NLS: play offs

To some extent, I quite like how the current play-off format in the National league is weighted to favour the higher placed teams. You could argue with more to play for, many of those mid table teams will fight all through the season as opposed to tailing off for the last month or so which would give certain teams a potential easier victory based on the lottery of the fixture list.

I like the play-off system myself, extends the season and introduces those crunch games which are very exciting to watch.

I wouldn't say it is all about TV money, the play offs were introduced before TV money became the issue it is now. I always thought they were introduced to cut down on the number of dead rubber games that started to pile up around the beginning of March.
I like them, the teams know the rules at the beginning of the season and they are no more a lottery than cup games, skill and stamina are still required to win the matches.

Then we must agree to disagree on that one. 😀

rjdgull 

I do rather guiltily enjoy watching the play-off matches, while accepting it's trading in a degree of fairness for excitement. Floridagull's 'unless it's your team'  observation would certainly come into play more sharply for many of us, if we felt natural justice was being sacrificed for gate receipts and TV money to our detriment as a rightfully earned reward was denied to TUFC.

Danny Hollands, Luke Young, Chris Zebrowski, all Gulls old boys on the pitch together at last night's Wrexham v Eastleigh, National League play off game.  Luke and his Wrexham team had accumulated a whole 10 points more than Eastleigh over the season. Eastleigh had ended the season with a negative goal difference, yet even though they'd spent the season overall conceding more goals than they'd scored, a system that allows 7th and 8th placed teams to contest the play-offs, puts them right back in the promotion picture.

With a lottery of that type created, the inevitability of the headlines today, such as 'It has cost us our whole season' - Wrexham AFC boss slams disallowed goal,have to almost be expected, and that's before further salt being rubbed into Wrexham wounds by their sub goalkeeper having his car nicked while he was at the match.

rjdgull is right to say that 'You could argue' that the mid table teams are more greatly incentivised to fight all through the season, with a play-off slot likely to appear attainable. Yet those that know their fait, can refocus their priorities. For instance, Luke Young was one of seven first choice players dropped and rested by Wrexham last Saturday for their league game, as play-off planning took priority. If you've got too many play-off teams ignoring the final league matches, an opponent fighting relegation might pick up unexpected points to the annoyance of others facing the drop, who themselves had to face a full strength Wrexham earlier in the season.

Consider the line-ups that Huddersfield put out for the last few pre play-off games a couple of seasons ago. Not even their own fans had heard the names of most of the players representing them. But of course it worked, and the rested and well prepared first teamers won the play-offs and The Terriers headed to the riches of the Premier League the following season. Any 'playing a weakened team' fines being small change and dwarfed by the Premier League riches they'd secured. Relegation issues skewed as a result of Huddersfield putting their own interests first ? Well yes, but do you blame Huddersfield or the play-off system that rewards such thinking ?

For the Premier League itself, there will still be those who state the perceived benefits that having mid-table teams with nothing to play for offered, for those last few matches. Traditionally, those were the games when a young player, possibly one who had been distinguishing himself in the reserves, would be given a run out in the first team. The Olaf's of days gone by would be the new attraction, and given a taste of first team action to see if they were up to it, when the result was no longer all important. The Premier League's decision to provide huge financial rewards, where finishing one place higher now involved a seriously large additional amount of prize money...even for the mid-table placed teams, and it largely signalled the end of that approach whereby an established player or two made way for a promising starlet to get a run out as the season was closing.

The Marketing men, now very much ingrained at the very centre of professional football, will push for the rules to be decided as to the impact on revenue generation. Other considerations won't get much of a look in. 'Your team's not as good, but you have the bigger grandstand ?  No problem...promotion is yours !'. The dollar rules, as Floridagull has told us on several occasions. The pound rules here....at least until the last of the free ATM's disappears  .

Push things too far, so that your play-off system almost makes a joke of your league season (as might be the case in rugby, if I'm understanding correctly) then you're almost getting too close to the boundaries of credibility. My feeling is that English non-league has taken a step too far in this direction, and sacrificed fairness to too great an extent, given the latitude now applied to play-off qualification. However, just as there was insufficient resistance to this new set up being implemented, I've not noticed any noticeable demands for it to be binned. And will I be complaining if we finish 8th next season.....and a few weeks later find ourselves back in the Football League ?

Bugger I see Woking won but can’t see who scored what when - hope it wasn’t a last minute winner by Gerring ☹️

Double bugger....