12 team premier in '05

[Schumi]

The league AGM last night decided that the 2005 season will have a 12 team premier division and a 10 team 1st division. This means that we only have get into the top 3 this season to get promoted and there'll be no play-offs. FAI.ie

[pineapple stu]

Excellent news! Will give us a better chance to re-establish ourselves in the Premier now (providing we go up of course!). Same for Harps/Bray/whoever comes up.

[Aberdonian Stu]

Unless they switch to the Scottish 38 game system then this league is a giant step backwards.

We need the top teams playing each other the same number of times home and away, it makes it somewhat unfair is Bohs get Shels twice in Dalyer and once in Tolka. Likewise with the relegation battlers.

It always seemed like a bloody odd system to me so I can't see a change back to the exact same system working although I accpet the limitations of the current 10 team structure.

A switch to 33 games featuring all 12 and a 'Championship group' and a 'Relegation group' seems the fairest system to me.

[pineapple stu]

I think the problem is that most people accept that ten teams is too few, but to have an even number of home and away games, you'd have to go to a 18-team Premier, which just wouldn't be worth it.

The relegation/promotion division always comes in for stick when it's around, and it doesn't get around the odd number of home and away games. Theoretically, you could have a team in the top six who've played all the other five teams twice away, and so you end up with them playing two more away games and three home games, so they could play tams three times at home (or away) and once the other way around.

I think to strenghten the teams, you have to give them access to the top flight - currently, the bottom half of the First aren't going anywhere really. People will say that the new Kilkenny/Monaghan will come along, but the UEFA licencing system should have strengthened clubs' structures enough so that won't happen again,.