Town manager Kieran McKenna says he can see the thinking behind the proposal to extend the Championship play-offs to six clubs.

Preston North End chief executive Peter Ridsdale has revived the initiative previously put forward by one-time Crystal Palace and Bristol City chief executive Phil Alexander, who is now interim-CEO of the National League.

The proposal broadly follows the structure of the National League’s play-offs with the fifth-finishing side hosting the eighth-placed team and sixth at home to seventh in one-off matches.

The winners would then play the teams third and fourth in two-legged semi-finals - differing from the National League where there are one-off games throughout - before the Wembley final.

“I’ve only seen that this afternoon,” said McKenna, who is yet to compete in the play-offs as a manager.

“I get it, sort of extends it. But I feel like it’s really competitive anyway, if you look at the last few seasons in the Championship and the way teams can go up and down the league with a run and how tight it’s been at the bottom.

“I know the teams at the top for the last one or two seasons have hit a really high points total, but there’s no guarantee that’s going to continue forever.

“There’s no doubt, even coming back into it, you realise again watching the other teams and the other games, it’s one of the most competitive divisions in world football already.

“The gap between every team is small, every team has good players, you can get good players in the Championship whether you’ve got a big budget or a small budget. It’s one of the most competitive divisions anywhere.

“Extending that to give a few more teams something to fight for in the last couple of games, would probably bring more jeopardy to it at the end, so I can see the thinking behind it.”

So he’d give it the nod if it were down to him? “I’d have to think about it a little bit further.”

Photo: TWTD

Westover added 18:19 - Sep 11 IMO the play-offs are just a way to make money exiting but they are not good for a team that finishes third sometimes by a big margin I just don't like them.
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Rimsy added 18:25 - Sep 11 Crazy idea. The 8th placed team can possibly jump straight to the Pl. Keep going like this there won't be a point to the league structure. Knockout competition and be done with it. Always thought 3rd place team should play the 3rd bottom of three pl.
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scooby added 18:26 - Sep 11 Playoffs should not exist. That's the whole point of a league season. Just choose weather its 3 up and down or 4 up and down. Every team has 46 games to get it right. Why Should a team finishing x amount of points or places below another still have the opportunity of achieving the same as someone 8places above them. (champions))
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OldFart71 added 18:38 - Sep 11 I agree with Westover. Although those that finish lower down would love a chance of a play off place it bears no reality to a long season where a third place team can finish currently a dozen points ahead of the sixth place team and still not be promoted. It is just a money getting game for the Wembley coffers . Any team and that includes Town finishes outside the top three they don't deserve to be promoted.

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TimmyH added 18:39 - Sep 11 Not for me...your a very lucky side if you end up 8th and somehow find some form in the play-offs and go up, where as the 3rd place side is on an equal footing to the others. It makes a mockery of the whole league points system over 46 games.
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Gforce added 18:42 - Sep 11 Totally agree with scooby,I've always thought the play off's are so unfair and should be banished. York city the prime example, they finished 2nd last season, about 20 points clear of Oldham, who i believe finished in 8th place, then lost 3-0 to them in the play-offs. Like Scooby said, it should be about 46 games,not a one off cup game.
3

armchaircritic59 added 18:44 - Sep 11 Westover, good grief, I thought I was the only football supporter on the planet that detests them. Expand them? I'd scrap them altogether!
2

DannyITFC added 18:45 - Sep 11 Might work in our favour tbh as it will take a while for this group of players to become a team and top 2 will be realistically unachievable by Xmas. However 8th place could be accomplished especially getting into form in the 2nd half of the season.
-2

statto72 added 19:10 - Sep 11 Playoffs or no playoffs? Well it does come across as unfair sometimes but it certainly provides extra excitement for the teams in the middle of the league, who without it would have nothing to play for from March onwards, cutting out numerous dead rubbers. On the other hand the national league currently has a system where you can potentially have 1st and 7th promoted and todays proposal for the EFL is similar - you could have 1st, 2nd and 8th go up. Not for me thanks. I know not everyone is a fan but leave it as it is, just have 3rd-6th battle it out. Meanwhile the suggestion that “It is just a money getting game for the Wembley coffers” is not correct when you consider that when play-offs were introduced for 1986/87, the first three seasons had the finals two legged home and away, same as the semis.

0

trevski_s added 19:14 - Sep 11 Nah scrap the playoffs, I have been saying it for years its a stupid system. It seems unfair when the team in 6th goes up when they could potentially be 10-20 points behind 3rd place. Should always be top 3 go up bottom 3 go down, or adopt how a lot of European leagues do it where the 2 top and bottom switch and then 3rd bottom and 3rd top play each other to decide Only time a "playoff" could be done is If a crucial position (such as title, promotion or relegation) has to be decided on anything except points earnt. THEN those 2 teams should play one more time to decide who gets that spot

2

statto72 added 19:21 - Sep 11 Just wondering……. Because the play-offs were in place, we didn’t get promoted from the championship until the last day, beating Huddersfield. If it was still the old system of top three up, we’d have been promoted earlier. On the off chance does anyone know which match would have seen us clinch promotion? Hull away maybe?
0

SouperJim added 19:22 - Sep 11 3rd at home to 4th, job done.
1

Mark added 19:25 - Sep 11 Another example of football being expanded, more and more matches for more and more TV coverage and advertising. No thank you, please leave it as it is.
2

jazzback added 19:50 - Sep 11 Whilst I agree the playoffs are terrible, that day back in May 2000, one of the best days ever. Seeing Burleys blues beat Barnsley was an amazing day out at Wembley.
6

Westy added 20:45 - Sep 11 I have always been totally opposed to the Play-Offs. What is the pointt of having a 46 game league season then turn it into a cup competition at the end. I don't think I have ever met a fan who thinks they are fair. Clubs know before the Season starts what the rules are but have no choice but to accept or they will be rejected from the league. This disease has crept into non- league football and another example of football destroying itself. What with the Club World Cup we are already in a scenario when there is increasingly no closed season. The Play-Offs were originally brought in in this.Country to reduce the number of teams in the top flight and yet, when this was achieved, sure as the sun comes up, as I knew it would be, made permenant. Notts County almost lost to Chesterfield in the semi-final of the National League Play-Offs when they were both non-league clubs only three seasons ago yet Notts County finished the league schedule, after 46 games, a massive 31 points ahead of Chesterfield. How can that be right it allowed? Even Paul Cook the Chesterfield manager voiced his opinion on how unfair it was. Imagine a scenario if relegation was decided like this - that the bottom 2 teams were automatically relegated then the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th from bottom have play- off amongst themselves to decide who the third relegated team is - the winners of the semi-finals stay up, then the losing teams play-off at Wembley and the loser goes down. How ludicrous that would be but no more unfair than the Play-Iddlffs are now. Sometimes I despair at the people running the game.

0

Dissboyitfc added 20:55 - Sep 11 No not for me, however I have always said this, team in third goes straight to the final, team in 4th straight to the semi final and teams 5 and 6 have a one off game to meet the fourth placed team in the semi, of course the 5th placed team gets home advantage!
2

Blue_Fred added 20:56 - Sep 11 I agree with general feeling on this. Playoffs are a terrible addition to football invented purely for money making of TV companies If playoffs are such a good idea why does the Premier League not do the same for European competition places
2

BuckieBlue added 21:20 - Sep 11 The majority of posters above would have Sheffield Utd deserving of promotion last season, so it is interesting that it is them who are next at PR, seemingly (going by the current table) still trying to recover from the play off process.
0

bobble added 23:02 - Sep 11 Play offs were always a zhit idea....1,2,3 should be promoted as they have shown themselves to be bext over the season...
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ChingShady added 23:35 - Sep 11 Spot on Dissboyitfc, i've always felt that there needs to some form of advantage for finishing higher. I maybe would add that 5th and 6th should play 2 legs and play them within 4 days and the winner only has 4 days again before playing 4th in 2 legs. Then whoever wins that plays 3rd in the final at Wembley. Even though the semis are not played at Wembley thank god, I have never agreed on semi finals being played there. I understand the FA need to make their dough, but it just diminishes the achievement of "making it to Wembley", shame about the other domestic cups.

1

armchaircritic59 added 00:52 - Sep 12 Well well, it appears I'm not the only person on the planet that detests the play offs, however you want to play them. Total farce and makes a mockery of a whole seasons work. If clubs want promotion it should be a simple equation, finish in the top three! The way things are going they'll end up scrapping the whole season as it stands and just play a number of knock out games as give it a few more seasons, they will probably have the play offs down to the top 16!

0

Everydayblue added 02:16 - Sep 12 Guess there'd be fewer dead rubbers towards the end of the season... But making 8th placed finish some kind of achievement? Doesn't feel right.... More like a get out of jail card for high spenders that underachieve...
1

cressi added 06:01 - Sep 12 Be honest purely a money making exercise. Same as having 64 teams at a world cup. 5 teams from a country in the European Cup ie champions league.
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Adnams added 06:35 - Sep 12 There should be a big advantage to 3rd place imo. Third should go straight to Wembley. 6th play 5th and the winner of that game plays 4th. The winner of that game play 3rd place team at Wembley.
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tractorboybig added 07:04 - Sep 12 money making rubbish, third should automatically go up
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