andyg83 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 it was also possible to "game the system" by picking the right friendlies to propel you up the rankings as Wales did. Nations League doesn't allow that to happen now. I remember being angry at Levein taking a friendly v Brazul rather than handpicking one that would have got us into a pot 3 ranking. we lost and went into pot!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyg83 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 I remember being angry at Levein taking a friendly v Brazul rather than handpicking one that would have got us into a pot 3 ranking. we lost and went into pot!!!!edit - pot 4 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cptn Hooch Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 I'm certainly not gonna pretend I fully understand it all but I understand what it means to Scotland which is the most important thing. Its certainly given teams like us a chance at decent competitive(ish) football even if it's not officially recognised by FIFA 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfie Conns sideburns Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 A big thank you to the nations league for turning 6 meaningless friendlies into ..... erm........ 6 glorified friendlies? -6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cptn Hooch Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 20 hours ago, TAJ said: Did we win anything? A Nation's League Carriage Clock....if we'd beaten Ukraine we'd have won the Speed Boat 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Early days those favouring it were a minority. It was widely derided and seen as over-complicated. I think increasing sections to 4 - and so virtually cutting it from 4 divisions to 3 - made it fairer and gave extra credibility. What pleases most is that it's already being taken seriously in and of itself e.g. results and promotion/relegation 'matter'. It's not just seen as a kickabout with some back-up playoff places. I think adding South Americans may be retrograde tbh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_K_97 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 I think it's very hard to fault in the current format. As others have said, it removes all the pishy, meaningless friendlies that barely seemed to get Hampden half-full and has given us a chance to finally break the duck of not getting to a tournament for 23 years. We'll have to wait until a week on Sunday to see what the draw gives us, but this is a brilliant chance to get ourselves to Germany in 2 summers' time. Add to all that, it gives us a chance to play some world-class sides at Hampden and really test ourselves. I have a feeling that we'll struggle to stay in league A, but Clarke will give it a really good go. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Cptn Hooch said: even if it's not officially recognised by FIFA Is it not? Did it not potentially carry qualification for a World Cup play-off place, had we not folded post Belgrade piss up, last time round? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 17 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said: Is it not? Did it not potentially carry qualification for a World Cup play-off place, had we not folded post Belgrade piss up, last time round? It counts for World Cup playoff places (Austria and Czech Republic got them) but I think UNL games count as friendlies in the fifa rankings 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Donathan said: It counts for World Cup playoff places (Austria and Czech Republic got them) but I think UNL games count as friendlies in the fifa rankings Ah, I see what you mean. Edited September 28, 2022 by Monkey Tennis 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Donathan said: It counts for World Cup playoff places (Austria and Czech Republic got them) but I think UNL games count as friendlies in the fifa rankings 46 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said: Ah, I see what you mean. To be accurate: NL games are worth 1.5x what friendlies are, and 3/5 of what qualifiers & playoffs are. ('Finals Tournament' games are worth same as qualifiers & playoffs). Unsurprising tbh... only UEFA + CONCACAF operate 'Nations Leagues'. I'd only do minor alterations. 'Finals Tournament' should be group with top 2 contesting Final. Division D should be single group playing 3 home/3 away with top 2 promoted (or 4 into inter-divisional playoffs?). Qualifying playoffs being 1-legged should be in single nations/cities, not home advantage seeded or drawn. It helped us to Euros but I'm also no fan of playoff pathways ringfenced for lower divisions/etc. Edited September 28, 2022 by HibeeJibee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 10 hours ago, HibeeJibee said: To be accurate: NL games are worth 1.5x what friendlies are, and 3/5 of what qualifiers & playoffs are. ('Finals Tournament' games are worth same as qualifiers & playoffs). Unsurprising tbh... only UEFA + CONCACAF operate 'Nations Leagues'. I'd only do minor alterations. 'Finals Tournament' should be group with top 2 contesting Final. Division D should be single group playing 3 home/3 away with top 2 promoted (or 4 into inter-divisional playoffs?). Qualifying playoffs being 1-legged should be in single nations/cities, not home advantage seeded or drawn. It helped us to Euros but I'm also no fan of playoff pathways ringfenced for lower divisions/etc. The rest seems fair enough, but the bolded is a must for me. I'd hold the finals tournament and the playoffs in the same country in the March prior to the tournament, maybe even in the same country the tournament is going to be at in the summer. Make it into a proper event, with the top sides playing out their lifeless friendlies and the diddies fighting it out for those last places. The home advantage stuff just carries far, far too much weight to be truly fair. I'm not sure getting a better record over 6 games against 3 different nations should really give you home advantage in the semi, but that's at least based on something. The final venue being a coin toss is nonsense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 18 minutes ago, forameus said: The rest seems fair enough, but the bolded is a must for me. I'd hold the finals tournament and the playoffs in the same country in the March prior to the tournament, maybe even in the same country the tournament is going to be at in the summer. Make it into a proper event, with the top sides playing out their lifeless friendlies and the diddies fighting it out for those last places. The home advantage stuff just carries far, far too much weight to be truly fair. I'm not sure getting a better record over 6 games against 3 different nations should really give you home advantage in the semi, but that's at least based on something. The final venue being a coin toss is nonsense. As an absolute minimum they should always host the final at the venue of the 1v4 winner. The top seed has earned home advantage right through the playoffs and if the 4th seed can go and win there away from home then they have earned home advantage for the final. Both times we’ve been seeded 1st in the playoffs and both times we’ve been drawn to play the final away from home. It’s never actually been an issue for us because we won away from home once and failed to even make the final the other time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 Neutral games seem like an absolutely terrible idea to me, hardly anyone will turn up for them and it's a pain in the arse to attend for fans of either team. Look at the World Cup ones that were held in Qatar in June, two massive games involving four countries with a decent football culture and they were struggling to scrape five figure attendances. You'd have had 80k in Australia, 30k in Costa Rica, and probably 40k in New Zealand and Peru. It either has to be done over two legs, or priority has to be given to the highest finishers regardless of the logistics involved. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 3 hours ago, craigkillie said: Neutral games seem like an absolutely terrible idea to me, hardly anyone will turn up for them and it's a pain in the arse to attend for fans of either team. Look at the World Cup ones that were held in Qatar in June, two massive games involving four countries with a decent football culture and they were struggling to scrape five figure attendances. You'd have had 80k in Australia, 30k in Costa Rica, and probably 40k in New Zealand and Peru. It either has to be done over two legs, or priority has to be given to the highest finishers regardless of the logistics involved. Agreed. The neutral thing would have worked fine during Covid when they were playing in empty stadia anyway, but with fans back there's nothing wrong with a home advantage match. I don't want two legs either. Leaving aside the difficulty of fitting those extra games in, there's always such an anticlimax about a 1st leg anyway regardless of the result. The present arrangement is fine other than the potential question mark about where the final is played. Should it go to the No 1 seed and then No 2, 3, etc if those are beaten in the semis? Or should it go to the winner of a particular semi (either the one the No 1 seed is in or just drawn out of a hat)? There are arguments for and against all of these. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pie Of The Month Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 (edited) On 29/09/2022 at 10:39, craigkillie said: Neutral games seem like an absolutely terrible idea to me, hardly anyone will turn up for them and it's a pain in the arse to attend for fans of either team. Look at the World Cup ones that were held in Qatar in June, two massive games involving four countries with a decent football culture and they were struggling to scrape five figure attendances. You'd have had 80k in Australia, 30k in Costa Rica, and probably 40k in New Zealand and Peru. It either has to be done over two legs, or priority has to be given to the highest finishers regardless of the logistics involved. It's much more of a pain in the arse when you get an away draw for the final and you're left with the choice of either waiting to see if your team gets through and paying over the odds for flights and accommodation at a few days notice or you have to book both potential trips and hope for the best in the semi final. I'm also not sure games played in Qatar miles away from all countries involved is a valid comparison to a similar situation happening in a European country for games involving 4 European nations. Edited September 30, 2022 by Pie Of The Month 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, Pie Of The Month said: I'm also not sure games played in Qatar miles away from all countries involved is a valid comparison to a similar situation happening in a European country for games involving 4 European nations. The post above mine suggested they should be played in the nation hosting the upcoming event. Germany is fair enough, you'd probably get folk travelling there, but the next World Cup would be a massive trek. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 3 hours ago, craigkillie said: The post above mine suggested they should be played in the nation hosting the upcoming event. Germany is fair enough, you'd probably get folk travelling there, but the next World Cup would be a massive trek. That was me, and more because it seemed like the sort of shit that'd actually interest the governing bodies and be marketable. If it's the Euros you're fine, but for World Cups it should still be somewhere in Europe ideally, probably at a random draw of one of the top tier sides in the Nations League. Agree that Qatar would be stupid. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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