LOI League format

[Supersaint]

Personally I'd be in favour of extending the Premier, rather than restricting it. I think ten teams is too small for a serious league. I'd have a 14, or even 16 team premier, with maybe a regionalised first division set up. Dundalk, Athlone, Limerick and Finn Harps have all sustained top flight teams in the past, there's no reason why they shouldn't again. That, added to what's there gives you 16 teams. We should be looking to broaden the appeal of the league country wide. This would do that in my opinion.

i agree with tony,extend the premier, it ruins rivalry games if your playing rovers or someone 3 times in quick succesion and then you might even get them in the cup,and anyway the new first div clubs that would come up would get great attendences if they played the bigger clubs.

[GavinZac]

and have a "premier" division where more teams are of bray and cobh standard than bohs and corks? no thanks

[mypost]

i agree with tony,extend the premier, it ruins rivalry games if your playing rovers or someone 3 times in quick succesion and then you might even get them in the cup.

Do you want to play Bray, UCD, or Waterford, etc 6 times a season?? That's what you're getting with the 10-team league.

[Steve Bruce]

Just dont believe you that you dont know about our league structure is all. "I see you have 12 teams" is very patronising IMO.

Especially for a guy who spends an inordinate amount of time on another leagues MB.

KOH

I think you have read too much into that. It was a genuine question.

[Steve Bruce]

For anyone who is talking about extending the league look at the Irish League.

We currently run a 16 team league. Because of this, the already small pool of good players have been spread out across the league diluting the standard considerably.

We have teams in our league that should never have been near the league.

Loughgall, Larne, Donegal Celtic, Glenavon are all very very very poor teams.

When we had a smaller league the standard was considerably higher and the bottom teams could beat top teams. No team really run away with the league either.

When our league was reduced, we had 5 different teams win the league in row. Then it got increased and 3 teams have pulled away then it became 2 and now it seems it's only one.

Although with Republic being 3 times the size of Northern Ireland and more strength in depth, you could be a lot more successful.

[mypost]

Saying its too many games is nonsense. Is 3 extra games too many? Of course not.

Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, and the Premiership, fully professional, well-run, full-time club leagues all play 38 games. The 1st Division here, a semi-pro, badly run league plays 36 games.

When we have a 10-team top division, it will mean playing more matches per season than the well-run Bundesliga, and Eredivisie, playing the same teams twice more, with half the quality on show. It's also too small for the top division in a country.

[NY Hoop]

But where are you going to find another 2, or even 4 teams capable of being competitive?

Even with a 12 team league, we've already got too big a gap between top and bottom (even if you give Longford back their points), and teams struggling to make it work financially. And it's not a new problem, it seems to happen near enough every season. Adding more sides will only make the problem worse. The league needs to be evenly balanced, so a 10 team league is the only way forward.

Spot on. The quality is simply not there to extend it beyond ten. If it was I'd be in favour of a 16 team premier but then what would you do with the 6 other teams?

When the premier is a ten team league the first division will revert what the premier is now i.e. 33 games.

KOH

[Mr A]

So if you took the bottom two out of the current league would there be a rise in standards of the rest? No- of course not.

I have always felt that a 16 team premier was the way to go. This worked for the league in its heyday and could work again. To me- the argument is basically whether the structure should serve the needs of the big clubs or the league as a whole. The big clubs want to play each other all the time (which quickly gets boring anyway) and freeze out the smaller ones. The thing is though football is a pyramid and to screw the smaller clubs to serve the bigger ones is short sighted.

[NY Hoop]

Yes but as already pointed out what would you do with the other 6 teams if you had a 16 team premier?

To be honest in a 12 team league the bottom two sometimes drift away and are just not up for it. Again the quality is not ther to have any more than 10 teams in the premier.

Bringing back the playoffs is a good idea as it gives the the top three in the first something to play for.

KOH

[Rory H]

Wasn't their thinking is that they will get 10 really good teams and make it total quality in the Premier..... it wont happen and there are way more bad than good traits to a 10 team league

[Jerry The Saint]

....because St Pat's didn't qualify for the top six perhaps?

Exactly - a disaster for everyone!

Also it ruined Monaghan's best ever chance of establishing themselves.

[Bluebeard]

Also it ruined Monaghan's best ever chance of establishing themselves.

Well, as you say, at least it wasn't all bad

[GreenStar]

Wouldnt be that hard to find out unless you are a WUM.

What's a WUM?

[Steve Bruce]

What's a WUM?

Wind up merchant

[Supersaint]

Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, and the Premiership, fully professional, well-run, full-time club leagues all play 38 games. The 1st Division here, a semi-pro, badly run league plays 36 games.

the main problem with the first div is that theres no one challenging the likes of killkenny and monaghon at the bottom.there needs to be a 2nd divison.Outside the top 4 or 5 who are pushing for promotion, that league is going nowhere.

[GavinZac]

the only way we're getting a 16 team premier is an all-island league. even then we'd be struggling for 16 quality teams.

[Ceirtlis]

I prefer the 12 team league. With the 10 team league you have teams playing each other 4 times at least, now with the setanta the top teams might meet as many as 8 times a year when you throw in the fai and league cup. That gets very boring after a while. When we have 10 there are plans to change to 12 and when we have 12 there are plans to change to 10. Neither a 10 team or a 12 team league is perfect but a 12 team league is less ****.