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Could a Scottish style championship split work in the EFL?

jimmymelrose
jimmymelrose Posts: 10,170
in Other Football and Sports

I’d never really understood how this works until reading this article

It has led me to wonder if it could work in the EFL. Next season the play-offs are going down to 8th place, an idea I don’t like. I would find it more acceptable to go down to 12th place and then add to the points tally in a split league.

This would mean:

  1. An initial 23 games (24 teams
  2. A split 11 games (12 teams)
  3. Expanded play offs

The only question is what the bottom half teams would do at Stage 3. Maybe relegation play-offs? Any innovative ideas? I’m not totally serious, just curious as to whether we could come up with a similar system.

This system has been in place in Scotland for over 20 years now so it must be considered a success.

Comments

  • Friend Or Defoe
    Friend Or Defoe Posts: 18,269
    If you do the opposite of what the Scots do, you're usually on to a winner.
  • North Lower Neil
    North Lower Neil Posts: 23,535
    Scotland have that system due to the 12 team leagues not being a natural fit to reach the 40ish game mark that is a decent amount of games to spread over a league season.

    Why complicate a 24 team league that doesn’t have that issue?
  • Rothko
    Rothko Posts: 19,119
    no, because we don't have a league that is 1) small, 2) so reliant on one fixture driving it's TV deal
  • bobmunro
    bobmunro Posts: 21,606
    As others have said, not in a 24 team league with 46 games a season.
    How many times have a team in the bottom half put a great run together and made the play-offs. Quite a few I would guess and splitting the league in half would eliminate that possibility.
  • jimmymelrose
    jimmymelrose Posts: 10,170
    North Lower Neil said:
    Scotland have that system due to the 12 team leagues not being a natural fit to reach the 40ish game mark that is a decent amount of games to spread over a league season.

    Why complicate a 24 team league that doesn’t have that issue?
    Well, they used to play each other four times hence having a 44 game season. It could be argued that change to that system wasn’t necessary and that there wasn’t an issue either.
  • Rothko
    Rothko Posts: 19,119
    jimmymelrose said:
    North Lower Neil said:
    Scotland have that system due to the 12 team leagues not being a natural fit to reach the 40ish game mark that is a decent amount of games to spread over a league season.

    Why complicate a 24 team league that doesn’t have that issue?
    Well, they used to play each other four times hence having a 44 game season. It could be argued that change to that system wasn’t necessary and that there wasn’t an issue either.
    It’s a TV thing for the Scots, you need more Old Firm derbies to make the maths add up 
  • Chippycafc
    Chippycafc Posts: 14,463
    No...imagine getting beat 4 times by Millwall in a season.
  • sam3110
    sam3110 Posts: 22,899
    Nope, they do it because their pissy little league is completely irrelevant and useless.

    Why do they bother with 4 leagues? Most smaller countries get by with 2, they should just make it 2 24 team leagues and get on with it, but the whole thing relies clubs getting to play Rangers and Celtic 4 times a season to sell tickets
  • se9addick
    se9addick Posts: 32,728
    Chippycafc said:
    No...imagine getting beat 4 times by Millwall in a season.
    You assume we’d be in the same half after the split, I admire the optimism!
  • se9addick
    se9addick Posts: 32,728
    In all seriousness no, this would be a rubbish idea in England. It only makes (some sort of) sense in leagues with fewer numbers of teams. I think the practice started in Belgium before being adopted in Scotland and we all know how much those folks know about football. 

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  • killerandflash
    killerandflash Posts: 71,708
    bobmunro said:
    As others have said, not in a 24 team league with 46 games a season.
    How many times have a team in the bottom half put a great run together and made the play-offs. Quite a few I would guess and splitting the league in half would eliminate that possibility.
    Norwich, in great form now, would be stuck in the wrong half.

    Even Southampton might have been in the bottom half when the league split - it would have been bizarre for them to dominate the second half of the season, with no hope of promotion.
  • EveshamAddick
    EveshamAddick Posts: 7,125
    No thanks.
  • iaitch
    iaitch Posts: 10,578
    The old adage 'if it's not broke comes' to mind.
  • CharltonKerry
    CharltonKerry Posts: 3,015
    No. Out of interest would we have even gone up last year if this was in place?
  • guinnessaddick
    guinnessaddick Posts: 29,991
    CharltonKerry said:
    No. Out of interest would we have even gone up last year if this was in place?
    Yes, we were 11th after 23 games, I did wonder the same & checked.
  • The Red Robin
    The Red Robin Posts: 27,550
    What would be the point? 
  • jimmymelrose
    jimmymelrose Posts: 10,170
    The Red Robin said:
    What would be the point? 
    There no point in extending the play offs to eight teams except to make more money. 
  • Friend Or Defoe
    Friend Or Defoe Posts: 18,269
    iaitch said:
    The old adage 'if it's not broke comes' to mind.
    In this case it's even worse. One of the most commercially successful leagues in the world taking an idea from one which is struggling.

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