On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 10:23:25 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 12:40:38 AM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> >
> > There are also quite interesting relegation battles in
> >
> > 1. France - 4 teams go down this year and no barrages. Former champions
> > Nantes, Strasbourg and Auxerre among the teams that could still drop.
> > The bottom three pretty much determined, but the fight for the last
> > relegation place could be intense.
> >
> > 2. Germany. 3 games left and nobody relegated yet. 7 teams still
> > possibles for relegation, and the most likely group includes Schalke,
> > Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin. Two go down directly, one gets a chance
> > against 3rd Place 2 BL - probably HSV.
> >
> > 3. Scotland - yes Celtic are already champs and will do the domestic
> > treble yet again if they win the cup vs. 2nd Tier Inverness. But the
> > relegation fight is far from over. Dundee United (last place for most
> > of the year) Kilmarnock and Ross County all within a point. Bottom
> > relegated, 2nd bottom gets a playoff (vs. Partick Thistle, Ayr United or
> > Queen's Park). Dundee promoted.
> >
> > 4. Spain. 5 games left. Elche already down, but the list of other
> > candidates goes all the way up to Celta in 13th (they have a reasonable
> > cushion though). In danger are Espanyol (19th) and Valencia (17th).
> > Getafe, Cadiz, Valladolid and Almeria are also in the battle. 2 points
> > between Almeria in 14th and Getafe in 18th. Hard to keep track of the
> > permutations since Head-to-Head is used to resolve ties.
> The race for promotion is even closer.
> With three matches to go:
>
> Las Palmas 67
> Eibar 67
> --
> Granada 66
> Alavés 66
> Levante 65
> Albacete 62
> --
> Cartagena 58

One round to go:

Granada 72
Las Palmas 71
--
Alavés 70
Levante 69
Eibar 68
Albacete 64
--

Las Palmas hosting Alavés on the last matchday.

> As in England, the Top 2 are promoted directly, third to sixth go to the
> promotion play-off.
>
> > The championships in Belgium (3 teams) and Germany (2)are also going to
> > be very tight races.
>
> There's also the chance of a changing of the guard in two leagues.
>
> In Bulgaria, where Ludogorets have won 11 in a row, they are currently just one
> point ahead of CSKA-Sofia with five games to go and one match between the
> two still left to play.

That one ended 2-2. Ludogorets still one point ahead, three matches to go.

> (As an aside, I remember that Elko insisted on the dash '-', due to this version of
> CSKA(-) taking over the licence of another team after bankruptcy, while at the
> same time a group of fans founded a 'new' CSKA of their own, styled CSKA 1948,
> and a couple of years later that team is currently sitting in third behind CSKA- and
> Ludogorets. I wonder how Elko feels about two CSKA's being ahead of Levski now.
> ('This is getting out of hand! Now there are two of them!')
> What's more, CSKA 1948's second team also leads the Vtora liga, or Second Divison,
> by a healthy margin.)
>
> I'm jinxing it by writing this, but similarly there's an outside chance of an upset in
> Austria, too, where Sturm Graz are still kind of keeping up with nine-championships-in-a-row
> Salzburg (also thanks to the halving of the points after 22 matchdays), and have not
> only won the Austrian Cup, but are 'just' three-and-a-half points behind Red Bull, with
> one match between the two (in Salzburg) still left to play.

Jinxed it. We lost 1-2 yesterday (after leading 1-0 at HT), and Salzburg are champions for
the tenth time in a row.

> Other close races: Czech Republic (Sparta two points ahead of Slavia with one match
> between the two still to play next Saturday)

Sparta won that one 3-2 and are now five points ahead with two rounds to go..

> and Denmark (we know all about this from UPT, top 4 within four points).
>
> Also, there's a first-time champion in Poland (Raków Częstochowa).

And one in Luxembourg - Swift Hesperange, founded in 1916, first reached the top
level in 1985, national cup winners in 1990, have now won the championship for
the first time.

Ciao,
Werner

> Notably, most of the above mentioned leagues (Belgium, Bulgaria, Austria, Czech Republic,
> Denmark) have changed to a Championship Playoff system in the last couple of years.

On Monday, May 22, 2023 at 1:18:13 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 10:23:25 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 12:40:38 AM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> > >
> > > There are also quite interesting relegation battles in
> > >
> > > 1. France - 4 teams go down this year and no barrages. Former champions
> > > Nantes, Strasbourg and Auxerre among the teams that could still drop.
> > > The bottom three pretty much determined, but the fight for the last
> > > relegation place could be intense.

Nantes are winless in the league since February (and also heavily lost the Coupe de
France final during that run), so perhaps not that intense, although they are still in
with a shot since with two points to make up they host dead-last Angers on the
last matchday while Auxerre have a more daunting task against runners-up Lens.

> > > 2. Germany. 3 games left and nobody relegated yet. 7 teams still
> > > possibles for relegation, and the most likely group includes Schalke,
> > > Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin. Two go down directly, one gets a chance
> > > against 3rd Place 2 BL - probably HSV.

That was intense, in all three Bundesligas. What are the chances that fans
will celebrate promotion prematurely twice in two days, only to see it all go
up in smoke, while the less said about Dortmund's Meisterfeier plans the better.

> > > 3. Scotland - yes Celtic are already champs and will do the domestic
> > > treble yet again if they win the cup vs. 2nd Tier Inverness. But the
> > > relegation fight is far from over. Dundee United (last place for most
> > > of the year) Kilmarnock and Ross County all within a point. Bottom
> > > relegated, 2nd bottom gets a playoff (vs. Partick Thistle, Ayr United or
> > > Queen's Park). Dundee promoted.

One Dundee up, one Dundee down.
Ross County against Partick Thistle for last spot.

> > > 4. Spain. 5 games left. Elche already down, but the list of other
> > > candidates goes all the way up to Celta in 13th (they have a reasonable
> > > cushion though). In danger are Espanyol (19th) and Valencia (17th).
> > > Getafe, Cadiz, Valladolid and Almeria are also in the battle. 2 points
> > > between Almeria in 14th and Getafe in 18th. Hard to keep track of the
> > > permutations since Head-to-Head is used to resolve ties.

Espanyol go down. The remaining relegation spot is one out of six.

> > The race for promotion is even closer.
>
> One round to go:
>
> Granada 72
> Las Palmas 71
> --
> Alavés 70
> Levante 69
> Eibar 68
> Albacete 64
> --
>
> Las Palmas hosting Alavés on the last matchday.

Las Palmas got the scoreless draw they needed to secure promotion on
goal difference, four goals ahead of Levante.

> > As in England, the Top 2 are promoted directly, third to sixth go to the
> > promotion play-off.

Levante - Albacete
Alavés - Eibar
Also, the third promotion spot in Italy, will belong to one of either Cagliari,
Buffon's Parma, Bari, or, most improbably, FC Südtirol.

> > > The championships in Belgium (3 teams)

This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
Championship play-off.

Before the last matchday:

1 Royal Antwerp 46
2 Union SG 46
3 Genk 45
4 Brugge 33

Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
difference in the regular season (!).

> > > and Germany (2)are also going to
> > > be very tight races.
> >
> > There's also the chance of a changing of the guard in two leagues.
> >
> > In Bulgaria, where Ludogorets have won 11 in a row, they are currently just one
> > point ahead of CSKA-Sofia with five games to go and one match between the
> > two still left to play.
>
> That one ended 2-2. Ludogorets still one point ahead, three matches to go..

Two rounds to go, and CSKA- have taken the lead by one point. Next up, the
CSKA derby between them and CSKA 1948.

> > and Denmark (we know all about this from UPT, top 4 within four points)..

Brøndby have made their beloved neighbours FCK champions with an emphatic
win over Nordsjælland.

> > Also, there's a first-time champion in Poland (Raków Częstochowa).
>
> And one in Luxembourg - Swift Hesperange, founded in 1916, first reached the top
> level in 1985, national cup winners in 1990, have now won the championship for
> the first time.

In Romania, Gheorghe Hagi's team Farul Constanța won the title either for the first
or the second time, depending on whether you count the championship won by Viitorul
in 2016-17.

Ciao,
Werner

On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:

>
>>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
>
> This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
> Championship play-off.
>
> Before the last matchday:
>
> 1 Royal Antwerp 46
> 2 Union SG 46
> 3 Genk 45
> 4 Brugge 33
>
> Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
> Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
> difference in the regular season (!).

Is that true? I thought the first tie break was to take away the
rounded up points from the regular season. Those were Genk 75, Union
75, Antwerp 72 if I remember aright. So Antwerp would win that. Second
tie break is placing in regular season (including GD if the teams were
tied in the regular season which would have given Genk the win - that
can't happen now as there is no way of Union and Genk tying for first.
Thet can end up equal on 46 points, but then Antwerpy would have 47.
>

On Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:49:51 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:
>
> >
> >>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
> >
> > This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
> > Championship play-off.
> >
> > Before the last matchday:
> >
> > 1 Royal Antwerp 46
> > 2 Union SG 46
> > 3 Genk 45
> > 4 Brugge 33
> >
> > Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
> > Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
> > difference in the regular season (!).
>
> Is that true?

Nah it's not. I had thought Belgium did the halving of points like Austria, rounding down and
assigning an asterisk (i.e. .5 points, it would be so much easier if they just did it that way) to
those teams that had been on odd points before the halving, but they (somewhat illogically,
to my mind) do it the other way round, first rounding up and then giving precedence to those
teams that had been on even points before the halving.

So, since I failed to understand why Union were in 2nd, I jumped to the wrong
conclusion that it had been because of their 2nd place in the regular season.

> I thought the first tie break was to take away the
> rounded up points from the regular season. Those were Genk 75, Union
> 75, Antwerp 72 if I remember aright. So Antwerp would win that. Second
> tie break is placing in regular season (including GD if the teams were
> tied in the regular season which would have given Genk the win - that
> can't happen now as there is no way of Union and Genk tying for first.
> Thet can end up equal on 46 points, but then Antwerpy would have 47.

Yeah that's all correct.

Ciao,
Werner

On 2023-06-02 03:37, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:49:51 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
>> On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
>>>
>>> This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
>>> Championship play-off.
>>>
>>> Before the last matchday:
>>>
>>> 1 Royal Antwerp 46
>>> 2 Union SG 46
>>> 3 Genk 45
>>> 4 Brugge 33
>>>
>>> Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
>>> Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
>>> difference in the regular season (!).
>>
>> Is that true?
>
> Nah it's not. I had thought Belgium did the halving of points like Austria, rounding down and
> assigning an asterisk (i.e. .5 points, it would be so much easier if they just did it that way) to
> those teams that had been on odd points before the halving, but they (somewhat illogically,
> to my mind) do it the other way round, first rounding up and then giving precedence to those
> teams that had been on even points before the halving.
>
> So, since I failed to understand why Union were in 2nd, I jumped to the wrong
> conclusion that it had been because of their 2nd place in the regular season.
>
Well the finish was about as dramatic as it could be.

45 minutes. Genk score, take over first. Antwerp Second, Union third
46 minutes Union score, take over first, Genk second Antwerp third.
58 Mins Antwerp score, Union now first Antwerp Second, Genk third.
75 Mins Genk score, Union first, Genk second, Antwerp third.
89 mins. Bruges score, Genk first, Union second, Antwerp third
90 + 3 Bruges again, Genk first, Antwerp second, Union third
90 + 4 Alderweireld equalizes , Antwerp first, Genk second, Union
third
90 +10 Bruges again, Antwerp wins the league for the first time in
ages (and after a lengthy spell out of the top division a few years
back). Union, who have gone even longer without winning the league if I
remember correctly, end up third.

On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:59:26 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:
> On 2023-06-02 03:37, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:49:51 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> >> On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>>>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
> >>>
> >>> This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
> >>> Championship play-off.
> >>>
> >>> Before the last matchday:
> >>>
> >>> 1 Royal Antwerp 46
> >>> 2 Union SG 46
> >>> 3 Genk 45
> >>> 4 Brugge 33
> >>>
> >>> Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
> >>> Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
> >>> difference in the regular season (!).
> >>
> >> Is that true?
> >
> > Nah it's not. I had thought Belgium did the halving of points like Austria, rounding down and
> > assigning an asterisk (i.e. .5 points, it would be so much easier if they just did it that way) to
> > those teams that had been on odd points before the halving, but they (somewhat illogically,
> > to my mind) do it the other way round, first rounding up and then giving precedence to those
> > teams that had been on even points before the halving.
> >
> > So, since I failed to understand why Union were in 2nd, I jumped to the wrong
> > conclusion that it had been because of their 2nd place in the regular season.
> >
> Well the finish was about as dramatic as it could be.

Yep. Well done to the Jupiler League, and congrats to Antwerp.

On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 11:15:14 PM UTC+2, Futbolmetrix wrote:
> On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:59:26 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:
> > On 2023-06-02 03:37, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > On Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:49:51 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> > >> On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > >>
> > >>>
> > >>>>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
> > >>>
> > >>> This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
> > >>> Championship play-off.
> > >>>
> > >>> Before the last matchday:
> > >>>
> > >>> 1 Royal Antwerp 46
> > >>> 2 Union SG 46
> > >>> 3 Genk 45
> > >>> 4 Brugge 33
> > >>>
> > >>> Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
> > >>> Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
> > >>> difference in the regular season (!).
> > >>
> > >> Is that true?
> > >
> > > Nah it's not. I had thought Belgium did the halving of points like Austria, rounding down and
> > > assigning an asterisk (i.e. .5 points, it would be so much easier if they just did it that way) to
> > > those teams that had been on odd points before the halving, but they (somewhat illogically,
> > > to my mind) do it the other way round, first rounding up and then giving precedence to those
> > > teams that had been on even points before the halving.
> > >
> > > So, since I failed to understand why Union were in 2nd, I jumped to the wrong
> > > conclusion that it had been because of their 2nd place in the regular season.
> > >
> > Well the finish was about as dramatic as it could be.
>
> Yep. Well done to the Jupiler League, and congrats to Antwerp.

Somewhat artificially induced excitement, but excitement nonetheless.

It's become a clear trend all over Europe to tweak the league competitions
towards something resembling a play-off format, with more meaningful
matches played in spring.
Switzerland will be the next to follow from 23/24.

Ciao,
Werner

On Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 10:42:56 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Monday, May 22, 2023 at 1:18:13 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 10:23:25 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 12:40:38 AM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> > > >
> > > > There are also quite interesting relegation battles in
> > > >
> > > > 1. France - 4 teams go down this year and no barrages. Former champions
> > > > Nantes, Strasbourg and Auxerre among the teams that could still drop.
> > > > The bottom three pretty much determined, but the fight for the last
> > > > relegation place could be intense.
>
> Nantes are winless in the league since February (and also heavily lost the Coupe de
> France final during that run), so perhaps not that intense, although they are still in
> with a shot since with two points to make up they host dead-last Angers on the
> last matchday while Auxerre have a more daunting task against runners-up Lens.

And indeed Nantes prevailed 1-0, and their first win in 15 league games is enough
to send Auxerre down instead. Lens in the end just one point behind PSG, a great
campaign for them (had a bit of an eye on them all season because of Kevin Danso).

> > > > 3. Scotland - yes Celtic are already champs and will do the domestic
> > > > treble yet again if they win the cup vs. 2nd Tier Inverness. But the
> > > > relegation fight is far from over. Dundee United (last place for most
> > > > of the year) Kilmarnock and Ross County all within a point. Bottom
> > > > relegated, 2nd bottom gets a playoff (vs. Partick Thistle, Ayr United or
> > > > Queen's Park). Dundee promoted.
>
> One Dundee up, one Dundee down.
> Ross County against Partick Thistle for last spot.

A last-minute goal saved Ross County in the return leg to get the match-up to
extra time, and the Highlanders ultimately prevailed in the shoot-out.

> > > > 4. Spain. 5 games left. Elche already down, but the list of other
> > > > candidates goes all the way up to Celta in 13th (they have a reasonable
> > > > cushion though). In danger are Espanyol (19th) and Valencia (17th).
> > > > Getafe, Cadiz, Valladolid and Almeria are also in the battle. 2 points
> > > > between Almeria in 14th and Getafe in 18th. Hard to keep track of the
> > > > permutations since Head-to-Head is used to resolve ties.
>
> Espanyol go down. The remaining relegation spot is one out of six.

Valladolid to join them.

> > > The race for promotion is even closer.
> > >
> > > As in England, the Top 2 are promoted directly, third to sixth go to the
> > > promotion play-off.
>
> Levante - Albacete
> Alavés - Eibar

First legs Albacete - Levante 1-3 and Eibar - Alavés 1-1.

> Also, the third promotion spot in Italy, will belong to one of either Cagliari,
> Buffon's Parma, Bari, or, most improbably, FC Südtirol.

Not Südtirol nor Parma, shame. Bari vs Cagliari in the play-off final.

> > > There's also the chance of a changing of the guard in two leagues.
> > >
> > > In Bulgaria, where Ludogorets have won 11 in a row, they are currently just one
> > > point ahead of CSKA-Sofia with five games to go and one match between the
> > > two still left to play.
> >
> > That one ended 2-2. Ludogorets still one point ahead, three matches to go.
>
> Two rounds to go, and CSKA- have taken the lead by one point. Next up, the
> CSKA derby between them and CSKA 1948.

And CSKA- most likely blew their chance by only drawing 1-1 against their
doppelgangers, while Ludogorets late on turned a 1-2 deficit against Levski
into a 3-2 win.

Ludogorets again one point ahead and will win the title with an away win against
Varna who have nothing to play for.

Ciao,
Werner

On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 5:27:22 AM UTC-4, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > Also, the third promotion spot in Italy, will belong to one of either Cagliari,
> > Buffon's Parma, Bari, or, most improbably, FC Südtirol.
> Not Südtirol nor Parma, shame. Bari vs Cagliari in the play-off final.

In Serie A, Spezia and Verona will battle it out in a relegation playoff, as they finished equal on points. Spezia was safe until the 89th minute, when Roma was awarded a dubious penalty that sent them to the Europa League and Juve to the Conference League (pending additional UEFA decisions.) Curiously, Mourinho and Roma didn't have much to say about this incident...

On 2023-06-05 02:16, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 11:15:14 PM UTC+2, Futbolmetrix wrote:
>> On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:59:26 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:
>>> On 2023-06-02 03:37, Werner Pichler wrote:
>>>> On Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:49:51 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
>>>>> On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
>>>>>> Championship play-off.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Before the last matchday:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1 Royal Antwerp 46
>>>>>> 2 Union SG 46
>>>>>> 3 Genk 45
>>>>>> 4 Brugge 33
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
>>>>>> Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
>>>>>> difference in the regular season (!).
>>>>>
>>>>> Is that true?
>>>>
>>>> Nah it's not. I had thought Belgium did the halving of points like Austria, rounding down and
>>>> assigning an asterisk (i.e. .5 points, it would be so much easier if they just did it that way) to
>>>> those teams that had been on odd points before the halving, but they (somewhat illogically,
>>>> to my mind) do it the other way round, first rounding up and then giving precedence to those
>>>> teams that had been on even points before the halving.

It would be more straightforward (if it is believed people can't handle
fractions) to have the championship round games count for double points.

>>>>
>>>> So, since I failed to understand why Union were in 2nd, I jumped to the wrong
>>>> conclusion that it had been because of their 2nd place in the regular season.
>>>>
>>> Well the finish was about as dramatic as it could be.
>>
>> Yep. Well done to the Jupiler League, and congrats to Antwerp.
>
> Somewhat artificially induced excitement, but excitement nonetheless.
>
> It's become a clear trend all over Europe to tweak the league competitions
> towards something resembling a play-off format, with more meaningful
> matches played in spring.
> Switzerland will be the next to follow from 23/24.

I have a vague recollection that the Swiss tried something similar
before. Did they ? The Swedes had a playoff system in the past too.

Scotland's system is not great because it is unbalanced (only one game
vs. each of the other 5, not home and away in both the regular league (3
rounds) and the championship/relegation rounds (1 round).

Might be better to go with 14 teams in their premier league (26 games)
and a double round robin for the top six, with the bottom 8 joining the
top 4 from the Championship for two groups of 6 .
>
> Ciao,
> Werner

On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 6:23:25 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> On 2023-06-05 02:16, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 11:15:14 PM UTC+2, Futbolmetrix wrote:
> >> On Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:59:26 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:
> >>> On 2023-06-02 03:37, Werner Pichler wrote:
> >>>> On Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:49:51 PM UTC+2, MH wrote:
> >>>>> On 2023-05-30 02:42, Werner Pichler wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> The championships in Belgium (3 teams)
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> This one goes down to the wire, thanks to their controversial
> >>>>>> Championship play-off.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Before the last matchday:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> 1 Royal Antwerp 46
> >>>>>> 2 Union SG 46
> >>>>>> 3 Genk 45
> >>>>>> 4 Brugge 33
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Genk host Antwerp next Sunday while Union host Brugge who have nothing to play for.
> >>>>>> Should both Royal and Union win (or both draw), the title will go to Antwerp due to goal
> >>>>>> difference in the regular season (!).
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Is that true?
> >>>>
> >>>> Nah it's not. I had thought Belgium did the halving of points like Austria, rounding down and
> >>>> assigning an asterisk (i.e. .5 points, it would be so much easier if they just did it that way) to
> >>>> those teams that had been on odd points before the halving, but they (somewhat illogically,
> >>>> to my mind) do it the other way round, first rounding up and then giving precedence to those
> >>>> teams that had been on even points before the halving.
>
> It would be more straightforward (if it is believed people can't handle
> fractions) to have the championship round games count for double points.

So all matches become six-point matches, and those so-called six-point matches become twelve-point matches :)

> >>> Well the finish was about as dramatic as it could be.
> >>
> >> Yep. Well done to the Jupiler League, and congrats to Antwerp.
> >
> > Somewhat artificially induced excitement, but excitement nonetheless.
> >
> > It's become a clear trend all over Europe to tweak the league competitions
> > towards something resembling a play-off format, with more meaningful
> > matches played in spring.
> > Switzerland will be the next to follow from 23/24.
>
> I have a vague recollection that the Swiss tried something similar
> before. Did they ?

Until 2003/04.

> The Swedes had a playoff system in the past too.

So did Austria in the 80's. It was a lot like you describe below - the first half of the season was
played in 2x12 leagues (22 matches), then the top 8 went to the Championship Play-off (14 matches),
the bottom 4 of the first and top 4 of the second league played in a so-called 'Middle' Play-off, and
the bottom 8 went to a Relegation Play-off.

As I remember it, in the end this system was abolished mostly because there was practically no
planning security whatsoever. The discrepancy in attendances between the Championship and
the other play-offs was enormous, and since you could ruin your season basically already halfway
through the season mid-table teams were frantically trying to avoid that fate - resulting in huge manager
and player turnovers and ultimately a frightening amount of bankruptcies.

So while on paper the system was indeed fairer, the overall effects on Austrian football were just bad.

> Scotland's system is not great because it is unbalanced (only one game
> vs. each of the other 5, not home and away in both the regular league (3
> rounds) and the championship/relegation rounds (1 round).

Incidentally, that's exactly the model Switzerland will adopt.

Ciao,
Werner

> Might be better to go with 14 teams in their premier league (26 games)
> and a double round robin for the top six, with the bottom 8 joining the
> top 4 from the Championship for two groups of 6 .

On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 7:26:04 AM UTC-4, Futbolmetrix wrote:
> On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 5:27:22 AM UTC-4, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > Also, the third promotion spot in Italy, will belong to one of either Cagliari,
> > > Buffon's Parma, Bari, or, most improbably, FC Südtirol.
> > Not Südtirol nor Parma, shame. Bari vs Cagliari in the play-off final.
> In Serie A, Spezia and Verona will battle it out in a relegation playoff,

Verona up 3-1 with about 15 minutes to go. Two of the Verona goals came off deflections by Ethan Ampadu (would have been own goals in old Serie A), and Ampadu got on the scoresheet himself for the right side (this too a twice deflected shot).

However, the most interesting thing has been Faraoni (of Verona) doing a Luis Suarez in the 68th minute. DOGSO red card and penalty, which Mbala Nzola tamely shot at Montipo`. Was it the right decision with so much time left to go?

Anyway, now Spezia taking advantage of the one-man advantage and throwing the kitchen sink at Verona, but Montipo` has decided to channel his inner Buffon and has kept everything at bay.

Elsewhere, Cagliari promoted to Serie A thanks to a 94th minute winner.

On Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 4:29:39 PM UTC-4, Futbolmetrix wrote:
> On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 7:26:04 AM UTC-4, Futbolmetrix wrote:
> > On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 5:27:22 AM UTC-4, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > Also, the third promotion spot in Italy, will belong to one of either Cagliari,
> > > > Buffon's Parma, Bari, or, most improbably, FC Südtirol.
> > > Not Südtirol nor Parma, shame. Bari vs Cagliari in the play-off final.
> > In Serie A, Spezia and Verona will battle it out in a relegation playoff,
> Verona up 3-1 with about 15 minutes to go. Two of the Verona goals came off deflections by Ethan Ampadu (would have been own goals in old Serie A), and Ampadu got on the scoresheet himself for the right side (this too a twice deflected shot).
>
> However, the most interesting thing has been Faraoni (of Verona) doing a Luis Suarez in the 68th minute. DOGSO red card and penalty, which Mbala Nzola tamely shot at Montipo`. Was it the right decision with so much time left to go?
>
> Anyway, now Spezia taking advantage of the one-man advantage and throwing the kitchen sink at Verona, but Montipo` has decided to channel his inner Buffon and has kept everything at bay.

FT: Verona- Spezia 3-1
Verona stays up, Spezia goes down

> Elsewhere, Cagliari promoted to Serie A thanks to a 94th minute winner.

On Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 4:29:39 PM UTC-4, Futbolmetrix wrote:

> Elsewhere, Cagliari promoted to Serie A thanks to a 94th minute winner.

Claudio Ranieri-coached Cagliari, I should have said

On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 11:27:22 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 10:42:56 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Monday, May 22, 2023 at 1:18:13 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 10:23:25 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > >
> > > > The race for promotion is even closer.
> > > >
> > > > As in England, the Top 2 are promoted directly, third to sixth go to the
> > > > promotion play-off.
> >
> > Levante - Albacete
> > Alavés - Eibar
>
> First legs Albacete - Levante 1-3 and Eibar - Alavés 1-1.

First leg of the final between Levante and Alavés ended 0-0 in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Return leg next Saturday.

> > > > There's also the chance of a changing of the guard in two leagues.
> > > >
> > > > In Bulgaria, where Ludogorets have won 11 in a row, they are currently just one
> > > > point ahead of CSKA-Sofia with five games to go and one match between the
> > > > two still left to play.
> > >
> > > That one ended 2-2. Ludogorets still one point ahead, three matches to go.
> >
> > Two rounds to go, and CSKA- have taken the lead by one point. Next up, the
> > CSKA derby between them and CSKA 1948.
>
> And CSKA- most likely blew their chance by only drawing 1-1 against their
> doppelgangers, while Ludogorets late on turned a 1-2 deficit against Levski
> into a 3-2 win.
>
> Ludogorets again one point ahead and will win the title with an away win against
> Varna who have nothing to play for.

To wrap this up, a week ago Ludogorets edged Chernomorets 1-0 with a 2nd-half goal
from a corner kick.

12th championship in a row for Ludogorets - the longest ongoing streak in Europe,
ahead of Bayern (11), Salzburg (10), and Sheriff (8).

Ciao,
Werner

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 11:58:18 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> On Monday, June 5, 2023 at 11:27:22 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > On Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 10:42:56 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > On Monday, May 22, 2023 at 1:18:13 PM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > > On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 10:23:25 AM UTC+2, Werner Pichler wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > The race for promotion is even closer.
> > > > >
> > > > > As in England, the Top 2 are promoted directly, third to sixth go to the
> > > > > promotion play-off.
> > >
> > > Levante - Albacete
> > > Alavés - Eibar
> >
> > First legs Albacete - Levante 1-3 and Eibar - Alavés 1-1.
>
> First leg of the final between Levante and Alavés ended 0-0 in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
> Return leg next Saturday.

Alavés won promotion thanks to a 128th-minute VAR handball penalty.

Discuss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkUjC9GuASE&t=149s

Ciao,
Werner