Title Race Quirks at Fir Park, Pittodrie and Easter Road

Pittodrie, Easter Road and Fir Park’s peculiar role in Scottish Premiership’s title battle…

We were all told to expect a change in the leadership at the top of the Scottish Premiership last night but anyone having a quick look at the league table today with notice that despite all the hot air over the past week or so, Celtic are still top and theRangers remain in second place.

Someone asked if last night’s game against Ross County was in Dingwall and was surprised when told it was at Ibrox. “They always seem to be at home,” was the rather peculiar response but perhaps it’s not as strange as first thought.

After the third round of fixtures which started after the short winter break (their game last night was the last of their games in hand), we go into the split where the top six and bottom six go their separate ways and matters of title winners, European qualification, relegation and the slightly lesser evil of facing a play-off spot are all determined.

As things stand the top six will consist of Celtic, theRangers, Hearts, Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Dundee while the bottom six will have Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hibs, St Johnstone, Ross County and Livingston.

And ahead of the split placings behind finalised after the three full round of fixtures, we’ll who has to play each other and where. Things can change quickly and three sides – Motherwell, Aberdeen and Hibs – will all be eyeing catching surprise packages Dundee, who currently have a three points advantage over the others in sixth spot in the Scottish Premiership.

As far as the title race goes, the current composition of the top and bottom six, throws up some interesting observations. For instances as things stand Celtic will have played those three sides currently outwith the top six but hoping to get in (Motherwell, Aberdeen and Hibs) each away from home twice, and only once at Celtic Park.

Conversely theRangers will have played Motherwell, Aberdeen and Hibs twice at Ibrox but will only have to go to Fir Park, Pittodrie and Easter Road once in the Scottish Premiership this season.

As things stand Celtic can expect home games against both theRangers and Hearts while we would need to play St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Dundee away from home to equal the home and away fixtures against each opponent. However we go into the split having played 16 home matches and 17 away, so Brendan Rodgers’ side will be looking at three home games post split and two away matches. So as things stand one of St Mirren, Kilmarnock or Dundee will NOT get a second home game against Celtic, but will instead play at Celtic Park for a third time in this league campaign.

Back to that observation: “They always seem to be at home”… theRangers will have played 17 home games and 16 away games ahead of the split but in order to level up with their top six opponents would have three further home games against Kilmarnock, St Mirren and Dundee with only two away matches against Celtic and Hearts. However to achieve a balance of home and away fixtures and the integrity of the competition, the SPFL is going to have to sent theRangers away from home to one of these venues where they have already placed at twice this season, meaning theRangers will have THREE away matches post split and just two at Ibrox.

The upside for theRangers is that they will not, as things stand, have to play a league match for a second time this season at those three difficult venues, at Fir Park, Pittodrie or Easter Road. That looks like a significant advantage, caused by the random selection of fixtures this season that appears to have given theRangers an easier looking first and third quarter. This was of course pointed out last summer but it seems to have created a bigger problem down the line for the very SPFL administrators. It’s a problem of their own making.

And one thing you can be sure of, if this situation here was reversed they’d be writing one of their letters of complaint and screaming blue murder.

It’s worth noting however that the league most likely anticipated a different set of sides to make the top six, indeed they may have reckoned that perhaps Aberdeen and Hibs would have made it. Regardless only one of the three are likely to make it if Dundee is to be caught, as catching St Mirren looks unlikely but you never know.

Incidentally the SWPL1 split that was introduced last season was hugely successful. The difference is that the top teams play each other twice before and after the split, whereas they only play the rest of the teams in the league twice before the split. This avoids these curious unknowns happening due to factors outwith the league’s control, after they have estimated who they think will make the top six.

It would surely make sense to increase the size of the Scottish Premiership to include sides like Dundee United and Raith Rovers, Partick Thistle and Morton then have a top six and bottom eight playing each other home and away. Slightly more games for the top six but a really strong end to the season guaranteed over this final ten matches. Even more games for the lower sides, which is financially beneficial and more games where every fan that wants to attend can get it.