UllFC wrote:
There's no easy answer on the fixtures. If they do a draw mid way through the season they won't sell many tickets early on as people will wait to see the fixtures before booking. If they use last seasons positions teams can vary year on year (such as Salford between 2019 and 2020) so it doesn't necessarily mean close ties and it doesn't always generate games people want to see...Hull played Harlequins in Edinburgh once that didn't excite me enough to go along. Derby's have got repetitive. I think choosing the most Marketable games has to be the answer.
Using the previous seasons final standings is as good as you can get.
Of course, some clubs improve and some go the other way but, as you say, it's impossible to be certain how each club will perform but, last seasons final league position would be the best that we have.
Of course there will be some less attractive fixtures but, unless they go with all derby games, this will always be the case.
Mind you, we now have "Derby day" so, maybe that should have taken place in Newcastle.