Celtic trying to monopolise Scottish game ?

[Ironside]

your right

he was told he was going to play

was sent out to warm up

froze and got taken off before match started allthough classed as an unused sub

[Bazzaboy]

I remain very sceptical about a 16 team league.  The SPL is already laden with dross and I fail to see how adding another 4 sides who are worse than those already there will improve things.  We had a 10team league and increased it to 12 and it hasn't made the slightest bit of difference. 

[The Baron]

I remain very sceptical about a 16 team league.  The SPL is already laden with dross and I fail to see how adding another 4 sides who are worse than those already there will improve things.  We had a 10team league and increased it to 12 and it hasn't made the slightest bit of difference. 

Good post.

I think trying to campact the good talent that there is would make for a more competitive league.

When the EPL was chopped from 24 teams to 20 the standard went up noticably within a couple of years.

If all the best talent from the top 2 tiers of Scottish football was combined into an elite package (of 1 tier of say 16/18 teams) and the dross was shunted into a conference the standard would be better.

[Ironside]

the problem with the 10 team league was that managers couldnt take the risk of losing out on a SPL space and therefore didnt give young talent a chance instead paying out good money on more experianced but often worse forgein imports
the problem with the 12 team SPL is that its now a case of a team cant afford to be in the bottom 6 of the SPL during the split sue to losing out on a home gate against the old firm
by making it 16 teams the top to middle teams can invest in youth instead of cheap forgien imports improving the scottish team and giving the fan more variety (not watching the same teams playing each other 4-6 times a year) also give us a 30 game league instead of a 38 game league allowing players a chance to rest

[Bazzaboy]

the problem with the 10 team league was that managers couldnt take the risk of losing out on a SPL space and therefore didnt give young talent a chance instead paying out good money on more experianced but often worse forgein imports
the problem with the 12 team SPL is that its now a case of a team cant afford to be in the bottom 6 of the SPL during the split sue to losing out on a home gate against the old firm
by making it 16 teams the top to middle teams can invest in youth instead of cheap forgien imports improving the scottish team and giving the fan more variety (not watching the same teams playing each other 4-6 times a year) also give us a 30 game league instead of a 38 game league allowing players a chance to rest

They are doing that now (with the exception of Hearts).   Going down the foreign route was the "in thing" a few years back, and definetley wasn't a cheap option, there was the odd success story (Latapy and Sauzee spring to mind) but in the main they disappointed.  I can't see how the 10team league can be blamed for this (chairmen and managers should be shouldering the responsibility imo), the fear factor of relegation is always there whether you have a 10/12/16/20 team league.  As for the variety aspect, I agree with you that playing each other 4-6 times a season is far from ideal.

[Ironside]

with a 16 team league relagation is only a fear for about 6  out of the 16 teams rather than 7 or 8 out of 12

meaning there are more team not looking over there shoulder and willing to try out new young talent rather than the trusted work horses

[johnbhoy76]

I don't understand why he clamour for a 16 team league?

How would it be worked?

If we play each other twice then that means a 30 game season.

15 home league games as opposed to 19 at the moment (are season ticket prices going to be reduced?)

Are Setanta going to continue to invest in the SPL with only two Glasgow Derby's each season?

To me the 16 team league has not been thought out properly.

[Ironside]

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

[Bazzaboy]

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

The number of games can't be blamed for the lack of quality.  They play 38 games in virtually every main league in Europe.  No evidence to suggest crowds will increase with a 16 team league.  I'd rather they focused efforts on things like improving the standard of coaching and providing better facilities.  Things that will definetly improve the quality rather than meddling around with size of the league in the hope it provides a miracle cure.

[johnbhoy76]

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

You're an Aberdeen fan yeah?

If Aberdeen lost a home game against Celtic, rangers, Hearts & Hibs

to be replaced by a home game against St Johnstone, Livingston, Dundee & Partick Thistle

How exactly would this increase attendances at Pittodrie?

The SPL had it's best attendances in years last season a 16 team league would destroy Scottish football.

[Ironside]

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

The number of games can't be blamed for the lack of quality.  They play 38 games in virtually every main league in Europe.  No evidence to suggest crowds will increase with a 16 team league.  I'd rather they focused efforts on things like improving the standard of coaching and providing better facilities.  Things that will definetly improve the quality rather than meddling around with size of the league in the hope it provides a miracle cure.

WRONG uefa are desperate to get all leagues in europe playing in 16 team leagues the EPL is trying hard to avoid this

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

You're an Aberdeen fan yeah?

If Aberdeen lost a home game against Celtic, rangers, Hearts & Hibs

to be replaced by a home game against St Johnstone, Livingston, Dundee & Partick Thistle

How exactly would this increase attendances at Pittodrie?

The SPL had it's best attendances in years last season a 16 team league would destroy Scottish football.

because at the moment all teams are playing all other teams 4-6 times a year which is making all the teams understanding teh other teams very well nothing is a surprise
the fans are bored of wathing the same matches week in week out

playing teams once rather than twice at home means fans cant say i'll miss this game we will be playing them again in 2 months times

[raab11]

all structures have good and bad points, depending on the team you support. until the spl board is truly independent it will be done to suit individuals team rather than the good of the league.

10 teams play each other 4 times  or 18 teams play each other twice??? i dont care just get rid of the split, its embarassing!!!

it doesnt really matter celtic will win anyway.

[The Baron]

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

The number of games can't be blamed for the lack of quality.  They play 38 games in virtually every main league in Europe.  No evidence to suggest crowds will increase with a 16 team league.  I'd rather they focused efforts on things like improving the standard of coaching and providing better facilities.  Things that will definetly improve the quality rather than meddling around with size of the league in the hope it provides a miracle cure.

WRONG uefa are desperate to get all leagues in europe playing in 16 team leagues the EPL is trying hard to avoid this

Yes but WHY are they trying to get 16 team leagues?

They are trying to compact the good talent in every league to make them all highly competitive and create more uncertainty of outcome.

This wont work in Scotland as it is not going to compact the talent, it'll just expose how little there is.

[Bazzaboy]

15 home games with bigger crowds better than 18-20 games (yes not all teams get 19 games) with the reduced crowds at present as the fare being put up week in week out is poor due to the 38 games

The number of games can't be blamed for the lack of quality.  They play 38 games in virtually every main league in Europe.  No evidence to suggest crowds will increase with a 16 team league.  I'd rather they focused efforts on things like improving the standard of coaching and providing better facilities.  Things that will definetly improve the quality rather than meddling around with size of the league in the hope it provides a miracle cure.

WRONG uefa are desperate to get all leagues in europe playing in 16 team leagues the EPL is trying hard to avoid this

Yes but WHY are they trying to get 16 team leagues?

They are trying to compact the good talent in every league to make them all highly competitive and create more uncertainty of outcome.

This wont work in Scotland as it is not going to compact the talent, it'll just expose how little there is.

Nail on head. 

[happybhoy]

Having 40 teams in Scotland is just daft, some of these teams literally play in front of a man and his dug. At least a quarter of them should be put out to pasture. We should have 2 divisions instead of 4 and the rest replaced by a decent amateur league and SPL supported nationwide schools league. I don't agree that it was cheap foreigners caused it, I think the teachers strikes in the 80's murdered the game here, football is built on the pyramid structure and a pyramids height is determined by the size of it's base (I'm sure I'm that contravenes the Geneva Convention on torturing analogies). As for the OP, this puzzles me, I'm convinced I read a couple of years ago that UEFA rules where changing and that you had to have X amount of home-grown players and X amount of players that had come through your yoof system, I'm sure it was to kick in in a few years time (ie this season or next) which would make snapping up the best young players important, but I've never heard of it again can anybody confirm or deny?

PS Football manager already had it in place in the 2006 version.