Gordon Strachan comments/16 team premiership (merged)

[The Harp Awakes]

Interesting interview with Gordon Strachan who says that the leagues should be engineered to promote Hibs, Rangers next season:

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/footb...rs-Hibs-Hearts

[Keith_M]

Then we'll just need to agree to disagree.

Even if Hibs don't get promoted this season, I don't want the leagues re-arranged to get us back into the top tier.

[proud_and_green]

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Interesting interview with Gordon Strachan who says that the leagues should be engineered to promote Hibs, Rangers next season:

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/footb...rs-Hibs-Hearts

Cannot agree with this in any shape or form. Football needs more not less honesty. Manipulation of the leagues for expediency would be the end of any trust in a level playing field for many, i would hope all, fans.

[Ozyhibby]

Not for me. We have to play our way back.

[Diclonius]

What Strachan's saying is absolutely ridiculous and akin to the Argentinian league's stitch up a few years ago when River Plate finished bottom and the criteria for relegation was miraculously changed to keep them up.

You are in the top league on merit, not how "big" you are. Hearts, Hibs and Rangers are in the Championship through a combination of poor performance and cheating, and they fully deserve it.

[SunshineOnLeith]

I'm a long term supporter of a bigger top division, but it shouldn't be done just to accommodate Hibs, Hearts and The Rangers.

[Pretty Boy]

Every one of us is exactly where we deserve to be for differing reasons.

I'd rather we went up on merit than through a rushed reconsttuction. If we take Strachans logic we could just scrap relegation and promotion altogether and pick the teams we want in the top league and leave it at that

[greengnome]

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Cannot agree with this in any shape or form. Football needs more not less honesty. Manipulation of the leagues for expediency would be the end of any trust in a level playing field for many, i would hope all, fans.

Good post.... Certainly agree with your sentiments. We are where we are through issues on and off the park, it is our players, management, and fans who will take us back to the status of a Scottish premier league team... Not manipulation.

[Diclonius]

Two less Old Firm games. Blazers say no.

[Dan Sarf]

Horrible idea. What next? Sharing out Cup Finals?







Oh wait...

[WeeRussell]

A bit annoying that Strachan has come out with this... been appreciating the wee radge recently with Scotland's good performances and him not coming out with anything too outrageous.

This is absolute pish though. I'd be embarrassed if we found ourselves back in the league via default/arrangement before sorting our own mess out. It would be slightly akin to spending a shed load of money we didn't have and mounting up endless debt to achieve something, and then just writing it all off, starting again and acting like we hadn't done anything wrong.

Cheers Gordon - but just shut yer puss and get the boys ready for Ireland

[Billy Whizz]

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Two less Old Firm games. Blazers say no.

Think there was going to be a top 8/10 split, ensuring top half played each other 4 times

[Centre Hawf]

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Two less Old Firm games. Blazers say no.

At this point in time they're getting none. They should probably take what they're offered now. I don't in all honesty see them going up this year and another season down here will kill them. Extend the league and they'll take their 2 fixtures.

[Argylehibby]

Gordon strachan made a comment on Sky at the weekend that was along the lines of Scottish footbals is in a state and they should manipulate the leagues to get Hibs, Hearts and Rangers back in the top leage as it would increase crowds and money would flow through the game. Not saying I agree with the sentiment but increasing the size of the league is the only manipulation that would work.

[Keith_M]

We seem to be 100% 'No Thanks Gordon' on this one.

[Biggie]

sorry but wtf has he been smoking ?

[Gatecrasher]

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It wasn't so long ago that the idea of a 16 team SPL was flavour of the month with a high proportion of fans, myself included. As far as I can see there couldn't be a better time than now for the SPFL to give serious consideration to the idea. From what I saw in our game with Dundee Utd, not to mention our defeat of Ross County and the Zombies game with St Johnstone there isn't a great deal to separate the Premiership from the top 4 in our league anyway.

IMO we need to do this to reinvigorate our game .... it would for example give scope to expand the play offs, perhaps even with a one off final.

I know that this has been discussed at length before, but things have changed a bit over the last year .... What do folk think?

The clubs had a great oppertunity to make some changes and the fans were really calling for it but TV and self preservation takes presidence over the developement and the fans of Scottish Football.

[SMAXXA]

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We seem to be 100% 'No Thanks Gordon' on this one.

Interesting given we are the ones likely to still be I'm this division next season.

[hibs0666]

Professional football in Scotland is indeed in a pitiful state. All options should be on the table including a merger with the English leagues.

[WeeRussell]

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We seem to be 100% 'No Thanks Gordon' on this one.

Nae danger...

someone will be along to agree with wee Gogsie shortly

[WeeRussell]

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Nae danger...

someone will be along to agree with wee Gogsie shortly

Ah.

The previous poster got in before me

[Steve20]

I've been a supporter of a 16 team league for well over ten years now. Don't like a 10 team league and a 12 team league means that ridiculous split at the end of the season

[overdrive]

I'm in favour of a 16 team league but in terms of fairness you would have to set out promotion and relegation criteria at the start of a season. Not midway through. I wouldn't want Hibs coming up through some sort of engineered way.

[Phil MaGlass]

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Gordon strachan made a comment on Sky at the weekend that was along the lines of Scottish footbals is in a state and they should manipulate the leagues to get Hibs, Hearts and Rangers back in the top leage as it would increase crowds and money would flow through the game. Not saying I agree with the sentiment but increasing the size of the league is the only manipulation that would work.

Thing is money is and has been flowing better through the game since The Rangers were relegated the past two years, and now that we and the diet buns are relegated there is or has never been a better split of money than now.
Not long ago we were all screaming for a bigger Premier league, it never happened, the league should not be made bigger to accomodate Hbs,herts and newco, it should have came into effect this year or last year as a matter of course, I do not think Scottish fitba has been in a stronger state for quite a while, especially when you take a look at some of the well organised teams/clubs at the moment, we are more competitive than we have been for many a year,and that is without us, take a look at Hamilton, D.Utd, StJ etc..etc...

[Smartie]

I've also been after a bigger top league for some time. I can't be doing with the nonsensical split idea and there is so little difference between 2nd in the prem and the middle of the 1st that there is little likelihood that there would be too many "wee teams" making up the numbers. I'd love it.

It shouldn't be done to help us, Rangers or Hearts though and there are enough question marks about the integrity of the Scottish footballing authorities without rushing nonsense like this through.

It's a "yes" from me but absolutely not this year. Although this is probably the only year that it will be desirable for the authorities.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Kind of puts to bed the thread I started just before this one popped up. I will delete it

For my point of view I understand the school of thought which looks at things purely from a sporting angle. But the state of things currently cannot be ignored, I doubt there was ever a time where anybody would have envisaged a scenario where 3 of Scotland's 5 biggest clubs would be out of the top division. I know the farce in Argentina was mentioned, but I cant help thinking politics as well as finance was at play there. Anyway its not exactly unusual for teams to benefit from league reconstruction ... Aberdeen and Dundee Utd ( I think ) have both done so.

As things stand Motherwell are struggling, St Mirren are up for sale and St Johntone are pleading poverty ... another season in the Championship would be a disaster for Hibs .... even then we would perhaps still have the Yams or a Mike Ashley backed Zombies to contend with next season, which gives the prospect of a third season ..... it could take us 10 years or more to recover.

If the idea was to expand the top league to 14 cubs I don't see how anybody could complain if the top 3 in the Championship were promoted at the end of the season ( you still have to accumulate enough points to get there ) and the bottom premiership club went into a play off with 4th in the Championship. None of the clubs gaining in that scenario would be doing so at the expense of anybody else. Currently 4th in the Championship has to win 2 ties over 2 legs just for a shot at 2nd bottom in the Premiership, so even they would be gaining, but as I say not at anyone's expense.

The fans are still out there as witness the two cup finals last season ..... but the game needs a shot in the arm and a 14 or 16 team Premiership with the 3 biggest derbies in Scottish football reinstated to the top flight could do it. That also affords the opportunity to expand the play offs with perhaps even a one off final. It would also enable us to bin the daft and unfair situation of for example us playing the Yams and Celtic twice away and once at home trying to make the top 6.

IMO Scottish football really needs this. Yes the Yams need a bigger lesson than one season down, yes watching the Zombies certainty that they would make the Premiership in three seasons confounded would be funny and yes Hibs deserve everything they get for sporting mismanagement.

But there is a bigger picture here which cant be ignored and I think it supersedes all of these things .... after all, as I said in the thread I started .... it wasn't all that long ago that a large majority of fans in this country were crying out for league expansion.



I really don't think sporting integrity would be compromised to any great degree in that scenario ......

[hibsforeurope]

Many teams have benefited from league reconstruction one way or another in the past so why not Hibs? As has been said, many supporters have backed league expansion in previous seasons, which would have benefited other clubs being promoted.

To be honest I couldn't care less how we get there but the main thing has to be getting Hibs back in to the top flight ASAP.

I know this may not be popular but this is my view on things.

[Keith_M]

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I really don't think sporting integrity would be compromised to any great degree in that scenario ......

I can't agree with that.

There were no proposals before the season started to have an expanded top league so the only motivation behind it would be to get Hibs, Hearts and The Rangers promoted at a stroke. If all three of us were already in the top league, this idea would never have been mooted.

So, it is nothing but Gerrymandering.



FWIW, I'd much prefer a bigger league, in line with the majority of Fans who answered the SFA's(?) survey, with Clubs playing each other twice... but not in this way.

[Gatecrasher]

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Many teams have benefited from league reconstruction one way or another in the past so why not Hibs? As has been said, many supporters have backed league expansion in previous seasons, which would have benefited other clubs being promoted.

To be honest I couldn't care less how we get there but the main thing has to be getting Hibs back in to the top flight ASAP.

I know this may not be popular but this is my view on things.

I think the point being made is if the changes were being made to benefit us, Hearts and Rangers just to get us back in the top flight then they are being made for the wrong reason. If they are being made to benefit Scottish Football and we just so happened to benefit from that, whilst some may consider it Jammy I would be happy to accept that

[hibsforeurope]

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I think the point being made is if the changes were being made to benefit us, Hearts and Rangers just to get us back in the top flight then they are being made for the wrong reason. If they are being made to benefit Scottish Football and we just so happened to benefit from that, whilst some may consider it Jammy I would be happy to accept that

I don't think it would be possible to promote all 3 unless they finished in the top 3 in the championship. I guess that Strachan's comments have been made with him presuming Hibs, Hearts and Rangers would finish in the top 3 positions.

In the grand scheme of things having 3 of the larger supported teams back in the SPL may well benefit all the teams in the SPL and give the lower leagues more chance of staying up if they do get promoted.