johnstone Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 This just proves how much of a farce the top 6 split is. Time for the SPL to just extend to a 16 or 18 team league and that would be that. Every fan wants it, most players would want it and it would make our league far more entertaining. Now we have a run in of fixtures that basically make it very tricky for us to compete on a level playing field. The whole system is a mess. Mind you have a think about St Mirren who have to play their relegation candidates Falkirk 3 times away from home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickoza Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Our own demise in the cup at Inverness, Ross County turning over Celtic, Raith over Aberdeen - three examples of why the league should be extened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 This just proves how much of a farce the top 6 split is. Time for the SPL to just extend to a 16 or 18 team league and that would be that. Every fan wants it, most players would want it and it would make our league far more entertaining. Now we have a run in of fixtures that basically make it very tricky for us to compete on a level playing field. The whole system is a mess. Mind you have a think about St Mirren who have to play their relegation candidates Falkirk 3 times away from home! Spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadywellToi Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Personally I'm not in favour in the limited pot of money being diluted to include another 6 or 8 teams. And as much as we don't like to admit it, the comments on this thread reinforce the fact that a home OF game does boost our bank balance considerably. A larger league means 2 less home OF games per year (or in the case of this year just one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Diggle Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 I'd be very surprised if the OF ever allow the vote to go through where they stop playing each other 4 times. In my opinion playing each other so often is one of the biggest turn offs there is in the scottish game - the fitba's pure negative pish. And the greed of the few at the expense of some very decent football clubs should not be allowed to continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW1886 Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 I'd be very surprised if the OF ever allow the vote to go through where they stop playing each other 4 times.In my opinion playing each other so often is one of the biggest turn offs there is in the scottish game - the fitba's pure negative pish. And the greed of the few at the expense of some very decent football clubs should not be allowed to continue. Was the voting structure not changed to stop that happening? i.e the Old Firm blocking motions. Used to require an 11-1 vote, but was changed to 10-2, or maybe just a majority actually, to stop the Old Firm doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoF Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 I'd be very surprised if the OF ever allow the vote to go through where they stop playing each other 4 times. Walter Smith has said he'd welcome an 18 team league. He's not in charge of the pennies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnstone Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Rangers and Celtic need to look at the bigger picture and realise that a better and more competitive league can be achieved with more teams. Rangers and Celtic also need to understand that their power on the league is diminshing due to their poor efforts in europe which has reduced their revenue. They are no longer as big a fish in a small pond. They are always going to be bigger and better than the rest due to their fan base, but its time for them to see that the decline of Scottish football direrctly effects their pockets and by improving it will not only benefit them, but also all the other teams in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcalf Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 I would hope this triggers a rethink on some chairman's priorities, cash or good of the game? I'm sure we've suffered this imbalance before but the only way to rectify it is to garner momentum among other clubs for change to a bigger league and get that split tae fuck. SHite idea in principle, even shitier in practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickoza Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Motherwell have mounted a challenge to the Scottish Premier League's post-split fixtures after joining St Mirren in condemning the announced schedule. St Mirren will take no action despite being unhappy at being handed a third game away to relegation rivals Falkirk. But Motherwell chairman John Boyle has promised to pursue "all avenues of protest" against the fixtures. They face a third fixture away to Celtic, leading Boyle to call an emergency club board meeting on Monday. And he has been left unhappy following initial talks with the SPL. "The board at Motherwell FC are deeply concerned about the outcome of the post-split fixtures and its implications for the sporting and financial position of the club," the Fir Park club said in a statement. I feel it is a disgrace that this decision has been taken by the SPL St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour "We are seeking an immediate discussion with the SPL on what has happened and why and have a duty of care to our fans, shareholders and employees to ensure that the apparent inequity we have been asked to suffer is remedied. "We understand that the SPL cannot please everyone with every fixture decision, but the decision-making process has resulted in a deeply unfair outcome both competitively and financially and we cannot let that stand." Boyle's side finished in the top six but face a third trip of the season to Celtic Park. Well's chairman is also unhappy that their two remaining home matches will not be played on Saturdays, which he claims will mean a loss in corporate hospitality revenue. Boyle also claims that there was no meeting of the SPL fixtures committee ahead of Saturday's announcement of the remaining games. Those were announced on Saturday evening after Hearts' 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock ensured that the Edinburgh side would join Well, Hibernian, Dundee United, Celtic and leaders Rangers in the top six. St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour is angry that his side will face a third trip of the season to Falkirk Stadium. The Buddies find themselves in the bottom six and, following Saturday's 2-1 defeat away to Falkirk, are now level with the Bairns at the foot of the table, with Kilmarnock just a point ahead. MY SPORT: DEBATE Give your thoughts on the SPL fixtures Gilmour did not think there was any point in mounting a challenge similar to Motherwell's. "It is a waste of energy," he told BBC Scotland. However, the St Mirren chairman remains unhappy and stood by his earlier comments made on the club website. "We are in a fight for SPL survival along with Kilmarnock and Falkirk and it seems grossly unfair that we have been asked to go and visit one of them for a third time this season," he had said. "Surely the three obvious candidates for relegation should have played each other on equal terms. "I feel it is a disgrace that this decision has been taken by the SPL and it would appear to put us at a disadvantage in the relegation battle. "This only goes to highlight one of the deficiencies of having a 12-team league." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Kerse Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Done a bit of a cut and paste job from Fatcalfs - hope that is alright MJ? To whom it may concern I have no doubt I won't be the only Motherwell fan contacting you after the release of the post-split fixtures to complain at such an unbelievably unfair set of fixtures handed to my team. Here are the particular anomalies: You have given us an uneven split of 18 home and 20 away games again. You have denied us a final game against one of the Old Firm which is considered normal and one of the alleged benefits of finishing in the top 6. Why ON EARTH don’t we have Celtic at home - is it REALLY to avoid upsetting a bigger 'establishment' of a club? - Of course it is!! You have denied us a Saturday home game which will deprive us further of much needed income in terms of attendance figures. TV money is no compensation for an empty stadium against another provincial club. You have given our rivals for the European places an advantage with this unequal set of matches which makes a mockery of the term 'competition.' Change the split to a proper league format please. 16 teams, 2 at home and 2 away - Save YOURSELVES this embarrassment and to be honest grueling task! Even the Swiss, who were the model we copied for this daft format I believe, have binned this idea. Yours faithfully Craig - Motherwell Fan who has paid over £900 in Season Tickets for a TWENTY game package..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat_tony Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 It's good to see that the club's challenging this. Even if it doesn't get anywhere it's important that we don't do what St Mirren have done and stick our heads in the sand. The scheduling of our fixtures is really pathetic and only punishes the club for having a better than expected season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperCC Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Its all bullshit from the SPL to deflect from tha fact that they only serve the needs of the scum! If fixtures are to be "seeded" then it should be done based on league positions at the split. Therefore the only team to be penalised is the one finishing in sixth place. All that had to be done was for the Hearts/Well game scheduled for Sat 24th April to be switched to Fir Park and whilst we still would have missed out on some scum visiting the Ark - all else would have been fair and equal! Aside from the fact that fairness and equality doesnt exist in Scottish football and never will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el-pidge Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 With a loss of around 200k in revenue from this, I would like to see compensation from the spl. Some free european tickets for season ticket holders wouldn't be bad either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazilian Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 a fairly stringly worded statement on the official site now as well. All the clubs must start to realise, they are killing the game by being the SPL and going ahead with these decisions season tickets holders pay for twenty competitive games and get nineteen played at stupid times on quite ridiclulous dates. Doubt I'll be renewing our season tickets next season, the end is nigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazzie Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Fair play to John Boyle and the board for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_411 Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Change the split to a proper league format please. 16 teams, 2 at home and 2 away - Save YOURSELVES this embarrassment and to be honest grueling task! You're suggesting a 60 game season? Even 1 at home and 1 away leaves you with just 30 games... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Some free european tickets for season ticket holders wouldn't be bad either! If the club propose that before we have qualified I think that would be on every team's dressing room noticeboard before we played them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star sail Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 If you were to suggest to any other governing body in world football a system whereby one team could end the season playing fewer home games than away and that the team finishing seventh in the league could have more points than the team in sixth, it would be kicked out without a second thought. It's a toy town league that is set up to favour the already favoured Old Firm. That Rangers and Celtic be the only two teams gauranteed their fair share of home and away games and be gauranteed two home games against the other makes dodgy offside decisions against Ross Forbes seem fairly reasonable. It's a complete sham! That the St Mirren chairman admits the futility of even trying to protest shows still further what little influence the smaller teams in the SPL have on the way our game is run. Attendances are plummeting, the game in Scotland is losing credibility and decisions like this are still being made. The future of Scottish Football is fairly terminal I feel unless there is a major cultural shift in the way in which the game is viewed by the administrators of the game and the press who for years have put their considerable weight and influence behind the Old Firm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggischomper Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Spot on Star Sail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 If you were to suggest to any other governing body in world football a system whereby one team could end the season playing fewer home games than away and that the teamfinishing seventh in the league could have more points than the team in sixth, it would be kicked out without a second thought. It's a toy town league that is set up to favour the already favoured Old Firm. That Rangers and Celtic be the only two teams gauranteed their fair share of home and away games and be gauranteed two home games against the other makes dodgy offside decisions against Ross Forbes seem fairly reasonable. It's a complete sham! That the St Mirren chairman admits the futility of even trying to protest shows still further what little influence the smaller teams in the SPL have on the way our game is run. Attendances are plummeting, the game in Scotland is losing credibility and decisions like this are still being made. The future of Scottish Football is fairly terminal I feel unless there is a major cultural shift in the way in which the game is viewed by the administrators of the game and the press who for years have put their considerable weight and influence behind the Old Firm. spot on bud top post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 You're suggesting a 60 game season? Even 1 at home and 1 away leaves you with just 30 games... This is what we should be looking at really. It would free up a good few weeks to have a winter break and restructure the League Cup to have those games played on the other free Saturdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rammer Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 Leeann Dempster on the fixture fiasco. BBC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 THe clubs cannot afford to swallow a loss of revenue to that degree. And there is not a single league I've seen where you only play 30 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazzie Posted April 12, 2010 Report Share Posted April 12, 2010 We could go to a league schedule of playing 30 league games if they brought back the Texaco Cup, and made it a Europa-stylee group stage. Now that, my friends, would be fucking magnificent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.