New League Cup Format And Winter Break

[Pudgie]

http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/new-league-cup-format-announced/

[The Boofon]

Qualifying for Europe a must now. Sounds fucking horrendous.

[The Boofon]

What they going to do when we lose/gain a European place?

 

Are the groups regionalised?

[dave_min]

Qualifying for Europe a must now. Sounds fucking horrendous.

 

Sounds less horrendous that visiting Kazakhstan with 6 days notice.

[newcastlered]

What they going to do when we lose/gain a European place?

 

Are the groups regionalised?

 

 

Celtic will get a bye to the final because of Europe and BT Sport and the SPFL will ensure that we're playing both Morton and Lala Land FC on the same day.

 

 

To be fair though the SPFL have moved a bit to summer football, got a main broadcaster and innovated a bit.

[caledonia]

only one question needs to be asked paranoid or not

WILL THIS BENEFIT THE HUNS

[Tord31]

BT all in for

six qualifiers

two last 16

two quarter finals

two semis

final

 

not sure the idea with the qualfiers not clashing with champions league etc

[Tord31]

only one question needs to be asked paranoid or not

WILL THIS BENEFIT THE HUNS

not overly...they wont be a top seed in the groups so cant draw only albion rovers

 

probs an inconveience to huns/tims any season they dont qualify europe as eliminates three weekends they could play a glamour friendly

[rossafc92]

Glad to see we're trying something different. Imagine that group games will replace friendlies for most clubs involved.

[Guest milne_afc]

Monkey tennis

[Merkie84]

Teams qualifying for europe do not play in the group stages.

 

Surely the whole point in starting this early and having groups is to give our teams playing in europe some competitive football before the european ties?

 

Another farce from the people running our game.

[Dynamo]

Something different...let's see how it goes before slating it (although granted that is the negative Scottish way).

[RAZOR]

Are the groups regionalised?

 

Would be keen on that idea.

[zander]

Good to see something a bit different potentially good money spinner for some of the lower league sides.

[tommo1903]

Meh.

Something different, at least. Hope we're never involved in it.

[BWG]

As most people say it's something different. Let's not write it off before we even try it.

[Bamber]

Only question I would have is will it be regionalised/seeded?

 

I see the make up is

 

8 SPFL Premiership

30 Other SPFL

Highland champions

Lowland champions

 

Split into 8 groups of 5 with a round robin format of 2 Home games and 2 away

 

with the top 8 and 4 best runners up going forward to meet 4 SPFL/Euro qualifiers

 

So in theory Wick academy, could have a game vs Gretna away and Berwick away which seems a money loser for teams.

 

A lot of the teams in the lower leagues are part time as well yet we are expecting them to play 4 games in 2 weeks across the country and get time off

 

Its probably led to the death of the friendly as well I would say

 

 

Its worth trying but still needs working out - Premiership and FT championship are probably OK with it - I would imagine P/t 3rd div teams are less so especially if they are in out of the way places

[Tord31]

So get this right. The Highland League Champions are guaranteed four ties (2 home / 2 away) with one of them being against a top 8 side. Nae bad deal and incentivizes winning the league a bit more imo.

[Tord31]

I would hope it would be a mash between seedings and regionalized.

[Bamber]

so would I Tord - It doesn't actually say it will be

 

One would hop that it will be

 

Pot 1 8 Premiership

Pot 2 top 8 Championship

Pot 3 2 from Championship 6 From League 1

Pot 4 4 from League1 4 from league 2

Pot 5 8 from league 2, Highland Champ, Lowland Champ

 

You could then regionalise each pot into 4 groups North and 4 groups South

[BrianFaePerth]

New broadcast partner BT Sport will show six group stage games involving the Rangers live

 

Sloppy journalism by the SPFL, fixed it for them.

 

 

Aye, eh ken they've only 4 games, but they'll find a way

[The Hulk]

"a bonus point" for teams winning a penalty shoot-out. So a team winning a group game on penalties will get 4 points for the win - am I reading that right?

[Henry]

Surely not. Surely they would get two and the losers get one?

[Tommy]

"a bonus point" for teams winning a penalty shoot-out. So a team winning a group game on penalties will get 4 points for the win - am I reading that right?

One point for draw then extra for winning on pens, so two in total.

[Bamber]

3 points for a win

2 Point for a Draw and win on penalties

1 Point for a Draw and lkose on penalties

0 points for a loss

[The Boofon]

So playing for a draw is now worth two points. Good ane.

[Bamber]

Just a Very Quick work out

 

If result were based on todays leagues the split as suggested above would be

 

Pot 1 8 Premiership (4-12)

Pot 2 top 8 Championship

Pot 3 2 from Championship 6 From League 1

Pot 4 4 from League1 4 from league 2

Pot 5 8 from league 2, Highland Champ, Lowland Champ

 

and then split each pot on a N-S basis

 

The Northern Group would look like this

 

Pot 1 North ICT, STJ, Dundee and Dundee United

 

Pot 2 North Raith, Dumbarton, Falkirk and Morton

 

Pot 3 North Alloa, Peterhead, Dunfermline and Stenhousemuir

Pot 4 North Forfar Brechin, Cowdenbeath and Elgin

 

Pot 5 North Brora Rangers, Stirling, Montrose and Arbroath

 

 

Might be a couple of wee errors but it doesn't look too bad though there are a couple of possible painful trips there

[Bamber]

So playing for a draw is now worth two points. Good ane.

 

 

It's only worth two points if you win the penalties which is probably to provide some separation between the 4 second placed teams.

 

Personally I think a better bet would have been top 8 qualify and then Pot 1 North runners up play Pot 1 South Runners up in a single game location decided by a draw and you only get 3 pts for a win and 1 pt for a draw ( and if you wanted to encourage goals make it 1 pt for a scoring draw only)

 

Alternatively play the play off at the bigger of the two grounds and split the proceeds

[RAZOR]

Morton and Dumbarton in the Northern Group Bamber?

[Bamber]

Pot 2 would be

 

Rangers, Hibs, Falkirk Morton, Raith, QotS,Dumbarton, St Mirren

 

 

From North To South they are

 

Raith

Falkirk

Dumbarton

Morton

Hibs

Rangers

St Mirren

Queen Of the South

 

I realise that Dumbarton and Morton are well off to the west but on a Northings only I think they are JUST north of hibs Its pretty damned close though Ill give you that

 

They are both definitely North of Rangers and St Mirren though