davemclaren Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 10 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said: I think playing everyone twice instead of four times is the key to a more interesting and competitive league. That wasn’t the case prior to the SPL being introduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ToqueJambo Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 9 minutes ago, davemclaren said: That wasn’t the case prior to the SPL being introduced. I was around for the 10 team premier division not earlier. Football was very different - 4 or even 5 teams going for the title some seasons. The main thing is to reign in the OF somehow. Fewer games vs them could do that for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Brown Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 4 hours ago, John Findlay said: Interesting the last time we won the league it had 18 teams in it. We all but won it in '86. After Aberdeen & DU getting their find on it. Only 10 teams then. The difference since, was the uglies realising their size and then bullying their own way to a bigger share. We've got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and competing properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brunoatemyhamster Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 2 points a win made a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 2 hours ago, ToqueJambo said: I was around for the 10 team premier division not earlier. Football was very different - 4 or even 5 teams going for the title some seasons. The main thing is to reign in the OF somehow. Fewer games vs them could do that for me. I don’t think changing league size will rein in the OF. Prior to the SPL, where you were either fighting for the title, Euro places or survival, there were a lot of meaningless games if you were stuck mid-table, which is where Hearts were most seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ToqueJambo Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 5 minutes ago, davemclaren said: I don’t think changing league size will rein in the OF. Prior to the SPL, where you were either fighting for the title, Euro places or survival, there were a lot of meaningless games if you were stuck mid-table, which is where Hearts were most seasons. Yeah, especially with only 3 automatic European places to play for just now. With more Euro places I think that would be less of a problem. I don't see many English fans complaining about the mid table thing though, and have they ever had less than 20-24 teams in their top division? There are teams in the EPL like Bournemouth and West Ham etc that are in that middle section every season, with no real danger of relegation and no real chance of a European place. For me, the variety of playing different teams less often could offset the mid table drudgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 19 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said: Yeah, especially with only 3 automatic European places to play for just now. With more Euro places I think that would be less of a problem. I don't see many English fans complaining about the mid table thing though, and have they ever had less than 20-24 teams in their top division? There are teams in the EPL like Bournemouth and West Ham etc that are in that middle section every season, with no real danger of relegation and no real chance of a European place. For me, the variety of playing different teams less often could offset the mid table drudgery. Maybe, but our wee teams are a lot more wee than the English ones. Every team in the EPL can afford some ‘star’ players to help keep interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stirlo Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 I hope ICT overcome their problems. I've always enjoyed the trips to the Highlands and they and Ross County have definitely added something to the league. As others have pointed out, there's a significant number of people who just never accepted the merger. Add to that the many up there who support one of the Old Firm and it's easy to see what the problem is. Inverness as a city is projected to grow significantly so hopefully, in time ICT will see the benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ToqueJambo Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 14 minutes ago, davemclaren said: Maybe, but our wee teams are a lot more wee than the English ones. Every team in the EPL can afford some ‘star’ players to help keep interest. True. I think it's the match-ups that would make an expanded Scottish league interesting though - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Highland, Ayrshire and Fife derbies. Proper blood and thunder football matches that should be an easy sell on TV. Kind of the antidote to the EPL circus. Edited October 4, 2019 by ToqueJambo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SectionDJambo Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Only playing Celtic and Rangers twice, instead of 4 times would give a team, managing a great record against the rest, an enhanced chance of winning the league. Instead of potentially losing 24 points to the uglies, it becomes 12. Manage a couple of positive results against them and it tightens up considerably. Mid table games would be no different to post split games, which are usually an anti climax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leginten Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, SectionDJambo said: Only playing Celtic and Rangers twice, instead of 4 times would give a team, managing a great record against the rest, an enhanced chance of winning the league. Instead of potentially losing 24 points to the uglies, it becomes 12. Manage a couple of positive results against them and it tightens up considerably. Mid table games would be no different to post split games, which are usually an anti climax. In theory the split reduces the potential for meaningless games, but in practice - and certainly in our case recently - it almost seems as if post-split games are regarded as an inconvenience. Neilson shrugged his shoulders and said the players had to be ready (!) for early European qualifiers when our underwhelming post-split performance was pointed out to him. It has got to the stage where I almost wish we would offer STs from August to the split. Edited October 5, 2019 by leginten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettigrewsstylist Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Wonder how much stadium site is worth. Builders auction i would imagine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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