Dons_1988 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 12 minutes ago, JTS98 said: I think the tv companies would see it as something they can sell. They love showing the Old Firm play anyone, so showing them play someone in a game that actually matters would appeal. Games like Hearts v Aberdeen would be along for the ride, but hardly anybody actually watches football on subscription tv these days anyway. The audiences are pitiful so I don't think anybody would bother too much about the actual viewing figures. There's no reason to assume it would have too much of an impact on the finances of our game. We'd probably only be one televised game down, since all play-off games would obviously be on tv. In play-offs arranged properly every team would get a cut of the crowd and tv money for that section of the season and those not involved would lose 2-3 home games. For sides in the bottom 6 those crowds wouldn't be huge and their cut of the money from the 9 play-off games would go a long way towards replacing that. It's hard to imagine anybody ending up massively out of pocket here. Some teams would do a great deal better. Or we could split it into three groups pre-playoffs, East Coast, West Coast, and OF, with a playoff at the end between a certain number from each group (only 1 from OF). They could play each other 33 times while the rest of us battle it out for playoff spots. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 I quite like our league. I like that town with a population of about 5k is represented in the top division along with a genuine European level club. Who cares if they get hammered occasionally? Not a fan of the duopoly, but there is more chance of a club Aberdeen's size (or even a bit smaller like the Embra cheeks) winning our league than we'd have in the big leagues. Of course, in most comparable leagues we would be one of the big clubs. I think because of the rarity we'd enjoy a league win more than the likes of Rosenberg or Copenhagen. There is no reason why the bipolar status quo will persist for ever. Remember that in that late 80s people couldn't see past the cold War being permanent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 If the salary cap idea could be imposed, there would be no need to dick around with playoffs etc. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with league seasons of many home and away fixtures. The problem is all to do with wild inequality, and it is far more pronounced in our country than nearly all comparable others, despite the bleatings on here of OF apologists. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjc Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Surely having pooled revenue which was split evenly would be easier to implement than a salary cap. It would arguably create a genuinely level playing field. Can you imagine the seethe?! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, sjc said: Surely having pooled revenue which was split evenly would be easier to implement than a salary cap. It would arguably create a genuinely level playing field. Can you imagine the seethe?! I don't think it would be any easier to implement, but it would indeed be preferable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Worth noting that we were top of the league when we lost 5-1 to Celtic last season, and we hadn't lost to them in our previous 4 meetings (2 wins at home, 2 draws away). Wasn't like it was some commonplace result. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 3 minutes ago, craigkillie said: Worth noting that we were top of the league when we lost 5-1 to Celtic last season, and we hadn't lost to them in our previous 4 meetings (2 wins at home, 2 draws away). Wasn't like it was some commonplace result. Yes, there's clearly no troubling imbalance and it's all imaginary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, craigkillie said: Worth noting that we were top of the league when we lost 5-1 to Celtic last season, and we hadn't lost to them in our previous 4 meetings (2 wins at home, 2 draws away). Wasn't like it was some commonplace result. The 76 points we got in 2016/17 is (I think) the highest ever non-OF points total (not sure if that factors in the 2 point per win era) and the lowest points total the league has been won with in the past 10 years is 79 points, and that is a considerable outlier as a bad points total for Celtic in a season. They are generally late 80's or 90's. It's incredibly difficult for any club to sustain the consistency required over a whole season with the size of squads available to the diddy sides. Clearly what Kilmarnock did was amazing and it's not impossible for a club to achieve it but even if they did it would be a one off. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JTS98 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) I think there's a danger of over-doing the Killie chat here. They were absolutely nowhere near winning the league. And nobody ever thought for one moment that they might. With good reason. Edited October 22, 2019 by JTS98 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonHMFC Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Whilst a salary cap may make our league slightly more competitive, the likes of Rangers & Celtic would have a much harder time in Europe. Which would then have a knock on effect to the coefficient . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JTS98 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, LondonHMFC said: Whilst a salary cap may make our league slightly more competitive, the likes of Rangers & Celtic would have a much harder time in Europe. Which would then have a knock on effect to the coefficient . Does that really matter? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wastecoatwilly Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, JTS98 said: Does that really matter? Not in your small country small mentality mind. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JTS98 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 1 minute ago, wastecoatwilly said: Not in your small country small mentality mind. Well, make the case for it then. Scottish teams have not been competitive in European competition for a long time. Your own team routinely gets humiliated when it appears in the top tournament, and like Ross County compared to yourselves, cannot possibly bridge the resource gap to the serious competitors. Those days are over. Why should we design our domestic competition with deference to a level of football that we simply aren't quoted in? Surely we should focus on getting the basics right? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 16 minutes ago, LondonHMFC said: Whilst a salary cap may make our league slightly more competitive, the likes of Rangers & Celtic would have a much harder time in Europe. Which would then have a knock on effect to the coefficient . What's not to like? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonS Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Scottish football shouldn't be built around supporting the aspirations of two clubs hoping to make the last 32 of the Europa League. I'm envious of countries like Norway, where 6 teams have won the league in the last 14 years, though Rosenborg have dominated most of the last few seasons. Or Denmark, with 4 different winners in the past 8 seasons. Brondby haven't won it in that time, they'll surely be competitive again at some point. Or Belgium, with a similar average attendance to what we could have without the OF, and 4 different winners in the past 5 seasons. Our "elite" football is uncompetitive, low quality and expensive. It's a testament to the fanaticism of our supporters that we still get relatively high attendances. I've long said I'd like to see things like play-offs, anything to spice it up and level the playing field a little, but it'll never happen. It's better just to give up on top league football in Scotland, it's not worth the time, money and emotional investment. This would be less depressing if it weren't for the fact that the main reason the two biggest clubs in Scotland are so far ahead of the others is a centuries-old ethno-religious conflict in another country, which killed 3,000 people in my lifetime. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the jambo-rocker Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) I've said it a couple of times now, but I think playing teams three to potentially seven times a season is running stale for me. I like my away trips to Motherwell and Easter Road, but I'd prefer just the one trip so I can have a better chance of other ones in Dundee, Dunfermline, Highlands or pretty much any other side championship. I think with the speed of the pyramid coming on as much as it has in the last five years, I think there would be enough clubs to justify a second tier with enough quality at least for two top leagues of 18. At the very least though, if you can't get over the pandering to the OF four games a season, you could probably do worse than merge the three leagues below the Premiership into two. I can only imagine how fed up some teams are meeting each other fours times a season on top of any Betfred, Scottish or dare I say it challenge cup fixtures. Edited October 22, 2019 by the jambo-rocker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 9 minutes ago, the jambo-rocker said: I've said it a couple of times now, but I think playing teams three to potentially seven times a season is running stale for me. I like my away trips to Motherwell and Easter Road, but I'd prefer just the one trip so I can have a better chance of other ones in Dundee, Dunfermline, Highlands or pretty much any other side championship. I think with the speed of the pyramid coming on as much as it has in the last five years, I think there would be enough clubs to justify a second tier with enough quality at least for two top leagues of 18. At the very least though, if you can't get over the pandering to the OF four games a season, you could probably do worse than merge the three leagues below the Premiership into two. I can only imagine how fed up some teams are meeting each other fours times a season on top of any Betfred, Scottish or dare I say it challenge cup fixtures. This would not address the actual difficulties in the game. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the jambo-rocker Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Monkey Tennis said: This would not address the actual difficulties in the game. You try dragging your ass to Livingston twice this season hurumph hurumph . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloPerth Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 I've argued for either a salary cap, or end of season play offs to decide the champions, several times on here over the years. The grim fact that we spend a lot of time and money following a professional sporting competition where only two clubs will ever have a chance of winning it, makes it ridiculous. And European money has made this a certainty, there's no longer a chance of 1980's style smaller club winning it. Hindering Celtic and rangers' progress in Europe should not be a deterrent for introducing some kind of self-imposed salary limit. The growth and success of our domestic game is far more important. In the short term, however, the only way to save Scottish football is to expand the Premiership to 16 teams at the end of the season as tree house tam suggested. 4 up from the championship, and no relegation from the Premiership would seem to be the only sensible option that all supporters of all clubs would surely embrace... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JTS98 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 38 minutes ago, PauloPerth said: In the short term, however, the only way to save Scottish football is to expand the Premiership to 16 teams at the end of the season as tree house tam suggested. 4 up from the championship, and no relegation from the Premiership would seem to be the only sensible option that all supporters of all clubs would surely embrace... Again, I don't really see what this achieves. We'd have a thirty game league season with lots of weaker teams for the Old Firm to beat. The gap between the non-Old Firm teams is small enough that they'd all continue to take point from each other. But this would just mean more winnable games for the Old Firm and more big scorelines. I don't see what it achieves. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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