A fairer system for the play-offs?

[Turkey]

Please enough of these daft threads, the play-offs are fine as they are. We've been unlucky, shit happens, we go again.

 

[warmleyseagull]

This is all idle speculation as no change will happen, but I am up for idle speculation...

The good thing about POs is that they do test you against your peer group, so it is not about amassing points against the lowly but how you contend with opposition more closely aligned to what you will face in higher division. So a suggestion would be to have a mini group a la World Cup/Euros etc where each of the four plays the other once, with 3rd and 4th having two home games and one away to be drawn randomly. Winner takes all with GD,GS, result against team with same points etc etc to sort out tie break but if Wembley/Sky really needs the cash would have to have a final between top two. This would make for a more even mini competition and give more incentive to 3rd/4th.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I imagine Walsall are feeling the same.

 

[Hutonthebeach]

I don't know how you could change the system, a few years back third bottom in the Prem played third in the Championship.

Not quite accurate.
Originally it was still a 4 team play off involving 3rd bottom of 1st Div and 3rd, 4th & 5th of 2nd. All games were 2 legs, no Wembley final.
It was originally introduced as a temporary measure as a way of reducing the size of the top division and increasing the other 3.
It was so successful it was kept on.

 

[Return of the Rev]

I was hugely disappointed with the result last night. I think Brighton have done enough over the season to be up with us and Burnley. I'll be rooting for you on Monday.

I'm not sure if anyone has come up with this idea before, but I suggest it would be better if the four play-off teams just extended their 4 team mini league by 6 games, ie play each other home and away and add the points to their existing points at the end of the conventional season.

This mini-league as it stands taking in last night's game would look this:

Team Pld GD Pts
Brighton 47 28 89
Hull 46 34 83
Derby 46 23 78
Sheff Wed 47 23 77

Stop crying! nothing wrong with the playoffs!

 

[Maldini]

I would get rid of the play-offs.Have the top 3 go up then the team that finishes 4th would play the team that finished fourth in the Prem.

 

[Maldini]

Brighton have been penalised because all the way till the last day they could have gone up.They played the last few games like they were cup finals knowing they couldn't slip up.The teams below were more or less safe in the play-offs and so could take their foot of the pedal a little and save some energy therefore arriving at the play-offs fresher.Brighton arrived knackered.

 

[GT49er]

I would get rid of the play-offs.Have the top 3 go up then the team that finishes 4th would play the team that finished fourth in the Prem.

Derby vs. Man. City then? Could be interesting..................................

 

[GT49er]

Stop crying! nothing wrong with the playoffs!

He's not crying; he's Middlesbrough ffs!

 

[Maldini]

Derby vs. Man. City then? Could be interesting..................................

Meant 4th from bottom in the Prem obviously

 

[scousefan]

I'd prefer a mini league of 6 games

3rd v 4th (at home)
3rd v 5th
3rd v 6th
4th v 5th
4th v 6th
5th v 6th

Either add points to end of season total or start again (my preference). If a Wembley final is financially essential then the top two can play each other.

This involves one extra game per team involved and in total an extra 2 games

 

[Premiership Dream]

The demise all started with Dunk's red card.

Absolutely agree with you......also the red he got at QPR cost as 2 points that would of got us promoted had he stayed on the field, I think Dunk is a great player....but is so stupid at times

 

[Boston28]

I like the idea of what they do in the conference north/south. The team who finishes higher in the league of the two finalists get to play the final at their ground.

 

[Milano]

There are too many teams in the championship, needs to be reduced by 2 teams.

We will never be successful in the play offs unless we increase the squad size. We've been flogging the same core of 16 players to death since February. They're breaking, it's not a surprise just unlucky timing.

 

[sydney]

Absolutely agree with you......also the red he got at QPR cost as 2 points that would of got us promoted had he stayed on the field, I think Dunk is a great player....but is so stupid at times

yep.....you could argue that he's cost us points with his daft tackling activities this season but he has also put in some great displays.......

 

[trueblue]

I like the idea of what they do in the conference north/south. The team who finishes higher in the league of the two finalists get to play the final at their ground.

Isn't playing the Final at the national stadium part of the attraction though? Would we have wanted to play the Final at Withdean in 2004?

 

[jonny.rainbow]

To make the promotion race even more exciting, I propose that automatic promotion is ditched entirely.

We then have three huge one off matches where:

1st play 6th
2nd play 5th
3rd play 4th.

Winner of each match goes up.

 

[Boro BN1]

Isn't playing the Final at the national stadium part of the attraction though? Would we have wanted to play the Final at Withdean in 2004?

For me this is the root of all the evil.

I waited years to see the Boro at Wembley the first time. It was only the ZDS final against Chelsea but it took away the mystique/honour of getting there in the FA Cup or to a lesser degree, the LC Final. I remember Brighton getting there the hard way in 83 under the old rules, when it mattered.

What ever format that would improve the POs, I'd prefer that the fans aren't ripped off and we could witness promotion at a domestic ground, It costs us enough as it is.

I was at the Battle of Stamford Bridge when we secured a place in the old first division in the first ever POs and sent Chelsea to the second and it was brilliant being among the 10,000 Boro fans there.

 

[BensGrandad]

I like the idea of a mini league but wouldnt it take too long allowing players rest between game so each team playing 8 games would take about a month playing 2 games a week..

 

[Boro BN1]

I like the idea of a mini league but wouldn't it take too long allowing players rest between games so each team playing 8 games would take about a month playing 2 games a week..

My OP suggested playing an extra six games each instead of the winners/losers of the final playing three. It could be done and dusted in three weeks(one game on the weekend, one game midweek)

FFS, when we bought Juninho, he'd just played something like 8 games in a fortnight in Brazil.

It's all about keeping your powder dry, which Brighton didn't have the opportunity to do this year. We certainly took advantage of you being without key players when we battered you at the Amex.

It looks like the PO pretenders are taking advantage of resting players when you were busting a gut