I think it’s important that this information is shared the Celtic family. We need to challenge and dispel the myth that the SPFL are anti Rangers. I also think that the media need to aware that the fixtures are heavily weighted in favour of one team.The Scottish Premiership is NOT a level playing field (pardon the pun)
I’m more than happy for you to share the information as you see fit and I’m happy to remain anonymous.
Just in case anybody suggests this is a one-off issue which can happen due to having an 12 team league with a split. The fixtures for 2019-20 when the league was halted due to the pandemic had exactly the same statistics and fixtures breakdown.
Another startling statistic this season is that CELTIC will play away from home against Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts and Rangers once each during the European competition qualifiers and the Europa League
RANGERS will have their first and only away league fixture against either Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts and Celtic just as the Europa League ends.
So, the league fixtures also offer them less onerous ties during European competitions.
It must be Luck!
Review of Scottish Premiership Fixtures 2021-2022…
A thorough review of the SPFL Premiership fixtures list for this season makes some interesting reading. There is in my opinion clear evidence of the fixtures being manipulated to favour one particular club!
In a season where the outcome of the league championship is crucial, in terms of income generation, guaranteeing direct access to the Champions League Group stages, with potential income of up to £40 million, it is evident that one club has a major advantage over Celtic in the quest for this prize.
Due to the Premiership Split in April 2022, there is a question about which clubs will form the ‘TOP SIX’ in the league after the ‘Split’.
However, I would suggest that the majority of Scottish football fans, pundits and media would agree that the ‘TOP SIX’ clubs will include the following ‘FIVE’ and one other.
CELTIC, RANGERS, ABERDEEN, HIBERNIAN and HEARTS.
Using this assertion, a review of the fixtures list reveals the following shocking facts.
AWAY FIXTURES FACTS
FACT 1 – CELTIC will play the FOUR clubs other named above AWAY from home twice up to the split in April 2022. So that’s Rangers 2 away, Aberdeen 2 away, Hearts 2 away, Hibernian 2 away = 8 games
RANGERS will only play the other FOUR clubs named above AWAY from home once up to the split in April 2022. So that’s Celtic 1 away, Aberdeen 1 away, Hearts 1 away, Hibernian 1 away = 4 games
FACT 2 – CELTIC will play 8 of their 17 away games up to the Split against the 4 clubs named above (Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian) that’s 47% of all away games to the split.
RANGERS will play 4 of their 16 away games up to the Split against the 4 clubs named above (Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian) that’s 25%% of all away games to the split.
FACT 3 – CELTIC will have played 4 of their away games against the 4 clubs named above by the end of October 2021. RANGERS will not meet any of the 4 clubs named above until the first week in December 2021.
FACT 4 – RANGERS, 45% of their away games up to the split, will be completed BEFORE they meet one of the 4 clubs mentioned above.
FACT 5 – CELTIC will need to play 2 more away games against TOP 6 post-split, to get 19 away matches. So, in total CELTIC will play 10 of their 19 away games against TOP 6 Teams, 53% of away games. Excluding the other Top 6 team (not named) Celtic will play 47% of all of their away games against the 4 clubs named above. (9 from 19 away games).
RANGERS will need to play 3 more away games against TOP 6 post-split to get 19 away matches. So, in total RANGERS will play 7 of their 19 away games against TOP 6 Teams, 37% of away games. Excluding the other Top 6 team (not named) Rangers will play 32% of their away games against the 4 clubs named above (6 from 19 away games).
AWAY MATCHES 2021-2022
CELTIC – Number of away matched up to the Split against named teams:
Rangers – 2 Aberdeen – 2 Hearts – 2 Hibernian – 2
CELTIC – % of away matches up to split against named teams – 47%
CELTIC – % of away matches after split against named – 47%
RANGERS – Number of away matched up to the Split against named teams:
Celtic – 1 Aberdeen – 1 Hearts – 1 Hibernian – 1
RANGERS – % of away matches up to split against named teams – 25%
RANGERS – % of away matches after split against named teams – 32%
The theory behind Football League competitions is to determine the best teams over a season with all teams playing each other on equal terms as outlined below. An early definition of how a football league competition works.
‘The most common format for a football league competition consists of each team playing the others twice at home and twice away. Three points for a win, one for a draw, and the team with the most points after all the games played on an equal basis is the champion’.
While we all appreciate that a 12-team league competition with a top and bottom 6 split creates anomalies. The inequalities in this fixture list are startling.
There is nothing equal about the facts listed above. Or, am I being paranoid, as we Celtic fans are often accused of being?
Author’s Name supplied but withheld on request.
Interesting stats here, we all realised that Celtic have had a tough start to the season but reckon that these things even themselves out over the course of the season. The above articles suggests that assumption may be wrong and given that the new Celtic Interim SEO Michael Nicholson is an accomplished football administrator surely it is his responsibility to ask some questions about these imbalances in the statistics shown above and do something about it going forward?
Or is the Celtic FC Board happy playing in a rigged game? Answers on a postcard to Auldheid…
Keep up to date on Twitter @HarryHoodBook
The fixture list is definitely rigged this season, as an ordinary supporter I noticed this as soon as the fixtures came out. For various reasons this can have a great bearing on the outcome of the league and the group stages in Europe. For Celtic to play the recognised 4 top teams in Scotland other than Celtic away from home before the end of October, whilst Rangers do not play any of them until December cannot be a coincidence..
I know that under the split system the fixtures aren’t guaranteed to be fair but this season the fixtures seem to be especially skewed in favour of the Ibrox team. This board of ours just sit back and watch the club and supporters be shat upon from a great height in so many different ways. They are the most gutless shower to be in the boardroom in the clubs history, and have absolutely no respect for the people who support the club both emotionally and financially.
Just another read I gave up going. It’s never a level playing field but it’s year on year we accept it
You might want to look at cards given during the above mentioned teams matches, and also at the stages of the games they are given. On top of that the free kicks and the areas of the pitch they are awarded! The list goes on. Did I mention the match officials? I digress!
The split is a scam to benefit the hun, end of.
We can’t be surprised by this its been stacked against us since day one of our formation but you know what i wouldn’t want it any other way. We beat them 3 times and don’t slip up much against the other teams we will be champions and we will know that we did it ourselves alone
What do we expect when Rangers fan Blair is in charge of the fixtures. The plan is of course that Rangers will be so far ahead that the moans when the split is announced will be immaterial, whilst completely missing the point that its a large number of easier games against bottom 6 teams that will have contributed to the gap. Bottom line……when we win the league this year we’ll know we done it the hard way.
Celtic fans keep buying season tickets and merchandise so the cheating will keep happening.
Celtic certainly are happy to play in a league that is rigged. We need Fergus to come back and stand up for the club as the current board are nothing but gutless wonders who are happy to be the whipping boys
Until the board act on stuff like this, we deserve all we get.
You couldn’t pick a harder start for a new Celtic manager than Hearts, rangers and Livingston all away.
The only fair way to decide a league is for each team to play every other team home and away the same amount of times. In Scotland the split is always going to be a problem. One particular one is trying to work out the likely top 6. It is easy to say the 5 mentioned and one other but who is the other. And at the moment Aberdeen are not in the top 6 so of that keeps and Dundee United keeps their place then we won’t have have played the same amount of away games against top 6 sides. In general the fixtures are rotated each season. This year we have 2 away games v Aberdeen, Sevco and Hibs. Last year we had 2 home games v those teams. The year before that 2019/20 we had 2 away games v those teams. With “unexpected “ teams like Livingston making the top 6 and teams like Hearts dropping into bottom 6 it skews the fixtures but in general if you go back over the years I think you will find that the teams we play twice away in one season we will have at home twice the following season