Source: FOOTYMAD
Broad Concensus On Fixture List
The SPL clubs are broadly content with the 2010-11 list but I am willing to bet there will still be complaints come April 2011 There was no way that every club would be happy with the set of fixtures for 2010-11 which were issued today. However, SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster is looking at ways to change the structure of the league despite claiming that clubs were "broadly happy" with the new fixture list. It was just back in April when the SPL came under fire again over the fixtures announced for the controversial post split games. Doncaster announced that splitting the league into two will remain in place for this season at least. Several clubs were unhappy with their fixtures for the last five games of last season, especially Motherwell, who had 20 away games out of 38 and missed out on a fourth home clash against an Old Firm team despite qualifying for the top six. Rangers called for an end to the split after being handed three consecutive away games but Doncaster will not rush through an alternative system despite the unrest. He said: "We're going to continue to consult with the clubs and that will be ongoing. If the teams that finished in the top six last year are the top six this year at the split, then we'll have a perfect balance. We'll have each club playing 19 home games and each team playing each other twice away. If that doesn't happen, there will inevitably be imbalances. That is a product of the league that we've got at the moment." Doncaster, who has studied league structures across Europe in a bid to find a suitable formula, would not predict that this season will be the final outing for the split. The former Norwich City chief executive said: "I'm not going to speculate, all I can say is that the consultation with clubs is ongoing. It's far better to do that at a very considered pace and take clubs along with you and hopefully there will be a consensus on what we want to do going forward. I'm reticent to put a timescale on it. Consultation is ongoing and we'll see what the end product is." The 2010-11 fixtures, which see Rangers welcome Kilmarnock and Celtic heading north to Inverness on the opening weekend, were structured on the basis of criteria set by the Fixtures Working Group. Representatives from Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock and Rangers are involved in the panel, with the outcome of their deliberations on the requirements of the fixture list fed into the software of Canadian firm Optimal Planning Solutions. Rangers have commented on the facts that they play away from Ibrox immediately after five of their six Champions League group games. But Doncaster believes there are no major issues in the fixture list. He said: "I think people are broadly happy with the fixtures and that's to be expected, frankly, because clubs have had a lot of input into what they want to see and what they don't want to see. We've been able to reflect that with the help of our partners, OPS, who have helped us put the fixtures together. The Fixtures Working Group is where the clubs feed in their requirements. That's, for example, why clubs this year are at home on either Boxing Day or New Year's Day, rather than being at home or away on both like last year. That's why there are no three-in-a-rows home or away, why the Old Firm games are at the times they are. Clubs have asked for certain requirements to be met and we've been able to meet them." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net
