Crunch time in the SPL
As the SPL splits in two for the final 5 games, Jodie Gardiner summarises the state of play, discusses the concept of the separation and opens a debate on the possibility in the future to change the system.
Thirty-three games down, five to go and the much maligned split is upon the SPL amidst the annual debate on its merits. Every club in the league now knows what it can or can’t achieve this season and everyone, with the sole exception of Motherwell, has something to play for. In the bottom half, Falkirk will be looking to pull off an escape that’s looking increasingly unlikely as Terry Butcher’s Inverness resurgence continues. St. Mirren, Hamilton and Kilmarnock are all locked on 34 points, five points clear of John Hughes’ side and will be looking somewhat uncomfortably over their shoulders. The beauty of the split, of course, is that all these sides will now face each other again, so anything is possible. The only team clear of the danger zone are the aforementioned Motherwell, who, on the surface, have nothing tangible to play for beyond pride. Manager Mark McGhee has called on the players to show their desire to play for the club next season though, so perhaps the Steelmen will be as difficult to beat as they have been since the turn of the year.
In the top half, everything is still up for grabs. Hearts are in pole position for the first of the Europa League spots, sitting five points ahead of Dundee United. Manager Csaba Laszlo has brought a bit more consistency to the capital club and it looks unlikely they will surrender their advantage in the closing stages. Dundee Utd and Aberdeen will contest the last remaining European place, although Hibs aren’t out of the running quite yet.
At the summit, Celtic have nosed in front by a point and a three goal advantage. Perhaps somewhat disappointingly, the final ‘Old Firm’ game of the season takes place in the second round of post-split fixtures. The reason for this is, sadly, Scotland’s shame. A bonafide title decider between these two clubs means half the city of Glasgow goes on a drunken rampage to celebrate, while the other half goes on a drunken rampage to vent their frustrations. By holding it early, neither side will have secured the title after this match, so the violence and disruption will theoretically be minimised. The Parkhead side might be happy with a draw in this one, although Rangers could need a win if they are to put their chances in their own hands, as you would realistically expect both of the Glasgow giants to be firm favourites in all their remaining matches.
The split itself is often the source of much controversy. In order for all teams to play 19 games both home and away, Rangers’ away tie with high-flying Hearts has been switched to Ibrox with the Govan side instead travelling to face Hibs at Easter Road, where Rangers have won twice already this year. This has caused Celtic to write to the SPL although no noises are being made from Gordon Strachan or the team. While there are some obvious issues (it’s entirely possible that the team finishing in seventh will have more points than the team in sixth, for example) one cannot doubt that meaningless games are all but avoided and the fact that all the teams around each other go into combat means that dramatic changes in league position can happen in the blink of an eye. The cliché of the 6-pointer is brought to life up and down the division, ensuring the fans have something to get excited about whatever position their team might currently occupy.
A number of alternatives have been proffered to the current format, one of which is that teams should play the entire division home and away, taking it to 22 games, then perform the split and play all the teams in your bracket home and away, for a total of 32 league games and no issues with the fixtures. This variation would allow the SPL to have a winter break and avoid the plethora of call-offs which have plagued the league in recent years. I’m not necessarily a subscriber to the theory that there is too much football played in Scotland but a shorter league campaign would surely be welcomed by most teams (not necessarily the moneymen behind them, of course) whether that’s the top sides being more capable of mounting a European campaign or the less well-off ones coping with the rigours of a season with a small squad size.
Love it or loathe it, the core idea of the split certainly ensures some drama at the end of a national league competition that often struggles to entertain.
I’m enjoying the wide range of different leagues and players people are writing about here at the moment, what do you think about the proposals of a two tier Premier League involving the Old Firm? as a Motherwell fan would it be better to play in a league you could compete to win? I read an article by Chick Young today which argued that the Old Firm would still get all the attention anyway, the SPL just wouldn’t benefit from any of it anymore so he was completely against it. It seems inevitable that eventually they will find a future away from the SPL eventually, I just hope the league survives.
I was going to save that particular topic for the next column Alex but the more I thought about it the more I realised the article would go something like: Old Firm to England? Never gonna happen. This discussion rears its ugly head a couple of times a season it seems but there really is no chance of it ever happening, for me. If it did though, I think it would mean dire consequences for the Scottish league. To answer your question about Motherwell, I’d rather be playing for third every season than not having a club to support at all. Take out the money generated by playing the two Glasgow giants and that really could be something that transpires.
I’m not worried though. It’s just paper talk.
A great article – a reminder of a league that so often gets discarded and shouldn’t, especially as they are normally represented well in Europe. Steve’s also doing this with Germany and it’s great to know I’m not just sat there reading about Italy, Spain and England….
I don’t know the history of the split in Scotland but I’m personally not a fan. I’m a big believer in the phrase “the league never lies” (told to me by a Scotsman) but surely the 6th and 7th place goes against that.
As you say the next natural topic is to talk about the Old Firm but I’d love to hear more on the reason for the split and anything it’s thrown up over the years!
The split first came into effect in 2001 to address the issue of meaningless games towards the tail end of the season, and to avoid the need for a 44 game campaign. It doesn’t always work, of course. Last term, for example, Gretna were officially relegated on the 29th March – before the split, meaning 7th through 11th in the league literally had nothing significant to play for.
The 2005-06 season saw 7th place Inverness end up with more points (58) than 4th place Hibs (56). Of course, Caley Thistle had an easier run-in but it still highlights what you are saying about the league never lying, Steve. The following season, Falkirk ended a point ahead of but a position below Hibs. Quirky, but it actually happens more often than not given the inevitable discrepancies between the fixtures.
I’m generally in favour of it to be honest. Obviously, my team has lost out from it this time round and it’s frustrating that we could still accumulate enough points to “take” 4th place but now have nothing to play for.
Can anyone think of an alternative format or solution that solves both problems of a 44 game season and the meaningless mismatches? Increasing the league to 18 teams solves the former but not the latter. I’ve scratched my head a bit but nothing useful has emerged so far.
In my opinion the bigger league would be the way forward. Even though there may be more mismatched games, it gives those teams players a chance to step up. Could that also have the effect of lifting other teams, Motherwell for instance could beat Rangers or Celtic in a one off game, but have to play them 4 times over a season. It seems like it would make the league a closer run thing?
Add into that the attitude of the smaller teams incorporated into an 18 team league, the games against the big teams will be massive occassions for them. They’d never be an easy game I’m sure. Maybe it’s worth looking at what similar sized countries do and how the SPL compares with their leagues?
Portugal (16 teams) and Holland (18 teams) probably have similar league dynamics to the SPL. A small number of elite teams propped up by a majority of provincial sides. Neither of these leagues is particularly prestigious. Indeed, as with the SPL, when you compare the scoring records of players at the top clubs in these divisions you need to factor in that a lot of the time the opposition is quite weak. It’s debatable if Henrik Larsson, say, would have scored as many as he did while at Celtic if he’d been playing for a top side in the EPL or in Spain. It’s difficult to compare, as he didn’t play a huge amount of games for Barca or Man U to get an accurate reflection but the record books say 174 in 221 for Celtic (phenomenal), 13 in 40 for Barca and 1 in 7 games for Utd. Not sure what the point of that aside is, to be fair…
Ah yes. “wee” teams. I see your point about Motherwell only having to play the Old Firm twice a season, meaning a greater sense of occasion for them but what this means is that (theoretically) worse teams than Motherwell will play the big teams the other two games that would have been against Motherwell. In other words, the standard of the opposition for Rangers and Celtic would go down as more teams are added to the league, not up. Small teams can get as “up for it” as they like but class still shows and undoubtedly the quality of Rangers and Celtic players would mean that 5, 6 or 7 nil games would be more and more frequent. The gulf between mid table 1st division and the top of the SPL is massive, REALLY massive.
Towards the end of the season with 16 or 18 teams, how many of the fixtures of a weekend will have any significance whatsoever? 3 or 4 perhaps?
You do make some good points but I have to disagree that enlarging the league is going to improve quality, entertainment or anything else that’s measurable for Scottish football. For me, the split just works, silly as some of the potential permutations may, on the surface, appear.
Fair point well made, I was going down the train of thought that the teams chasing Rangers and Celtic would be winning more games and so in theory be closer in terms of points if they could spring a few upsets.
Don’t get me wrong, like you I think the split is a good thing, quite an innovative way of adding some excitement. Would the provincial Scottish teams not improve over a number of years though? Why do you think that Scotland don’t produce players of the calibre of Portugal or Holland? Not suggesting that it’s because of the league structure by the way, just curious. Do you think it’s possible for a team outside the Old Firm to win the league?
The older generation here in Scotland tend to point to the slow eradication of pitches and the rise in computer gaming as two reasons why todays kids aren’t reaching the standards of players in the 70s and 80s did. I’m not so sure. Holland and Portugal are presumably both seeing this happen although my experience of their grass-roots structures is limited, to say the least. Their kids will still all be playing Xboxes though, so it’s hard to use that as an excuse.
The game has changed a lot since Scotland was producing some players considered “World Class”. Super wages mean the sport is generally played at the top level by super athletes with super technical ability (although there are of course exceptions). The culture in the 70s and 80s was quite different. Drinking, even smoking wasn’t all that rare amongst top level footballers. Both these things are specialist subjects for the Scots
I’m not sure how much of an effect the league structure has on this either. Very few of the Dutch national side play their club football in Holland, to a lesser extent the same is true of the Portuguese. Rangers and Celtic provide the bulk of the Scotland squad generally, at least in terms of the players playing in Scotland. It’s rare for a non Old Firm Scot, playing his football in Scotland, to get a look-in. Managers prefer to look to the Championship down south instead.
I don’t think it’s possible in the foreseeable future for a club outwith the Old Firm to win the league. Either of the two can have a poor season and (like recently) Hearts or someone else could squeeze in between them but it’s unthinkable that both Glasgow giants would have a bad one in the same year. I really hope I’m proven wrong. To be honest, most provincial club fans see 3rd as the realist “top slot”, so by that logic, Motherwell are reigning Champions. Do I not like that.