I know the idea of League Re-construction has been beaten to death, but after having a look through how other European Leagues run their divisions I was wondering how people would perceive this type of reconstruction and what their ideas might be for it.
Proposal:
Three Divisions of 14 Teams.
- Premier Division
- Second Division
- Third Division
Set-Up of the division:
Teams play each other twice. After
round 26, each league splits into two groups:
Championship Group (6 teams)
Relegation Group (8 teams)
Championship Group:
Top 6 play each other at home and away. 36 game season overall.
18 Home Games and 18 Away games for each team in a season.
Relegation Group:
Bottom 8 Play each other once post split. Teams Play 33 Games overall.
Teams Ranked 7th-10th after 26 rounds will have 4 Home Games and 3 Away Games.
These teams will have 17 Home Games, 16 Away Games over the season
Teams in 11th-14th Place after 26 rounds will have 3 Home Games and 4 Away Games. Teams at the bottom of the table are not rewarded for poor performance in first 26 fixtures.
These teams will have 16 Home Games and 17 Away Games over the season.
Relegation:
For Premier Division and Second Division, 13th and 14th placed teams are relegated automatically. Replaced with the 1st and 2nd placed team from lower tier.
Only one team is potentially relegated from the lowest tier.
Playoff:
12th placed team in higher division plays 3rd placed team in lower division in two legged game. Winner goes to/stays in higher division.
The current Highland/Lowland promotion playoff structure is retained for entry into the lowest tier.
Changes to League Cup Group Stage:
Top 6 sides in all divisions from previous season qualify directly to League Cup round of 32.
Bottom 8 teams in each division are put into League Cup Group Stage.
Should the bottom eligible team be relegated from Division 3, the team promoted from the Highland/Lowland League will take their place in the Group Stage.
8 Groups of 3 teams.
No seeding in the Group Stages and No Seeding beyond the Group Stages.
Teams play home and away against teams in their group, two home games and two away.
Winners of group progress to round of 32. 4 best runners up in the groups also qualify to round of 32.
Home Games in the League Cup Group Stage must be included on a season book. Therefore ALL teams in ALL divisions are guaranteed at least 18 home games in a season book. (17 if two colt teams are added to the bottom division)
Changes to Scottish Cup:
None.
Changes to Scottish Challenge Cup:
None. Might have to have an invitational for another couple of Highland/Lowland sides or foreign sides to make up for the numbers.
Colts Teams:
Top 6 sides from the previous season are asked whether they would like to register a Colt side for the Lowest division in the next season.
2, 4 or 6 colt teams can be added to bottom division
If 3/6 choose to add colts, the two clubs with the highest finish the previous season will have their colts added to the lowest division
If 5/6 choose to add colts, the four clubs with the highest finish in the previous season will have their colts added to the lowest division
If colt teams are registered for the season:
The lowest division changes to being a simplistic one home fixture and one Away fixture against all sides in the division rather than a split after 26 games
Rules on Colt Teams:
Colts Teams are ineligible for entry into League Cup or Scottish Cup.
Colts Teams are Eligible for entry into Scottish Challenge Cup
Colts Teams are ineligible for promotion into Second Division.
Colts teams are ineligible for relegation from Third division
Bottom 8 full-time sides in a season in lowest tier are put into Group Stages of League Cup. Top six full-time sides in lowest division receive bye to next round.