Hows about the teams from the previous year compete in the scottish cup and the teams that didnt do so well compete in the league cup. I think if there is more chance of the smaller teams having a chance to win something, that would generate more interest in them.
Apart from the big games, most stadiums have got thousands of seats free, give them to the schools!
Totally agree with OP.
Increase the league to 18 and get rid of the SPL fear factor. It would do wonders for our game and start to bring back the fans.
I was really swithering about renewing my season ticket this year because of the boredom factor.
At the end of the day I did renew my season ticket. However, if Doncaster gets his way and the SPL becomes a league of 10 then 'I'm out!'
Apart from the big games, most stadiums have got thousands of seats free, give them to the schools!
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They'd still be empty - the SPL format is so repetitive that only the die-hards go now.
Seriously, the clubs would find it hard to give away tickets thesedays.
you are right cyber we are losing the kids in Scotland to the EPL and Barcas!
What the hell has this Neil Doncaster ever done!
Actually, i think the schools one is a great idea.
What wass the point of Aberdeen, for example having just 3,000 people through the turnstiles, and 18,000 seats lying empty on Tuesday.
Aberdeen v East Fife is never ever gonna be a sell-out opr anywhere near it.
Games like that are the ideal opportunity to get tickets out to schools.
A few thousands hungry kids at half time wouldn't be bad for the coffers...
What is stopping the clubs from doing this, even youth clubs! if we can get a new generation interested before they are all lost to the EPL Monster!
Sheer shortsightedness - that is all.
Not only are the missing a trick of rthier own benefit, but also for the wider benefit of Scottish football.
It's absolutely mortifying and ultimately damaging for our game's image to have games broadcast with two men and a dug in the crowd.
But Scottish clubs have proved that they never learn when it comes to this kind of thing.
We are only a few games in and already we are talking about the bore factor, something has to give.
It took us 12 months to go from a 12 team league to a 12 team league, only in Scotland!
Football runs football these days.
An 18 team league would generate less money.
The clubs are struggling as it is and wont accept it.
Clubs get their biggest attendances when the Old Firm play away, fans want to see the better sides. Increasing the league would decrease the quality.
And with less money it would decrease the quality even more.
I don't see whats wrong with a 12 team league.
We can't blame he lack of quality on the league size, its ridiculous.
But renegade it is a long term plan, the neil doncasters and chairman only care about the short term until it bites!
Renegade, that's exactly what's wrong with it, a 12 team league playing each other 4 times at least per season.
The quality needn't go down because the size increases. The likes of Dunfermline will benefit from being in the SPL so why wouldn't Dundee, Livingstone, Partick Thistle, Falkirk or Ross County?
The extra cash plus the lessening of pressure would improve the standard of football all round.
Also OF fans aren't so keen at the moment to travel to away games as a matter of routine and as a protest against getting fleeced so the prices would need to be sensible.
It's worth a try as the current set up will end in no football.
Renegade, i think an Ayr v Killie, or Dundee v Dundee Utd would pull in a bigger crowd than a Killie v Rangers Dundee v Celtic.
Don't you?
Puit it this way, your lucky if Killie v Rangers/Celtic gets 13,000 now.
Renegade, i think an Ayr v Killie, or Dundee v Dundee Utd would pull in a bigger crowd than a Killie v Rangers Dundee v Celtic.
------------------------------------------------------
Quite possibly, but thats a couple derbies you mentioned.
Blaming the league size for the boring and lack of quality in our football is a nonsense.
Less money would give our clubs even less bargaining power when offers from down South come in.
We're a small country. When the top 12 teams can't entertain, why would the top 18 teams entertain?
I don't support my side because of who they are playing.
Personally I much prefer seeing a few Old Firm games every season, seeing Hearts and Aberdeen a few times. Give me that over watching us against a poorer side every time.
We dont have any bargaining power as it is Renegade, Rangers and Celtic are finding it hard to compete with the Championship when we used to compete with the EPL and the rest of the SPL cant even compete with League 1.
We really need a 10 year plan put in place and quickly, sadly becaus eof the humming and hawing, things will only get worse if we dont.
Tv wise we cant compete with the EPL, LALiga, Championship, so why not move to summer football with a league of sixteen. We would have a target audience.
If 4 OF games is all that is keeping the SPL alive them we are already doomed!
The experts say reduce the league size. Thats the reason for the humming and hawing.
Your right we don't have much bargaining power, so with less money, things would only get worse.
Problems with Scottish football have nothing to do with the league size if you ask me.
I wouldn't have a problem with giving Summer football a try.
If you gave the punters what they wanted then the stadiums would most likely get filled more than they are now.
We have to stop trying to compet with England wages, alot of players see Scotland as the best Route to the English Promise land and we should use this to our advantage.
Get the best young players from Scotland England Ireland and Europe and the chances of first team football will greatly benefit your chance of making it too the EPL instead of dissapering into the doldrums!
I don't get why 4 OF games is so important.
If there are only 2 games, then they are much more important fixtures, rather than what we have now where it's just - "Oh, it's the old firm game... Again..."
Sky would also get to broadcast:
Hearts v Hibs
Dundee vs Dundee United
Ayr vs Killie
Hamilton vs Motherwell
Raith Rovers vs Dunfermline
Livingston vs Falkirk
County vs ICT
And we'd get to see teams like Partick Thistle back in the top tier of Scottish football. There is only one way forward, and it's not the status quo.
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18 team top league - get it sorted
Page 2 of 2
posted on 22/9/11
Hows about the teams from the previous year compete in the scottish cup and the teams that didnt do so well compete in the league cup. I think if there is more chance of the smaller teams having a chance to win something, that would generate more interest in them.
posted on 22/9/11
Apart from the big games, most stadiums have got thousands of seats free, give them to the schools!
posted on 22/9/11
Totally agree with OP.
Increase the league to 18 and get rid of the SPL fear factor. It would do wonders for our game and start to bring back the fans.
I was really swithering about renewing my season ticket this year because of the boredom factor.
At the end of the day I did renew my season ticket. However, if Doncaster gets his way and the SPL becomes a league of 10 then 'I'm out!'
posted on 22/9/11
Apart from the big games, most stadiums have got thousands of seats free, give them to the schools!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
They'd still be empty - the SPL format is so repetitive that only the die-hards go now.
Seriously, the clubs would find it hard to give away tickets thesedays.
posted on 22/9/11
you are right cyber we are losing the kids in Scotland to the EPL and Barcas!
What the hell has this Neil Doncaster ever done!
posted on 22/9/11
Actually, i think the schools one is a great idea.
What wass the point of Aberdeen, for example having just 3,000 people through the turnstiles, and 18,000 seats lying empty on Tuesday.
Aberdeen v East Fife is never ever gonna be a sell-out opr anywhere near it.
Games like that are the ideal opportunity to get tickets out to schools.
A few thousands hungry kids at half time wouldn't be bad for the coffers...
posted on 22/9/11
What is stopping the clubs from doing this, even youth clubs! if we can get a new generation interested before they are all lost to the EPL Monster!
posted on 22/9/11
Sheer shortsightedness - that is all.
Not only are the missing a trick of rthier own benefit, but also for the wider benefit of Scottish football.
It's absolutely mortifying and ultimately damaging for our game's image to have games broadcast with two men and a dug in the crowd.
But Scottish clubs have proved that they never learn when it comes to this kind of thing.
posted on 22/9/11
We are only a few games in and already we are talking about the bore factor, something has to give.
It took us 12 months to go from a 12 team league to a 12 team league, only in Scotland!
posted on 22/9/11
Football runs football these days.
An 18 team league would generate less money.
The clubs are struggling as it is and wont accept it.
Clubs get their biggest attendances when the Old Firm play away, fans want to see the better sides. Increasing the league would decrease the quality.
And with less money it would decrease the quality even more.
I don't see whats wrong with a 12 team league.
We can't blame he lack of quality on the league size, its ridiculous.
posted on 22/9/11
But renegade it is a long term plan, the neil doncasters and chairman only care about the short term until it bites!
posted on 22/9/11
Renegade, that's exactly what's wrong with it, a 12 team league playing each other 4 times at least per season.
The quality needn't go down because the size increases. The likes of Dunfermline will benefit from being in the SPL so why wouldn't Dundee, Livingstone, Partick Thistle, Falkirk or Ross County?
The extra cash plus the lessening of pressure would improve the standard of football all round.
Also OF fans aren't so keen at the moment to travel to away games as a matter of routine and as a protest against getting fleeced so the prices would need to be sensible.
It's worth a try as the current set up will end in no football.
posted on 22/9/11
Renegade, i think an Ayr v Killie, or Dundee v Dundee Utd would pull in a bigger crowd than a Killie v Rangers Dundee v Celtic.
Don't you?
Puit it this way, your lucky if Killie v Rangers/Celtic gets 13,000 now.
posted on 22/9/11
Renegade, i think an Ayr v Killie, or Dundee v Dundee Utd would pull in a bigger crowd than a Killie v Rangers Dundee v Celtic.
------------------------------------------------------
Quite possibly, but thats a couple derbies you mentioned.
Blaming the league size for the boring and lack of quality in our football is a nonsense.
Less money would give our clubs even less bargaining power when offers from down South come in.
We're a small country. When the top 12 teams can't entertain, why would the top 18 teams entertain?
I don't support my side because of who they are playing.
Personally I much prefer seeing a few Old Firm games every season, seeing Hearts and Aberdeen a few times. Give me that over watching us against a poorer side every time.
posted on 22/9/11
We dont have any bargaining power as it is Renegade, Rangers and Celtic are finding it hard to compete with the Championship when we used to compete with the EPL and the rest of the SPL cant even compete with League 1.
We really need a 10 year plan put in place and quickly, sadly becaus eof the humming and hawing, things will only get worse if we dont.
Tv wise we cant compete with the EPL, LALiga, Championship, so why not move to summer football with a league of sixteen. We would have a target audience.
If 4 OF games is all that is keeping the SPL alive them we are already doomed!
posted on 22/9/11
The experts say reduce the league size. Thats the reason for the humming and hawing.
Your right we don't have much bargaining power, so with less money, things would only get worse.
Problems with Scottish football have nothing to do with the league size if you ask me.
I wouldn't have a problem with giving Summer football a try.
posted on 22/9/11
If you gave the punters what they wanted then the stadiums would most likely get filled more than they are now.
We have to stop trying to compet with England wages, alot of players see Scotland as the best Route to the English Promise land and we should use this to our advantage.
Get the best young players from Scotland England Ireland and Europe and the chances of first team football will greatly benefit your chance of making it too the EPL instead of dissapering into the doldrums!
posted on 23/9/11
I don't get why 4 OF games is so important.
If there are only 2 games, then they are much more important fixtures, rather than what we have now where it's just - "Oh, it's the old firm game... Again..."
Sky would also get to broadcast:
Hearts v Hibs
Dundee vs Dundee United
Ayr vs Killie
Hamilton vs Motherwell
Raith Rovers vs Dunfermline
Livingston vs Falkirk
County vs ICT
And we'd get to see teams like Partick Thistle back in the top tier of Scottish football. There is only one way forward, and it's not the status quo.
Page 2 of 2