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[Football] EFL Playoffs - how about PICKING your opponents ?



Easy 10

Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,772
Location Location
In breaking news, MLB chiefs are doing some chin-stroking over expanding their Playoffs from 10 to 14 teams and - get this - allowing the higher-seeded teams to CHOOSE their opponents from the other qualified teams.

Would this work in the EFL ? Say we took the Championship table now, where the Playoff teams would currently be:

Fulham
Forest
Brentford
Preston

As it stands, Fulham would get the choice and would probably select Preston anyway, but it might not ALWAYS be that obvious. You might want to factor in the formguide - what if Dirty Leeds had just freefalled down from the top 2 into 4th/5th/6th. You might want to consider what state their squad is in, whether they've lost any players, what their run-in was like. Maybe even simple geography could come into it, avoiding a long trip. You might want to look at how you did against them during the course of the season. Then there's the added SPICE of the team being picked thinking "right, F-you, we're gonna make you regret that".

I quite like this choosing teams idea. It gives a little advantage to finishing 3rd, and has all kinds of potential to really piss people off. Whats not like ?
 




hans kraay fan club

hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,338
Chandlers Ford
Easy 10 said:
In breaking news, MLB chiefs are doing some chin-stroking over expanding their Playoffs from 10 to 14 teams and - get this - allowing the higher-seeded teams to CHOOSE their opponents from the other qualified teams.

Would this work in the EFL ? Say we took the Championship table now, where the Playoff teams would currently be:

Fulham
Forest
Brentford
Preston

As it stands, Fulham would get the choice and would probably select Preston anyway, but it might not ALWAYS be that obvious. You might want to factor in the formguide - what if Dirty Leeds had just freefalled down from the top 2 into 4th/5th/6th. You might want to consider what state their squad is in, whether they've lost any players, what their run-in was like. Maybe even simple geography could come into it, avoiding a long trip. You might want to look at how you did against them during the course of the season. Then there's the added SPICE of the team being picked thinking "right, F-you, we're gonna make you regret that".

I quite like this choosing teams idea. It gives a little advantage to finishing 3rd, and has all kinds of potential to really piss people off. Whats not like ?
Click to expand...

I like it, too. Somewhere does this already. Rugby League??
 


Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

Waxing chumps like candles since ‘75
Oct 4, 2003
11,082
Super League adopted a similar approach to their playoffs between 2009 and 2014 when they had an 8 team playoff system to determine the Super League Champions.

They called it Club Call but it didn't actually come in until what was effectively the 3rd round of the play offs. The team that got the choice always picked the lowest ranked side left in the playoffs at that point. It backfired on Warrington when they lost to Leeds after picking them at the Club Call stage in 2011 (Leeds actually went on to win the playoffs from a 5th place finish that season). Leeds repeated this feat the following season beating Wigan at the Club Call stage.

I've long thought they should overhaul the EFL playoff system, expand it to include more teams as this gives teams something to play for at the end of the season and drop the 2 legged games, give home advantage to the team that finished higher up the table. A 6 team play off could work something like this.

Game 1 Elimination matches (winners go to game 2, losers out)
5th vs 8th
6th vs 7th

Game 2 (winners go to final)
3rd place vs their pick of winners from above games
4th place vs other team.

Final at Wembley

Massive advantage for the teams finishing 3rd or 4th in they get an extra few days off before their play off games, team finishing 8th would have to play 3 games to get promoted (2 away from home). More teams involved in the play offs, and the run in is more exciting as teams in 9th, 10th, 11th etc might have a chance of stealing 8th late on. No more games overall than current play off system though.
 


Easy 10

Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,772
Location Location
hans kraay fan club said:
I like it, too. Somewhere does this already. Rugby League??
Click to expand...

Rugby League is as far off my sports radar as basketball, so I honestly couldn't say - although I've always thought it WEIRD that the team that finished top still has to play a 'Grand Final' against a playoff winner to be deemed Champions. Thats just barmy.

I'm intrigued by this choosing idea though. Would the club take the decision ? Would fans be consulted ? A poll amongst STH's would be tremendous, where we all get to vote. Then if we stuff it up in the semi, we can all turn on each other.

"Well I voted for Forest. It was obvious we'd lose to feckin' Preston, we always lose to feckin' Preston"
 


Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

Waxing chumps like candles since ‘75
Oct 4, 2003
11,082
Easy 10 said:
Rugby League is as far off my sports radar as basketball, so I honestly couldn't say - although I've always thought it WEIRD that the team that finished top still has to play a 'Grand Final' against a playoff winner to be deemed Champions. Thats just barmy.
Click to expand...

In Super League, the winners aren't even guaranteed a place in the final. They enter the playoffs like everyone else (it is heavily weighted in the favour of the teams finishing 1st and 2nd to reach the final though).

Historically Rugby League had always had end of season play offs, but the League winners were always considered the Champions. This changed a few years into the Super League era when they created the Grand Final as the season showcase game (kind of like the Super Bowl).
 




Easy 10

Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,772
Location Location
Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo said:
In Super League, the winners aren't even guaranteed a place in the final. They enter the playoffs like everyone else (it is heavily weighted in the favour of the teams finishing 1st and 2nd to reach the final though).

Historically Rugby League had always had end of season play offs, but the League winners were always considered the Champions. This changed near the start of the Super League era when they created the Grand Final as the season showcase game (kind of like the Super Bowl).
Click to expand...

Even odder then. I'd have thought the team that finishes top at the end of a League season can quite rightly, morally, be declared the Champions. The counter-argument would be "well everyone knows the format at the start of the season...". Well yes, but even so.

I see the National League has come up with a fair Playoff system that rewards finishing higher. Champions are promoted, then:

2nd / 3rd get a bye to a one-off HOME semi-final
4th / 7th and 5th / 6th play off to reach that one-off away semi
Winners go to Wembley.

That seems fair to me. Maybe the EFL could still have top 2 going up, then 3rd-8th playing off in the same format at the National League ones. Like you, I think our Playoffs definitely need a shake-up. Maybe even dragging the team that finishes 18th in the division above into it for a chance of escaping relegation.
 


B

blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
And who within the club would get the final say. The chairman might have a different set of priorities to the manager
 


Easy 10

Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,772
Location Location
blue-shifted said:
And who within the club would get the final say. The chairman might have a different set of priorities to the manager
Click to expand...

Indeed. Chairman, manager, CEO, fans. We'd all have our own preferences. Sometimes there'd be an obvious choice to make, other times less so.

Be an interesting one wouldn't it ? And not much time at all to decide and announce it, being as the playoffs start the following week. Imagine waiting for the announcement on who we'd chosen to play. The press conference would be pure BOX OFFICE.
 




Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

Waxing chumps like candles since ‘75
Oct 4, 2003
11,082
Easy 10 said:
Even odder then. I'd have thought the team that finishes top at the end of a League season can quite rightly, morally, be declared the Champions. The counter-argument would be "well everyone knows the format at the start of the season...". Well yes, but even so.
Click to expand...

You could use that argument for any sport that has an end of season play offs to determine the champions. In American Football I am sure you could work out which team has the best record before the play offs quite easily, but because of how the teams are grouped into smaller groups its not really bothered anyone (and I don't really follow American Football that closely so I've no idea how the game structure works etc, I am guessing they don't all play each other over the course of the season like we do over here in Football, Rugby etc).

I see the National League has come up with a fair Playoff system that rewards finishing higher. Champions are promoted, then:

2nd / 3rd get a bye to a one-off HOME semi-final
4th / 7th and 5th / 6th play off to reach that one-off away semi
Winners go to Wembley.

That seems fair to me. Maybe the EFL could still have top 2 going up, then 3rd-8th playing off in the same format at the National League ones. Like you, I think our Playoffs definitely need a shake-up. Maybe even dragging the team that finishes 18th in the division above into it for a chance of escaping relegation.
Click to expand...

Looks like the system I proposed above only using 2nd-7th rather than 3rd to 8th. Didn't the first few seasons of the play offs have a team from the higher division trying to avoid relegation and then 3 teams from the lower division trying to win promotion.
 


Wrong-Direction

Wrong-Direction

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2013
13,425
Sounds good to me

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk
 






Easy 10

Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,772
Location Location
Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo said:
You could use that argument for any sport that has an end of season play offs to determine the champions. In American Football I am sure you could work out which team has the best record before the play offs quite easily, but because of how the teams are grouped into smaller groups its not really bothered anyone (and I don't really follow American Football that closely so I've no idea how the game structure works etc, I am guessing they don't all play each other over the course of the season like we do over here in Football, Rugby etc.
Click to expand...

No exactly, they don't. Its 2 x 16 separate divisions, just 16 regular season games, its a completely different format that doesn't really bear comparison to the EFL. Its not a round-robin like ours is, and hasn't got the number of teams involved.

Playoffs here are a completely different animal, off the back end of 24 teams and 46 games. I'd love to see a complete revamp. Bring in RELEGATION playoffs by dragging in a team in the division above. And bring in 1st choice from the team that finishes 3rd as to who they play in the semi's. That would be SO much fun.

Tell me I'm wrong.
 




Tim Over Whelmed

Tim Over Whelmed

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 24, 2007
10,190
Arundel
I've always thought there should be a positional advantage, maybe if 3rd v 6th was a two goal advantage to the third team over the two legs and a one goal advantage for 4th v 5th so you benefit from the league position achieved?
 




The Lemming Stomper

The Lemming Stomper

790
Apr 1, 2007
2,497
Saltdean
.

Speedway uses this method in all three leagues...

Four teams at the top by the cut-off date go into the playoffs...

The top of the league can pick any of the other three...

It makes for some interesting choices, especially if the fourth placed team is on a massive run to get in as opposed to the 'better' teams out of form but higher up the league...

Great idea for the EPL
 




B

Berty23

Well-known member
Jun 26, 2012
3,206
I follow national league north. The play offs are great and clear advantage to teams finishing highest.

2 and 3 get bye to next round.

Match 1 - 4 vs 7 (at 4)
Match 2 - 5 vs 6 (at 5)

Match 3 2 vs match 1 (at 2)
Match 4 3 vs match 2 (at 3)

Final is winner of matches 3 and 4 and hosted by the side highest placed in league still in.

So if you come second in the league you just need to win 2 home matches to go up. Come 7th you need to win 3 away matches.
 


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