we'll see

As I understand it there will be the 23 regular rounds (22 home & away games plus the magic weekend). Then it will split into the 8's.
Taking the top 8 - Each team would play the other 7 in the 8. After that the top 4 enter the playoff semis, the bottom 4 are out. 1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd and then the Grand Final. Gives a total of 32 games if a team makes it to the Grand Final.

Currently there's 27 regular season games plus a max of 4 play off games, obviously giving 31 games.

You're right it will be difficult for some people to find the money for a potential of 9 paid for games. But then it's up to clubs to come up with ways of helping people. I'm sure there can be some scheme where you can at the end of the regular season buy a "mini" season ticket for the 7 games and then just pay for the 2 play off games. Or include it on your main season ticket at the start of the season at reduced rates.

I think South American football does ok with divided seasons?



That's weak and you know it is. That's absolutely no different to what we have now, except 27 games are "discarded" if you don't make the top 8. And was someone (you?) seriously asking why you should bother trying to make the 8 when you can just come 12th... I mean really? Maybe something to do with trying to make the 8 being a worthwhile aim even if you don't manage it? After all, why try to come 2nd in the PL when you can just come 5th? or 17th?

There are actually decent arguments to be made against this system (and indeed ones for - money and lazy fans aside the incentive structure is way better than most leagues), there's really no need to be silly with slippery-slopes or being purely over-dramatic. It's hardly the end of the world is it?

And if you finish 3rd in the FA championship you get and advantage over the teams which finished 4th, 5th, and 6th. The same in the SL playoffs. In this system your performance in the first 22rounds is entirely disregarded

Put another way, you are bottom, 10 points off 8th with 10 games to go, only 12 games into the season. You aren't realistically going to overtake 4 teams in 10 games, so are you going to go hell for leather for 80 min, for 10 games trying to qualify for a top 8 competition you aren't going to win risk fatigue and injury, or give up, keep your powder dry, rest players, put out a 2nd string and simply focus on not losing a million pounds in funding in those last 7 games?

So less guaranteed income for clubs at the beginning of the year?

You don't know that, you really dont.

This system for me is riddled with flaws.

actually the wider point I made on that was that a club could finish 9th and earn 20points, earn 6 in the 2nd part of the season and be relegated, another club could earn say 10points in the first part of the year, and only 8 in the second and stay up. So we would have a situation where a team earned 26 points in total and a much higher proportion in a much harder league being relegated in favour of a team who scored only 18 points in total with a higher proportion in a lesser league.

It would also incentivise a team with little chance of making the 8 to rest players for the 2nd part as their performance in the first part is irrelevant.

Not to mention the change in primary focus moving fro making the 8 to not being bottom 4 in the 2nd part of the league

Are you for real? If they think they can get away with reducing the number of games without changing the price that they wouldn't be trying to increase the price when there were more games.

These guys are trying to make money ffs

You could threaten them with public execution, it won’t make a blind bit of difference, somebody has to finish in the bottom four.



Yes I’m as giddy as a kipper, especially with such jeopardy of four SL sides & four Championship sides playing a mini league, I couldn’t possibly guess the outcome.