Football is governed by The Laws of the Game, a rulebook issued by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). Throughout it refers to “matches” and “match officials”. The word “match” is so synonymous with a football game that its meaning is overlooked. The same is true in other sports, especially “boxing matches”.
In boxing the term “mismatch” is also used, to describe contests between fighters who are poorly matched. By definition, these encounters are less regarded, even if one fighter is enormously gifted. Sport flourishes when opponents are matched. This concept is so universally accepted the word “match” has taken over how we talk about events.
Meaningless matches kill sport. They bore spectators, do nothing to develop the abilities of the underdog and can inhibit those of the favourite. In the Scottish Premiership, we have many mismatches. The entire populations of the towns where four club are located would fit into Celtic Park. The town of Dingwall, where Ross County hail from, could fit into Celtic Park 11 times over.
Below this level, the picture does not improve. Financial resources, stadium infrastructure, fan base and youth development schemes are scarcer still. The size of a league should be determined by many things, most notably, its ability to provide genuine matches.
Scottish football was never more healthy than when it had a 10 team top flight with two being relegated. Competition was fierce; five qualified for European football, three missed out on Europe and relegation. Talk of league expansion: more (or worse) mismatches is the antithesis of sport. Give teams at the top, and at each level below them, competition against better matched resources.
It is difficult to imagine the lack child safeguarding which existed so widely in living memory, and resulted in the crimes perpetrated at Celtic Boys Club. Vile predators grabbed a portion of the Celtic brand and used it for their own ends. Celtic have now agreed to compensate some victims, other claimants await conclusion.
Some victims, all boys at the time, recounted disturbing events in the media. Money cannot compensate for what happened, but I am sure the entire Celtic community is pleased payment is going their way. The world has better child safeguarding than it did a few decades ago, but predators have not gone away.
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HH
Good afternoon all from the Tall Cranes. Great pub.
Disagree Paul,from memory a 10 team league encouraged ultra defensive, park 2 buses football, I think we should try and spread what wealth we have,and go to 16 or 18 teams
Well said re the abuse of the kids at Celtic Boys Club. It’s so very important that the harms are acknowledged.
March scorecard :-
St Mirren 2 Celtic 5
Celtic 2 Hibs 0
Celtic 2 Rangers 3
Celtic 3 Hearts 0
P4 W3 D0 L1 F12 A5
10 is boring ,paying the same team 4 times,I’d go to 16 and play 30 games a season plus a possible 10 in Eutopean competition and a potential 9 domestic cup ties.49 games a season if you’re lucky enough to get to 2 domestic finals.
The top 10 became such a borefest that it was expanded. Fans got switched off playing the same teams 4 times over. At least now we only have to play half of them 4 times.
One thing ‘meaningless or low pressure matches’ allows us is the chance to develop younger players where every game isn’t a must win and that alone can be attractive to fans. Plus only playing each team twice.
The biggest issue in Scottish football is we have too many teams and regardless how you slice and dice it, unless teams are willing to amalgamate it will ever be thus.
PTFC,Dunfermline,Falkirk and Raith Rovers have bigger supports than a few teams that are currently in the top tier , Ayr Utd recently opened their néw stand.Playing 4 games against the same opponents bores me.
10 teams is the most quality Scotland can support in a top division.
Playing each other 4 times is competitively fair, and increases the overall quality and challenge of fixtures.
No more easy games against clubs 11 and 12. 36 fixtures is plenty too.
A 10 team 2nd division would similarly be better quality and more competitive too. It could attract a better tv deal and sponsorship.
You could also make 2 down and 8th in a playoff place against 3,4,5 in 2nd division.
All increasing interest and quality.
Finally, more fluidity between top 2 divisions reduces the “cliff edge” effect of relegation.
Have to agree , playing 9 opponents 4 times each would be a cure for insomnia . However , Sky would baulk at the idea that a larger top division could potentially mean only 2 ‘Old Firm’ games a season .
I certainly don’t want to go back to 4 games again, seen it, done it, not interested.
However me thinks any league construction will be dictated by Sky. Their soul interest in Scotland is 4 ‘OF’ games…
It’s 16 teams for me. We have a bunch of clubs with decent fanbases like Dunfermline Dundee Thistle Falkirk, who have been in danger of going under.
Give these clubs a chance to consolidate and grow within a bigger SPL, instead of punishing them into oblivion. Dunfermline are a prime example. A smart stadium in a town of 55k population but fell away badly,losing, they reckon, 4k supporters in the process, never to return.
Paul you also have to remember how the talent dried up with the league being tight and survival the only thing that mattered, therefore no room to blood youngsters and yet packing teams with ‘finished article ‘ foreigners.
Glendaly
A 14 or 16 team league would still give Sky their 4 Glasgow derbies.
and yet, from this meaninglless football fixtures, scotland enjoys the highest per capita attendances in the world.
i dont want a ten, backward step, with no gaurantee that it will improve our lot.
if i look back at our last 12 from 13 league wins, if we take out results against the bottom 2 teams, we win the leagfues anyway, so what is the difference, just leass fixtures. that is all.
No chance Celtic would go for a 16 team 30 game league unless the support was will to pay the prices they pay now plus inflation uplift.
Two divisions of 16 then into “feeder” leagues. The only logical way for a country of this size.
The current setup – although not perfect – is probably the best of a range of bad options.
16 doesn’t give enough games, 18 we just don’t have enough teams to be competitive at the top level.
scotland has 5 teams in europe now, which might become 4.
One man’s mismatch is, sometimes, another man’s shock underdog victory [hat tip Queens Park FC].
No problems with a more even-matched league format as long as we Celts are properly financed and squadded to face the real (weekday) trips and tests of Euro competitions.
That is, is we don’t exit Scotch fitba entirely to join our ambitions fellow-minnows in an Atlantic League.
Doing so, we might leave a comp where the teams were operationally more equitably matched.
16 teams , home and away = 30 fixtures.
aftet that 4 x min leagues of 4. ome and away – 6 fixtures.
top 4 deciding championship.
next 4 – hopefully a european place
next 4 – league position determines final prize money
bottom 4 – the relegation places.
the olf-firmers get their 4 matches, police not happy though that the final 6 games would include this fixture home and away.
Though he avoids using the term, Paul67, (preferring the phrase “NewCo”, (new company-same club) is an unalloyed supporter and backer of the Old Firm franchise. A believer if you like in that old time religion. Tant Pis. To the best of my ken, he has never offered an alternative to the present, because he does not want to be branded as a heretic by his religious leader. Must admit was surprised to read and hear that there are plans to at least look at possible changes to the present set-up in Scottish football, indeed I posted my own position on here for the umteenth time only last week. A position shared by such as !!bada bing!! and possibly Auldheid. Of course the naysayers will say there are too many teams in Scotland, which may or may not be true as regards the SPFL (still not clear how this came about post liquidation) but it is most certainly not true as regards the SPL.
ForeverChangesCSC
Can’t believe anyone other than the money men at the top 6 clubs would have any interest in 10 club league.
It’s a borefest and is bad for the game. The level of jepordy for anyone outside the top 4, never mind 6, stunts youth and player development. It’s bad for the national team and ultimately it’s bad for the smaller clubs bank balance as player trading to England of 17-23 year old could dward our TV and competition money with one good dale.
Games are stale due to over familiarity.
We can’t and shouldn’t look at this through our own lens. Outside Celtic and Rangers the games are competitive and would continue to be so with an extra 2 or 4 teams. The split isn’t of much interest to us or Rangers, but to everyone else it is. A playoff safety battle keeps it interesting and the playoffs involving more teams would be good. 1 automatic and 2 possible promotions and relegations would be much better. Celtic and Rangers need less games in total, not more, while clubs languishimg at the bottom with no European football and less chance of a cup run can fit in more fixtures.
There’s a side argument that Scotland has too many clubs, but that’s a completely different matter.
Saint Stivs.
That’s the best format I’ve heard yet.
Blakey on 2nd April 2025 1:19 pm
You’re correct . I was thinking of the 18 team league somebody mentioned earlier .
Morning everyone.
Just like all good Celtic fans I am glad to see that the victims of these evil men are finally seeing some justice and compensation. No money in the world can make up for what they went through but they have been brave enough to put themselves out their, in a country where sometimes sharing our feelings, is not supposed to be the manly thing to do. When I played at the Boys club back in those days, and in my early days at Celtic, the men who did these things were in and out of Celtic park like it was their home. Bringing their teams laundry up for the apprentices to wash for them for their games on the weekend. Sauntering about talking to management, players, and the top brass of our club at that time. Many people were fooled by these monsters, not just the ones who were sadly abused. Many young player had their trust and emotions wrapped up in these horrible people, who promised them the earth. WHen I look back at some of the beatings, yes kicks and punches that we used to get from these men, and I use that term loosely, the physical abuse was accepted, dont know why, but we all thought that was part and parcel of how your coach treated you, and screamed at you and told you of your worth. We were told that this would toughen you up and make you a man. Complete and utter horseshit. I remember waking up one morning, not so long ago, and seeing my u16 Celtic Boys team picture on the front page of the Daily record and thinking what the feck, and seeing a few of my former friends and teammates pictures blurred out. My ex in Scotland emailed me and asked me did anything ever happen to me like that and did I subconsciously hide it. I told her no, but she knew of all the times when our so-called coach punched me and chased after me, supposedly in fun in the locker room, to the laughter of other teenage kids, but as I said, this was supposed to be our learning curve. I mean I remember going to a This is your life kind of night for one of those evil mean, and seeing some of my heroes from Football, not just Celtic in the room, praising this man. My heart weeps for the victims of Sexual abuse. My heart breaks at my former young friends whose cry for help was ignored or treated off hand by many. The trust that we had in these vile evil creatures annoys me to this day, and seeing how they were treated by the staff at Celtic during the 80s and 90s, cuts me like a knife. Being a teacher and a coach and having young people’s futures in your hands is a big responsibility. the chance to help a young person out in life, or watch them excel at a sport and continue their growth in their sporting passion is a big responsibility and when I look back at the brilliant young men and women, caring mothers and fathers that they have become, successful and sometimes unfortunate at times, it fills my heart up with joy that even after they have left my classroom or my field, they still find the time to continue that friendship and look for advice, even if you benched them now and again. I am so sorry my fellow Cqners for the long post. I was one of those young boys fooled by these men, but fortunately as well, I was a wee bit more worldly than some of those less fortunate. Many young boys lost their innocence and ended up in a dark corner of their world that hopefully now will seem a little brighter with this judgement and can allow them to live out the rest of their lives knowing that they did not do anything wrong. Some bastard stole their childhood.
God bless and sorry.
Sean
Back in the 70’s when one team was dominating they started talking about reconstruction of the League…
Fast forward to 2025 and…
Everyone hates our domination.
HH
Saint Stivs on 2nd April 2025 1:28 pm
16 teams , home and away = 30 fixtures.
aftet that 4 x min leagues of 4. ome and away – 6 fixtures…
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I like the sound of that. The last few games would be manic. I make it that the bottom two were relegated with no further playoffs.
Based on a pareto of attendances:
80% of attendees yields a 10 team league and play 4 times – 80% is the Pareto classic point
Celtic, Huns, Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibs, Dun Utd, St Mirren, Dundee, Killie, Falkirk
If you want 90% it is 16 team league , play twice
add Well, St J, Dunf, Ross C, Raith, Partick
12 team league with 3 times plus split is 87.5%
Not much point going to 14 or 16 in terms of bums on seats
I’d stay at 12 teams as going to 10 is back to the old 4x which nobody likes and if you go 14 or 16 then the Championship will be awful
That is a very honest summary of the football environment we operate in. It’s a brutal summary in fact. So, as I have asked before why do we not try and initiate change? true change. The only way Celtic fc can ever get anywhere near to maximising it’s full potential is to play teams from a different country. we are simply too big a business for the competition we face.
The game has changed beyond all recognition from the very competitive period of the late 70s and early to mid 80’s. It’s impossible for any clubs like Aberdeen, Dundee united and Hearts to realistically provide a challenge.
We have 53,000 season ticket holders but I’d estimate fewer than 50% attend every home game. As a club we can little more than be as dominant as we are domestically. We need to compete better in Europe on a consistent basis but the next step as a growing business would be to grow outwith our local environment. If we do not Celtic will become less and less important on a European and/or global scale. The PL is THE league in World football and continues to grow at an extraordinary rate. There may be some Celtic fans who are happy just to dominate in Scotland but many are not.
Some of the games are a total procession. a Non event almost. A friend of mine hopes we go behind in every game until HT so we can see an edge to games. How ridiculous is that.
Fair play to you Paul, for calling a spade a shovel.
Re: The Abuse cases. The club should have been much more open about this shame. I appreciate their must be caution but even if you legally do not accept the two entities are the exact same, you also should (publically) declare the undeniable link.
Brave and excellent post Sean. Thank you.
One other point. There is a lot of chat about 10 team league being boring. We play most teams 4 times anyway. It’s not radically different. It is very boring at the moment.
Newcastle fans are patting themselves on the back as they get 52000 every other week but they watch Premier league teams. We do it and 75% of our games are not competitive.
Change is vital for the survival of our name or will cease to be any kind of force outwith Scotland.
thats going well, what a model.
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However, Leeds United, also owned by 49ers Enterprises and whose chairman Paraag Marathe and American tycoon Andrew Cavenagh will soon have the keys to Ibrox, posted a pre-tax loss of £61million in their latest set of accounts.
Paraag Marathe, President of 49ers Enterprises
Paraag Marathe, President of 49ers Enterprises(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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It means the Yorkshire club’s losses over the past three seasons is now at a staggering £131.2m. However, while the 49ers bought a 15% stake in the Elland Road outfit in 2021, and while they were involved at board level during that period, it is only since their full takeover in July 2023 that they have called the shots outright.
The financial results are for the period up until the end of June 2024 and it was always forecasted that it be would a difficult year financial after after dropping from the English Premier League to the Championship 12 months prior.
But the scale of the club’s loss was unknown until the accounts were published. Leeds recorded revenue of £127.6m which was 33 per cent down on the previous years total of £189.7m, with broadcast revenue streams dropping dramatically from £111.5m in the top flight, down to £53.5m in the Championship.
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The loss in TV cash this was offset to some extent by £69m worth of player sales – they raked in £69.1m in player sales, with the likes of Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Archie Gray leaving the club on permanent transfers during the accounting period – and a player trading profit of £30.9 million – something that will excite Rangers fans given it’s an area they have been desperately looking to improve.
Sean
That is up there with the best ever posts on CQN.
As a matter of interest, is there anyone supportive of going back to the old ten, apart from P67?
Sean
Great post…..thank you.
no its a no for me.
Boondock Saint at 1.49
Totally humbled by that, Sean. Thanks for writing it and letting the rest of us read it.
TBB
Why must the powers that be complicate things. The answer is simple, just keep 12 and scrap the split.
Too fucking easy obviously
KINGLuBO