givememychoice Posted February 9 Posted February 9 If all 3 teams are still in the running, what will the authorities do? They are desperate to avoid a title decider, which is easy enough to do when there is only 2. Basically, if they are very close, you have it as first game, if they are far apart, have it as the last game. But, with 3 teams, that covers 3 of the 5 weeks of fixtures. Furthermore, how are they decided? Its always stunk a bit that the focus is purely on the top 2, but there could be a slight acceptance (maybe) as it was the title fight. And having a single match meant that it was hard for either side to claim a harder run. Again, with 3, it becomes tricky. Do they manually pick the fixtures? If so, who, and why? Seems anti sporting.
Geoff Kilpatrick Posted February 9 Posted February 9 There will be derby fixtures for everyone on Game 34. Then we will be back to back with the gruesomes Games 35 and 36
AC Mallin_51 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I’ll take a stab the now Rangers H Hibs A Falkirk H (old firm same weekend) Motherwell A Celtic A
joondalupjambo Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Said for ages we need to be six points ahead at the split to win the league. Hopefully we have that lead, and a fully fit set of key players and we can do it. The games will involve TV, Police and the SFA so who knows how they will fall if the current top three are in the running. A home game for our last match would be good.
Gorgie_Rules Posted February 9 Posted February 9 (edited) 4 minutes ago, joondalupjambo said: Said for ages we need to be six points ahead at the split to win the league. Hopefully we have that lead, and a fully fit set of key players and we can do it. The games will involve TV, Police and the SFA so who knows how they will fall if the current top three are in the running. A home game for our last match would be good. Hibs (H) Falkirk (H) Aberdeen (H) Kilmarnock (A) Dundee (H) Livi (A) Dundee (H) Win all 7 of the above games (which is doable based on our results this season and the fact its 5 at home and the bottom 2 away) then there is a high chance we can go into the split with a 6 point lead, even with defeat at Ibrox. We really need Celtic to drop out of it but be safe in 3rd, that way they ought to gift us the 3 points in the split to stuff Rangers which only makes 4 of the games be competitive. I'd fancy us at home to Rangers and Falkirk, therefore a 4 point lead may be enough. Edited February 9 by Gorgie_Rules
Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Cant say I'm really bothered, all have to play each other, all difficult matches, take it as it comes
Percival King Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I think the police are reluctant to have a title decider that involves the uglies because of the carnage which it would cause but there's maybe less of a concern if it involved us and one of the cheeks. Maybe more of a concern would be us winning the league at the Docksiders, imagine!!!!
vegas-voss Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Don't know why but I think we have to be at least 6 in front going into the split.There will no doubt be one of the Old Firm that somehow manages to win 4 out of the 5 games.
The Maroon Jacket Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I would love it just love it for a play off at Parkhead last game winner takes all
busbyfth Posted February 9 Posted February 9 2 hours ago, givememychoice said: If all 3 teams are still in the running, what will the authorities do? They are desperate to avoid a title decider, which is easy enough to do when there is only 2. Basically, if they are very close, you have it as first game, if they are far apart, have it as the last game. But, with 3 teams, that covers 3 of the 5 weeks of fixtures. Furthermore, how are they decided? Its always stunk a bit that the focus is purely on the top 2, but there could be a slight acceptance (maybe) as it was the title fight. And having a single match meant that it was hard for either side to claim a harder run. Again, with 3, it becomes tricky. Do they manually pick the fixtures? If so, who, and why? Seems anti sporting. Theres an unwritten agreement in place each term that ensures the OF do not play their derby when the title can be officially won by either team....this usually makes a game between the two quite early in the post split proceedings......BUT this year might be far more awkward - bet the SPFL heid yins are crapping themselves right now, hoping that at least one of the three clubs falls away. If not - then look for the CvR HvR CvH games possibly being in the first three rounds....the OF match up especially, getting played early doors !!! How is this actually fair to all 6 clubs ? (it should be drawn partially by chance rather than enveigling, so if the OF decide the title on the last day so be it.......BUT THE POLICE HAVE STEPPED IN WITH THEIR DEMANDS).
jock _turd Posted February 9 Posted February 9 How sad is it that what should be the best possible end to the season is verboten... not that we want this to be the case this season Only in Scotland what should be the showcase game to end the season has to be disallowed.
Madvlad65 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Don't forget motherwell they could still be in there with an outside chance
martoon Posted February 9 Posted February 9 No chance of an OF game on the last day, of course, but the SPFL will have no qualms about one of them playing us. Remember 20 years ago. I'm not saying they will do that but I wouldn't be surprised. This is my guess: (A) Hibs (plus OF game) (H) Falkirk (A) Celtic (H) Rangers (A) Motherwell
AC Mallin_51 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 4 hours ago, joondalupjambo said: Said for ages we need to be six points ahead at the split to win the league. Hopefully we have that lead, and a fully fit set of key players and we can do it. The games will involve TV, Police and the SFA so who knows how they will fall if the current top three are in the running. A home game for our last match would be good. I’ve heard a few people say this, honestly I’d take being top in any capacity going into the split. All 3 teams will drop points. Our record v the OF this season speaks for itself, I’d especially fancy us at Tynecastle v Rangers too. Plus we should (hopefully) have a full strength team back by then. All 5 games will be hard, but all winnable imo. I don’t think it needs to be 6 points to have a chance, honestly if we are 6 points clear going into the split then I’d file it under complete disaster if we then didn’t win the league
joondalupjambo Posted February 9 Posted February 9 2 minutes ago, AC Mallin_51 said: I’ve heard a few people say this, honestly I’d take being top in any capacity going into the split. All 3 teams will drop points. Our record v the OF this season speaks for itself, I’d especially fancy us at Tynecastle v Rangers too. Plus we should (hopefully) have a full strength team back by then. All 5 games will be hard, but all winnable imo. I don’t think it needs to be 6 points to have a chance, honestly if we are 6 points clear going into the split then I’d file it under complete disaster if we then didn’t win the league I think the six ahead, for me anyway is because, like you I think teams post split will all take points off each other so a lead like that should give us the title. I can see other permutations might work but a big cushion just means less pressure and no potential repeat of 86.
AC Mallin_51 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 50 minutes ago, joondalupjambo said: I think the six ahead, for me anyway is because, like you I think teams post split will all take points off each other so a lead like that should give us the title. I can see other permutations might work but a big cushion just means less pressure and no potential repeat of 86. Yeah, don’t get me wrong in terms of pressure a cushion going into the split would help. 6 points would allow us to drop points in at least 2 games out of 5. It’d even help settle the crowd, could you imagine the tension if we were a point ahead of Rangers and played them at Tynecastle? In an ideal world, we have a 4+ point gap after the Motherwell game in April. But if you offered me 1 point clear right now, I’d probably take it
JJ1984 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Wee team first Huns home celtic away Falkirk home Motherwell away
feedthefox Posted February 9 Posted February 9 This all highlights something which I think is a bit overlooked, goal difference. With it being this tight I can see goal difference determining 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd (who knows maybe all 3!!) We really need to put a couple of teams to the sword to bump that difference up, I get 3pts is probably all that matters but winning 1 nil v Livi at home just isn't good enough. If we're ahead we need to be making positive changes and not sitting content with just 3pts. You just know the uglies are going to scud some teams at home and we will not make it up post split when games in theory should be more competitive. Be pretty galling to miss out due to not going all out to win big when the chances come our way. PS. I'm assuming it does go down to goal difference btw.
Drylaw Hearts Posted February 9 Posted February 9 With 3 away games due….the post split fixture list is never going to look good for us.
EH11 2NL Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Hibs 4th or 5th game would be epic if we had the chance to win it.
HeartsandonlyHearts Posted February 9 Posted February 9 9 minutes ago, feedthefox said: This all highlights something which I think is a bit overlooked, goal difference. With it being this tight I can see goal difference determining 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd (who knows maybe all 3!!) We really need to put a couple of teams to the sword to bump that difference up, I get 3pts is probably all that matters but winning 1 nil v Livi at home just isn't good enough. If we're ahead we need to be making positive changes and not sitting content with just 3pts. You just know the uglies are going to scud some teams at home and we will not make it up post split when games in theory should be more competitive. Be pretty galling to miss out due to not going all out to win big when the chances come our way. PS. I'm assuming it does go down to goal difference btw. Dundee and Dundee Utd were two games we should have went for the jugular. Hearts more than most teams should know how important goal difference can be. We’ve also shot ourselves in the foot a bunch of times this season with absolutely dumb decision making in front of goal. We easily should be on over 50 goals scored. 3 points is the goal obviously but there’s nothing wrong with being clinical with it once the points are guaranteed. 5-1 final scoreline from May 2012 still irks me. It should have been 10 is quite funny but it really should have been 7. Minimum.
FarmerTweedy Posted February 9 Posted February 9 8 hours ago, AC Mallin_51 said: I’ll take a stab the now Rangers H Hibs A Falkirk H (old firm same weekend) Motherwell A Celtic A That won't be it, we'll be at home either the 2nd last or last game.
Shaggy2 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 5 hours ago, martoon said: No chance of an OF game on the last day, of course, but the SPFL will have no qualms about one of them playing us. Remember 20 years ago. I'm not saying they will do that but I wouldn't be surprised. This is my guess: (A) Hibs (plus OF game) (H) Falkirk (A) Celtic (H) Rangers (A) Motherwell Close to what I think as well. Can see all 3 being at different places on final day. Motherwell, with 4,000 capacity for away fans would be our best away match.
soonbe110 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 3 hours ago, joondalupjambo said: I think the six ahead, for me anyway is because, like you I think teams post split will all take points off each other so a lead like that should give us the title. I can see other permutations might work but a big cushion just means less pressure and no potential repeat of 86. Yep, however if only two clubs are involved tribal stuff will come into play as well I suspect depending on how close other positions are If Celtic were out of it would they lie down to us to stop Rangers winning the league? Would be interesting to see The way it stands atm the top five all have a lot to play for so if it remains the same points will be dropped all over the place so a cushion at the split could be the deciding issue
martoon Posted February 9 Posted February 9 14 minutes ago, Shaggy2 said: Close to what I think as well. Can see all 3 being at different places on final day. Motherwell, with 4,000 capacity for away fans would be our best away match. No complaints from me if that's how our fixtures turn out. Fat chance, mind, but...
Morgan Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I’ve no idea how the games will pan out, but agree that if we are six clear at the split, the title is (probably) ours. 🤞
Famous 1874 Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Hibs (A) will be one of the first 2 you'd imagine. Hibs (A) Rangers (H) Celtic (A) Motherwell (A) Falkirk (H) That's my guess
martoon Posted February 9 Posted February 9 27 minutes ago, cookieboy said: what fixture is midweek is it 36 ? Game 37, bud. May 12-13.
cookieboy Posted February 9 Posted February 9 2 hours ago, martoon said: Game 37, bud. May 12-13. Hibs away certainty on 13th , grandsons 21st ,missed his first as we beat Gretna , party is on the 15th then the BIG party on the 16th
givememychoice Posted February 10 Author Posted February 10 On 09/02/2026 at 18:40, soonbe110 said: Yep, however if only two clubs are involved tribal stuff will come into play as well I suspect depending on how close other positions are If Celtic were out of it would they lie down to us to stop Rangers winning the league? Would be interesting to see The way it stands atm the top five all have a lot to play for so if it remains the same points will be dropped all over the place so a cushion at the split could be the deciding issue ooh, that could be an interesting one. Obviously depends on where they can finish. If we are on say 85, rangers 82 and Celtic 79 going in to the last day and we play Celtic....Celtic would have to try and win to get champions league football and hope rangers get beaten. But if they were on 78..particularly if they were in the scottish cup final. With absolutely nothing to play for in the league, they would have to concentrate on the cup final.... but there are so many variables at the moment.
Charlie-Brown Posted February 10 Posted February 10 I don't know what the fixtures will be but they're going to have to do some jiggery pokery around balancing home & away games unless they don't. As it stands Celtic Hibs Motherwell Falkirk would all be away games. We are as of tonight guaranteed top 6 post split.
GYL Posted February 10 Posted February 10 First game post split will be Hibs away And Celtic v Rangers....guaranteed
FarmerTweedy Posted February 10 Posted February 10 1 minute ago, GYL said: First game post split will be Hibs away And Celtic v Rangers....guaranteed No guarantee of your first prediction, Aberdeen are only 11 points behind the vermin with two games in hand, and they play each other at the tawdry pit in the last pre-split fixture! Also, I think bigotfest has often been the 2nd weekend rather than the first. Not sure why but possibly to give the police more time to sort out their staffing/shifts!
Sooperstar Posted February 11 Posted February 11 Rangers the only current top 6 team we will be due a home game against? So likely that Falkirk will be made to come to Tynecastle for a 3rd time would be my guess. Really it should be the team in 6th come split time. Sure that's where we lost out a few seasons ago.
RDSK Posted February 11 Posted February 11 It would be very interesting if Hibs were to fall well behind Falkirk and Falkirk, at the same time, made up some ground on Motherwell to get themselves in contention for 4th place. If Hibs have nothing to play for, the SPFL would surely have to consider bringing Hibs to Tynecastle for a 3rd time rather than Falkirk.
spyro Posted February 11 Posted February 11 Is it likely that we play any of the old firm on the final day or would they try an give us motherwell/falkirk? Assuming all 3 could still win the title obv
Hearts007 Posted February 11 Posted February 11 On 09/02/2026 at 12:38, martoon said: No chance of an OF game on the last day, of course, but the SPFL will have no qualms about one of them playing us. Remember 20 years ago. I'm not saying they will do that but I wouldn't be surprised. This is my guess: (A) Hibs (plus OF game) (H) Falkirk (A) Celtic (H) Rangers (A) Motherwell Correct it will be first game
BigStein Posted February 11 Posted February 11 Any run of games is going to be really tough with the teams involved. I think we’ll need to stretch our lead going in to split
Mr Sifter Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Talking to a mate about this the other day. Now I won’t even pretend to know how the hell they work post split fixtures out, but I know that each team needs a certain amount of home games, and Sky will dictate the games they want to show (within the pre defined parameters)…but I’d almost guarantee we will get shafted. By the way, the mate I mentioned is a Celtic fan (genuinely decent boy 🤪) but he pointed out to me that post split, Rangers and Celtic have ALWAYS had two home and two away games v each other when all is said and done. Haven’t we had to go to Easter Road and/or Parkheid and/or Ibrox three times in one season before? Yet that never happens to the Old Firm sides. Funny that eh? By rights, we have to go to Parkheid, Ibrox Easter Road, Fir Park and Motherwell after the split. But that would be the first time EVER that a team would be asked to do that. There is ALWAYS an inaccuracy with this stupid split/TV limitations…so watch us somehow score a home fixture v Falkirk 🤪
Absolute Scenes Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Could they make us go to Glasgow twice? Surely there’s some aspect that plays into it that prevents a team having to play both the OF away from home?
Absolute Scenes Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Also they couldn’t make a team have four away games in the split. It just cannot happen jn the law of fairness.
stu.m Posted February 13 Posted February 13 We will have Rangers and probably Falkirk at home ( 3rd time v Falkirk )
Mr Sifter Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Sorry mods, appreciate the merge. Never saw the other thread 👍🏼 Tell you what though, a quick scan of this thread highlights multiple reasons why the split doesn’t work. It’s unfair on the rest of the teams when it’s a two horse race, but a three horse race means it’s virtually impossible to guarantee fairness when producing post split fixtures. An absolute disgrace to be honest.
Mr Sifter Posted February 13 Posted February 13 11 minutes ago, Absolute Scenes said: Also they couldn’t make a team have four away games in the split. It just cannot happen jn the law of fairness. But if we’ve played everyone at home twice already, and yet only once away, the law of fairness would suggest thats EXACTLY what we should do!! This is the point I am making, it’s an absolute scandal that the structure of the League Championship is not fully in place before a ball is kicked. To have 3/4 of the league played before then authorities then decide what happens next is scandalous.
jambo191 Posted February 13 Posted February 13 I think we will have Falkirk at home last day of the season. The day we lift the title 😍
Jambo-Fox Posted February 13 Posted February 13 (edited) 35 minutes ago, stu.m said: We will have Rangers and probably Falkirk at home ( 3rd time v Falkirk ) Why not have Rangers and Celtic (3rd time at home) as our two home games? We’ve got to play one top six team three times at home so why not just draw them out of a hat, Hibs, Celtic, Motherwell or Falkirk? NB that might not be possible if any of these 4 teams need all their ‘scheduled’ matches to give them 19 home and 19 away games. They’d only move a ‘scheduled’ home match if they were heading for 20 home games. Edited February 13 by Jambo-Fox
boag1874 Posted February 13 Posted February 13 It'll be basically impossible to guarantee avoiding a title decider tbh
EH11 2NL Posted February 13 Posted February 13 If Falkirk are above Hibs, it should absolutely be Hibs at Tynecastle again. That's how it works, how its always worked. The lower down you are, the less priority you are. I fancy a title win at ER, but just imagine against that lot at a full Tynecastle.
Cade Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Winning the league at Easter Road on the final day, scoring twice in injury time to come back from being 1-0 down would be quite the thing.
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