Motherwell pitch into SPL fixture split anger
Steelmen angry about missing money
St Mirren are obviously angry about the thought of going to play Falkirk away three times this season, especially with the relegation battle being so tight. This was discussed on Saturday when the story broke but St Mirren are not the only club who have been affected.
We will get to Rangers later on in the evening but first we turn our attention to Motherwell who have been told they will travel to Celtic Park for a third time this season after the split. Okay, they do not make their second visit until Tuesday night but on Saturday the 1st of May, Motherwell will once again head back to Celtic Park.
Joy of joys, Scottish football fans get to hear Tam Cowan crack the jokes once again about restricted view seats at Celtic Park…keep the laughs coming Tam…err, maybe start the laughs coming Tam.
However, this is a serious issue and for Motherwell Football Club, like a Tam Cowan live show, this is no laughing matter.
Although board members and fans of the provincial clubs are quick to say that they do not need the money that Celtic and Rangers bring to their club…..that’s not quite true.
Hence why Motherwell are feeling rightly aggrieved that they have been denied a post-split home game at Celtic. Okay, the way that Celtic have fallen away there is no guarantee of any crowd but there are many reasons why Motherwell are missing out here with some reports saying this fixture split could cost Well around £200,000.
That is a lot of money and Motherwell are well within their rights to go to the SPL and complain about this. It seems the only explanation for Motherwell being treated shabbily is that they were not in the top six last season.
So, Motherwell have improved this season, possibly punching above their weight and how have they been rewarded? With less money….that can’t be right can it?
Yes, everyone knows that the split can bring about these occurrences and all clubs are aware they could be affected but when the moment comes, it is only natural to feel aggrieved.
Nothing will be done this season about it and okay, the switching of the fixture is unlikely to have an impact on anything of matter but does that make it right?
The answer is an emphatic no.
Also, with every higher league position in the SPL bringing a greater reward for clubs, are Motherwell being disadvantaged?
Until the games are played, who knows but the Well fans would fancy their chances of a point or three at home against faltering Celtic, maybe not so much at Celtic Park (then again!)
If Hibs fend off Motherwell for fourth spot by a point or two or if Motherwell slip behind Hearts by a point or two, the Lanarkshire club could point to the loss of this home game as being a factor in where they finished.
When positions are tight, the split brings excitement, that is true but when it brings an uneven playing field to the league, it surely has to be questioned.
All SPL clubs should be behind Motherwell’s complaint to bring a better order of transparency to the split…and maybe even an examination for league reconstruction.
So…is Tam Cowan funny? Are we missing something?
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The media seem to be focusing on the fact that Motherwell have to play Celtic away from home three times, but it’s really not just that.
It means Motherwell have to face *both* the OF away from home after the split, they end up playing 2 more away games than home games overall, and they have no Saturday 3pm games after the split at all– one of their two home games is on election night (which will probably impact the gate as well), and the other is at some daft time on a Sunday evening. Ridiculous way to treat one of the teams vying for a Euro spot.
I thought we were talking about Motherwell?
Hoho, only joking Numpty, all valid points.
However, you cannot blame the media and (lazy people like) us for picking up on the money aspect when John Boyle makes it the focus of his argument.
The 20 / 18 split should be the focus of it – not fair on the club and we’ll say more importantly, not fair on season book holders who pay their money up front.
As for the days of the games…well, there are a few clubs who have fair moans about that this season too. In 2010 so far Celtic have faced Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and Rangers again not on a Saturday. The timing of the Motherwell home game to clash with the Scottish Cup semi was always likely to lead to a postponement and of course, the post-split home game versus Rangers has been moved to Tuesday night.
Celtic have three home games post split and only one is a Saturday 3pm kickoff – ironically enough, against Motherwell.
Okay, when the SPL club signed their lives over to the TV companies, this was always liable to happen but its the fans who get it in the pants as per usual. With only a short time to arrange going to the game and the added inconvenience of unusual kick-off times, its not an easy month.
Numpty, would you propose an end to the split and a bigger league….or attempt to fix the split if possible?
Well, I’m probably in the minority who don’t actually mind the split, in principle– it’s certainly given Motherwell something to play for a number of times, when otherwise it would have made hee-haw difference to most fans whether they finished sixth or seventh, and I’m sure that’s true for other clubs too.
But other than splitting halfway through the season, which is an obvious non-starter, it’s impossible to guarantee fixture fairness. You could make up for that to some extent by guaranteeing financial fairness instead– e.g. pool the gate money for all the top and bottom-half post-split games, and split the top-half pool equally between the top 6 clubs, and the bottom-half pool between the bottom 6. But two clubs in particular would never agree to that.
All of which is a roundabout way of saying a bigger league is probably a better solution, but not without its problems either.
Motherwell seem a bit hard done to here although they were lucky not to get fined for there pitch problems!!!!!!!!!!!
In principle we think the split has been great, it has given teams something to aim for and it allows a real relegation dogfight or top if the table run-in…when it’s tight.
If there was no split, would St Johnstone have been galvanised to have had their recent run of form? They just missed out in the end but the fans will remember March and April 2010 for a long time.
It just seems that with every passing season the anomalies are getting bigger and with TV schedules becoming more intrusive, fans are inconvenienced even more.
It’s a hard one, if a 16 or 18 team league kicked in, so many teams would have nothing to play for after they exit the Scottish Cup, so there is unlikely to be a perfect solution for everyone.