Okay, this is an American idea, but let me present it anyway.  If you haven't experienced the Super Bowl in America, here's what it's like:  Literally half the country stops to watch.  It's also broadcast in well over 100 countries...and that's for a sport that has virtually no popularity outside the US.

 

Now imagine if the Premier League would have such a game.  The whole of England would watch, and I guarantee the ratings internationally would dwarf the Super Bowl's.  But first, how to make such a thing happen?

 

I propose four divisions based on the previous year's results.  So, for 2014-15, the divisions would be:

 

A)

Manchester City

Southampton

Stoke

Hull City

West Bromwich Albion

 

B)

Liverpool

Manchester United

Newcastle

Aston Villa

Leicester City

 

C)

Chelsea

Tottenham

Crystal Palace

Sunderland

Burnley

 

D)

Arsenal

Everton

Swansea

West Ham United

QPR

 

Play four games against each team in your division, A and B would play 2 games each against each other as would C and D, and one game against the other divisions.  In other words, Divisions A and B would play one game each against C and D.  This gives a total of 36 games.

 

For the semi-finals, winners of Division A and B would square off two matches aggregate, and winners of C and D would do likewise.  The winners would meet in a winner-take-all match at Wembley.  All Division winners would qualify for the Champions League.

 

How to relegate 3 teams?  A four-team playoff between the bottom of each division, winner stays in Premier League.  This way, relegation would not be automatic.

 

The following season, divisions would change based on results.  Therefore, a new Division A would go:  #1A, #2B, #3C, #4D, #5Team Avoiding Relegation.  Division B would go #1B, #2C, #3D, #4A, #1Championship...etc.

 

Advantages:  

- The semi-finals and championship match would be huge worldwide and create incredible excitement

- More teams have a chance deeper into the season to qualify for the playoffs  

- Teams that suffer injuries during the season can potentially come back to full health

- Prevents anti-climactic season finish 

- Makes more games more meaningful

- Two fewer regular-season games helps teams with Champions League, FA Cup, etc., obligations

- Division-only champions playoff addresses weakness of American sports leagues playoffs, where non-division winners also qualify and often win championships

- Relegation playoff gives bottom teams something to hope for

 

Disadvantages:

- Team that dominates regular season or is clearly the best may not win championship

- Tradition

- Some derbys compromised

- Only one game against 10 teams

 

Finally, I realize a playoff system will never come to fruition...at least not in the short term.  But, all things evolve eventually.  I believe the advantages outweigh the advantages, but that's my view.  Okay, let me have it!

Edited March 18, 201510 yr by MarkWilliam

Can we also make games stop every 15 seconds so that we can watch more ads?

I agree though I do see how we're missing the boat by not playing Burnley 4 times a year.

Sorry but I'll pass on this one.

Advantages:  

- The semi-finals and championship match would be huge worldwide and create incredible excitement

- More teams have a chance deeper into the season to qualify for the playoffs  

- Teams that suffer injuries during the season can potentially come back to full health

- Prevents anti-climactic season finish 

- Makes more games more meaningful

- Two fewer regular-season games helps teams with Champions League, FA Cup, etc., obligations

- Division-only champions playoff addresses weakness of American sports leagues playoffs, where non-division winners also qualify and often win championships

- Relegation playoff gives bottom teams something to hope for

 

Disadvantages:

- Team that dominates regular season or is clearly the best may not win championship

- Tradition

- Some derbys compromised

- Only one game against 10 teams

 

I would add to the disadvantages that the regular season will become less interesting with the playoffs grabbing all the attention.

 

Also, divisions will not be equally strong and that would be unfair on teams. Takes the whole 'everyone plays the exact same season' factor out of it. 

 

We already have enough knockout cup competitions. Don't need to turn the premier league into one too. Its not a bad idea however.

No f**king way, one of the reasons I gave up in Rugby League was because they do a Grand Final. It's pure bollocks, the cup finals are there for the showpiece occasion whilst you win the league by been the best team over 38 games a season.

I'm sorry if this sounds rude or dismissive but that is a horrible idea.

 

Why sacrifice the integrity of the other 38 games in order to create a single showpiece game? It would also destroy the variety you get in playing 19 different teams a season, which is great, you get a measure of every other team in the league by playing them twice. Playing certain teams four times would be dull and others not at all would be rubbish. Having an assurance of playing the other top sides in the league is good; seeing how we fare against City, Arsenal, Man Utd (etc.) from season to season is a good indicator of each team's annual progress. Also I would under no circumstances want to run the risk of missing out on certain derby games (especially Tottenham), which are often the highlights of the season.

 

We already have two domestic cups and both finals are fairly exciting and well-watched events, as well as the latter stages of the Champions League, which are always an absolute barnstormer and usually the pinnacle of quality in world football. That is plenty of climactic excitement.

 

We should not be taking inspiration from American football other than in nutrition and sports science. The format is perfect the way it is.

More people globally watched Chelsea vs Manchester City this season than watched the Super Bowl. 

 

The Premier League is doing just fine in it's current format. 

Can we also make games stop every 15 seconds so that we can watch more ads?

That made me laugh

Oh lordy, save me, I don't even like the cheerleaders, thin end of the wedge.

I agree though I do see how we're missing the boat by not playing Burnley 4 times a year.

Or Stoke away on more than one cold, wet night.

American football's play-offs and Superbowl are more about spectacle than about sports to me. If the PL would adopt the same format, football would take the back seat.

Edited March 18, 201510 yr by Valerie

The only thing that I do get a bit jealous about........ for the Super Bowl entertainment before the game, you have bands like Aerosmith, U2, or whatever, while over here, before an FA Cup final, we get Katherine Jenkings........

The only thing that I do get a bit jealous about........ for the Super Bowl entertainment before the game, you have bands like Aerosmith, U2, or whatever, while over here, before an FA Cup final, we get Katherine Jenkings........

And Katy Perry's back up dancers dressed in shark outfits. Only in America.

Urgh I hate the whole Super Bowl "razzmatazz", especially Sky's attempts to get Britain interested in it....They need to sex up American Football  to cover up for the fact that the game itself is a bit crap (in my opinion)

 

Not needed here.

And Katy Perry's back up dancers dressed in shark outfits. Only in America.

 

The shark suit guy who had no idea what he was doing was the only highlight of that day for me.

The only thing that I do get a bit jealous about........ for the Super Bowl entertainment before the game, you have bands like Aerosmith, U2, or whatever, while over here, before an FA Cup final, we get Katherine Jenkings........

Hey now, Katherine Jenkins is a delight. 

The only thing that I do get a bit jealous about........ for the Super Bowl entertainment before the game, you have bands like Aerosmith, U2, or whatever, while over here, before an FA Cup final, we get Katherine Jenkings........

 

You also get Abide With Me being sung by 80,000 supporters - that's more emotion in 3 minutes than the NFL can manufacture in 3 hours of Superbowl.

What about the shape of the ball ? 

 

These round balls are so yesterday.

The only thing that I do get a bit jealous about........ for the Super Bowl entertainment before the game, you have bands like Aerosmith, U2, or whatever, while over here, before an FA Cup final, we get Katherine Jenkings........

 

If U2 were ever to perform before the FA Cup Final I think I would boycott football for life.

I'm sorry if this sounds rude or dismissive but that is a horrible idea.

 

Why sacrifice the integrity of the other 38 games in order to create a single showpiece game? It would also destroy the variety you get in playing 19 different teams a season, which is great, you get a measure of every other team in the league by playing them twice. Playing certain teams four times would be dull and others not at all would be rubbish. Having an assurance of playing the other top sides in the league is good; seeing how we fare against City, Arsenal, Man Utd (etc.) from season to season is a good indicator of each team's annual progress. Also I would under no circumstances want to run the risk of missing out on certain derby games (especially Tottenham), which are often the highlights of the season.

 

We already have two domestic cups and both finals are fairly exciting and well-watched events, as well as the latter stages of the Champions League, which are always an absolute barnstormer and usually the pinnacle of quality in world football. That is plenty of climactic excitement.

 

We should not be taking inspiration from American football other than in nutrition and sports science. The format is perfect the way it is.

Believe me, no offense (or offence) taken.  I knew this would be a hard sell. 

 

The regular season, I argue, would actually become more compelling.  Right now, halfway into a Premier League season and realistically only 2-4 teams are in line for the title.  Everyone else, save for those looking for a Champions League berth,  is playing for pure entertainment.

 

I also think you support my argument when you point out how the latter stages of the Champions League are tremendous.  Why not want that for the Premier League?

 

Derbys aren't always permanent.  There's no guarantee that Tottenham, for example, won't be relegated, although I know that is absurd to think in 2015...but again, anything can and does happen in sport.

This whole idea would ruin football for me.

The relegation battle can be a nail biting exciting thing, especially when it goes to the last game of the season. As for saying the Super Bowl is broadcast in over 100 countries, well so is the Footie...They are different sports and in my opinion Footie is superior in every way...I don't think we need to be copying an inferior product.

 

As for missing the boat, I think we are doing quite nicely as we are....

Believe me, no offense (or offence) taken.  I knew this would be a hard sell. 

 

The regular season, I argue, would actually become more compelling.  Right now, halfway into a Premier League season and realistically only 2-4 teams are in line for the title.  Everyone else, save for those looking for a Champions League berth,  is playing for pure entertainment.

 

I also think you support my argument when you point out how the latter stages of the Champions League are tremendous.  Why not want that for the Premier League?

 

Derbys aren't always permanent.  There's no guarantee that Tottenham, for example, won't be relegated, although I know that is absurd to think in 2015...but again, anything can and does happen in sport.

 

I think that is a fair point regarding the range of teams in contention for the main trophy. Looking at the list of recent Super Bowls, there have been ten different teams who have reached it in the last six years, with only two teams making it twice. In comparison, in the last six seasons of the Premier League, only four different teams have made it into the top two. Obviously that is a rather arbitrary judgement as only taking the top two isn't necessarily a good indicator of the teams which were genuinely in contention for the title (Arsenal aren't on the list for example), but still a knockout tournament as opposed to a round robin certainly seems to level the odds in terms of who has a chance of winning.

 

That said, one of the appeals of a two-level round robin is that usually (essentially without exception - you can't exactly 'fluke' a league title) the team which has performed best over the course of that season tends to win, which gives a level of added merit to the victory. In a round robin format you have to play every team twice, there is no hiding from a particular opponent who causes you trouble and you have to confront your rivals for the championship directly. In a knockout tournament that is not the case, it is possible to avoid several top-level teams on the way to victory: last season Real Madrid won the Champions League by beating Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Galatasaray, Juventus and FC Copenhagen. This meant they didn't have to play Chelsea, Barcelona, Man City, PSG (etc.) - who's to say they would have beaten any of them? In a round robin you have to confront every team and if you come out on top it is because you have performed better against everyone rather than perhaps relying on luck of the draw.

 

My knowledge of American football is poor at best so I will have to ask you really - does the best team in the country tend to win the Super Bowl? In football knockout tournaments it really isn't always the case - you only have to look at our winning the Champions League in 2012 to know that (not that we didn't deserve it of course). It also seems bizarre that the best team in the country would fluctuate as often as Super Bowl participants seem to change - usually in football a team will remain the best for a few years before being ousted or degrading.

 

However romantic a knockout competition, we already have several of them, whether domestic or European. I don't see the need to sacrifice the year-long battle that is a league season just to add another. The league run-in is no less entertaining than the Champions League latter stages, and is in my opinion a more authentic indicator of who has been the best team in a country. There is a reason the league winners are considered the national champions and not the FA Cup winners - not two seasons ago the FA Cup was won by a team which finished 18th in the league and was subsequently relegated. Romantic indeed and well-deserved, but a long, long way from being the best team in the country. Why convert everything to knockout when we have a nice balance of both?

 

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you entirely regarding derbies though - they definitely are permanent. The last time Chelsea and Millwall were in the same division was 1989-90 (before I was born incidentally), but I'm fairly sure I speak for everyone when I say that we absolutely still loathe each other. Besides, even in the extremely unlikely event that Tottenham do get relegated, there are enough decent London teams around to guarantee us a local derby every season. There are definitely enough teams that we dislike to guarantee us several 'rival battles' every season, without fail.

The relegation battle can be a nail biting exciting thing, especially when it goes to the last game of the season.

 

This is an excellent point as well - it isn't only the battle for the championship which is exciting. Fighting to qualify for Europe is exciting, fighting to avoid relegation is exciting, even fighting to finish above another team you don't particularly like is exciting.

Also would this system mean that half of the teams in the league would only play half a season? It says on the NFL wiki that for teams which don't advance, the season only runs from September to December - that would be terrible for local fans if their team didn't make it.