The Playoffs - pick your division
Discussion
Here we go, playoff time again...
Is it me, or are the playoffs just a money making exercise for just about all involved? I can't help but thinking that its so unjust - unless you're the team that ends up winning promotion...
Let's say you finish in 3rd, on goal difference, so have to go into the playoffs. You could quite possibly have a situation where the team in 6th could be, say, 10 pts behind you, but if the 2 - yes TWO playoff matches don't go your way but go theirs, they get promoted at your expense- where is the logic in that?
I also don't buy the 'if you're that good you'll win those games' argument either- you might have put that much into trying to secure 2nd that you are burnt out, while the team that limped into 6th may have had known that 6th was enough.
Oh, and when did the championship playoff match become the richest game in football? The phrase keeps on being bandied about, but I can never remember seeing the figures laid out in black & white how can the match to decide 3rd place in the 2nd tier of english football be worth THAT much?
In case anyone is wondering, the team i support are not in this position, so I am coming at it purely as a neutral
Is it me, or are the playoffs just a money making exercise for just about all involved? I can't help but thinking that its so unjust - unless you're the team that ends up winning promotion...
Let's say you finish in 3rd, on goal difference, so have to go into the playoffs. You could quite possibly have a situation where the team in 6th could be, say, 10 pts behind you, but if the 2 - yes TWO playoff matches don't go your way but go theirs, they get promoted at your expense- where is the logic in that?
I also don't buy the 'if you're that good you'll win those games' argument either- you might have put that much into trying to secure 2nd that you are burnt out, while the team that limped into 6th may have had known that 6th was enough.
Oh, and when did the championship playoff match become the richest game in football? The phrase keeps on being bandied about, but I can never remember seeing the figures laid out in black & white how can the match to decide 3rd place in the 2nd tier of english football be worth THAT much?
In case anyone is wondering, the team i support are not in this position, so I am coming at it purely as a neutral
The play-offs are there to keep interest going in the top half of the table. Without them the Championship would have been less interesting this year - although I'll grant you that many clubs were fighting relegation this year.
I'm a Watford fan, we finished 3rd this year - and are the best performing club since November, after a bad start. I accept that it's not promotion for us (yet...) and that we must enter this lottery. We have, in the past, benefited from arriving late to the play-offs, and is often the way we were the form club and were promoted.
It's all part of the fun, and long may it continue. My only concern is that the clubs being promoted from the play-offs are often not fit to fight in the grossly unfair premiership. Even those arriving via automatic promotion often struggle.
I'm a Watford fan, we finished 3rd this year - and are the best performing club since November, after a bad start. I accept that it's not promotion for us (yet...) and that we must enter this lottery. We have, in the past, benefited from arriving late to the play-offs, and is often the way we were the form club and were promoted.
It's all part of the fun, and long may it continue. My only concern is that the clubs being promoted from the play-offs are often not fit to fight in the grossly unfair premiership. Even those arriving via automatic promotion often struggle.
Puggit said:
I'm a Watford fan, we finished 3rd this year - and are the best performing club since November, after a bad start. I accept that it's not promotion for us (yet...) and that we must enter this lottery. We have, in the past, benefited from arriving late to the play-offs, and is often the way we were the form club and were promoted.
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See you on Thursday! .
I love the play offs, the best play off final at the old wembley was when we beat reading 4-3 in the final. We were 2-0 down and keith brannagan saved a penalty just before half time. half time came and half our side of the stadium emptied. It's a great feeling to win the play-offs, but also been on the losing end too and the trip back (from cardiff) was horific!
Ok, I see your point about keeping the interest going for those in the top half of the table, and there is the 'party' atmosphere/day out, etc..i'd just hate to get beaten in 2 matches teams you were possibly a country mile ahead of for most of the season - although i admit in most cases it's squeaky bum time for quite a while, not just last day.
Just gotta make sure you win!!!!
Just gotta make sure you win!!!!
I think the playoffs are good entertainment and good excitement.
Whats the alternative? Just promote 3rd place team? Its would give a lot of teams a lot less to play for. As a manager knowing you need to get to, say on average, somewhere around 73-75 points (I know Leicester got in on 68) is a lot more realistic that the usual 85-90 for automatic promotion.
Whats the alternative? Just promote 3rd place team? Its would give a lot of teams a lot less to play for. As a manager knowing you need to get to, say on average, somewhere around 73-75 points (I know Leicester got in on 68) is a lot more realistic that the usual 85-90 for automatic promotion.
Nice little article about the science and stats about winning the play offs from the BBC: Are the play offs a lottery?
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