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Town Propose Play-Off Expansion
Thursday, 4th Jun 2020 15:57

Town have proposed the consideration of “alternative play-off formats” should League One clubs vote to end their season early at next Tuesday's EGM, as is widely expected.

In the event of clubs voting that the campaign isn’t played to its conclusion, it’s understood the Blues want their fellow EFL clubs to look at extending the play-offs to eight clubs based on the current top 10, which would include Town who are 10th as things stand, or be expanded to a wider 10-team tournament also involving the top two with three sides winning promotion.

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony initially proposed the expansion of the play-offs to eight clubs last month.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Blues also put forward the suggestion that the season be settled on where clubs were after 22 matches when they had played one another once, which would have seen Town into third place. This idea is reported to have been rejected.

The Blues are among the teams who have consistently stated their keenness to play the season to its natural end behind closed doors.

Most of the clubs in and around the play-off places also want the campaign completed, while most of those in the bottom half, as well as top two Coventry and Rotherham, are understood to be in favour of it being ended now, in the main due to concerns regarding the cost of funding staging the games and coronavirus testing.

Clubs were given until yesterday at 2pm to submit proposals to the EFL ahead of Tuesday’s EGM which should finally confirm how League One will finish. At the same meeting the Championship’s return on June 20th is set to be rubber-stamped as is League Two’s curtailment.

Tranmere have made a proposal for a points per game system which includes a margin of error, while Lincoln City are also arguing for tweaks to the EFL’s preferred unweighted points per game solution.

Championship Barnsley are lobbying for relegation to be scrapped if the season isn’t played to its end but this appears unlikely to receive much support. Stevenage, bottom of League Two, have suggested an amendment which would see no relegation to the National League.

It’s widely expected that the number of League One clubs who will vote for the season to be cut short is more than the required 51 per cent.

And despite the amendments proposed by the Blues and other clubs, it’s anticipated that sides will then vote for the EFL’s unweighted points per game proposal regarding placings, promotion and relegation.


Photo: Action Images



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hadleighboyblue added 16:22 - Jun 4
Oh give it a rest , for goodness sake .

We are 10th / 11th and our season is over
12

warksonwater added 16:23 - Jun 4
Hardly likely. Whistling in the wind there. Every club is understandably and inevitably making proposals in their own self-interest, and we're no different.
2

COYB11 added 16:23 - Jun 4
A desperate attempt from ITFC to salvage something that we don't deserve from this horrendous car crash of a season.

Forget it Town, you aren't good enough. Get over it, and build for the next campaign.
14

BlueBlood90 added 16:29 - Jun 4
Pathetic. If we'd given a toss before the pandemic then we wouldn't be in this mess. The club needs a huge shake up, not relying on a freebie playoff spot because we think we're bigger than this league.
8

Bluearmy_81 added 16:30 - Jun 4
Evans out. He's made up a joke club, also rans in division 3
4

Bluearmy_81 added 16:30 - Jun 4
Made us
0

ITFCsince73 added 16:37 - Jun 4
The calm before the storm is coming in L1. No wonder it's delay after delay.
Next week the clubs can finally decide how they refund season ticket and match day tickets purchased. Agreeing refunds to season and match day sponsors. Etc. And bringing back off field staff from furlough to deal with it all.
What with paying playing staff in full over the past 3 months, maybe the fairest way to have voted how to end the season would have been a vote between clubs that will still be in business come August.
3

smellmycheese added 16:38 - Jun 4
Totally up for a slip in the back door play off scenario with full strength squad but think I might be the only one wanting this
5

Paulc added 16:40 - Jun 4
This is all very embarrassing!
5

Dissboyitfc added 16:40 - Jun 4
Most of the clubs in and around the play-off places also want the campaign completed, while most of those in the bottom half, as well as top two Coventry and Rotherham, are understood to be in favour of it being ended now, in the main due to concerns regarding the cost of funding staging the games and coronavirus testing.

I bet Rotherham and coventry would want to carry on if they werent in the automatic places, its pathetic everyone has there own selfish agenda including us! from where we sit in the table right now we are going to get what we deserve, nothing!
3

Gilesy added 16:41 - Jun 4
Very disappointing and disingenuous
1

rabbit added 16:44 - Jun 4
Bluearmy_81 you again call for ME to leave on an unrelated thread, please will you let us know why you believe that Mike Ashley will be an infinitely better owner.
2

StringerBell added 16:47 - Jun 4
Christ, talk about grasping at straws.
You could expand it to just ITFC and Ryman League teams and we'd still eff it up.
Enough already.
1

EatonBlue added 16:54 - Jun 4
I am finding this very frustrating. It should be the EFL telling the clubs what to do, not the other way round.
My preference is to complete the season, we are after all more than three-quarters of the way through the season.
7

FenboyBlue added 16:55 - Jun 4
This reminds me of Death in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.
"Best 2 out 3 ?"
"Best 3 out of 5?"
0

runningout added 16:58 - Jun 4
Thought our club was doing well to shut up doing this circus. Yet again they disappoint. We deserve nothing from this season. Most know the decent start we had was very fortunate. Those that don't think that are in a different place
2

FifeITFC added 17:05 - Jun 4
If you're going to extend the Play Offs to include the Top 10 (where amazingly we'd qualify!), you may as well play the sodding whole season to a conclusion then!!!

And to think a team finishing 10th then getting promoted above a team SEVEN places above them to stupid and just clutching at a very large pile of straws. We're not good enough and we simply do not deserve to go up, end of.
6

JDAndCoke added 17:15 - Jun 4
Find some of the comments baffling on here. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from Marcus Evans biggest fan but he can't win with some people. If he submits an idea (which the EFL have clearly asked all clubs to do if they wish to) he gets pelters for it being a ridiculous idea and clutching at straws.

However, we all know that if Marcus had sat on his hands and done nothing, accepting our current position, he'd be accused of not caring.

I for one am pleased to see Marcus taking a hands on role in all of this. Seen from Darragh Mac's recent tweets that ME has been quite vocal in the discussions.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying for one minute that this is an idea that's going to be voted in or even considered but I for one am pleased to see Marcus's ongoing commitment to the club through this. Shows he at least still cares and given that his other businesses are probably suffering heavily from Covid (those companies make him a lot more profit than ITFC) he's still taking an active role in all of this.

Just think we should sometimes cut him a little slack, that's all
6

Suffolkboy added 17:20 - Jun 4
Again , the structure of decision making is a shambles ; everything about the requirement to consider how to end, or play out the season has been desperately coloured by self interest , one way or another .
The dreadful absence of adequate finances and financial management throughout the game has been well in evidence in L1 ; and is mirrored in the approach to these circumstances by almost every club !
Any belief in the integrity of the competition( s ) is not a consideration : the so called ‘family ‘of football is more imagined and dreamt of than anywhere near reality ; self interest ,greed and protectionism abound – we cannot expect altruism and integrity to surface in a fight for survival !
Next season , such as it may be , ought to bring about a total and objective re- assessment of structures, governances ,authority and disciplines all round .
It's a mess that was unexpected , and the resolution of which has proved just as unfathomable !
Whatever , COYB
PS personal ‘disappointment ‘ is a very understated reaction ,and I'm sure there are many who might express something nearer to furious‘ anger ‘..
0

Woodbridgian added 17:51 - Jun 4
Very undignified, can you imagine the Cobbold's stooping this low! The reality is we don't deserve to be in the playoffs and shouldn't be making a laughing stock of the club doing so.
10

Bert added 18:03 - Jun 4
I have always wanted the season to be completed and the next one to start later but without any cup competitions. On that basis I am happy for the club to put in a counter proposal. Anyone can argue that any club doesn't deserve this or that but finishing the season is the right decision in football terms. Do I think we could get the third play off spot ? Possibly, because anything could happen and we cannot surely be as awful as we were from mid January onwards. Boris Johnson doesn't deserve to be PM but he is there so no point going on about who deserves what.
3

SirBasilBrush added 18:05 - Jun 4
Even more tragic than Norwich's desperate attempts to have Premier League relegation scrapped tbh.
7

patrickswell added 18:09 - Jun 4
All it would have needed is 11 points from the 7 games we lost across January-March and we would currently be in second place and in a strong position. Shouldn't have been impossible given that 6 of the 7 games we lost were by 1 goal. Even if we did make it into such a tournament, you just know our group of softies would bottle it if they got anywhere near to the final and that's before the Publicity Fraud in the dugout gets to work with his selections/tactics.
0

ITFCsince73 added 18:12 - Jun 4
The simplest way to resolve the EFL meltdown.
L2 no relegation. Top 3 promoted.
L1 The season void. No promotion or relegation.
Championship no relegation. Promotion to Premier league. And relegation to the Championship.
-3

runaround added 18:16 - Jun 4
Surprised we didn't propose a scheme where only teams that start with the letter I are promoted?!
It isn't that much more ludicrous than some of the other ideas. I really think all 4 divisions should do the same thing which is finish the season behind closed doors. I know the money is an issue for smaller clubs but there is enough money in English football to easily fund this & not have any clubs go to the wall.
Unfortunately all the clubs are purely looking at self interest and it's making for an embarrassing situation. Surely the EFL must realise now they will never get an agreement and just make a decision which everyone abides by
5


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