16 Team Premier

**peadar1987** · 30/04/2009, 4:08 PM

So it doesn't have to hijack other threads...

Pros:
-More teams are included in the top league, which should help with income and improving standards

-You don't end up playing the same teams 4 times a season, which can get boring for fans

-The geographical spread of the Premier division will be wider, reducing the current Dublin and Friends vibe we've got at the moment

Cons:
-Fans of certain clubs think they are too good to play the likes of Sporting Fingal, and won't turn up to the games

-Playing only 30 games instead of 36 will reduce the income of the bigger clubs

-Having more clubs will dilute the money from TV and sponsorship, and the support base of some clubs

That's all that needs to be said about it!

Now an 18 team Premier, that's a different matter!

**Olander** · 30/04/2009, 4:09 PM

seriously, what is the point starting this thread when there was another thread on this exact subject started a few hours ago?!?!?

its hardly hi-jacking when the subjects are related!

http://foot.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=117002

**peadar1987** · 30/04/2009, 4:18 PM

Mainly because every time another thread is posted it's because the poster thinks it's about a slightly different kind of 16 team Premier than the one that's been discussed 7,328 times already. This is a completely general one.

And you can't deny that the occasional thread has been hijacked by a discussion of increasingly complicated league formats involving league pyramids based on the Fibonacci sequence and chaos theory!

**Longfordian** · 30/04/2009, 4:27 PM

Paging Celtic Tiger to this thread please..

**thedoyler** · 30/04/2009, 6:24 PM

Have not read the article yet but whats the problem with doing the 2 rounds and then splitting into a top and bottom for last round a la northern irish league? I think it would be better as the geographical spread is awful. No team in the middle of the country. 1 in Munster. Crazy stuff, will lose fans from those counties if premier football isnt available.

**MariborKev** · 30/04/2009, 6:25 PM

Originally Posted by thedoyler

Have not read the article yet but whats the problem with doing the 2 rounds and then splitting into a top and bottom for last round a la northern irish league?

Been done, back in the mid 90s.

**Martinho II** · 30/04/2009, 6:58 PM

Originally Posted by Maribor

Been done, back in the mid 90s.

and without success too only lasted a season. the gas thing is that season if it was a normal season bohs would have won it instead of cork city.

**holidaysong** · 30/04/2009, 6:59 PM

I'd go for an 18 team league with the regionalised A championship directly below this.

**L37Ultra** · 30/04/2009, 7:12 PM

Originally Posted by holidaysong

I'd go for an 18 team league with the regionalised A championship directly below this.

I don't think it would work having reserve teams a division directly below the Premier Division.

**dfx-** · 30/04/2009, 7:20 PM

Originally Posted by peadar1987

Cons:
-Fans of certain clubs think they are too good to play the likes of Sporting Fingal, and won't turn up to the games

-Playing only 30 games instead of 36 will reduce the income of the bigger clubs

-Having more clubs will dilute the money from TV and sponsorship, and the support base of some clubs

- It would also guarantee more trips to Longford and Dundalk

**blackholesun** · 30/04/2009, 9:34 PM

Originally Posted by Martinho II

and without success too only lasted a season

two seasons actually!

bhs

**blackholesun** · 30/04/2009, 9:37 PM

Originally Posted by peadar1987

-Having more clubs will dilute the money from TV and sponsorship, and the support base of some clubs

Id list this as a pro, the current prize fund structure encourages clubs to speculate, with the top three raking in too much of the prize money if you ask me!

bhs

**ShnaeGuevara715** · 01/05/2009, 11:02 AM

CelticTiger? Where are you lad?

**Black and White** · 01/05/2009, 12:58 PM

I would juist like to point out that considering our neighbours up the road in the North operated in a 16 team league as well, Didnt they have a split after the two roudn os games and those in the top half played another round of games against each other thus creating an additional 7 games and the same with the bottom half. If the FAI where to go witht his it would probably be under that kind of format!

**Steve Bruce** · 01/05/2009, 1:39 PM

Originally Posted by Black and White

I would juist like to point out that considering our neighbours up the road in the North operated in a 16 team league as well, Didnt they have a split after the two roudn os games and those in the top half played another round of games against each other thus creating an additional 7 games and the same with the bottom half. If the FAI where to go witht his it would probably be under that kind of format!

No we had a 16 team league playing home and away.

In Northern Ireland the 16 team league in my eyes lowered the standards as the league talent was diluted by a lot of lower class players. There wasn't the depth to have a 16 team league.

This year we have a 12 team league with a split after playing 3 times. I think it has worked quite well.

Why are you considering changing things, your results in Europe are better, your crowds seem to be getting healthier and you have a different champion every year.

I think the over spending is more of a problem than the format of your league season.