16 spfl premiership? 2 up 2 down? based on 2021-2022 league placings 1, Celtic 2. Rangers 3. Hearts of Midlothian 4. Dundee United 5. Motherwell 6, Ross county 7. Livingston 8. Hibernian 9. ST Mirren 10. Aberdeen 11, St Johnstone 12. Dundee 13. Kilmarnock 14. Arbroath 15, Inverness (r) 16. Partick Thistle (r)
18 or 20 is the optimal number as it is the only two numbers that meets the desired requirements of the top league? criteria one: clubs play 17 teams 2 times, any more times is boring any less times in not enough. fans bored with play each other team in the league three/four times or more times. unfair if clubs only played each other 1 or 0 times. criteria 2 any format giving less than 34 fixtures would not give club enough fixtures while any format giving any more than 38 fixtures is too many fixtures. So only a 18/20 team league size with each team playing each other team in the league twice gives us both club playing 34/38 games i.e. not to few or too many games and playing each other twice not to many times or two few times.
choose any format you like and tells us what your optimal SPL would be. any format you like? P.S There is no set number of clubs in your answer any number of clubs goes? for me 2 division top league of 20 second tire of 22 teams. I would like to point out before all the nonsense of making the leagues smaller* (the old setup) we as a nation had players in every top team in England Celtic Rangers Aberdeen all won European trophies Scotland Qualified for 5 world cups in a row or 6 out of 7 Wake up people and the reason was because clubs were not scared to play younger players go back to WHAT WE HAD IT WORKED. * Knowing the price of everything the value of nothing.
The optimum number of divisions is 2. The only question left is how many teams in each divisions. The answer is top tier 18 bottom tier 24 if we are stuck with 42 teams. 3 up three down. other wise it is ?
Id be in favor but it will never happen due to the powers that be view Rangers v Celtic as the only matches worth showing so they need to assure it happens 4 time a year.
So why did Scottish football not go bust when there was no old firm matches when rangers were in the lower leagues of scottish football.
I would have a 16 team league to free up weeks for cross border cups on top of domestic and Eurioean football. We could have cross border cups with Scottish, Welsh, English, German, French, Northern Irish, Republic of Ireland, Belgian, Dutch, and Danish club sides. Maybe a Celtic Nations Cup with clubs from the Celtic nations. With Scottish sides making up most of the numbers?
It would free up more space for fitting in more European games and an expanded club world cup, plus it would leave the clubs currently in 12,11,10 places in the league fire fighting relegation each season. Scottish football was in a far healthier position when the league set up was two divisions top flight 18 teams bottom tier 20 teams with two relegated from top flight to bottom tier and two promoted to top tier from bottom tier. Size Matters There is two many divisions in the SPFL which part of this are you not getting. United we stand divided we fall. Far to often clubs vote for what is in their best interest but not what is best for Scottish Football. --------------------------------------------------------------------