Clyde01

If 14-14-14 is the model that most clubs want then I’m sure Clyde wouldn’t have a major issue providing it is not imposed on current standings. We should go 14-10-10-10 next season (I still maintain it is the least offensive way forward) as a transition to a permanent 14-14-14. This could be achieved by no relegation in the championship in season 2020/21, promote the top 3 of league 1, teams 4-6 in league 1 playoff with league 2 winner for last spot in new tier 2, teams 7-10 in league 1 join league 2 clubs and playoff losers to form new tier 3. The very bottom is where it gets tricky either we relegate 3 and promote 1 (that will set the arses twitching) or go 14-14-16 to maintain 44 clubs and only have 1 relegation spot at the bottom. None of this really answers the question of why 14-14-14 is such a desirable model though, I’m still waiting on a good answer to that. We either play 3 times or split and play 4. One is shite, the other is little different to present.

Stranraer’s 2 league wins all season would suggest you were unlikely to string 5 or 6 together in the last 8 games. Clyde on the other hand were closer to the promotion playoffs than the bottom so we’re not really comparing like for like. For what it’s worth I favour 14-10-10-10 next season which would see Stranraer stay in league 1.

I didn’t say keep the status quo after a temporary 14-10-10-10 though did I? I said go 14-10-10-10 next season to get us out of the current predicament and come up with a model that works best without our thinking being clouded by self interest. The structure needs to come first then clubs play a season for their position in that structure. Instead we’re trying to enforce a structure based on the current standings, which is always going to be unfair on someone.

FFS, maybe try reading the last few posts before chipping in with this shite.

What do most fans want? Bigger leagues, more variety, not playing teams 4 (plus) times a season. It’s well documented why the premier league can’t/won’t expand but that doesn’t apply to lower leagues. Could easily have any of these models next season: 14-16-14 14-18-12 14-20-10 Or we could go 14-10-10-10 temporarily next season which doesn’t disadvantage anyone and actually put some thought into the best option longer term, without having it led by self interest. Basing it on current standings is always going to be tricky. Why not come up with a suitable model and give teams a season to play for position in the hierarchy.

If we rename League 1 the champions league will you be looking forward to playing Barcelona?

That’s a totally different scenario though as every club has plenty of notice of what’s at stake and what they are playing for. You can’t just end a season and change the goal posts relegating mid-table sides. As has been stated many, many times why is 14-14-14 so attractive a model? We still play teams too many times, either 3 which is mega-shite or 4 (as now) in a split.

Spot on!

When you end up playing all of the teams in the league below and none of the better sides in your current division that’s a relegation no matter how you try to dress it up. I would hope we would be challenging for the title in a bottom 14 but with cove chucking money about and Peterhead always a thorn in our side it’s far from a shoe in. We’ve spent the last 9 years playing the Elgin’s and Annan’s of the world over and over again. To end up back there through no fault of our own would be beyond shite. Yes longer term we would have a better chance of establishing ourselves at tier 2 but it’s a big gamble that we shouldn’t be having to make.

The main difference being instead of being bought over and the club identity completely destroyed I’m in favour of relegation (a situation that can be recovered from if these clubs are actually fit to compete at league two level). So in other words not very similar to Smith at all.

The bit where you suggested 9 years was more than a decade. [emoji23]

Of the past 25 seasons Albion rovers have spent 20 of them in the bottom tier. Just because one of their brief sojourns out of it coincided with us being at our lowest ebb doesn’t prove anything.

We don’t know what league we will be playing in, what format it will take, how many home games we will have, when or if season will start. So probably not...

I’m not talking about sacrificing anyone’s independence though, I completely disagree with that. But I have no problem with ambitious clubs giving some of the bottom feeders a shake up. East Stirling’s relegation was long overdue. Berwick have shown they are miles off being competitive even at lowland league level. Albion rovers are another perennial struggler who won’t be long till they’re gone. You shouldn’t get countless reprieves, that’s not how a pyramid is supposed to work. I don’t think it’s good for the game if all the clubs coming up are unsustainable basket cases like Gretna but some fresh blood is long overdue at lower league level. As for your last point, our spell in league 2 was the first time in our history we had played at that level and I can assure you that throughout it the support was driven by getting out again. Unfortunately there were/are plenty teams down there without that ambition happy to coast along and get their SPFL cash. Chapman and the half Annan squad he brought with him soon found out there was a massive gulf in expectation between Clyde and other clubs in league two.

Maths clearly wasn’t your best subject.

How is me saying ambitious clubs looking to progress being road blocked by perma-shite diddies anything like saying it’s ok to sell out and become a glorified colt team?

I am yet to see a decent argument in favour of 14-14-14. What does it actually achieve? Either we have a terrible 39 game uneven season or we split and play some teams 4 times as now. So there isn’t significantly less repetition. Of course league 2 are in favour as it allows them to try and shut the trapdoor for a season. Longer term it gives some smaller clubs a chance of getting into tier 2 as well but is that enough of a reason to rip up the current system. As a Clyde fan you could argue that we would be more established in tier 2 longer term but getting chucked back into the bottom tier to facilitate this is a kick in the stones and not something we should be accepting. I like the idea of only 3 leagues but I think at least one of those (not the premier obviously) should be a bigger league of 18-20 clubs only playing twice. That would at least be a significant step away from the status quo rather than change for the sake of it or to benefit a couple of sides.

At which point Stranraer will probably be playing in the SoS League against their own reserves.

Dumbarton would get to be in the championship despite still being very much in our sights with 8 games left

If you want to change the league structure without at least a full seasons notice then it shouldn’t harm anyone. The 14-14-14 doesn’t meet that criteria so needs rethought, simple as that.

A better question would be why are we trying so hard to keep them out, whilst preserving dung like Brechin, Albion rovers etc

Why don’t we just run with a bigger championship, playing each other twice. Could easily have 14-16-14 which would include highland and lowland winners. Would still be harsh on Forfar and cove though. Or 14-18-12 then the only decision is stranraer or cove to play in tier 2. Cove seems the obvious choice but Stranraer can’t be the only team in the country to be relegated. 14-20-10 could work too where the second tier contains 8 current championship clubs, all of league one, plus cove & Edinburgh. Bigger leagues is the best way to avoid playing each other so often. It’s been well documented why that won’t fly in the premiership but why not at tier 2?

Couldn’t agree more, the fixture schedule proposed by league 2 is shite. If your going to have a league of 14 I’d much rather play twice then split rather than play an uneven 3 match rounds season.

Finding it hard to grasp the sporting integrity of not relegating teams in last place but quite happily jettisoning the bottom end of league one into the diddy league. It’s not ok to relegate big clubs in relegation spots but it’s fine to relegate smaller clubs not in relegation spots? And make no mistake, it’s a relegation on everything but paper. It should be 14-10-10-10 next season and if they want to transition to 14-14-14 from there at least everyone has some notice of what’s at stake. Rather than finding out after the season has ended that mid-table actually means relegation. Also the self preservation of league 2 clubs is predictable but embarrassing. Don’t let anyone up, protect us from relegation for 2 seasons. Get to f**k.

I think we finished 5th that season. Our form did collapse a bit after the Celtic win and subsequent humping off Gretna. Even still that team Roberts put together from nothing and that Celtic result were unbelievable.