Supporters believe that every club should play home and away on alternate fixture dates. The practical example which follows demonstrates why that is not possible.
Assume the Clydesdale Bank Premier League's 12 clubs are divided into two groups of six as follows:
A B C D E F / 1 2 3 4 5 6
The six teams A-F will all start with home matches and the teams 1-6 will all start with away matches.
Consider club A's first six matches. Assume its first match is at home to club 1. For the second round of matches A must be drawn away and clubs 1 to 6 must be drawn at home to continue the theme of home and away alternate fixtures.
Assume club A is away to club 2. Club A's fixture might be as follows:
1 Home
2 Away
3 Home
4 Away
5 Home
6 Away
To continue A's series of home and away fixtures, it must now be drawn at home for fixture 7. Having played clubs 1 to 6, club A's fixture 7 must be drawn from B, C, D, E or F.
However, each of these clubs was also drawn away for fixture 6 and requires a home tie in fixture 7 to maintain its home and away sequence.
If club A is drawn at home for fixture 7, the club it plays against will be drawn away for both fixture 6 and fixture 7. This applies regardless of how many teams are in the league.
Accordingly, it is not possible to produce a fixture list where each club is drawn home and away for alternate fixtures throughout the Season.
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