The Exciting Race for the Premiership Playoffs

[bridge of allan bairn]

falkirk have 8 games to play so thought I'd look at the form over last 8 games and see if that were replicated how many points we might end up with and the other teams. totally appreciate thus is far from an exact science as doesn't allow for teams having played more away games injuries playing more in form teams etc...but just for fun....

st mirren and livi would both finish comfortably 1st and 2nd as you would expect. then...

Morton 55 points all approx
United 52 points
ffc and pars 51 points
queens 49 points
Inverness 41 points

[Marshmallo]

12 hours ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

Do people forget that play-offs aren't supposed to be "fair"? Fair would be the top two replacing the bottom two of the division above. Really, if you don't win the league, you have no right to say you "deserve" anything and if you're that good, you should easily defeat the lower ranked side/s.

Play-offs are designed to keep things exciting towards the end of the season. Imagine how atrocious this season would be without them.

There is an argument over who is better between 11th and 2nd as they've been in different leagues all season.

There's no argument that 2nd has proven themselves to be better than 3rd and 4th in the same league.

[Gaz FFC]

13 hours ago, Poet of the Macabre said:

Play-offs are designed to keep things exciting towards the end of the season. Imagine how atrocious this season would be without them.

Or remember 1998 - 2013

[AyrshireTon]

Two up, two down - as it was before.

f**k the play offs.

[Coventry Saint]

7 minutes ago, AyrshireTon said:

Two up, two down - as it was before.

f**k the play offs.

Clearly still reeling from the Peterhead debacle, IMO. 

[IainMorton]

17 minutes ago, Coventry Saint said:

Clearly still reeling from the Peterhead debacle, IMO. 

We won the league the season after, but it did hurt at the time.

I’m not sure how I feel about the playoffs this season as I got a bit carried away last season and genuinely thought we were going to go up, before we made an arse of it and went our last 10 or so games without a win. Not going to make that mistake again this season, in the hope that it does actually happen this time!

EDIT if we get there of course... 

[madton]

4 hours ago, bridge of allan bairn said:

falkirk have 8 games to play so thought I'd look at the form over last 8 games and see if that were replicated how many points we might end up with and the other teams. totally appreciate thus is far from an exact science as doesn't allow for teams having played more away games injuries playing more in form teams etc...but just for fun....

st mirren and livi would both finish comfortably 1st and 2nd as you would expect. then...

Morton 55 points all approx
United 52 points
ffc and pars 51 points
queens 49 points
Inverness 41 points
 

I'd take that but i still fancy United to finish 3rd.

They have Dumbarton twice and Brechin which should be 9 points which takes them to 54 with still 6 games left. Surely even United can get 9/9 from those 3?

For us, think if we get 11/12 out of 18, that should be enough to finish 4th. Would mean Dunfermline or Queens would need to take around 15-16 points from 18. We have 4  tough but winnable home games and we should be aiming to win them all.  If we do, we should be home and dry. 

 

[Coventry Saint]

12 minutes ago, IainMorton said:

We won the league the season after, but it did hurt at the time.

I’m not sure how I feel about the playoffs this season as I got a bit carried away last season and genuinely thought we were going to go up, before we made an arse of it and went our last 10 or so games without a win. Not going to make that mistake again this season, in the hope that it does actually happen this time!

EDIT if we get there of course... 

I think you'll get there. Someone posted the odds - you were 1/2 to finish top four, which seemed like a fairly sound investment to me. As it stands, I'd fancy your chances against United in the first two games, too, as long as they don't sack Shabba and appoint a good manager (if I was doing their PR, I'd be publicly linking Duffy with their job two days before the first game  ).

Your issue will be Livi, who I was very impressed by (obviously I have to say that; they gubbed us), but even then, you could take them over two legs. Reaching the final would be a very good achievement, IMO.

[The Moonster]

8 minutes ago, madton said:

They have Dumbarton twice and Brechin which should be 9 points which takes them to 54 with still 6 games left. Surely even United can get 9/9 from those 3?

It's funny because I'm actually looking at our double header with the Arabs as a potential place to pick up points in our run in. 

[Shandon Par]

We were kept down by Aberdeen in one of the very first playoffs. Got relegated in playoffs by Alloa then kept down in League One by Cowden. Still like the idea of them. Yes it's a bit contrived but it generates the odd moment of comedy brilliance (such as us getting pumped by Cowden or Mohsni's meltdown). 

[bridge of allan bairn]

I'd take that but i still fancy United to finish 3rd.
They have Dumbarton twice and Brechin which should be 9 points which takes them to 54 with still 6 games left. Surely even United can get 9/9 from those 3?
For us, think if we get 11/12 out of 18, that should be enough to finish 4th. Would mean Dunfermline or Queens would need to take around 15-16 points from 18. We have 4  tough but winnable home games and we should be aiming to win them all.  If we do, we should be home and dry. 
 

in their last 8 games United have averaged 0.75 points per game. of course they could improve but I'm not sure it'll be easy for them to turn it around so dramatically and get 9/9 especially the two games versus Dumbarton

[AyrshireTon]

1 hour ago, Coventry Saint said:

Clearly still reeling from the Peterhead debacle, IMO. 

I wasn’t actually thinking of that, in truth - was thinking more of the top flight.

When it was 2 up and 2 down it kept the leagues fresh and no one was denied promotion or saved from relegation.  No one went into administration trying to chase a solitary promotion place (and missing out). The closed shop attitude of the top flight stinks and always will. I delight in seeing teams come down and shit themselves when they look like they might fail to return at the first attempt.

 

[madton]

45 minutes ago, bridge of allan bairn said:

1 hour ago, madton said:

I'd take that but i still fancy United to finish 3rd.
They have Dumbarton twice and Brechin which should be 9 points which takes them to 54 with still 6 games left. Surely even United can get 9/9 from those 3?
For us, think if we get 11/12 out of 18, that should be enough to finish 4th. Would mean Dunfermline or Queens would need to take around 15-16 points from 18. We have 4  tough but winnable home games and we should be aiming to win them all.  If we do, we should be home and dry. 
 

in their last 8 games United have averaged 0.75 points per game. of course they could improve but I'm not sure it'll be easy for them to turn it around so dramatically and get 9/9 especially the two games versus Dumbarton

I know their form has been rancid, but Dumbarton's form is also horrific apart from a couple of wins against Brechin. ( They haven't beat anyone apart from Brechin in almost 4 months)

If DU fail to take 9/9 I'd be amazed.

[IainMorton]

1 hour ago, Coventry Saint said:

Reaching the final would be a very good achievement, IMO.

I think if we got to the final I’d end up having a stroke, and not in a good way  

[Poet of the Macabre]

4 hours ago, Marshmallo said:

There is an argument over who is better between 11th and 2nd as they've been in different leagues all season.

There's no argument that 2nd has proven themselves to be better than 3rd and 4th in the same league.

I'm not sure what your point is? I totally agree that 2nd has proven to better than 3rd or 4th. I still think play-offs are far more exciting than just promoting the top two at the end of the season.

I would make the final a one-off game at a neutral venue though. Could even make the quarters and semis one-leg games and hold them at the ground of the side finishing higher in the table, which would give more of an advantage for finishing higher in the table.

 

[pozbaird]

29 minutes ago, IainMorton said:

I think if we got to the final I’d end up having a stroke, and not in a good way  

You need to do something with that avatar pic. There’s only so long I can go without mentioning Super Bowl 50.  

[Coventry Saint]

44 minutes ago, AyrshireTon said:

I delight in seeing teams come down and shit themselves when they look like they might fail to return at the first attempt.

 

 Can't imagine what you're on about there!

But yeah, it's a pretty common phenomenon, with us, ICT, Hibs, the Arabs, all massively failing to go straight back up in recent years. I am broadly in favour of the playoffs as a mechanism to help add interest to the league below, but I do agree it should be two guaranteed promotion spots with two teams definitely coming down, if only to mix the leagues up more often. 

[IainMorton]

4 minutes ago, pozbaird said:

You need to do something with that avatar pic. There’s only so long I can go without mentioning Super Bowl 50.  

 

[senorsoupe]

In Football Manager 2017 I got Morton promoted by beating Hamilton in the playoffs in my first season so I voted for that to happen.  Given the state Dundee United are in at the moment it's just as likely as them going up anyways.

[Granny Danger]

1 hour ago, bridge of allan bairn said:

 In their last 8 games United have averaged 0.75 points per game. of course they could improve but I'm not sure it'll be easy for them to turn it around so dramatically and get 9/9 especially the two games versus Dumbarton

That’s a very fair point.  Any non-Arab posting on here about our capabilities has not had to watch us playing all these games.

We are rank rotten at the moment and only a lucky goal on Saturday stopped it from being yet another defeat.  That’s not to take anything away from Scott McDonald who deserved the goal for hard work and persistence.