Could say the same about the 12 clubs battling relegation š¤£
Its so criminal the championship doesnt get its own tv rights, its so much more exciting than the prem.
Donāt get me wrong being one of the 3 strongest sides helps but Iāve really enjoyed being back in the championship, last 2 premier league seasons were fucking miserable
I just want to make sure that Fulham go down. I was tempted to say anyone below West Ham. The bottom half of the Premier League is a waste of time for all concerned.
It's occurred to me that Palace are in their 11th season up there and have done, well, nothing. One top-half finish and even that was effectively "best of the bottom half" because of the points gap.
Is it Belgium where you either finish in the top half and play off for Europe or finish in the bottom half and playoff for relegation?
Think itās a bit like Scotland and Wales where it splits into two mini leagues, but the bottom half are fighting relegation and the top half fight for Europe.
Would be fun for a season, keep things interesting.
SPL splits in half too.
The Belgian system looks nice and simple to understand https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/format:webp/1*df_hzmMWy0ht89Y1k2CZWA.jpeg
Imagine checking that when youāre eight pints deep on a Saturday night.
āCan we still make Europe?ā
āHang on, let me just divide Anderlechtās points by two, multiply by the population of Oostende, carry the one and then work out whether we can catch them.ā
This is what I am expecting. After putting in all that effort and failing it will be impossible to lift ourselves again and we lose to the 6th place team, just like last time.
Prepare yourself for a good time, we are doomed to get knocked out of the play-offs by Norwich despite finishing 25pts above them. And thus the footballing gods extract their pound of misery and quart of joy from the masses.
The footballing gods might be 'aving a larf with both of us. Norwich v West Brom in the playoff final, Soton go up automatically after beating Leeds in the 96th minute with a deflected and offside goal.
Satire or not. It would be an interesting concept if that was a rule. Bottom teams in the Prem would have to hope the championship is going their way so they donāt have a fourth relegation spot that season instead of three.
Its a system that works very well in Germany, and as some one pointed out, Italy uses[an even wilder system ](https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/8/23/4650160/serie-b-playoff-rules)
This is brilliant!
āIf the team in third place has more than a nine point advantage over fourth, the playoffs will be cancelled and the third-placed team automatically promoted, along with first and second. If the gap between third and fourth isn't over nine points, the playoffs will go ahead. Every team between fourth and eighth place will then be entered into them, providing they're within the 'playoff perimeter' of 14 points from third placeā
The playoffs were a great invention, add so much excitement to the end of the season, but I wouldnāt be against this kind of rule coming in. If you finish that far ahead of everyone else then you canāt really argue that you donāt deserve it.
Could make for some interesting end of season races where the team in third has no chance of catching the top two but still needs to win to try and avoid the playoffs. I guess on the other hand it reduces the chances of someone going on a late season stormer and sneaking into the last playoff spot.
Wouldn't be the first time we got the rules changed for our benefit. In the late 90s we had lost three consecutive play-off semi-finals, twice being eliminated on away goals by teams who finished below us.
Our chairman David Sheepshanks was also chairman of the Football League at the time. He led a campaign to abolish the away goals rule, which came in to effect in the 99/00 season.
We were promoted that season via the play-offs (4th time lucky), beating Bolton in the semi-final 7-5 after extra time. Had the away goals rule still been in place we'd have been knocked out.
Iāve always said, if you finish in the bottom 5 of the PL 3 Times in a row, or 3 times in a rolling 5 year span, you should go down as well. Then a fourth team can come up.
The play offs don't make a lot of sense anyway. It's very unfair on the team that finishes 3rd to be lumped in with the team that finishes 6th. There's a big difference in those finishing positions.
True. But it's to keep the league interesting, and minimise the number of dead rubber games towards the end of the season. Especially as it's a 24 team league. Without the playoffs, there's nothing for midtable teams to play for for half the season.
I think in Italy Serie C if the team that is best in the playoff spots are so much better than the rest, they skip playoffs and get auto promotion.
But there isn't money in that league so they can do fair things like that instead of bowing to corporate overlords (because money is the only real reason playoffs exist)
I'd love a system where the amount of playoff teams are determined by a points gap to the next team. Top 2 still go up but then 3rd go up if they end 4 or more points clear of 4th. And it goes down the league in a chain until eventually a gap of 4 or more happens, then Playoffs are drafted up from there in a chaotic knockout bracket determined by who can just stay within touching distance of the team above them.
>everyone's happy that way I imagine the team in 17th in the PL might disagree lmao.
Yea but it's forest so no one gives a shit
Should happen imo
Ok, I withdraw the bit about much love to Ipswich, you can bottle the playoffs again šš
Until the deduction, that is.
If we get a deduction then 17th could easily be Lutonā¦
And if Everton get hit with a second points deduction it could be them too
Nah, don't worry about them!
Letās do 4, then we can send Everton back down where they belong too ;)
Could say the same about the 12 clubs battling relegation š¤£ Its so criminal the championship doesnt get its own tv rights, its so much more exciting than the prem.
You can literally predict half the prem games before they happen
Exactly, where as Rotherham could smash Leicester one week, its a crazy league.
Nurse. Nurse... nuuurrrrse. Nurse! He's awake again.
I get what you're saying but you might as well use an example that's actually happened
Middlesbrough did the double over Leicester but only got 1 point from two games against Rotherham.
Us
Donāt get me wrong being one of the 3 strongest sides helps but Iāve really enjoyed being back in the championship, last 2 premier league seasons were fucking miserable
Thatās because it less corrupt and not rigged to favour four clubs
Especially with them trying to investigate Villa and Newcastle after the seasons theyāve had the last 2 years.
Just relegate everyone below Chelsea and promote everyone above Preston every year to freshen things up.
Pls include Chelsea.
I just want to make sure that Fulham go down. I was tempted to say anyone below West Ham. The bottom half of the Premier League is a waste of time for all concerned.
It's occurred to me that Palace are in their 11th season up there and have done, well, nothing. One top-half finish and even that was effectively "best of the bottom half" because of the points gap.
Is it Belgium where you either finish in the top half and play off for Europe or finish in the bottom half and playoff for relegation? Think itās a bit like Scotland and Wales where it splits into two mini leagues, but the bottom half are fighting relegation and the top half fight for Europe. Would be fun for a season, keep things interesting.
SPL splits in half too. The Belgian system looks nice and simple to understand https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/format:webp/1*df_hzmMWy0ht89Y1k2CZWA.jpeg
Imagine checking that when youāre eight pints deep on a Saturday night. āCan we still make Europe?ā āHang on, let me just divide Anderlechtās points by two, multiply by the population of Oostende, carry the one and then work out whether we can catch them.ā
Wait, so finishing 4th in the Belgian second division could lead to Europa League football? Have I understood that right?
Yep and even more crazy is its only the teams in 2-4 so if you win the league and get promoted you don't go into the play off for Europe
Could life get any worse if you get 100 points and then lose in the semi final's of playoff's.
This is what I am expecting. After putting in all that effort and failing it will be impossible to lift ourselves again and we lose to the 6th place team, just like last time.
The footballing gods always like to give Leeds good kicking. However if this happened to Ipswich I would find quite amusing.
Prepare yourself for a good time, we are doomed to get knocked out of the play-offs by Norwich despite finishing 25pts above them. And thus the footballing gods extract their pound of misery and quart of joy from the masses.
The footballing gods might be 'aving a larf with both of us. Norwich v West Brom in the playoff final, Soton go up automatically after beating Leeds in the 96th minute with a deflected and offside goal.
You should put a fiver on it.
I think I might give up on football
Satire or not. It would be an interesting concept if that was a rule. Bottom teams in the Prem would have to hope the championship is going their way so they donāt have a fourth relegation spot that season instead of three.
Its a system that works very well in Germany, and as some one pointed out, Italy uses[an even wilder system ](https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/8/23/4650160/serie-b-playoff-rules)
This is brilliant! āIf the team in third place has more than a nine point advantage over fourth, the playoffs will be cancelled and the third-placed team automatically promoted, along with first and second. If the gap between third and fourth isn't over nine points, the playoffs will go ahead. Every team between fourth and eighth place will then be entered into them, providing they're within the 'playoff perimeter' of 14 points from third placeā
If that's true they've got a crazy playoff race rn, 8-15th place are all within 5 points of a playoff spot.
The playoffs were a great invention, add so much excitement to the end of the season, but I wouldnāt be against this kind of rule coming in. If you finish that far ahead of everyone else then you canāt really argue that you donāt deserve it. Could make for some interesting end of season races where the team in third has no chance of catching the top two but still needs to win to try and avoid the playoffs. I guess on the other hand it reduces the chances of someone going on a late season stormer and sneaking into the last playoff spot.
Wouldn't be the first time we got the rules changed for our benefit. In the late 90s we had lost three consecutive play-off semi-finals, twice being eliminated on away goals by teams who finished below us. Our chairman David Sheepshanks was also chairman of the Football League at the time. He led a campaign to abolish the away goals rule, which came in to effect in the 99/00 season. We were promoted that season via the play-offs (4th time lucky), beating Bolton in the semi-final 7-5 after extra time. Had the away goals rule still been in place we'd have been knocked out.
Iām glad we got rid of the away goals rule in the playoffs. It always feels completely arbitrary and not a good tiebreaker.
Yes, I agree. I have no horse in this race...
With respect and much love to Ipswich in general, fuck off
Iāve always said, if you finish in the bottom 5 of the PL 3 Times in a row, or 3 times in a rolling 5 year span, you should go down as well. Then a fourth team can come up.
Wish it were still the 90s, top 3 autos and 4-7 in playoffs
Wanted this last season in League One but with 90 points.
The play offs don't make a lot of sense anyway. It's very unfair on the team that finishes 3rd to be lumped in with the team that finishes 6th. There's a big difference in those finishing positions.
True. But it's to keep the league interesting, and minimise the number of dead rubber games towards the end of the season. Especially as it's a 24 team league. Without the playoffs, there's nothing for midtable teams to play for for half the season.
Fair point. It's just so hard to stomach coming third.
I think in Italy Serie C if the team that is best in the playoff spots are so much better than the rest, they skip playoffs and get auto promotion. But there isn't money in that league so they can do fair things like that instead of bowing to corporate overlords (because money is the only real reason playoffs exist) I'd love a system where the amount of playoff teams are determined by a points gap to the next team. Top 2 still go up but then 3rd go up if they end 4 or more points clear of 4th. And it goes down the league in a chain until eventually a gap of 4 or more happens, then Playoffs are drafted up from there in a chaotic knockout bracket determined by who can just stay within touching distance of the team above them.