Playoff Structure Change

[ARQS]

I think it's a great idea if the teams finishing 3rd and 4th get the home Semi Final.

Anything that keeps the season more interesting for longer is a positive in my book. We'll benefit from it (even if it's just having less dead rubber games) far more than we'll lose out from it.

And if we ever do finish 3rd in the league, I'd rather the chance of playing the team who finishes 8th at Wembley than the team who finishes 4th!

 

[JackFish]

Not a fan of this at all. A team finishing in eighth is basically mid-table and has no business being in the playoffs. The current format is a decent trade-off between keeping enough interest for more teams while still rewarding those who do better over the regular season.

I also think the one-legged semi-finals are worse overall for the teams finishing higher up because they're more likely to be upset in a one-off game.

 

[Cooperman]

York should have gone up automatically. It’s a daft system there.

I agree. To achieve 96 points over a 46 game season and miss automatic promotion would leave me feeling a bit sick.

 

[Neath_Jack]

Not a fan of this. It’s like opening up more Champions League places so it’s no longer actually the champions competing. It’s just another way for them to add games to the schedule and hype up games for more money. Think 6 is stretching it as it is.

The current champions league is the best it’s been since the original format.

 

[Cooperman]

Not a fan of this. It’s like opening up more Champions League places so it’s no longer actually the champions competing. It’s just another way for them to add games to the schedule and hype up games for more money. Think 6 is stretching it as it is.

The Champions League is just a name, it’s not a league of champions. It’s now an excellent format and what is effectively Division One of Europe club teams.

 

[J_B]

I agree. To achieve 96 points over a 46 game season and miss automatic promotion would leave me feeling a bit sick.

York are currently second again, 21 points above the bottom of the playoffs.

 

[Cooperman]

York are currently second again, 21 points above the bottom of the playoffs.

Yes, I went and checked. I bet there are a few York fans getting hot under the collar. Have a look at their goal difference compared to Halifax!

 

[sit_down_jack]

The Champions League is just a name, it’s not a league of champions. It’s now an excellent format and what is effectively Division One of Europe club teams.

I enjoy it in its current form as well but the decision to open it up in the 90s was purely profit driven and I’d argue it has somewhat diluted it. They keep doing it with European competitions, look at the Conference League, we’ll end up with European spots all down the league eventually just because they want to make more money. It’s less special and less of a privilege the more teams that qualify in my opinion.

 

[JustJack]

Views may change the first time an eighth placed team beats a third placed team which finished 25 or more points above them. Especially if that third placed team is Swansea City.

If Swansea City came 3rd and lost a home semi final to the 8th placed team, they would only have their shameful selves to blame.

 

[malc]

Interesting wording in the statement,
It would mirror the format of the
National League .

At present there are no plans to expand the playoffs for League 1 or 2 .

This is likely to be voted through by the clubs
The change has been approved by the
EFL and the FA

 

[ThurrockJack]

I'm 70/30 against this. Championship teams have a dismal record as it is without adding a team that has no business being there through a fluke. On the other hand, it'll reduce the number of teams and games that are essentially meaningless at back end of the season.