An 8 Team Premier?

**Mr A** · 17/09/2019, 11:35 AM

Could be on the cards.. https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football...box=1568702177

**NeverFeltBetter** · 17/09/2019, 11:44 AM

Split leagues mid-season, because look at how competitive its made the SPL.

**D24Saint** · 17/09/2019, 11:51 AM

Awful idea imo. The league is bad enough without the likes of this. The repetition is already high enough in the ten team format, when you allow for Fai cup, league cup, regional cups.

**El-Pietro** · 17/09/2019, 11:56 AM

Deck Chairs. Another idea that makes it seem like they are trying something when they refuse to look at the root causes of the problems in this league. We've tried 10 teams, 12 teams, 10 teams 12 teams.... why not try 8 teams, maybe thats the silver budget this league needs...

**Real ale Madrid** · 17/09/2019, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

Could be on the cards.. https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football...box=1568702177

I think the headline is a bit sensationalist ( sensationalist ? the Sun? )

3 Options being considered - I like Option 3 the most. Fact is there is a large swathe of leagues that split mid season - it adds meaning to games and I'm all for it tbh.

The issue as i see it is the First Divison Plate competition - would need to be linked to relegation to the lower league if it is to be of any value. Not much point otherwise.

The first is an eight-team top flight that would split after four rounds of games.

The top four would then fight for the Euro spots and the bottom four to avoid relegation and a play-off.

A 12-team First Division would also split after two rounds with the top six vying for promotion and a play-off spot.

The second option is the same for the top flight, though the First Division would be regionalised with the top two from north and south going into knockout play-offs.

A third is the most radical, with two ten-team divisions playing two rounds of games in the first half of the season.

But there would then be a split into three divisions — a top six ‘Championship’, an eight-team promotion-relegation section of the bottom four of the Premier and top four of the First and a six-team First Division ‘Plate’.

**marinobohs** · 17/09/2019, 12:12 PM

Rubbish. 2 divisions of 10 teams by far the best option. None of this stupid mid season break up nonsense.
Focus on getting 2 sustainable 10 team divisions and leave it alone.

**pineapple stu** · 17/09/2019, 1:28 PM

Usual bull**** really.

Change the number of teams - because.

A throw-away comment that the poor FAI lose money on the league (so can hardly put in more money)

No evaluation of the point of the league or its importance in terms of producing players for the revenue-generating national team.

No analysis of the serious issues at the foot of the First Division - financial troubles, no-one interested in joining, match-rigging, etc

Football in this country is ****ed if the best we can come up with to address the decline of the last decade is to keep doing the same stuff

**Mr A** · 17/09/2019, 1:35 PM

I would not dismiss this by the way.. the option of focusing on eight teams (initially) was repeatedly raised from the top table at the LOI gathering in Abbotstown.

**pineapple stu** · 17/09/2019, 1:37 PM

You wouldn't dismiss this as something that could happen, or you wouldn't dismiss it as an idea?

**Mr A** · 17/09/2019, 1:43 PM

I mean it could happen, even if a terrible idea. The third option is the best of those presented.. but the top four splitting off would be mega boring.

**pineapple stu** · 17/09/2019, 1:56 PM

So basically we're now five months since Delaney got booted out for robbing the place blind and (a) we're still churning out brain-dead ideas like this (where even is the analysis as to whether the last reshuffle achieved what it was supposed to, and why it succeeded/failed?) and (b) Delaney's still there.

Given the clubs have to be behind this to an extent, we really do deserve the jokeshop of a league we currently have.

**marinobohs** · 17/09/2019, 2:18 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

So basically we're now five months since Delaney got booted out for robbing the place blind and (a) we're still churning out brain-dead ideas like this (where even is the analysis as to whether the last reshuffle achieved what it was supposed to, and why it succeeded/failed?) and (b) Delaney's still there.

Given the clubs have to be behind this to an extent, we really do deserve the jokeshop of a league we currently have.

Despite his “gardening leave” I believe Delaney is still on full pay.
But the FAI “loses money” running the League ! Wonder which is delivering worse value for money ?

**sbgawa** · 17/09/2019, 3:38 PM

I could almost buy into an 8 team league if it was part of a genuine attempt led by the Government and FAI to improve the league, even though 5 games a year against the top 4 sides seems like massive repetition.
But that would involve the Govt putting serious money into developing Stadiums across the Country and funding academies for these clubs as well as other infrastructure type changes...
Equally a tiered investment into the other clubs , funding academies and coaches with limited stadia development funds but to a minimum standard.
The problem is though that it is complete pie in the sky as i suspect the changes will be limited to just that......an 8 team premier plus window dressing

**NeverFeltBetter** · 17/09/2019, 3:40 PM

As someone who watched Limerick through many years of an eight-team league, I can tell you that it gets old fast. Splitting it up isn't going to help either.

Whenever this stuff comes up, league realignment I mean, I'm always struck by how the idea of getting more teams into the League of Ireland isn't mentioned at all. Solving that problem is worth more attention than constantly changing the number of teams in each tier, or this constant suggestion of a league split. More teams and we wouldn't have to be having this conversation. But getting in more teams means awkward and difficult discussions on the fundamental problems of the league and its general viability/attractiveness, and the FAI have shown time and again they do not want to have those discussions.

**sidewayspasser** · 17/09/2019, 5:57 PM

I don't see how reducing the Premier from 10 to 8 Teams "raises standards". You raise standards by improving facilities, by enabling clubs to offer 52-week contracts, by improving the standard of refereeing, by fixing issues with fixture scheduling, etc. Some of that requires investment, some of it maybe not so much. But I think it would be much more helpful than the umpteenth change of how many teams are there in each of the two divisions.

**osarusan** · 17/09/2019, 9:39 PM

8 deckchairs instead of 10.

**pineapple stu** · 17/09/2019, 9:45 PM

31-0 the vote so far.

If we can agree on this - and 31-0 is surely unprecedented - surely be to jaysus the PCA, if they're still knocking about, can agree to it.

(I get that there's three options being mentioned, but they're all effectively the same thing)

Edit - just saw this in the article actually -

the stated objectives are to ensure the League of Ireland is among Europe’s top 25 by 2025

**** me, but they're in cloud cuckoo-land if they think that's possible. For comparison, 25th at the end of last year was Poland, with an average of almost 4.000 coefficient points per year over 5 years. 2.833 is the most we've ever gotten, and that was when the fourth team (theoretically the weakest) didn't contribute to the coefficient as they were in the InterToto.

And all of this is going to be achieved simply by imposing minimum standards on clubs and [scene missing] profit!

**NeverFeltBetter** · 17/09/2019, 10:29 PM

Poland also have an average attendance near 10K in a 16 team top tier (albeit with, sigh, a league split). Oh, and with a nine tier system. Granted, we need to consider population and geography in terms of comparison, but still, LOI isn't getting anywhere near that level in four years, or forty the way things are run currently.

I still think it would take a consistently disastrous few campaigns for the senior team for any substantial reform of Irish football to actually take place.

**Eminence Grise** · 17/09/2019, 10:50 PM

Nonsense idea. I'd type more, but those two words is all it needs.

**Snoop Drog** · 18/09/2019, 6:30 AM

Originally Posted by sidewayspasser

I don't see how reducing the Premier from 10 to 8 Teams "raises standards". You raise standards by improving facilities, by enabling clubs to offer 52-week contracts, by improving the standard of refereeing, by fixing issues with fixture scheduling, etc. Some of that requires investment, some of it maybe not so much. But I think it would be much more helpful than the umpteenth change of how many teams are there in each of the two divisions.

This.