[Archived] Two-tier Premier League?

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Scudemore starting to bang on about the 39th game again.

The reason why Bolton want this is that there would be no relegation from 2nd level of the premiership

[Majiball]

i know whats coming next.

The suggestion that Rangers and Celtic be invited to join Premiership level 2.

With Scottish independence on the Horizon would it ever work??

On some level I would like to see it but would rangers and celtic get into europe? currently they enjoy entry into champ's league and I do not see them breaking in anytime soon. It will never happen, Christ the FA's won't even allow games between the national teams let alone joint english and scottish league's.

Some of the away trips could be funny though say plymouth away to inverness

[dingles staying down 4ever]

Some of the away trips could be funny though say plymouth away to inverness

Knowing the way they work fixtures out, that sounds like a Boxing Day Derby

[DeadlyDirk]

It's just a ridiculous idea, it has so many flaws.

Firstly I don't get the whole relegation thing, so nobody gets relegated from the second tier? So who decides who goes in their in the first place for them to have the divine right of never being relegated again. Would it be the top 18 at the end of one season go into the top tier and then the bottom two plus the first 16 in the championship go into the second tier. I think it puts a slight bit of pressure on one season of football as the team who finishes 16th in the championship goes into the premiership never to be relegated again while the team that sits behind them by perhaps goal difference simply stay in the same division and go on as normal.

The 2nd tier wouldn't be competitive either, obviously I'm guessing their would be no european places at stake it would simply be promotion to the top tier, so anyone outside the top 6 by christmas pretty much has nothing to play for, no promotion and no fear of relegation. Sure that would make some exciting games!

The 2nd tier would then just become what the championship is now after a while, players would want to play in the top tier and in the champions league as usual, players would stop wanting to go to the second tier, attendances would drop, there would still be a lot of financial problems.

Where would this leave the championship? What if a rich owner took over a club and they began to dominate the league year after year yet couldn't get promoted or anything so just continue to dominate.

If they want to make the league more competitive then its how clubs are run they need to look at, whether or not they should be allowed to spend money they don't have, perhaps not letting people off when they sign illegal players with the whole Tevez thing would have been a start.

The premier league is fantastic and I don't know where this has all come from really, when has the premiership ever been competitive, the only teams to win it are 3 of the big four and obviously ourselves where we of course spent a fair bit too.

[Amo]

No relegation removes the competitive element of the game. It'd just be the equivalent of reserve footy in that respect.

[BuckyRover]

With Scottish independence on the Horizon would it ever work??

On some level I would like to see it but would rangers and celtic get into europe? currently they enjoy entry into champ's league and I do not see them breaking in anytime soon. It will never happen, Christ the FA's won't even allow games between the national teams let alone joint english and scottish league's.

Some of the away trips could be funny though say plymouth away to inverness

I assure you; scottish independence is not on the horizon. It wouldn't be fair

[AussieinUk]

It's just a ridiculous idea, it has so many flaws.

Firstly I don't get the whole relegation thing, so nobody gets relegated from the second tier? So who decides who goes in their in the first place for them to have the divine right of never being relegated again. Would it be the top 18 at the end of one season go into the top tier and then the bottom two plus the first 16 in the championship go into the second tier. I think it puts a slight bit of pressure on one season of football as the team who finishes 16th in the championship goes into the premiership never to be relegated again while the team that sits behind them by perhaps goal difference simply stay in the same division and go on as normal.

The 2nd tier wouldn't be competitive either, obviously I'm guessing their would be no european places at stake it would simply be promotion to the top tier, so anyone outside the top 6 by christmas pretty much has nothing to play for, no promotion and no fear of relegation. Sure that would make some exciting games!

The 2nd tier would then just become what the championship is now after a while, players would want to play in the top tier and in the champions league as usual, players would stop wanting to go to the second tier, attendances would drop, there would still be a lot of financial problems.

Where would this leave the championship? What if a rich owner took over a club and they began to dominate the league year after year yet couldn't get promoted or anything so just continue to dominate.

If they want to make the league more competitive then its how clubs are run they need to look at, whether or not they should be allowed to spend money they don't have, perhaps not letting people off when they sign illegal players with the whole Tevez thing would have been a start.

The premier league is fantastic and I don't know where this has all come from really, when has the premiership ever been competitive, the only teams to win it are 3 of the big four and obviously ourselves where we of course spent a fair bit too.

Well put DD. Summed up many of my thoughts on the issue.

[Majiball]

I assure you; scottish independence is not on the horizon. It wouldn't be fair

when is life ever fair?

My whole family comes from Scotland and I know all of them will be voting for it should it ever happen. Personally being a hybrid as they term it I don't want to see it.

Curiously what make you so confident about it?

[philipl]

when is life ever fair?

My whole family comes from Scotland and I know all of them will be voting for it should it ever happen. Personally being a hybrid as they term it I don't want to see it.

Curiously what make you so confident about it?

Well I reckon that under Alex Salmond's leadership the Scots would have traded being an English colony for being an IMF/Lithuanian/Russian colony and most Scots know that.

Greater devolution is an inevitability but let's see the Glenrothes result to see how big a dent has been put in the SNP band wagon. Scots are patriots and Brown and Darling riding out to save the world's financial system has made a bunch of Scots Tories I know mighty proud.

Back to the point at issue, the Old Firm joining English football is a totally dead duck since Taylor got his UEFA Secretaryship. It wasn't a particularly live duck before then- is Ewood Park Celtic's last away win or goals in Europe? It feels like it.

[Billy Castell]

Alex Salmond is such an arrogant nob. Everything is the fault of the evil English according to him, carefully leaving out the lack of an English Parliament and the fact that the English have to pay top-up fees and so on whilst he can give away free proscriptions with a bit of English taxpayers money. Smug turd.

Anyway, I don't want any involvement from the vile numpties from Glasgow. Belfast Lite can stay where it is. And if they do join, they should start at the bottom, just like FC United, AFC Wimbledon and so on.

[Drummer Boy]

We already have a two-tier premier league! The sooner the top four clear off to the European league the better for me - we'll have:

A more competitive league

Less money purging the soul out of the game

The prospect of sterling encounters with the likes of Wolves

Maybe the odd fixture against our friends up the M65

The chance of more than 3 or 4 clubs winning things

And, most importantly, relegation will not mean the end of the world for clubs as it seems to now.

[neekoy]

We already have a two-tier premier league! The sooner the top four clear off to the European league the better for me - we'll have:

A more competitive league

Less money purging the soul out of the game

The prospect of sterling encounters with the likes of Wolves

Maybe the odd fixture against our friends up the M65

The chance of more than 3 or 4 clubs winning things

And, most importantly, relegation will not mean the end of the world for clubs as it seems to now.

More competitive my buttocks

You will just have the likes of Newcastle, Spurs and Villa becoming the next top 3. We would need to rid the PL with at least 8 or 9 clubs before we were all competitive and of equal standing. Then what is the point.

If they want to go to a two tier system it needs to go odds and evens. As it stands, Liverpool would be in Tier 1, Chelsea Tier 2 and so on. The bottom two of each year are relegated.

The tiers are then joined and a table is decided on points. The winner finishes on most points. The tiers are then split again for next season with the two bottom spots going to the top 4 in the Championship.

When the regular season is finished The top 4 from each tier go into the CL play-off qualification in a random draw, the 4 winners go through, the 4 losers go to the Uefa Cup.

You get 8 clubs with a chance of CL football, you get a better cycle of Championship teams, you get better odds of getting out of the relegation battle AND since the only time the current big four will meet all together is in a cup comp then those matches wwill actually become more special.

[Hughesy]

Leave it as it is - create a 2nd tier then it will be like a 2nd division.

The two tier split like neekoy said would also be crap, it would leave one league to be fought out by United & Liverpool and 1 by Chelsea & Arsenal. It would be like have a northern & southern league.

The only thing I wouldnt mind seeing is maybe a play off system at the end to sort the european qualifiers out, with maybe 5th - 8th playing off for the UEFA Cup place.

[American]

I'd be curious to hear how the playoff system is going over in the Dutch league now that they've been at it a few years.

[neekoy]

Leave it as it is - create a 2nd tier then it will be like a 2nd division.

The two tier split like neekoy said would also be crap, it would leave one league to be fought out by United & Liverpool and 1 by Chelsea & Arsenal. It would be like have a northern & southern league.

The only thing I wouldnt mind seeing is maybe a play off system at the end to sort the european qualifiers out, with maybe 5th - 8th playing off for the UEFA Cup place.

To start with yes, but the reason these teams are as strong as they are is because of the revenue of CL football, by going to the two tier system you are opening it up to a further four teams for qualification, then the wealth is further balanced.

Instead of a top four and Rovers being shut out every year, if Rovers make the Top 4 of a split competition they have a chance of CL qualification and a share of the spoils.