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

Razor added 11:04 - Jun 5 The only satisfactory way to conclude this is on the football pitch and the bigger ,richer clubs and football in general should agree to help pay for all the staging costs. Surely some TV revenue could come in as well-----does not seem rocket science to me though some are seeming to make it so----perhaps for their own interests.
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Dissboyitfc added 11:49 - Jun 5 Exactly Razor, good points! And itfc still increases the size of LG1 by 2 teams!!!
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inghamspur added 12:48 - Jun 5 Desperation
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portmanteau added 16:26 - Jun 5 Since when have Town supporters been putting other clubs interests before our own? So the next time we win a dodgy penalty at home I shall expect the crowd to flood onto the pitch to demand the ref rescinds it because it is not fair on the other side. Never going to happen. Lets get into the playoffs and go for it.
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ITFCsince73 added 16:32 - Jun 5 Dissboy you seem to be missing all points....the season won't be finished on the pitch. To avoid unfairness and no doubt legal action from some clubs. The season has to end another way. We would all like it to be finished on the pitch. But that's not what's going to happen. My suggestion isn't perfect or ideal, but the only clubs it would really upset, Coventry and Rotherham. Spent most of the season outside the top 6, and was top 2 briefly. And still had 10 games to play.

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Crawfordsboot added 12:34 - Jun 6 Disappointing as it is to Finish mid table some of the ranting on here is beyond me. In the context of the financial sh**storm that is about to engulf lower leagues I for one am relieved that we have an owner who, for all his faults, has funded the club and attempted to keep the financial model within the realms of reality. Certainly I am happy not to have an overseas owner who might be gone tomorrow leaving the club high, dry and busted.

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