steelboy Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 The thing with the winter break is that it depends what the point of it is ie: is it to avoid call offs or is it simply to give players a 2 week rest or whatever given the season starting earlier mean you're looking at competitive football running from July through to the following May. More than likely to give Celtic the opportunity to play some friendlies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 6-4-4 is a ridiculous idea. I'm probably one of the few that isn't in favour of extending the top flight. If there were to be change I'd rather we had 2 competitive top leagues of 10 with playoffs and a fair distribution of cash. Increased excitement, less meaningless games, increased variety in flow between leagues. Ideally we only want to play each team twice a season but a 16/18 team league would kill any sense of competition for a number of clubs mid-season. Fair distribution of cash would kill the argument that 10/10 is too cut-throat to breed youngsters. Looking at the current predicament, Motherwell competing for a 2nd tier title with the likes of Hibs, Dundee Utd and Falkik wouldn't be the end of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 6-4-4 is a ridiculous idea. Thing with copying the Danish idea is that they haven't even implemented it yet, so there's no evidence of how successful the switch will be as they're still a 12 team league at the moment. There are a whole host of utterly mental league structures across Europe with the Belgian model being particularly out there. You'd think if Doncaster was going to rip off a league structure he'd at least pick one that had been in place for a while. As a point of reference though here are all the UEFA member leagues and the number of teams that currently comprise their top division; 7 - Latvia 8 - Andorra, Armenia, 10 - Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Faroes, Macedonia, Gibraltar, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovenia, Switzerland 12 - Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Malta, Montenegro, N. Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Slovakia, Wales 14 - Belarus, Cyprus, Israel, Luxembourg, Romania, Ukraine 15 - San Marino 16 - Belgium, Bosnia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Sweden 18 - Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, 20 - England, France, Italy, Spain, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desp Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 We should copy the league structure in Belgium. Just for a laugh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donaldo87 Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 I'd just do the 7/7 split. Having a bye week doesnt do the NFL any harm. Chance to rest some players - organise a bounce game against another team on a bye week from another league or whatever. Do whatever you want really. Saves fannying about with strange splits. Although i've just clicked that it would meant not everyone playing on the last day of the season which would be **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busta Nut Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 14 or 16 top league would be a good thing I think. Split down the middle. I am in favour of the split. but not in this mental 6-4-4 method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 The thing with the winter break is that it depends what the point of it is Exactly Cap'n. Surely it can't be down to the weather as our winter lasts longer than 2 weeks. Players needing a break? Players down south play more games than we do. Also our season is irritatingly broken up by international breaks meaning that its stop start, stop start ad nauseum. Its very worrying, very worrying indeed, that our owner expressed concern that the proposed break coincides precisely with the time of year that many clubs suffer cash flow problems. Trying to piece together the admittedly scant evidence, would suggest that this particular proposal has been included at the behest of bigger clubs like Aberdeen and Celtic. We all know how the SPFL works with endless bickering/horse trading/behind the scenes deals and compromises. Given that, I'd hazard a guess that Celtic and perhaps Aberdeen have been given this concession as a trade off for some other perhaps totally unrelated concession. Its also significant that Celtic won't be in this season's European competition much longer and could be looking to arrange a money spinning friendly. Might be totally wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderpig Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Exactly Cap'n. Surely it can't be down to the weather as our winter lasts longer than 2 weeks. Players needing a break? Players down south play more games than we do. Also our season is irritatingly broken up by international breaks meaning that its stop start, stop start ad nauseum. Its very worrying, very worrying indeed, that our owner expressed concern that the proposed break coincides precisely with the time of year that many clubs suffer cash flow problems. Trying to piece together the admittedly scant evidence, would suggest that this particular proposal has been included at the behest of bigger clubs like Aberdeen and Celtic. We all know how the SPFL works with endless bickering/horse trading/behind the scenes deals and compromises. Given that, I'd hazard a guess that Celtic and perhaps Aberdeen have been given this concession as a trade off for some other perhaps totally unrelated concession. Its also significant that Celtic won't be in this season's European competition much longer and could be looking to arrange a money spinning friendly. Might be totally wrong though. Think you are spot on with the 2 week break Dave it will benefit nobody and you can guarantee Celtic will have a friendly arranged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_oats Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Exactly Cap'n. Surely it can't be down to the weather as our winter lasts longer than 2 weeks. Players needing a break? Players down south play more games than we do. Also our season is irritatingly broken up by international breaks meaning that its stop start, stop start ad nauseum. Its very worrying, very worrying indeed, that our owner expressed concern that the proposed break coincides precisely with the time of year that many clubs suffer cash flow problems. Trying to piece together the admittedly scant evidence, would suggest that this particular proposal has been included at the behest of bigger clubs like Aberdeen and Celtic. We all know how the SPFL works with endless bickering/horse trading/behind the scenes deals and compromises. Given that, I'd hazard a guess that Celtic and perhaps Aberdeen have been given this concession as a trade off for some other perhaps totally unrelated concession. Its also significant that Celtic won't be in this season's European competition much longer and could be looking to arrange a money spinning friendly. Might be totally wrong though. Not disagreeing and it's certainly concerning given the issues Mr. Hutchison has raised, having listened back to his interview on Sportsound last night and also hearing what both Ann Budge and Roy MacGregor had to say it seemed fair comment and also the SPFL response seemed completely over the top. Publicly chastising member clubs for simply expressing an opinion isn't a good look. On the point of the winter break though, while it's certainly the case that they play more games than us down south and don't give players a rest there are notable European leagues that do; - Bundesliga - Ligue 1 - Eredivise - Serie A La Liga usually have one as well but it's been curtailed this season on account of fixture congestion ahead of the European Championships. As I say, it really depends what has influenced the decision or at the very least what they're hoping to achieve by having re-introduced it. To be clear, I'm under no illusions that there's every chance that it's been influenced by certain other clubs for commercial reasons however being charitable if they've looked at other leagues beyond England and saw that they have a mid-season break and thought that it could be beneficial in terms of performance or even if they've spoken to managers/coaches and asked "would this help you?" then fair enough. Similarly though if they've brought it back simply because Germany have one and there's not any joined up thought beyond that then it's pretty pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stv Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Really conflicting statements from Les and then the SPFL tonight - makes you wonder about internal communication at the club. From the outside looking in, this change certainly seems to have come from nowhere. However, I welcome it. Will be something a bit different. Reintroducing the winter break is also a very sensible in my opinion. will the break of two weeks coincide with shite weather or two weeks of unseasonal fair weather ,perfect for playing football . A winter break is a waste of time unless you can forecast the weather a year in advance and July football is daft when everyone is going on or saving for holidays. Another crap idea from out of of touch authorities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWeegieDosser Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 New League Cup preferable to friendlies? So we're just gonna plough right in and start competitive games? My arse, they'll still be kicking off with the usual crop of "give us a tenner and watch your heroes try to raise a sweat" friendlies - just even earlier... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 I would kind of hope that with the promise of a couple of home league cup games in July, that any preceding friendlies are behind closed doors... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desp Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 New League Cup preferable to friendlies? So we're just gonna plough right in and start competitive games? My arse, they'll still be kicking off with the usual crop of "give us a tenner and watch your heroes try to raise a sweat" friendlies - just even earlier... Even if there are friendlies before the League Cup ties, you don't have to go. I certainly don't. However, as Melvin says, I would assume any friendlies will be played behind closed doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 New League Cup preferable to friendlies? So we're just gonna plough right in and start competitive games? There will still be friendlies; all this means is that the close season will get even shorter. Clubs will want to generate revenue and so many such games will be open to the public. From a football perspective few managers will want to go into a competitive game against reasonably strong opposition with an unfit squad. Likewise, if a club like ours needs to make as much cash as possible from a good cup run it doesn't make sense to risk losing a game they should win through players not being match fit. In short we either move to summer football or we don't. No half baked, in between compromise please, which achieves nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthefringes Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 There will still be friendlies; all this means is that the close season will get even shorter. Clubs will want to generate revenue and so many such games will be open to the public. From a football perspective few managers will want to go into a competitive game against reasonably strong opposition with an unfit squad. Likewise, if a club like ours needs to make as much cash as possible from a good cup run it doesn't make sense to risk losing a game they should win through players not being match fit. In short we either move to summer football or we don't. No half baked, in between compromise please, which achieves nothing. Just as I was starting to forget Stjarnan and the untold riches that may have brought... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well Up For It! Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 will the break of two weeks coincide with shite weather or two weeks of unseasonal fair weather ,perfect for playing football . A winter break is a waste of time unless you can forecast the weather a year in advance and July football is daft when everyone is going on or saving for holidays. Another crap idea from out of of touch authorities Not so much the weather or anything, its Scotland - bad weather can happen in July. More a bit of a recharge for the players for me. They have their 4 games or such over a 8/9 day period at Christmas/New Year, get two weeks off (which would help pay at the gate fans during the strapped January Month) and come back to Scottish Cup game on around middle January. The games in July are simply just adding something different to the boring slog of pre-season friendlies. Yeah school holidays and all, but surely people not away would be much more likely to attend a Motherwell vs Airdrie competitive game than Motherwell vs ? It may very well prove to be a "crap idea from out of touch authorities" but at least they are mixing it up and trying something different - which is badly needed IMO. Time will tell I guess, but I very much stick to the fact that I welcome the changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Not so much the weather or anything, its Scotland - bad weather can happen in July. More a bit of a recharge for the players for me. Granted the players will get a short break in January to recharge their batteries but they will get several weeks less in the summer to recharge their batteries. Swings and roundabouts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeyin Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 This is why we need a 16 team league. Play each other twice, no split, 4 week winter break optional. The problem, of course, all comes down to potential loss of revenue and TV companies wanting the OF to play each other twice a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well Up For It! Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Granted the players will get a short break in January to recharge their batteries but they will get several weeks less in the summer to recharge their batteries. Swings and roundabouts? That is a side effect, yes. But with the League Cup starting earlier, surely would allow season to finish earlier? And if I had a choice between five weeks off in the summer, or two weeks off at Christmas and three at summer I know what I'd pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 But with the League Cup starting earlier, surely would allow season to finish earlier? To achieve that surely the league would involve more midweek games being scheduled to replace midweek league cup ties? If so it would be a more intense season for the players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well Up For It! Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 To achieve that surely the league would involve more midweek games being scheduled to replace midweek league cup ties? If so it would be a more intense season for the players. I don't get this logic. If they are playing mid week in the League Cup or rearranged fixtures it's OK, but if they are playing mid week in the League it's more intense? Even though they will now have a mini break mid-season to recharge? I get not everyone is in favour of it, but I am. Think this is the first step to a shake up in Scottish Football that will hopefully lead to a bigger league (14 or 16) and less fixtures. And the leagues that currently have a winter break have not suffered for it - one would argue the fact the English Premiership doesn't have one has severely hampered their teams and Europe and national teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 I don't get this logic. If they are playing mid week in the League Cup or rearranged fixtures it's OK, but if they are playing mid week in the League it's more intense? Even though they will now have a mini break mid-season to recharge? OK. The competitive season will kick off say 2 weeks earlier and I assume friendlies will be played beforehand (an assumption I know). Normally these would be played midweek although in recent years we haven't played as many as 4 league cup games in a season - so that could already be 1/2/3 more games per season. Will the season finish earlier? Although there will be a 2 week break in January the displaced games will need to be squeezed in at other times in the season. So all in all the close season would probably be shorter and the season more intense given there's a 2 week break in January. In short we'll probably be playing more games (at the moment a minimum of 1 league cup game and with the new set up a minimum of 4 league cup games). The season will simply involve more stops and more condensed periods of activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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