Is The Split Burst?

[Rangers Football Club 0]

Gers unhappy with fixtures and call for debate on SPL structure

 

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[Danny 0]

Is anyone actually happy with the split fixtures?

[Union City Blue 0]

To my mind, the split adds a lot (overall) but it also causes what seems to be an increasing amount of problems. And it's also embarrassing.

 

Unless you have complete balance there's always winners and losers.

 

Still, it usually adds excitement so we shouldn't forget that either. Just IMHO - I can't even do the spilts so I'm no expert!

[rbr 1,247]

Amazing that ever since Murray departed Bain has at long last grown a set of baws and has at long last started speaking out , plus I loved the " sporting integrity " comment

[Frankie 8,199]

Pleased with this statement to a degree.

 

Mainly I'm happy we're complaining about an issue from a position of strength - arguments have much more credibility when it doesn't automatically benefit you all that much immediately. Not sure the 'integrity' comment was required but I'm not that fussed.

[Guest Flying Hippo]

There's no alternative unless you increase the size of the league to 16 teams which just adds more dross and puts a lot of teams in the financial mire because everyone is only playing Celtic and Rangers twice a season

[Frankie 8,199]

There's no alternative unless you increase the size of the league to 16 teams which just adds more dross and puts a lot of teams in the financial mire because everyone is only playing Celtic and Rangers twice a season

 

Yeah, I've yet to be convinced more teams would increase the quality as well.

 

We have to be careful change isn't made just for change's sake. Instead, we have to be sure quality would be retained/improved as well as finding out if attendances and TV interest would change if we introduce new teams.

[metlika 0]

I would love a larger league cause I can't be arsed with playing Hamilton 12 times a season, but probably a league reduction would be better than an expansion. I liked this statement found it amusing with the sporting integrity comment nice little back hander at them.

[ascender 352]

I've never understood the reasons behind the split and every season it gives some teams an unfair run-in.

 

Personally I'd like to see a bigger league, there's more teams out there who would compete against the majority of the SPL week in, week out. Division 1 is very tight and competitive these days and I think playing teams twice in the league would be a good start.

 

Problem is that any sort of league reconstruction isn't going to be an overnight solution to the quality of football on display, but the current setup is verging on the mental, so surely it would be a good first step?

[craig 5,199]

We currently have 12 teams and therefore 38 games, due to the split.

 

ICT, Dundee, Ross County, Dunfermline and, possibly QoS & Thistle would at least be competitive in the lower reaches of the SPL and, for the most part, would not get walked over by the better teams either.

 

If we added them to the SPL we would have 18 teams and 34 games (home and away once each). You could even discount a couple of those teams and have 16 teams (30 games) which could still work.