As we don't have a game for a while, I just wanted to consider something I've been thinking about for some time. In 1973/74, the League decided to introduce 3 down from the then First Division. Not quite sure what the argument was, but a number of serious commentators were sceptical and worried that it would introduce a culture of fear among even more clubs. As if to prove the point, relegation reached out to a team that had, at one point, been 5th in the table. No guesses for the name of the team! The problem, many would argue, is that it encourages a safety first approach. One of the results is that young players are held back as managers rely on more proven players to keep their team in the league. They are aware that being relegated despite bringing through some talented youngsters won't cut it. Neither will regularly losing 4-3 and providing great entertainment. It's a results driven industry, we are told. But should it be? The game of football is part of the entertainment industry, it can be argued. So is the threat of relegation over virtually all the clubs with just a handful of exceptions a way of increasing the spectacle or the way that we destroy it? Thoughts?
I've always thought there should be two up and two down from the PL & championship. The 3rd/4th from bottom have a playoff and the loser plays the winner of 3rd/4th in the Championship to see who is in the PL next year. Be quite exciting. Unless we were 4th from bottom and played Cardiff.....
Wasn't around for the introduction of 3 relegation places, I have always attributed the **** nature of the PL to be all to do with money. You have the top 6 who are probably immune to relegation but anyone else has a chance of going down to varying degrees. Most of the teams outside the top 6 are now packed with £££s worth of players and top players from all round the world yet I think the fear of going down in a financial sense means that you don't see the best of these teams/players. I personally couldn't care less if young players are given opportunities, but because of this financial pressure you are correct that teams are less likely to be willing to give them a chance as they tend to make far more mistakes than a seasoned pro. The safety first attitude of the majority of teams throughout the season/in individual games is why I barely watch the PL any more as I find it boring. Will watch Saints games if I am at home when they are playing but never watch MOTD and only rarely watch highlights of the game if I know the result. I much prefer watching other leagues so tend to watch far more European football than the PL, and I put that down to the attitudes of the teams.
Agree that's a fairer methord. Here in the Netherlands It's ten teams, two from the Eredivisie and eight from the Eerste Divisie, playing for two spots in the 2019–20 Eredivisie. The remaining eight teams play in the 2019–20 Eerste Divisie. Bottom club (18th) is automatically relegated, champions of the Eerste Divisie are promoted to the Eredivisie. More here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eredivisie re history formats etc.
Every couple of years someone suggests a shake-up. And the same arguments for and against crop up. While I can see the points from both sides, I never really understand why people want to get rid of the Play-Offs. They are so important for keeping the league competitive right up to the last weekend of the season. Finishing third & not getting promoted sucks, but we all know the rules from the first day.......and I personally love it. Took me ages to get over the Derby game, but the benefits far out weight the negatives, in my humble opinion of course.
The problem I think lies with the huge financial impact of relegation, not with the mathematical risk or likelihood of actually going down. I was only 13 so may not have understood the implications, but relegation in 1974 didn’t seem like half as much of a big deal as it did in 2005. The gulf between the first and second divisions didn’t seem anywhere near as vast as that between the PL and the Football Lesgue.
You raise a very good point, which extends this argument into a crucial area. Maybe as well as finding different ways to decide upon promotion and relegation, the FA, the EPL, and the EFL should look at spreading the benefits of TV money throughout the football pyramid, so that relegation from any division isn’t a potential financial catastrophe for a club. That would remove a huge part of the fear at a stroke.
As Chilcs mentions, it’s money that causes the fear. Spread the money out more evenly... hey, why not exactly evenly, throughout the leagues. Limit squad sizes, put a maximium number of signings allowed and a cap on transfer money allowed to be spent. Never going to happen though.
The trouble as I see it as there is the haves and the have nots....... the biggest proportions of the premier are the have nots and they have the most to fear. The haves just buy their way out of trouble. The idea of making all premier clubs have a spending maximum would be a good idea perhaps. The same for player wages ....IE putting a wage cap on. This in my opinion would bring more balance and possibly make it easier for the have nots. I really dont think that under the above circumstances relegated teams would have such a hard time financially.
They could call it a Solidarity Payment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_League_Parachute_and_Solidarity_Payments#Solidarity_payments
The way I see things is that the gap betweeen the Championship and PL sides outside the top six has narrowed. It is the gap between 7th and 6th that is vast. Proof of the pudding being the closely fought game between Derby and SFC, and Brighton v Millwall more recently. I believe if Fulham hadn't bought so many new players in at the beginning of the season, they would have been higher up the table. Cardiff, who brought in next to nothing, are still there hanging in. And what about Burnley, 7th last, 17th at the moment. And if relegated could end up mid/table next season in the Championship. WBA - awful last year, in the play-off places at the moment.
Didn't the 3rd bottom of Division one as it was then play 3rd top of Division two or something like that?
I would limit the teams being promoted from L1 to just the top 2, especially this season. That sounds very fair, right & proper to me.
