kennie makevin Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 All this points to just one true fact....the split is , was and always will be a complete and utter nonsense. If fucking about with fixtures & formats to try to artificially create 'meaningful games' worked then Scotland would have the most competitive and exciting top flight league in world football. It doesn't and we haven't ! Was Scottish football really worse pre-1975 ? Two divisions, play each other twice, home and away, no nonsense .... and with the wee bonus of genuine European cha!lenses and world class players coming through the system. All chucked away for what....so we could enjoy 'the bigotry festival' four times a season ? Have the delights of Old Firm fans at our grounds twice as many times a season ? Help teams other than Celtic & Rangers compete ? Play the same teams again and again and...? Whatever the reason has it really helped Scottish football ? -5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropy Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 A five game play off at the end of the season is an excellent finale. It can be ineffective if everything has been decided but when there are places to play for it concentrates the activity in a series of head to heads. Brilliant stuff. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJF Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 1 hour ago, kennie makevin said: All this points to just one true fact....the split is , was and always will be a complete and utter nonsense. If fucking about with fixtures & formats to try to artificially create 'meaningful games' worked then Scotland would have the most competitive and exciting top flight league in world football. It doesn't and we haven't ! Was Scottish football really worse pre-1975 ? Two divisions, play each other twice, home and away, no nonsense .... and with the wee bonus of genuine European cha!lenses and world class players coming through the system. All chucked away for what....so we could enjoy 'the bigotry festival' four times a season ? Have the delights of Old Firm fans at our grounds twice as many times a season ? Help teams other than Celtic & Rangers compete ? Play the same teams again and again and...? Whatever the reason has it really helped Scottish football ? Personally, I disagree. So what if it "artificially" creates meaningful games, it still creates them and in my opinion, provides more excitement towards the end of the season. In terms of genuine European challenges and world class players coming through, I very much doubt the absence of this has anything to do with the structure of the league. In my opinion it coincided with TV deals becoming more prominent and Scotland being left behind larger leagues due to the relatively low viewing figures we can attract which subsequently means less money to reinvest in the sport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G51 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Surely every meaningful game is artificially created, when you consider the sheer futility of organised sports. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wastecoatwilly Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 (edited) 20 odd years of the split it has very little effect on what Celtic do,for me it's to help the rest get some sense of achievement. Watching St Johnstone celebrate getting into the top six plus the disappointment of Goodwin's interview there must be something in it. I like the idea of creating the chase for a European spot and the relegation fight, I don't like playing teams 4 times a season. Edited March 24, 2021 by wastecoatwilly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennie makevin Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 22 minutes ago, G51 said: Surely every meaningful game is artificially created, when you consider the sheer futility of organised sports. Exactly...so bigger league , place each other twice home & away, no split. Easy ! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
true_rover Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Exactly...so bigger league , place each other twice home & away, no split. Easy !So instead of artificially making games more meaningful, you want to artificially make games less so? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennie makevin Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 36 minutes ago, true_rover said: 1 hour ago, kennie makevin said: Exactly...so bigger league , place each other twice home & away, no split. Easy ! So instead of artificially making games more meaningful, you want to artificially make games less so I would challenge this myth that you get good, exciting football from 'meaningful games' . What you usually get are tense, sterile , safety first bore fests with teams too fearful to express themselves. The so called meaningless games where young players can be introduced to first team football in a relatively relaxed environment is vital to a healthy, evolving game in Scotland. Our far too small league and crazed obsession with 'meaningful games' has choked off that natural route to the introduction of young talent in Scotland which is why we don't have a healthy, evolving game. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmadrid Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Whats killed of young talent is teams hoarding young players and not then playing them. It is possible to do that and win things, last month we started the league cup final with a starting team who were all born in Scotland . All that is needed is faith to play the players and a loan system to cover the period before they are ready for top level football. Fans love meaningful football. St Mirren would have packed out New Douglas Park, Saints would have had a large attendance on Saturday as well. Cut the split and if fans had been able to attend the attendances would just be normal. The split works, its a target for the smaller teams in the Premiership, adds to the relegation mix and I think its here to stay. We don't have the population or number of big teams to support a bigger top league. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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