Who should go up

[Mellotron]

I hate the 'its unfair' argument. That's nonsense - the rules are clear at the start of the season. If you enter a competition, you play to those rules. These rules mean that there is no big advantage in finishing 3rd over 6th - no point whining about it. f*** West Ham anyway - if they had appointed a manager with a bit of ability, they wouldn't have needed to worry about which play-off place they finished in.

I love the play-offs. Without them, half the teams in each league would have nothing to play for from February onwards, crowds would be down, and there would be more clubs in financial trouble. Anyone who wants to get rid of them, needs a good think.

If I were to change them at all, in the interests of 'fairness', I'd play the semi-final as just one match, with home advantage going to the higher placed team.

Spot on.

 

[gazingdown]

To make it a little fairer, one leg and 3th/4th get home advantage.

Final should be at home for the higher team but I understand having a Wembley final but then becomes less "fair". Anyway, as chap above said, the rules are set at the beginning of the season, if you want to guarantee going up, you need to finish 1st/2nd.

 

[Bwian]

Lets get rid of West Ham - we took points off the other three.

But that would mean their fans have a great day out at Wembley and they are a set of fans I can't stand so for me, I hope they miss out.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Anyone with Carlton Cole in the side does not deserve to go up.....

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Anyone with Carlton Cole in the side does not deserve to go up.....

This is a good point. How has he ever carved a career in professional football, let alone been considered a Premier League striker?

He's the sort of player that makes you resent what professional footballers earn. I have no issues with the likes of Rooney making millions, it's supply and demand, and they are entitled to claim what they can as a reward for talent most of us can only dream of. But when you have some absolute carthorse like Carlton Cole loping around the field, largely to no effect, earning £30,000 - £40,000 a week, it's quite depressing.

 

[Simster]

Not that simple. I'd say it's needlessly convoluted, and that the existing system works perfectly.

West Ham weren't good enough to go up AUTO. That's THEIR fault. They have however managed to get 3rd, so they get the bonus of playing the weakest side in the playoffs (according to the league table).

'bout as fair as it gets for me.

It's slightly more complex but not really needlessly convoluted, and I shall explain why:

Remember when we were at Grimsby needing a win to stay up and Reading to beat Stoke? Well Reading were already in the play-offs by then, they couldn't finish either 2nd or 7th. But what if they were playing for a better play-off position? In my scenario, finishing 3rd is a big advantage over finishing 6th. I very much doubt Reading would have rolled over like they did to Stoke back then if it had been in place and there was a play off position at stake.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

This is a good point. How has he ever carved a career in professional football, let alone been considered a Premier League striker?

THe worrying thing is that he and Knight at one time were the future of English football....

Typical Sam player, big and shite.

 

[Peter Grummit]

If I were to change them at all, in the interests of 'fairness', I'd play the semi-final as just one match, with home advantage going to the higher placed team.

Agreed. It adds more end-of-season interest to who finishes 4th or 5th also.

This is what happens in the Ryman League, and because they don't have a glamour venue for the final, the higher placed team is at home for that too.

PG

 

[pasty]

Knock 5th and 6th place out of the equation, and include the team that finishes third bottom in the division above.

Championship 3rd vs 4th over two legs home and away. Winner plays 18th in Premier League in a Wembley final. If the Championship club wins the final they go up and Premier team get relegated, if the Premier team win, they stay up and the Championship team don't go up.

I can't remember the exact format, but I'm sure the first time the play offs came about, one team from the division above was included.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Knock 5th and 6th place out of the equation, and include the team that finishes third bottom in the division above.

Championship 3rd vs 4th over two legs home and away. Winner plays 18th in Premier League in a Wembley final. If the Championship club wins the final they go up and Premier team get relegated, if the Premier team win, they stay up and the Championship team don't go up.

I can't remember the exact format, but I'm sure the first time the play offs came about, one team from the division above was included.

It was. I think Chelsea were involved (possibly against Middlesbrough?). The League scrapped it pretty quickly because of the potential for trouble when a team ended up getting relegated as a result of a one-off game against opponents who were thereby celebrating promotion right in their faces, on the same pitch.

Pretty sure a load of Chelsea fans kicked off and tore up Stamford Bridge. Without bothering to look it up...apologies if I've got that wrong.

Imagine if we were relegated by losing a game against Palace, who were then promoted as a result? (clearly that's most unlikely these days but work with me here ).

 

[Dirk Gently]

You're right.

Under the old format it'd now be

3rd bottom in the PL v Blackpool
West Ham v Birmingham

 

[Lady Whistledown]

 

[Simster]

Knock 5th and 6th place out of the equation, and include the team that finishes third bottom in the division above.

No thanks. 3rd from bottom already gets a massive advantage from parachute payments. I don't see why a team is shite as Blackburn deserve a second chance to save themselves when they've already had 38 games to do so. To be honest, that's the sort of idea I'd expect from Phil Gartside after his "no relegation" idea has been laughed out of the room.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Knock 5th and 6th place out of the equation, and include the team that finishes third bottom in the division above.

Championship 3rd vs 4th over two legs home and away. Winner plays 18th in Premier League in a Wembley final. If the Championship club wins the final they go up and Premier team get relegated, if the Premier team win, they stay up and the Championship team don't go up.

I can't remember the exact format, but I'm sure the first time the play offs came about, one team from the division above was included.

It did happen in the first year of the play-offs, yes.

Its a horrible, horrible, horrible idea. Promotion and relegation is the very lifeblood of football, outside of the ten ten in the country. Teams changing divisions is what stimulates interest. Why should a team like Bolton, or Blackburn be able to be SHIT over 38 matches, to be rewarded with a big day out at Wembley, and the chance to save themselves in a one-off game?

 

[The Large One]

If there must be a competition between 3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th which is 'fairest' - decide it on their own mini-league of the four teams in question.

Sadly, in this instance, that would still mean West Ham going up.

 

[pasty]

Why should a team like Bolton, or Blackburn be able to be SHIT over 38 matches, to be rewarded with a big day out at Wembley, and the chance to save themselves in a one-off game?

But by the same argument, why should a team like Cardiff or Blackpool be able to be not quite good enough over 46 matches, be rewarded with another chance to go up?

I take your point about the current format being fair simply because the rules are there at the start of the season so everyone knows, but being fair, doesn't make it right

 

[Lady Whistledown]

It did happen in the first year of the play-offs, yes.

Its a horrible, horrible, horrible idea. Promotion and relegation is the very lifeblood of football, outside of the ten ten in the country. Teams changing divisions is what stimulates interest. Why should a team like Bolton, or Blackburn be able to be SHIT over 38 matches, to be rewarded with a big day out at Wembley, and the chance to save themselves in a one-off game?

Exactly, and despite their overall shit-ness, their Premier League budget and experience alone would probably be enough to see them squeak through against a Cardiff or a Blackpool in a one-off game. No doubt Bolton would love this idea, as it would make their chances of getting relegated smaller (though still not as small as Phil Gartside would like it to be).

 

[hans kraay fan club]

But by the same argument, why should a team like Cardiff or Blackpool be able to be not quite good enough over 46 matches, be rewarded with another chance to go up?

I take your point about the current format being fair simply because the rules are there at the start of the season so everyone knows, but being fair, doesn't make it right

Because they have at least earned that chance off the back of a successful season, not through ashit one in a higher league.

 

[Tomnorthi]

West Ham can f*** off out this league thanks. £32 a ticket, all the others I want to visit next season.

 

[Weststander]

Blackpool play the best attacking football.
Would be funny to see them up again, this time with more money from their 2 spells.