What the fuck?

[Remmie]

The SPL is fucking weird:

Click this link- BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Premier | Table

Check out the * bit at the bottom:

* Note that table splits in half for last five games of season - no team from top six can drop into bottom six, and no bottom six team can climb into top six, irrespective of points earned.

Why?

[Newport]

Not as weird as the Dutch league where only the league winners are guaranteed a Champions League spot. Then the teams placed second to ninth have a playoff for the European spots. Second to fifth place plays for the place in the third qualifying round in the Champions League and the three UEFA cup spots. Sixth to ninth plays for the Intertoto cup spot. It has been heavily critisised by the fans, clubs and everyone else not involved in the football association.

I believe they came up with this idea at a coffee shop in Amsterdam.

[real red]

Originally Posted by Remmie

The SPL is fucking weird:

Click this link- BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Premier | Table

Check out the * bit at the bottom:

* Note that table splits in half for last five games of season - no team from top six can drop into bottom six, and no bottom six team can climb into top six, irrespective of points earned.

Why?

Obvious: Originally the SPL contained 10 clubs, but it subsequently enlarged to 12 for the 2000-01 season onwards. The increase from 10 clubs to 12 was part of the deal offered to obtain approval from SFL member clubs. Since then, the SPL has operated a "split league format" to prevent the need for a 44-game schedule, which was once used in the Scottish Premier Division, but is now considered to be too high a number of games in a league season. Under this system, after 33 games (i.e., when every club has played every other club three times, either twice away and once at home, or vice-versa), the division is split into two halves, and clubs play a further five matches, against the teams in their half of the division, taking their total to 38 games.

This can (and often does) result in the team placed seventh having a higher points total than the team placed sixth, because their final five games are considerably easier. In the 2005/2006 season, the seventh placed club, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, gained more points than the fourth placed club Hibernian.

[TG3]

Originally Posted by real red

Obvious: Originally the SPL contained 10 clubs, but it subsequently enlarged to 12 for the 2000-01 season onwards. The increase from 10 clubs to 12 was part of the deal offered to obtain approval from SFL member clubs. Since then, the SPL has operated a "split league format" to prevent the need for a 44-game schedule, which was once used in the Scottish Premier Division, but is now considered to be too high a number of games in a league season. Under this system, after 33 games (i.e., when every club has played every other club three times, either twice away and once at home, or vice-versa), the division is split into two halves, and clubs play a further five matches, against the teams in their half of the division, taking their total to 38 games.

This can (and often does) result in the team placed seventh having a higher points total than the team placed sixth, because their final five games are considerably easier. In the 2005/2006 season, the seventh placed club, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, gained more points than the fourth placed club Hibernian.

You could argue that it you got an unfair draw though couldn't you in that you could have played both Celtic and Rangers twice away and only once at home whereas your rivals had the opposite. Or the 7th place team played the 6th place team twice at the 6th place teams ground and only one at home. Too much room for argument.

[RoboRiise]

I blame this on the deep-fried Mars bars myself. Madness.

[Unrighteous]

Originally Posted by RoboRiise

I blame this on the deep-fried Mars bars myself. Madness.

Those heart stoppers are bloody tasty though... seriously...

[lfc4eva99]

Why not just the season at 33 games, extra greed for money....

[Jorge Borge]

Originally Posted by Unrighteous

Those heart stoppers are bloody tasty though... seriously...

Agreed. Couldn't eat a whole one though...oooh, sickly.

[Thants]

Just an attempt to make the scottish league vaguely exciting to the 20 men and their cows who watch the game.

[real red]

Wait until you see how they sort out the draw for their 39th Game.

[Cath]

Originally Posted by TG3

You could argue that it you got an unfair draw though couldn't you in that you could have played both Celtic and Rangers twice away and only once at home whereas your rivals had the opposite. Or the 7th place team played the 6th place team twice at the 6th place teams ground and only one at home. Too much room for argument.

I thought there was some rule whereby they lump both OF clubs in together and say that you get the same number of OF games home and away. Could be wrong. I believe that was to appease the smaller clubs over gate receipts more than anything though.
Gotta love the way Fitba fans in the central belt complain about the trip to Inverness. I hope they never join the Prem and get Portsmouth away on a Wednesday evening.