Play-off for SPL title

[ian1964 10,761]

SCOTTISH football could change forever with plans for money-spinning play-offs in the SPL.

 

Representatives of Hearts, Kilmarnock and Dundee United have secretly discussed ground-breaking proposals to bring the format to the top FOUR teams in Scotland.

 

SunSport can reveal their sensational plans would mean the team who finished top of the league WOULDN'T automatically be crowned champions.

 

Instead, there would be two-legged semi-finals between first and fourth and second and third, before a glittering winner-takes-all Hampden showdown.

 

The men behind the plan - which they believe will be worth at LEAST �£4million per season - had hoped to table the sensational plans at today's SPL summit which was postponed due to the weather.

 

Last night an SPL insider revealed the top-secret proposals United, Killie and Hearts believe will smash the Old Firm's football stranglehold.

 

A source said: "This has only come to the fore in the last 48 hours but the implications are MASSIVE.

 

"The league propose play-offs at the bottom but is that really going to float the boat of the broadcasters or fans?

 

"If you do it at the bottom, why not the top? It's radical and people will initially assume it's madcap. The people involved say it's anything but."

 

The minds behind the controversial system acknowledge the Old Firm are likely to be against it.

 

They believe that's exactly why EVERY other club will back the move.

 

They have calculated all five play-off games would attract a total of 200,000 fans, with gate receipts totalling �£4m.

 

That's before any broadcasting deal to show the play-offs would be struck.

 

Going by last season's final SPL table, Walter Smith's champs Rangers, Celtic, Dundee United and Hibs would all have been involved.

 

A source said: "There isn't a reason why anyone outside the Old Firm SHOULDN'T vote for this. They've nothing to lose."

 

Dundee United chief Stephen Thompson admitted he was in favour of play-offs at the top end of the table.

 

He said: "The proposals that have been put to us contain a lot of decent ideas and a lot of good things have been tabled.

 

"However, if there is to be a 10-team league - and I still do not think that is right from a purely footballing sense - why can't it be more radical?

 

"I strongly believe that fans of teams outwith the Old Firm have become fed up of those two sharing the title between them.

 

"It is incredible and extremely regrettable that the last non-Old Firm title win was 25 years ago.

 

"I think we need to go further and make things more interesting at the top of the table as well as having promotion/ relegation play-offs."

 

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/3309058/Play-off-for-SPL-title.html#ixzz18dMejHZU

[Gribz 917]

Only the SPL could come up with such nonsense. the team that wins the league 'doesnt' win it!

[Gazza_8 233]

What a farce!

 

To publish this is an embarrasment!

[Frankie 8,652]

Nonsensical proposal...

 

Why even have 32 games before it? Just have a seeded 4 team league each season...

[Gribz 917]

Seems the SPL is going to go backwards, I didnt think that would be possible. Nonsense like this coming out and plans edging towards a 10 team league which would kill it.

[CumbernauldGers 0]

Is this for real?

 

So lets imagine this, fans pay all season to watch Rangers and we are 10 points clear after the last game. But we go into this playoff with a few injuries and lose to the tims and draw with Hearts which means Hibs or tims win the league after being 10 or 20 points hind us??

 

This just confirms that the people who run the football here and came up with this need to be removed asap. No fans will pay money to watch a team all year to lose the lot due to 2 games.

[ian1964 10,761]

Rangers manager Walter Smith believes the notion of a play-off to decide the Scottish league title is unrealistic.

 

Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson has suggested any league reconstruction plans could include a title play-off, similar to the Netherlands league.

 

"Do you think that's fair? Of course it's not," said Smith.

 

"There's an SPL strategy committee - I don't think that's their idea is it? Is it the idea of the people who are outwith that committee do you think?"

[Bluedell 5,679]

I'd give up my season ticket if they introduced this nonsense as most of the games played would be meaningless. It wouldn't matter if we won or lost any game as only the play-offs would matter.

 

Bring in more cash? Bring in less, more likely.

[Gribz 917]

What this is saying is the league campaign would be qualifiers for the the SPL Cup competition. Horrendous idea.

[bluedan 93]

Joke and i hate it. They do this in the Aussie rules. Top 8 go into knock outs. So if you finish top after winning the 'Minor premiership' as they call it, you get a rest for a few weeks while the teams that finish 8th and 7th play each other and so on.

Couple of years ago Hawthorn beat Geelong in the 'Grand Final' to win the Premiership title. It was the only game Geelong lost all season. Complete joke of a system.

 

It wouldn't work, this system doesnt belong in football and would make a complete farce (even more a farce) of Scottish football.

Here's an idea for the Dundee Utd's of this world, if you want to compete then dont sell your best players to the OF...