Sometimes I wonder whether a team that finishes 15 points (for example) behind the first 2 in the table should get a chance to end up in a higher league. But what are the alternatives? I can't raise the question without at least having a shot at alternatives. So how about 1. The final place to be determinrd on the head to head results over the season with the top 2 going straight to the final 2. As 1 but the top one gets promoted along with the autos 3. If there is a clear winner (eg by at least 5 points) it's auto promotion for them and all teams with at least 80 points get to play off for the other 2 places, otherwise, all teams with more than 80 points get to play off 4. All teams with at least 90 points get auto promotion unless there are more than 3 in which case, the top 2 get auto protion and the others either play off or it's based on head to heads 5. Top 2 auto the third based on a form table over the past 10 games The basis of my theory is that teams with less than 80 points should be deemed not good enough for promotion. Option 5 is clearly based on which team finished the stronger and therefore could be ready for the step up (as opposed to teams who got most of their points in the earlier part of the season before other teams had built their final squad for the season) There is then the consideration of how many loan players from higher leagues contributed to the success. What happens when they all return to their parent clubs leaving the promoted team to struggle in a higher league Just passing the time
It is a lottery when you look at certain results Bolton put 5 past Oxford in March did it effect the players thinking we just have to turn up, the National league system might be a bit fairer where the team lower down visits the team higher up for one game, it still ends up at Wembley on just one game. This season the Championship play-offs have gone how I would have expected. League1 up till the final I would have thought Bolton were odds on to get through. As for League2 who thought Crawlwy would beat MK Dons 8-2 over the two legs, must admit I am glad they did. Sorry to say Ron I can not see a fairer way it boils down to who turns up on the day. Looking at it another way a team who finishes 5th in League1 next season might think we can do this.
The problem with the current format is that, like cup games (one off), the best team doesn't always win. Key players may not be available for whatever reason. Over the course of a season the best teams come top and are more likely to succeed in a higher league The play offs won't go away because they generate revenue but they can result in the team most likely to succeed not getting promoted
The problem now is, if it is a problem everybody knows, the rules when you think it's 30 years since we played our first one, & I still remember what I said to a Preston supporter coming out afterwards who couldn't beleive how easily we had won, that was our third visit in four seasons which I still feel helped us massivly
Didn't we put 5 past Peterborough, and then lost at Wembley. The moral is, don't put 5 past anyone in the league; you might meet them at Wembley
