Gribz 919 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Why is the play off system in the championship, league 1 and 2 different to the Premiership? Example Raith Rovers finished second bottom in the Championship and Peterhead second bottom in League one both went straight into the Semi final. As such Raith lost over two legs to Brechin who finished 4th in league 1 and are relegated. This is how it should be. But the team in who finished second bottom in the Premier just has one play off final against the winner of the ties from 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Championship. The team who finishes 11th in the premier should go straight into a play off semi against the team who finishes 4th in the Championship - have one rule across all divisions and make it proper semi finals. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Why is the play off system in the championship, league 1 and 2 different to the Premiership? Example Raith Rovers finished second bottom in the Championship and Peterhead second bottom in League one both went straight into the Semi final. As such Raith lost over two legs to Brechin who finished 4th in league 1 and are relegated. This is how it should be. But the team in who finished second bottom in the Premier just has one play off final against the winner of the ties from 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Championship. The team who finishes 11th in the premier should go straight into a play off semi against the team who finishes 4th in the Championship - have one rule across all divisions and make it proper semi finals. The SPL teams were dragged screaming and kicking into the play-offs; the current system exists to protect the 11th placed team as much as possible. I'm sure I read somewhere that a change had been discussed; not sure if it is being implemented next season or was thrown out. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 919 Posted May 14, 2017 Author Share Posted May 14, 2017 The SPL teams were dragged screaming and kicking into the play-offs; the current system exists to protect the 11th placed team as much as possible. I'm sure I read somewhere that a change had been discussed; not sure if it is being implemented next season or was thrown out. Protecting the 11th place team was exactly what I thought. But the previous SFL board should have been far stronger, they had the trump card in Rangers at the time and should have stood ground. With hindsight they would have been in even a stronger as Hibs at Hearts then came down. Hopefully the change you mentioned comes into play and makes the 11th place side face a proper play off. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 (edited) I think what you need to remember here is that the SPFL Board is made up of the Clubs + ND. The Board can only propose what the members will support at an AGM or EGM called for that specific purpose. Even given the situation of Hearts and Hibs at the time, for those who were in the League then, self-preservation was they key. Bear in mind that most seasons 7/8 teams could finish in the bottom 6 and all of those might finish 11th. So to agree to an 11th place semi final berth meant that most of the teams in the League would have been like turkeys voting for Christmas. IIRC the play offs were already in place in the other divisions, so they probably saw the current system as a major concession of itself. One of the arguments put up by the Premiership teams to defend their position was that they play 2 more games, so their season goes on longer; but that's a bit thin. I couldn't find anything about this online last night but I found this just now from Falkirk FC. There's no date on it, but it seems quite recent: CLUB STATEMENT: SPFL PLAY-OFF STRUCTURE Falkirk Football Club Chairman, Doug Henderson has released the following statement regarding the SPFL Divisional Meeting, which was held last week, during which he discussed the structure of the SPFL play-offs. Doug raised the unfairness of the current system. The SPFL Meeting agreed that the next meeting of Championship sides would discuss the issue to try to come forward with a common proposal. The Competitions and Events Committee of the SPFL also agreed that they would review the matter including any proposal from the Championship Meeting. Doug Henderson said: “The current system is extremely popular with supporters as was shown from the great response from all Clubs during the play-offs over the last three years. But, it has also been shown that it is extremely difficult for a Championship side to win through in up to 6 games when a Premier League side only has to play two. I have proposed that there should be a one off play-off at each stage in the competition so that the maximum number of games a Championship side would play is 3. I think it is possible to restructure the competition without losing any funding. A single game with extra time and penalties at a neutral venue would attract a crowd, in most cases, which would be greater than the sum of the attendances in a two leg play-off. This year, for instance, the Falkirk v Hibs game drew 11,000 at Easter Road and 8,000 at Falkirk. If the game had been played at a neutral venue (like Hampden) on a one-off tie then, in most years, the attendance would be at least 30,000. By comparison, I would estimate that a Falkirk v Dunfermline play-off at Hampden would attract a crowd of over 20,000 – which would be in excess of the sum of the attendances in a two leg match. Some might argue that the TV money would be lost, but the total TV money in this year’s play-offs was £200,000. By comparison, a Quarter Final in the Scottish Cup would attract a TV revenue of £160,000. On this basis it seems to me that it would be more attractive to TV companies to have one-off play-offs with the result at the end of each match and I believe this could be reflected in the income received.” I'm sure a more equitable system will come at some point. However, it's not clear if they are proposing that the Premiership team comes in straight away to a semi final or if they mean 3v4 and then 2v 3/4 in the Championship first. Edited May 15, 2017 by BrahimHemdani typos 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Morbid self interest 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,808 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 IMHO, a play-off between the second last team of the upper tier and second highest of the tier below is interesting. The whole Championship mumbo-jumbo (4th plays 3rd and winners plays 2nd for the right to play Premiership No. 11) as well as the top tier split is total rubbish, IMHO. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 IMHO, a play-off between the second last team of the upper tier and second highest of the tier below is interesting. The whole Championship mumbo-jumbo (4th plays 3rd and winners plays 2nd for the right to play Premiership No. 11) as well as the top tier split is total rubbish, IMHO. I agree with you but involving the 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Championship adds interest to late season games and much needed revenue at the end. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleam 5,960 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 The play off system is worth supporting, if only because it produces the only important decisions in Scottish fitba' which are not made in the boardroom of the piggery. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Bear 0 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Glad to see Raith Rovers relegated. Note to Director Eric Drysdale. Eric,do you remember when Rangers were sent down the leagues,you wanted them dead. How does it feel to get relegated you prat. God doesn't pay back in money.Oops,sorry I shouldn't mention money. That's something you haven't got a lot of.Hope you go bust you s***hole. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinstein 294 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I agree with you but involving the 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Championship adds interest to late season games and much needed revenue at the end. but the revenue is distributed on a points system. So this year Celtic get most of it, the Aberdeen then us....etc. Teams involved in the play offs get very little. which is why the SPFL were miffed when we only charged a fiver and why there's now a minimum £20 a head charge 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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