Mark Warburton reckons Rangers have also been victims of the SPFL fixture fallout

[ian1964 10,721]

THE Light Blues boss claims his club have also been affected after being handed two away days at Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts before the league separates into top and bottom six next spring.

 

MARK WARBURTON has told Motherwell and Partick Thistle they are not alone in feeling a fall out from the new season fixture list.

 

The Rangers boss claims his club have also been affected after being handed two away days at Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts before the league separates into top and bottom six next spring.

 

Premiership rivals Well and Thistle have demanded compensation from the SPFL after being handed only two home games before the SPFL split against the Old Firm.

 

The SPFL have followed their own rules by handing the newly-promoted Light Blues the fixture schedule of last season’s relegated club, Dundee United.

 

Thistle and Motherwell are upset after league bosses after budgeting for the new campaign on the old set up, in which games against Scottish football’s big two were more evenly split.

 

Asked about the fixture list, Warburton said: “I’m sure there are problems everywhere. I could sit here as Rangers manager and say we’ve got Celtic, Aberdeen and Hearts away twice, at home only once, before the split.

 

“How does that work? It’s the first time for me experiencing the split. It’s very, very unusual - I’m used to home and away, you know where you stand.

 

Gary Ralston on telling Mark Warburton about Iceland's win and more from Rangers' pre-season trip

 

“I’m sure the gripe of Motherwell and Partick Thistle isn’t with Rangers, but has got to be with the authorities. It shows you how much the league has missed Rangers, I guess.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mark-warburton-reckons-rangers-also-8313002#SUbwvcyAuupY95fD.97

[craig 5,199]

About time someone actually called this one out. We mentioned it on here when the fixtures came out, but the media were so fixated on Thistle and Motherwell that they ignored the fact we were given two away games against each of the top 3 in last seasons top tier.

 

Warburton is 100% spot on. Yet there are still a ton of Tims who believe that the fixture list was fixed to assist us.....

[calscot 0]

The biggest problem I have with facing the top 3 sides twice away before the split, is that it means that with the amazingly short-sited seeding system, that we have a chance of facing one or more of them 3 times away, with no chance of facing them 3 times at home.

 

The fact it's all three is highly suspicious as the chances of that in a draw with a random element is very low and you'd expect them to build in a seeding system whereby this shouldn't happen to any team. What about teams that might not qualify for the top 6? If they received this draw it could mean they have only 3 home games against the top three sides from the previous season, in total. Not only is that unfair in a sporting sense, but also potentially in a financial sense, and even just giving season ticket holders a chance to watch their side against the top sides of last season.

 

It seems there is no mechanism to match the previous one where all teams were guaranteed 3 homes games in total against the OF, either one way or another, so in future, even if the OF finish first and second, some clubs could get the OF twice and home and others four times.

 

It's turned a sort of almost workable split system into a complete farce with no sporting integrity. Although with that last phrase, I can't see how we can be surprised.

[calscot 0]

I do hope there are no anomalies and it means that we face all three at home in the last 5 games.

[craig 5,199]

I do hope there are no anomalies and it means that we face all three at home in the last 5 games.

 

I can almost guarantee we will face at least one of them 3 times away in the league this season Cal.

[Bearman 9]

I can almost guarantee we will face at least one of them 3 times away in the league this season Cal.

 

There is no way we'd have to go to Parc de Savile 3 times...even they know that cannot happen!

[Bearman 9]

We can always look on the positive side though.

 

If we assume Aberdeen and Hearts are top class sides because they finished 2nd and 3rd then we also have to assume the rest are pure diddies ...meaning we get them TWICE at home.

 

With Ibrox being jammed packed full of 12th men then we will have a great day out slaughtering the meek.:devil:

[JFK-1 1,693]

Warburton is 100% spot on. Yet there are still a ton of Tims who believe that the fixture list was fixed to assist us.....

 

Can you give me any examples going around in the crazy bubble of how this assists us? The crazy bubble inhabitants don't grasp we would gladly take their fixture list as the manager just demonstarted? Would they like to be going to Ibrox twice before the split? They could always ask the league to accomodate that and they wouldn't have any complaints from our side.

[pete 2,499]

Can you give me any examples going around in the crazy bubble of how this assists us? The crazy bubble inhabitants don't grasp we would gladly take their fixture list as the manager just demonstarted? Would they like to be going to Ibrox twice before the split? They could always ask the league to accomodate that and they wouldn't have any complaints from our side.

If there still is a title race then i doubt severely they would have the brass neck to give us a 3rd away game to celtic so I am not too worried at that but a 3rd away game at Hearts or Aberdeen is a strong possibility. What a stupid set-up it is and since there has been no announcement anything will change for next season I guess nothing will be changing soon.

[JFK-1 1,693]

If there still is a title race then i doubt severely they would have the brass neck to give us a 3rd away game to celtic so I am not too worried at that but a 3rd away game at Hearts or Aberdeen is a strong possibility. What a stupid set-up it is and since there has been no announcement anything will change for next season I guess nothing will be changing soon.

 

I'm still wondering how this could possibly be construed as favouring us in any way.