The split - fixtures announced!

[Jim_Duncan]

The Dundee pitch may result in us having to wait to find out our fixtures for the last five matches. 
 

This is on top of the uneven home and away games some teams end up with AND a situation in which a team in 7th position can end up with more points than a team in 6th or even 5th. 
 

Is it time to end the split?

[Dazo]

I like your posts Jim but **** me this has been done to death. No one likes it but there is no viable alternative being put forward. 

[Jim_Duncan]

Just now, Dazo said:

I like your posts Jim but **** me this has been done to death. No one likes it but there is no viable alternative being put forward. 

Thanks. 
 

Sorry, didn’t realise it’s been done plenty of times. Not sure why we can’t just play each team four times?

[FarmerTweedy]

2 minutes ago, Jim_Duncan said:

The Dundee pitch may result in us having to wait to find out our fixtures for the last five matches. 
 

This is on top of the uneven home and away games some teams end up with AND a situation in which a team in 7th position can end up with more points than a team in 6th or even 5th. 
 

Is it time to end the split?

Are 375,234,421 threads already having this exact same discussion not enough for you? 😉

[karipidis]

2 minutes ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Thanks. 
 

Sorry, didn’t realise it’s been done plenty of times. Not sure why we can’t just play each team four times?

44 games is far too many. 

[Harry Potter]

Just now, Dazo said:

I like your posts Jim but **** me this has been done to death. No one likes it but there is no viable alternative being put forward. 

Still should moan about a system that does not work, its farcical, 

Takes them long enough to get the fixtures out normally, 10 teams, 36 games, 

[Jim_Duncan]

2 minutes ago, FarmerTweedy said:

Are 375,234,421 threads already having this exact same discussion not enough for you? 😉

Again, apologies. I can’t see any other threads near the top on this particular topic. 

[Harry Potter]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Thanks. 
 

Sorry, didn’t realise it’s been done plenty of times. Not sure why we can’t just play each team four times?

too much like common sense bud and we cant have that.

[SM Sheffield]

1 minute ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Thanks. 
 

Sorry, didn’t realise it’s been done plenty of times. Not sure why we can’t just play each team four times?

Too many fixtures. They would need to cut the league numbers to 10 in order to do this. 

[Jim_Duncan]

1 minute ago, karipidis said:

44 games is far too many. 

16 teams in two national divisions and everything else regional. Make Scottish cup ties home and away over two legs. 

[Harry Potter]

3 minutes ago, FarmerTweedy said:

Are 375,234,421 threads already having this exact same discussion not enough for you? 😉

never enough posts on this joke of a system, what other league in europe has this.

[lost in space]

What I like about the split is the Hobos targeting top 6 - almost making it - and then usually hibsing it, meaning their season is over in early April.

Hilarious.

 

[jamboinglasgow]

Going go against the grain here and say, while the system is not perfect I do think the Split has been good. On the whole it makes things more interesting and unless you completely redo the leagues its the best option for a 12 team league.

[Howdy Doody Jambo]

Yes never liked it  Scottish fitbaw is run by amateurs split's and playing teams 3 away once at home nonsense, 2 week winter breaks then having a mid- week fixture in winter months etc etc 

The split is always fixed if the arse cheeks are still playing for the league anyway 

[Randy Marsh]

There was a decent alternative put forward during our demotion but tinpot clubs like Dundee United wouldn't vote for at as they were worried about potentially losing 1 OF gate per season.  Also clubs like Aberdeen and Hibs just wanted to stick the knife into us instead of looking long term.  Its a waste of time discussing it anymore with so many short sighted clubs in the top flight.

[Pasquale for King]

As said above teams wont vote for change. 
A league where only two teams are guaranteed to have 19 home and away games is a farce, and only goes to show who the game is run for in this country. 

Edited April 10 by Pasquale for King
Spelling

[hmfc_liam06]

I like the split.

[Tommy Brown]

1 hour ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Thanks. 
 

Sorry, didn’t realise it’s been done plenty of times. Not sure why we can’t just play each team four times?

Fine you know Jim

Every ****ing season

Blame the clubs.

[db211833]

1 hour ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Thanks. 
 

Sorry, didn’t realise it’s been done plenty of times. Not sure why we can’t just play each team four times?

I am probably an outlier,  I like the split. Loads of meaningful games right to the end for most teams. Probably not including us this season..hopefully. 

[John Findlay]

1 hour ago, Dazo said:

I like your posts Jim but **** me this has been done to death. No one likes it but there is no viable alternative being put forward. 

A very viable alternative is to just knock it on the head.

[BigAlim]

What about a 33 games season? The top four could then have play offs to decide the league winners

[Thomaso]

1 hour ago, Jim_Duncan said:

The Dundee pitch may result in us having to wait to find out our fixtures for the last five matches. 
 

This is on top of the uneven home and away games some teams end up with AND a situation in which a team in 7th position can end up with more points than a team in 6th or even 5th. 
 

Is it time to end the split?

YES!!

[CMc]

League expansion is the way. Fecking boring playing everyone four or five times. 

[HeartsandonlyHearts]

1 hour ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Again, apologies. I can’t see any other threads near the top on this particular topic. 

Don’t apologize. Our league is a joke.

if we make 100,000 profit every home game but only get 18 compared to a team getting 20 how can that be seen as fair. We split after 33 games, that means teams have already played an uneven number of home and away. Someone said there’s no alternative to our system. How many moron associations use it? Of course there’s alternatives. They’re just to lazy to try and the butt cheeks know they’ll never lose the league as long as they play any other contender 4 times. Sometimes 3 times at home compared to one away. In what world with sporting integrity would that appear right?

Stick with your original thoughts.

They’re 100% spot on.

[Day@theraces]

Time for an 18 - 20 team league with 34-38 games. Make for a tighter league.

[redjambo]

1 hour ago, hmfc_liam06 said:

I like the split.

 

Yeah, me too. Adds a bit of excitement. In the old days, unless there was a close run-in for the top couple of positions, the latter part of the campaign was pretty boring, with loads of meaningless fixtures.

Edited April 10 by redjambo

[briever]

2 hours ago, Dazo said:

I like your posts Jim but **** me this has been done to death. No one likes it but there is no viable alternative being put forward. 

 

Expand the league and get rid of the split.

[Jack Torrance]

The split is ok. It's a USP for the league and keeps things interesting. I'd much prefer a larger league and playing each other fewer times, though.

[Daveandal]

I like the split and it's fairly common in Europe. Ours is actually a very simple version.

[Jambo92]

Quite like the madness tbh, 10 days to sort fixtures out.  There will about 3 different fixture plans sat waiting to go right now. Likely things will be confirmed this weekend one way or another, can't see Dundee picking up anymore points before spilt.

[redjambo]

2 minutes ago, Daveandal said:

I like the split and it's fairly common in Europe. Ours is actually a very simple version.

 

It's not that common. Only half a dozen leagues do it as far as I know, but you're right about complexity. Here's a flow diagram of the Danish set-up.

 

 

https://spflwatch.medium.com/five-european-leagues-that-do-the-split-much-differently-than-scotland-8ffab4d17a82

[Sooks]

2 hours ago, Jim_Duncan said:

The Dundee pitch may result in us having to wait to find out our fixtures for the last five matches. 
 

This is on top of the uneven home and away games some teams end up with AND a situation in which a team in 7th position can end up with more points than a team in 6th or even 5th. 
 

Is it time to end the split?

The time to get rid of it was the second that it was introduced 

 

It is a farce that only exists to further the interests of two clubs 

 

 

[Boab]

2 minutes ago, Sooks said:

The time to get rid of it was the second that it was introduced 

 

It is a farce that only exists to further the interests of two clubs 

 

 

Correct answer.

 

[Pasquale for King]

Who knows when it will be announced now the Dundee v Rangers game is postponed, further delays for fans and businesses that need to make plans. 

[Pasquale for King]

45 minutes ago, Jambo92 said:

Quite like the madness tbh, 10 days to sort fixtures out.  There will about 3 different fixture plans sat waiting to go right now. Likely things will be confirmed this weekend one way or another, can't see Dundee picking up anymore points before spilt.

You think they will announce the fixtures if Dundee can still get top 6? Unless they get a draw or win the split cant be confirmed, the teams below them cant confine them to the bottom 6.

[HeartsandonlyHearts]

11 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Who knows when it will be announced now the Dundee v Rangers game is postponed, further delays for fans and businesses that need to make plans. 

I didnt even know until your post that it was postponed. What a farce. 

[Shipwrecked]

I like the split. Playing teams 4 times a season is too much. Who wants to see  McInnes playing for a 0-0 draw home or away, or Livvy launching the ball into the sky 4 times. 

And as a bonus we get to see H*bs scrabbling to avoid being bottom 6. Hard to believe there might be 6 teams better than the flairmeisters. 

[hmfc_liam06]

2 hours ago, BigAlim said:

What about a 33 games season? The top four could then have play offs to decide the league winners

You laugh but I posted a radical idea a while back.

 

14 team league, play each other twice = 26 games.

 

League splits in two. 8 in bottom, 6 in top. 8 in bottom to make up for lack of OF game. European positions handed out after these games. (To appease the OF).

 

After the split all points are reset to 0. Play each other twice again. Top 6 play a total of 36 games. Bottom 8 play a total of 40 games. Bottom two relegated. Winner of the league gets the trophy.

 

We expand the league. We do something totally different to draw TV attention. And most importantly (for some), we keep 4 OF games.

 

It’s mental but I like it 😂

[JudyJudyJudy]

I like it . 

[tian447]

I quite like the split. It ensures teams have something to play for, however you do get the problem of it being a bit shit for the teams in 5th to 9th place. 

 

A complete league overhaul, either 18 teams with 1 home and 1 away fixture, or 16 teams with a similar split setup is required... but it's not going to happen any time soon because of the number of tinpot organisations that base their existence around getting a handful of full houses when the Old Firm turn up. 

 

There are many things wrong with Scottish football, and the Split is quite low down on the priority of where it falls down. 

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

If we have to persist with the nonsense of 12 teams and 4 gruesome games for TV then a far simpler way is 3 x 11 and then 1 more fixture as a "derby" fixture for everyone. Gives everyone 17 home games, allows a full fixture list to be set at the start of the season and keeps the broadcasters happy. Flawed? Yes, but less so than the current farce.

[Jim_Duncan]

1 hour ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

If we have to persist with the nonsense of 12 teams and 4 gruesome games for TV then a far simpler way is 3 x 11 and then 1 more fixture as a "derby" fixture for everyone. Gives everyone 17 home games, allows a full fixture list to be set at the start of the season and keeps the broadcasters happy. Flawed? Yes, but less so than the current farce.

Just let the OF play each other every week on a never ending roadshow. Week 1:Vegas, Week 2:Sydney, Week 3:Belfast, Week 4:The moon, etc and let the rest of us get on with things in peace. 

[Sooks]

Split roasted

 

****ed by two dominant football clubs to their satisfaction regardless of your own wishes 

[Super_Hans]

8 hours ago, Harry Potter said:

never enough posts on this joke of a system, what other league in europe has this.

Swiss Super League

[Ministryofdad]

8 hours ago, Jim_Duncan said:

The Dundee pitch may result in us having to wait to find out our fixtures for the last five matches. 
 

This is on top of the uneven home and away games some teams end up with AND a situation in which a team in 7th position can end up with more points than a team in 6th or even 5th. 
 

Is it time to end the split?

No it is time to expand the league. 

Restructure the entire spfl. 

18 team top flight. 

Potential to split top 6 

for the European places and league 

Remaining 12 for the relegation. 

4 teams go down 

 

12 team championship 

Top 3 go up

Playoffs for the bottom 3 vs the winners of the regional leagues. 

 

At the bottom for the relegation fight. 

An actual competitive tv mini tournament. Worthy drama unfolding as there could be points at stake for those that either could make the playoffs for the Premier league or in the playoffs and lose their spot in the championship 

A regional pyramid system below 

RDwest

Rdeast 

Rdnorth 

Consisting of 18 teams with colt reserve teams

Bit like the German divisions. 

Winning the league puts you into the championship play offs. 

 

 

That could be the money making league tournament we need to attract sponsorship and tv

Every game matters. It's a cup final. 

Winner takes all. 

Like the nfl playoffs. Like the old cup winners cup. Like the old uefa cup. 

Win you have a chance to either play in the championship or stay in it. 

 

18 team Premier league gives everyone who wants to be a professional full time footballer in Scotland the opportunity to prove themselves. 

 

Ensures every player has the opportunity to play first team football if the squad size is capped at 30 players. 

 

Means more of an opportunity for homegrown talent to shine. 

For coaches to prove themselves and most importantly gives a clear pathway for everyone to have the opportunity to showcase their talent and if good enough will provail. 

 

Would really need an German approach to importing anyone from anywhere but only a maximum of 3 no EU players registered for a team in the league at start of registration could play for your team. 

[Ministryofdad]

1 hour ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

If we have to persist with the nonsense of 12 teams and 4 gruesome games for TV then a far simpler way is 3 x 11 and then 1 more fixture as a "derby" fixture for everyone. Gives everyone 17 home games, allows a full fixture list to be set at the start of the season and keeps the broadcasters happy. Flawed? Yes, but less so than the current farce.

The English premier league you could predict who's playing who years in advance as the fixtures are the same.

 

Man u always play city in a certain month on the same date give or take a few weeks. 

Would be the same here IF we had an 18 team league. 

 

Typically we always used to play hibs in August and 100% by the end of September 

[Bungalow Bill]

12 hours ago, hmfc_liam06 said:

I like the split.

I also like the split. 

[Dazo]

11 hours ago, briever said:

 

Expand the league and get rid of the split.

I said viable, in order for that to be viable that clubs would need to agree. Never going to happen in the self interest premier league. 

[EH11 2NL]

The splits shite, some batshit crazy scheme to have 4 Glasgow derbies a season. Get it binned and extend the league, it would also make it more competitive for those chasing second place. 

 

Only positive about the split is watching Hibs scraping to try to make it, then fail. 

[S Form]

I don’t mind the split. At least it brings some jeopardy to most of the teams in the league. In the past it could be argued that it helped the OF.

Now it’s not the main reason there will never be another winner of the Premiership outside the uglies. Instead, it’s the vast amounts of money they get from Europe that guarantee their hegemony.
The only way we could have a very small chance of someone else becoming champions is to introduce a play-off for the top four at the end of the season. However, like going back to an 18-team league, it’s never going to happen.