HXSparky wrote:
The top 6 from one season play each other one more time the next season (albeit that's only 5 games). Same for the bottom 6 (sorry, 7-11 plus promoted team). Games spread through the season rather than been all at the end.
We did use a similar system to that for a while but it always resulted in one club getting a good season due to playing the bottom half in their extra games and finishing usually 5th or 6th. The same club would then finish bottom two the following season due to having to play all the top teams in their extra games. That scenario would create the issue suggested by Alaw whereby a club would look to avoid climbing into 6th place if in 7th or 8th with a few weeks to go.
Grimmy's suggestion of odds v evens for selecting the extra games (so Saints would play this season's 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th placed clubs in their loop games next year for example) seems more likely. As you correctly say the loop games would be spread over the season (as they were the last time we had them) I don't know why some people seem to think they will be the last 6 games on the fixture list.