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Scottish Masters (Charity Cup)


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Hello all,

Basically, during lockdown I was trying to work out a way to have league expansion (to accommodate teams that shouldn't have been relegated) yet keep the guarantee of the best teams playing each other four times each season.  I wonder what you think of the proposal that I sent to the SPFL in early summer for a Scottish Masters competition to be held each July between our teams who have qualified for European competitions.  As with snooker, it would be a masters tournament with the best versus the best, so it would carry its own prestige and would become valued, in time. 

I was thinking of it as a group format, with teams playing one another once, with matches taking place over the final three weekends in July.  This would dovetail with the League Cup group stage fixtures of the rest, and give our best teams domestic matches (with not much travel involved) of the highest standard to play between their midweek European ties.  I think this would improve their performances in Europe and so help boost our co-efficient. 

The matches would be played at a time when the major European leagues are usually shut down, and so may attract more attention, could be decided by the same method as the League Cup group matches (i.e. penalties shoot-outs after 90 minutes to settle drawn games, with a bonus point for winning the penalties - the 'winning draw'), with group winners being awarded the SPFL Trust Charity Cup, and some proceeds going to charity (our version of the English Charity Shield).

As it would guarantee one Old Firm match per season, if it was commercially packaged with the League then it would enable the Premiership to have fewer Old Firm matches and so enable the Premiership to expand to, say, 14 teams playing one another three times each.

Well, I didn't receive a reply to the proposal, but I thought it might be worth seeing what anyone else thinks.  Has it any potential, and could you improve it?

Cheers!   

Edited by RabidAl
To retire.
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I think there's merit in the idea, but I don't think the clubs will want it given that they often use those weekends for "glamour" friendlies.

If one team is playing in the Europa League on Thursday and their opponents are in the Champions League on the Tuesday that's the weekend fixture immediately kiboshed. Also, there are going to be 5 teams in Europe next summer.

Edited by craigkillie
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On 06/08/2020 at 13:11, craigkillie said:

I think there's merit in the idea, but I don't think the clubs will want it given that they often use those weekends for "glamour" friendlies.

If one team is playing in the Europa League on Thursday and their opponents are in the Champions League on the Tuesday that's the weekend fixture immediately kiboshed. Also, there are going to be 5 teams in Europe next summer.

Wonder how they'll re-jig the league cup groups to accommodate 5 teams potentially in midweek EU action. This idea may have given games for those KO'd early, or for the wider squads, although that's not much commendation for a new competition.

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55 minutes ago, prodcast said:

Wonder how they'll re-jig the league cup groups to accommodate 5 teams potentially in midweek EU action. This idea may have given games for those KO'd early, or for the wider squads, although that's not much commendation for a new competition.

Would guess that they'll invite an extra HL/LL team in (maybe the runners-up from whichever league won the play-off) and then just make it three best runners-up instead of four.

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Makes sense.

At a stretch this Scottish Masters could go along similar lines to the League Cup, with a group of the 5 European qualifiers playing Saturday tea times from the last weekend in June to the end of July. The teams involved in earliest qualifiers would have to play first to see the benefit of the competition. 

Or some of the fixtures could be scheduled midweek for those who either had not started their European campaigns yet, or who had been knocked out early. So a group of 5 could maybe take place throughout July on that basis.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 07/08/2020 at 06:48, Sergeant Wilson said:

How often do you send proposals?

On average, about one per year - to either the SPFL or the SFA, depending upon what's upsetting me. They've even replied, once or twice; decent folk, I find.

Edited by RabidAI
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