Quote Khlav Kalash="Khlav Kalash"After initial scepticism I came round to the idea of the 3x8 proposal, although the top 12 get a full home & away fixtures, which is great for those teams, I thought the idea was to have more teams playing opposition similar to their level. That's why it would've been better the other way round.
As ever though the key is funding. If no more money can be secured from either Sky or potential new sponsors (and I have no confidence in Wood et al to manage the later) then the current funding must be split evenly between the 24 clubs otherwise there is little point going ahead with this.'"
I still like the idea and think this is an improvement as it gives more stability for season ticket sales, player contracts and income for the year, which was one criticism.
The elephant in the room is obviously funding. If it's not equalised, and the 24 teams don't at least have a full-time 25 man squad, then it's a non-starter. The financial cliff edge must be removed. The bigger clubs will still have more money from match-day and other sources.
What are the alternatives? Franchising for me has failed because it could never succeed with only five or six clubs meeting the minimum requirements for sustainability. clubs were going bust trying to match them. P&R has been tried and failed, not good for a small sport in the professional era.
I also don't think it's complicated. In effect, all that would be happening is that the top flight would be reduced by 2 teams, which is probably needed, and the system of play-offs would changed so that all teams are included. A half round robin and then semi & final for the qualifiers.
The flexibility and mobility are what I like most about it. The 2 teams cut from the 14 can earn their place back in the 12 the following year. It gives hope and a clear sporting path to the top division. It could encourage more investors to come forward, knowing they could start at the bottom, but quickly rise to the top it they're good enough.
Another criticism was that some teams could potentially play each other 4 or 5 times in a season, but this would only happen to the well matched sides in the top 4 of each respective 8. Any miss-matches would only play each other twice ( or thrice if they're drawn in the cup).
There are other complications, like player contracts of those who move from top 12 to second tier, the A-team issue and dual reg etc. However, these are not unique to this system and arise anyway. I believe the 2x12/3x8 is the best fit for the growth of our sport at the present time. (assuming the financials are dealt with)