Scottish Premier League clubs agree to 'explore expansion'

[Super_Ally 0]

I think it is time that the footballing authorities listened to any input the fans groups may have on the way forward for our game. After all, recent events has seen fans being asked to dig into their pockets to help their cash strapped clubs. As a thank you, the member clubs on the whole, should listen to the voices of the people that help pay their wages. In any other business, surveys are taken, which in turn helps sell their product. They can continue to operate a self interest system until it's milked dry, but it is time to sort out the reconstruction, to create stability for the generations of fans to come. They owe that much to the people who turn up to watch ever week.

 

Whilst in principle I agree, last time the SPL clubs listened to their fans it led to them kicking Rangers out of the SPL on the basis we were guilty in the BTC before the evidence was ruled on by the experts.

[calscot 0]

I don't think the SPL realise how messed up their league is. It used to be you were guaranteed 3 OF home games - now your're guaranteed one and two if you're lucky. So depending on the fixtures you could be a Celtic home game short of your neighbour. Apart from the money where half the bottom six clubs will play Celtic at home twice and once away while another will play them once at home and twice away which will affect results.

 

The bottom six clubs who get Celtic twice at home will get Dundee once at home and vice versa.

 

Then there's the fixtures anomalies which they try to reduce by guessing the order of the league at the end of the season. However, Dundee have replaced Rangers, what does that do to this seeding? Rangers were guaranteed being in the top six while Dundee are certain to be in the bottom. Look for lots of situations where one team plays another three times at home and once away or a team having 20 or 21 home games in a season.

 

The system relied on two big clubs and so it's now seriously broken. I wonder how long it will take the "hard done by" clubs to notice and start the squabbling?

[Steve1872 4]

PGB encouraged by league reconstruction talks

 

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

 

 

 

The Scottish FA’s Professional Game Board met at Hampden Park today to hear and discuss proposals on league reconstruction made by the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League.

The PGB is encouraged by the common ground established on many issues in what is an emotive subject.

The respective league bodies will now hold further discussions with their member clubs, in the hope that this common ground can be expanded upon within each proposal.

The next meeting of the PGB is scheduled for January 30, 2013. However, it has offered to reconvene earlier to expedite the process once the bodies have held further talks with their members.

[Gribz 743]

 

The Scottish FA's Professional Game Board .

 

That made me chuckle straight away. SFA and Professional in the same sentence.

 

The SPL's idea of an expansion will be 12 and half clubs!

 

I am still trying to work out their proposal, a league of 12 spliting into 2 groups of 8 something involving clubs from the league below? How mad can they get? Makes the Belgian set up look like a piece of cake.

[Darthter 542]

I am still trying to work out their proposal, a league of 12 spliting into 2 groups of 8 something involving clubs from the league below? How mad can they get?

 

The idea being that it created less meaningful games - which I believe will be true for the teams that go into the "middle" league....they will have a lot to play for.

 

However, the teams in the upper section of the bottom league aren't going anywhere, so what have they got to play for. Like wise, the teams in the lower section of the top league aren't going anywhere, so what are they playing for???

[calscot 0]

Maybe we should promote and relegate more teams (3/4) but keep the better teams safe by introducing a relegation exemption if you finish in the top two of the second phase.

 

So the split for the bottom eigtht of the second division have the result that the top two are exempt from relegation next season, the bottom three are relegated and the fourth bottom play off against the fourth of the third division.

 

That should give all the teams something to play for - except the teams with exemptions who have no chance of achieving that again. But then you could make only an exemption if you don't finish last...

[der Berliner 3,290]

Still can't see any reason for a split either at the top or the bottom. It is the same money-grabbing concept UEFA devised for the "Champions'" League, but does not work in a country like this. The Germans have no need for this, the Spanish, the Italians nor the English. The Scottish League simply does not provide the spark and all it serves is the "better" clubs getting one more Old Firm game (than the rest). Sporting integrity is no-where to be seen here.

[calscot 0]

It's hard to compare Scotland with biigger nations as we only have two large clubs. We then have four clubs that are the equivalent of the bottom of the Championship or top of League One and then about 10 that are about bottom of League One, top of League Two, few that are about bottom of league two and the rest are not even Football League standard.

 

So if we take the top 18 clubs like we're supposed to, it would give us a league where the resources from attendances varied between the Premiership and the Conference playing each other twice.

 

It just doesn't work. At the tail end of the season you have about eight very small, similar resourced clubs with nothing much to play for and a lead in to the title and relegation by teams that may be playing them while their rivals are playing teams with something to play for.

 

We are too small a country for a top 18 team league and so anything we do will be a huge compromise to try and make a more exciting and interesting league to watch - which also brings in more fans, more TV and more money.

 

That either means a ten team league playing each other four times, a similar 12 team league which brings 44 games, or some kind of 12 to 16 team league with a split.

[GovanAllan 0]

I've never understood this moan about having meaningless games, its a league system you are always going to have meaningless games towards the end of the season. These games should be used to give the young players some game time.