League Cup Revamp

I'll try answer point by point:

Firstly, the idea of summer football is it doesn't last 9.5 months, it lasts at most 8 months, you play a lot more midweek games, but at least it's in nicer climates (75% of the time).

You are leaving out our harshest months on record weather wise, December, January and February, these are the months most games get called off so the theory that it would cause chaos doesn't sit with me.

The notion about the tournaments is irrelevant for me, right now it's not helping our national side with the way things are going so we need change. The other argument is you don't need said one month break, you can simply start the season 1 or 2 weeks earlier and finish one week later whilst also having more midweek games.

Irish Football isn't on SKY TV, we are, that's the point.

I'm sorry but the last thing I want to do when it's -5 degrees, is get up out a warm pub or my house to trek all the way to a half filled stadium wearing 5 layers and watch the game being played on a pitch that wouldn't look our of place in Syria.

Summer is for going on holidays but lets not kid ourselves that everyone will all of a sudden go on 2 month holidays and miss 10 games of football.

Winter is when you huddle around a Bovril and shout abuse at people getting paid more than you. If you take that away, what else is there?


I did chuckle at that part though mate

Hobo, I huddle round my pint and shout abuse at both rich and poor aw year round

Due to domestic trophies, European competition and international breaks you couldn't condense the season into 8 months. There simply aren't that many slots.
For example, the numbers for the last year give Celtic 38 league games, 4 League Cup games, 4 Scottish Cup games, 12 European games and 10 international fixtures. That's 68 games. In 8 months there are 34 weeks, or 68 potential matchdays.
So Saturday-Wednesday fixture every single week for 8 months without a rest, without a single game being called off and not taking into account that international breaks are usually 3 matchdays rather than 2. It would not work.

It's not nicer 75% of the time, just 25% of the time.

A while ago I did a run through of United's most recent called off fixtures and it turned out that something like 8/10 would still have happened under summer football. I can't remember the exact number but I could look through it again if you like. And again, it's a far bigger problem to have more call offs during the tail end of the season than it is the middle.

Irish league football was on Sky for 7 years until they pulled the plug last year. Shows how much of a success it was if they pulled it and you didn't know about it.

Grass doesn't grow in winter whether it's played on or not. At least with the current set-up it can recover in summer.

Nope, but with 60% of people going abroad that means that effectively 1 home game will have 40% its usual attendance, and you've got to pick that up elsewhere.

I do think we'd miss football in the winter, particularly the Boxing Day & New Year games. Always a great atmosphere and good turnout.

And remember, one day you'll hear the words "Seeing as there's no football on, why don't you come Christmas shopping with me?" Only then will you realise your horrible mistake.

one day you'll hear the words "Seeing as there's no football on, why don't you come Christmas shopping with me?" Only then will you realise your horrible mistake
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NO TO SUMMER FOOTBALL!

Hobo, I should have elaborated on my 8 month idea

1 top tier of 16 teams and 2 divisions below of 13 teams in each division.

Teams play each other twice which means 30 league games with there being play offs at the bottom of the top tier and the top and bottom of the one below and at the top of the league below that.

The League cup would be structured much like they are doing just now and could start one month before the season begins, this would also benefit the teams still in a European competition after Xmas as it gives them the chance to get up to speed again before the games restart middle/end of February.

I forgot the Irish league was on Sky but weren't the games all ridiculous time slots during the week etc?

The standard there has always been poor too, I know we don't have a great league but it's still superior to Ireland's.

I'm not sure how you arrive at the 60% stat but I'll be happy to be proved wrong on that mate, I get people go on holiday but realistically I don't think that should be one point that should go against having summer football.

Perhaps that's from my point of view and not someone who has 3 kids and can't get rid of them during the summer

And remember, one day you'll hear the words "Seeing as there's no football on, why don't you come Christmas shopping with me?"



SOLD, the new season should run 1st December to 31st December, games every day in my new structure

To be honest, I just Googled the number of people who go abroad on holiday. It may be the flimsiest of my arguments though as it's not particularly easy to prove. Worth a consideration though.

Changing the league to 16 teams is a whole different issue, and one I'm also against. I don't think cutting the number of home games from 18 to 14 is a great idea for clubs financially, plus it'd increase the number of meaningless mid-table games, give a big safety net to mid-sized teams, decrease the quality of the lower leagues and potentially let part-time teams into the top flight, which wouldn't be great. For a 16-team league to work you'd need at least 18 decent teams, and even then it'd just be the same 2 getting promoted/relegated every season. I don't think we have enough teams to make it work.

Indeed the standard of the Irish league is rubbish, but to the eyes of the standard Barcelona/Man City Sky-watcher, the Scottish Premiership is also a poor standard. I don't see them rushing to watch it just because nothing else is on, let alone attend games.

It just seems like so much upheaval and so much of a gamble for something with unproven benefits and definite drawbacks. The Croatian league has expanded its league to 16 teams several times and each time it's been unsuccessful and quickly changed back.

I always hate this idea that letting different teams into the top tier is a bad idea.

I've never once agreed with this.

The Premier League in England, would not be what it is, without the battle at the bottom as well as the battle at the top.

Both the scottish top flight and English top flight have seen significant changes tot the teams maing up the numbers in the top teir.

Rewind about 10 years and teams like Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan, Charlton, Fulham, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Birmingham were in the top tier....they have been replaced with the likes of Crystal Palace, Stoke, Leicester, Southampton, Swansea, Watford, Norwich and Bournemouth.

Every one of those clubs have added something to the Premier League, and teh saem things goes for Scottish football

10 years ago, Rangers, Hibs, Falkirk, Livingston and Dunfermline were top tier sides.

They have been replaced with Hamilton, Ross County, Partick, St Johnstone and Dundee.....3 of those sides are currently top 6.

So I just don't buy this notion that letting smaller clubs into the top tier is a bad idea.

It adds variety, it keeps other clubs on their toes if a so called "minnow" comes up and starts going places, and there's the whole sort of "romance of the cup" element aswell, wee clubs hosting the big boys and such like.

For me, that's what football is all about, it really fcking irks me when I hear people peddling the notion that the big boys should be kept separated from the also rans.....particularly when its old firm fans saying as much, as we are the first to complain about it when the shoe is on the other foot in Europe