeenshire port town for 120 years, he says: "We wouldn't have thought of changing the previous name, but in these financially-straitened times, we have to look at new options."

Those times mean he expects casualties at Peterhead's level of football, with clubs struggling to get overdrafts under control.

"We'll be very fortunate if everyone comes out of this unscathed. I would expect there will be one or two casualties," says Mr Morrison.

Oil and fish

Two local employers and one national brand are interested in the stadium naming rights, says the chairman.

He's not saying who they are, but a clue could be that the local economy features companies in offshore oil and fish processing.

Peterhead won't accept an inappropriate name, and it is wary of brand contamination.

"Obviously, there's downsides," says Mr Morrison. "If the company went into administration, we could face adverse publicity coming from their side."

That happened on a grand scale to the Major League Baseball team, the Houston Astros. In 1999, the Enron Corporation was reported to have agreed $100m for a 30-year deal to name the baseball ground Enron Field.

Two years later, the company became a notorious bankruptcy and fraud case. The Astros bought back the naming rights, and sold them to a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, so it's now the Minute Maid Park.