AsimButtHitsASix Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Does anyone else find the competition boring? What could be done to make it interesting?I'd like it switched to a regional group stage that starts before the league kicks off. Take away European qualifiers (and add a prelim round for some the lower end of last years 3rd division) for a 32 team group stage divided into 8 groups of four. Ending up something like this: ICT Ross County Peterhead Brechin Dundee Dundee Utd Forfar Arbroath Hibs Hearts Livingston East Fife Cowdenbeath Dunfermline Falkirk Raith Stranraer Annan QotS Ayr Alloa Stirling Stenhousemuir Airdrie Rangers Partick Thistle Hamilton Clyde Kilmarnock St. Mirren Morton Dumbarton Home and away matches and winners go through to Round 2. Winners of that face the teams in Europe and have the whole thing dusted by Christmas. I know getting it sorted by region will have difficulties (when I tried it I had to split Brechin from the other Angus clubs and there's an Ayrshire derby missing) but that would even itself out over time and almost everyone would get at least two derby matches to get the season up and running and give teams time to settle before the season starts.I'd perhaps have a minimum quota of homegrown U-21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parscelona Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Removing the seeding nonsense would be a start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsimButtHitsASix Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Seeding doesn't bother me. Gives wee teams a better chance of getting a big team does it not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Where are you getting the extra matchdays to fit in 6 extra matches for the top flight clubs? These games can't be played on European dates, so you're in a lot of bother straight away. The idea of regionalisation generally leads to a lot of unfairness too. There's a huge difference in quality between some of those groups - some of them have 1 Championship club and 3 from the leagues below, while others have 2 top flight clubs plus one from the Championship. Also, if you have the 8 group winners going through to join 4 sides who were in Europe, then that leaves 12 sides in the 2nd Round, which is a bit of a problem. The fact that only the winners will go through leads to a hell of a lot of dead rubbers too - how many folk do you think will turn up for Peterhead v Brechin when both teams are already out and have nothing to play for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Regionalisation is a dreadful idea. There's already a lot of talk about playing the same teams over and over. This would just guarantee it. It would probably kill rivalries as well. We draw good, often great, gates against Raith Rovers and vice versa. Having to play each other every single season would very quickly make it just another fixture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 League Cup won't be improved by turning it into a mongrel-ised cross of youth tournament, pre-season friendlies, and a backwards trip into dreary group-stages and 2-legged ties which became unfashionable 40yrs ago. Detailed points: * what do the 6 clubs eliminated in the Preliminary Round do for the next 6 weeks... and is it a good to have 6 of 32 groupstage participants being decided at 1 weeks notice (particularly as draw relies on geographic proximity)? * how do you find all the extra dates? * many clubs will be eliminated with games to spare = meaningless matches * regionalisation in this way is totally unfair. Some of your sections have 2 Premiership & 1 Championship clubs in them/some have 1 Championship and 3 lower-level clubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 The League Cup is fine as it is. Only possible change I could think of making would be two-legged semi-finals. I can't think of anything worse for attendances and performances than regionalised group stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nowhereman Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 The League Cup is fine as it is. Only possible change I could think of making would be two-legged semi-finals. I can't think of anything worse for attendances and performances than regionalised group stages. The league cup was better when it was completed before Christmas. By the time the semi finals come round I've usually forgotten all about it. Giving byes to certain clubs into the last 16 isn't ideal either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionel hutz Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I Know it's a League Cup but would it not be better if the top 8 non league sides were included as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawfieldAggro Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Strictly speaking, wasn't the competition basically deemed unfit for purpose the minute the SPFL was formed?? As in, there was no longer league and non league clubs....only members??? Every 'league' i know of locally has an exclusive cup for its clubs, whether it benefits them or not i dont know, but its the being in such league that entitles the clubs to a spot. Personally, i can see how the prolonged group stage would bore everyone to tears, and previously added a geography based mini-group stage suggestion only as an alternative to the Scottish Cup, but no....it must remain knockout. And with 3 leagues of 14 would be implemented very easily with the First Division clubs playing the Second division clubs in the first round(the draw would determine home or away) with the 10 non European qualified Premier teams joining the winners in the second, with said top four joining those twelve victors in the last 16. We also need to get back to a November (at a push December) final to maintain interest and dignity for the cup if they are so intent on making it worthwhile. Winning it could even open up a possible playoff place for a Europa League spot, against the 3rd or 4th placed team if they havent already qualified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDonald Jardine Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Does anyone else find the competition boring? What could be done to make it interesting? I'd like it switched to a regional group stage that starts before the league kicks off. Take away European qualifiers (and add a prelim round for some the lower end of last years 3rd division) for a 32 team group stage divided into 8 groups of four. Ending up something like this: ICT Ross County Peterhead Brechin Dundee Dundee Utd Forfar Arbroath Hibs Hearts Livingston East Fife Cowdenbeath Dunfermline Falkirk Raith Stranraer Annan QotS Ayr Alloa Stirling Stenhousemuir Airdrie Rangers Partick Thistle Hamilton Clyde Kilmarnock St. Mirren Morton Dumbarton Home and away matches and winners go through to Round 2. Winners of that face the teams in Europe and have the whole thing dusted by Christmas. I know getting it sorted by region will have difficulties (when I tried it I had to split Brechin from the other Angus clubs and there's an Ayrshire derby missing) but that would even itself out over time and almost everyone would get at least two derby matches to get the season up and running and give teams time to settle before the season starts. I'd perhaps have a minimum quota of homegrown U-21 So not far off the format that was so successful in the 70s it had to be changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QOS Sean Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Another yawnfest of an idea. I would only keep the Scottish Cup and use the free days for eating ice cream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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