Play Offs - What A Week

[Guest Top Corner]

After a week of action packed drama, in which every play off tie in each division contained some heart-breaking late drama, we could have just as easily ended up with Sunderland/Ipswich, Hartlepool/Swindon and Lincoln/Northampton finals.

People say it's down to the team who can handle the pressure the best, but as there is very little to choose between any of the teams ability wise (as evidenced by the fact they finished so close to each other in the league), ultimately no team can expect to emerge successfully from the play-offs without more than their fair share of luck. Just ask the likes of Andy King.... (snigger, snigger).

Clearly we had our fair share of luck against Hartlepool over the two ties but then I don't think anyone can deny us that after tasting the bitter pill of play off defeats against Walsall, Brentford and the Taffs over the years.

They might not be fair, but then everyone knows the rules before the first ball is kicked in August. With the money generated from the 12 'semi final' games and the 3 finals, at what can hardly be described as cheap prices, there's no way the Football League are going to abandon the nice little nest-egg the play-offs generate at the end of the season.

Winning the championship and having a trophy might be one thing. Finishing second and not having to go through the heart-stopping drama of 3 play-off games might be another... but ultimately there can be no better way to go up than coming through a winner takes all game at the best ground in the country, taking home a trophy and the probably the best part of a half million pounds in the process as well.

Is that fair? Probably not...but then when we lift our second trophy at the Mill Stad in the space of two years a week today, I for one, can't say I will be giving it much thought!!

[Guest city3rovers2]

In a sense, I'd rather go up this way. I went through hell on Wednesday night, and I would be have been gutted if we'd lost, which I thought we had for about half an hour til Goodfellow and Roberts popped up.

I mean, to win the championship would be fantastic, but then it's all over. And Plymouth knew the were going to win it for weeks. I'm not trying to take away from them a great achievement, but this is far more exciting, far more exhilarating.

I don't want to take away from Plymouth and QPR's acheivements, they did very well to finsih 1st and 2nd. But its far more exciting going through the playoffs, never quite konwing what's going to happen next, hoping and hoping that our team will do it, rather than sitting back before the official season has even finished and start talking about who we'll definately be playing in the 1st next year. Not that would exactly be bad thing, but do you know what I mean?

And I would ahte to support a team like Arsenal or Man U. How boring would that be? We know we're going to win the league, or Europe, or the FA Cup, or the Worthington Cup. There's just no point. The only really interesting thing Arsenal did this season was not lose a single league game. We knew they were going to win the title back in February. The only question was whether they would do it without losing a game, and fait play to them ofr doing it. But I'd far rather have the drama of the playoffs. Makes life much more interesting.

[RedTop]

Have to disagree.

Are they exciting? Yes. A money-spinner for the league? Yes. Are they fair? No.

The whole point of a league, as opposed to a cup competition, is to compare all the clubs fairly over the course of the season and reward them according to how they fare. Surely the whole point of playing every team home and away is to minimise any 'lottery' and award promotion and relegation to those that deserve it most - i.e. promotion to those finishing at the top, in descending order depending on the number of promotion places offered, and relegation to those who finish at the bottom in a similar even-handed way.

What is the point of that if you then discard the results and add the 'lottery' of play-offs for four teams who can often be separated by as much as 15-20 points? It merely dilutes the whole point of a league by reducing that fairness which has emerged over nine months - the "luck evens itself outover the course of the season" effect that managers go on about all the time.

Last season we finished third and didn't go up. This season the same could happen.

Yes, every club starts the season knowing the rules, but that doesn't make them fair and doesn't mean we shouldn't fight to change them, or at the very least fight to stop them being extended as suggested.

Any extension actually risks doing harm to the game, in my view, by reducing its integrity and showing those in charge are prepared to do anything to sell the game out for a few extra bucks.

I sincerely hope SteveL does not back extending the play-offs to eight clubs the next time the spectre is raised (as it inevitably will be), regardless of how we do at the Mill Stad. Yes, you could argue that it increases our chances of promotion to the premiership as we're more likely to finish in the top eight than the top six. But if we were to get relegated at any stage to Division Two, it would also hamper our chances of going up far more.

[The Humble Realist]

My view is simple-they arnt fair!

however about 3 years ago we ahd about 3 season of finishing around 9th- if there was no play offs then our seasosn would have been finished in February.

They arnt fair there should be a limit to the amount of points- eg hereford finished far enough ahead to have no play offs at all,

I think if 3rd are 10 clear play offs shouldnt happen

[RedUn]

Are they exciting? Yes. A money-spinner for the league? Yes. Are they fair? No.

<snippage>

Agree with every word of what RT says.

All I shall feel if we win in Cardiff is relief and, if we lose, frustration, anger, disappointment - all of these emotions about the season gone moreso than the game on the day.