Championship playoffs to expand to six teams? (Confirmed from next season, pg 3)

EugenesAxe

Scoham said:

How about to give all clubs an equal chance of promotion they use in a format in which every club plays each other home and away.

The top couple of teams could get promoted, the bottom 3 relegated. Maybe have a mini knock out tournament for the third promotion place for a bit more drama and excitement.

Controversial maybe, but I think it would be quite a fair way to compare performance over a whole season.

Oi thats my idea 

Afternoon Delight

stonemuse

Weaker teams going up makes it even easier for Palaarrse to survive … crap idea 

CombeMartin

Pedro45 said:

killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

Didn't Arsenal get promoted after finishing 13th?

The last time Arsenal got promoted was in 1915 when they finished 6th.

CombeMartin

Killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

We didnt stay up, we came down the following year, and then went straight back up  the year after that.

bobmunro

CombeMartin said:

Killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

We didnt stay up, we came down the following year, and then went straight back up  the year after that.

What a glorious day at The Valley that was - a Guard of Honour by the Ipswich players and Sir Bobby presenting the trophy

I think @Killerandflash was referring to St Andrews 1987.

charltonkeston

Team that finishes 8th and potentially goes up will probably get spanked week in week out but I don't suppose that will bother anyone. In the Premier league, one less relegation place to worry about and the team that goes up will come down with a few bob, although there have been a few where it didn't go to plan.
On the plus side we could have a last day where 3/4 of the league are getting a punt at a pay day and the others are trying to avoid the drop.  

valleynick66

Of course it’s money influenced. And no doubt will get the nod. 

Personally if it were to be tweaked I’d look in the other direction and pull in the 4th from bottom PL team so that  ‘relegation’ places are (even) more competitive. But Turkeys won’t vote for Christmas of course. 

bobmunro

valleynick66 said:

Of course it’s money influenced. And no doubt will get the nod. 

Personally if it were to be tweaked I’d look in the other direction and pull in the 4th from bottom PL team so that  ‘relegation’ places are (even) more competitive. But Turkeys won’t vote for Christmas of course. 

As it used to be when play-offs were first introduced. But that was before the Premier League was set up and the EFL have no sway on what the PL do other than three teams are relegated and three are promoted from the Championship.

As you say, it would not be in the interests of the PL teams to agree to any change affecting four of their teams rather than three. They would rather it didn't affect any of their teams.

redman

one extra thought not being mentioned. The season will still start and end the same. That means an extra couple of midweek games rather than at the weekend. 

killerandflash

Callumcafc said:

The change would be the worst for teams who finish 5th and 6th who would now have to play an extra game that they otherwise didn’t have to.

Teams in 3rd and 4th won’t have the same problem, making it even more critical to finish as high up as possible. It would be a big bonus for the team in 3rd if they ended up against 8th rather than 6th for example.

It doesn't always work like that. The lower teams can get real momentum from winning their first game, e.g. in the NL playoffs last season, where the final was between 2 of the teams playing the QF.

LargeAddick

Pedro45 said:

killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

Didn't Arsenal get promoted after finishing 13th?

Don't get me started on that !! In the top flight ever since but never actually achieved promotion into it.

CAFCsayer

Hate the idea, but hope it happens... Helps our chances of eventually making it back to the promiseland

LargeAddick

CombeMartin said:

Pedro45 said:

killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

Didn't Arsenal get promoted after finishing 13th?

The last time Arsenal got promoted was in 1915 when they finished 6th.

Piffle mate. Promoted in 1919 despite only finishing fifth in the season previously played. 

wolfgang

philcafc said:

The first thing the EFL should do is have 3 up and 3 down between League 2 and the National League.

No, the first thing the should do is merge League Two and the National League and divide them into two or three regional divisions. That teams with with tiny support should have to travel the length of the country to play oftentimes meaningless matches is absurd and morally wrong in these times of fuel shortages, floundering public transport and increasing poverty.

Richard J

I am probably in a minority , but I think it is a good idea.

Before the playoffs in most seasons around half of all teams would not have much to play for after Easter.. Making 8th place the.target.would keep the.seasin alive longer.

Iirc two clubs have got promoted since this was introduced. Grimsby ( at the expense of Wrexham) and Braintree in NL South. 

Both needed to win two away ties before contesting.a final.

I would say they both earned their promotion

LargeAddick

Don't agree with this. By going down to eighth you could have finished the season say 20 points behind third, or maybe more, then get promoted through a mixture of a couple of good performances, poor referee decisions and luck. Promotion should be a reward for a season of consistency meaning you finish sixth or higher. How long will it be before the play offs feature the top twelve?

I have absolutely no doubt it'll be voted in though. All owners will just see the lure of the PL gold and this makes it easier to achieve that.

cantersaddick

Pros: nice payday for a couple more teams who maybe wouldn't expect to go up. More teams with something to play for towards the end of the season. 

Cons: more games packed into the schedule. Season finish even later so you do go up even less time to do your transfer business.

Lewis Coaches

Play off games should be reduced,ie as it was in 1987.

what is being talked about now is just helping the bigger clubs , ie more places open for play offs.

EveshamAddick

Go back to 3 up and 3 down and ditch the play offs completely would be my preferred option.

Covered End

golfaddick said:

Callumcafc said:

https://x.com/theathleticfc/status/2021296943234716147

Clubs in the English Football League are set to vote on plans to expand the Championship play-offs to six teams at an extraordinary general meeting on March 5.

The proposal would follow a similar format to the National League play-offs, with the team that finishes fifth playing the eighth-place team and sixth meeting seventh in one-off ties at the home ground of the higher finishing club.

The winners would then progress to a two-legged semi-final tie against the teams who finished in third and fourth, before the final at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.

The aim is to reduce the number of meaningless games towards the end of the season, add two more high-profile games to the calendar and give more clubs a shot at promotion.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7036443/2026/02/10/championship-playoffs-vote-efl/

So you can get promoted by finishing 8th. That is bottom of the top quartile. 

Sounds like the Champions League where you qualify for finishing 4th.....or even 5th if certain conditions apply. 

What next.......teams that get knocked out of the FA Cup in the 1st round have a mini knockout tournament to see who goes through to round 2 just so their season isnt over in November. 

Please make it stop. 

Quartile is in effect quarter and there ain't 32 teams in The Championship!

ShootersHillGuru

Pedro45 said:

killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

Didn't Arsenal get promoted after finishing 13th?

Arsenal have never been out of top flight

ShootersHillGuru

Currently Bristol City are in eighth place which would under the new system be the last playoff place. They are on 46 points. You can go all the way down to 15th place, occupied by Swansea on 42 points who would still fancy getting into the playoffs. Would keep the season alive for more clubs a lot longer but I’m not sure it’s particularly fair. 

ForeverAddickted

ShootersHillGuru said:

Pedro45 said:

killerandflash said:

As the only team to ever stay in the top division via the playoffs, it would be fitting if we were the first team to get promoted to the top division after finishing 8th.

Didn't Arsenal get promoted after finishing 13th?

Arsenal have never been out of top flight

They were in Division 2 in 1914-15 and 1915-16, finishing 3rd and then 5th respectively. They also spent their first 11-years as a Division 2 team... When Football resumed in 1919-20, Arsenal were back in the top fight.

cafcnick1992

ShootersHillGuru said:

Currently Bristol City are in eighth place which would under the new system be the last playoff place. They are on 46 points. You can go all the way down to 15th place, occupied by Swansea on 42 points who would still fancy getting into the playoffs. Would keep the season alive for more clubs a lot longer but I’m not sure it’s particularly fair. 

It just devalues the regular season if all the drama is actually reserved for a small playoff series at the end. This is a massive problem in American sports and we don't want that here.

LargeAddick

EveshamAddick said:

Go back to 3 up and 3 down and ditch the play offs completely would be my preferred option.

Despite the fact our last two promotions have been via the play offs and a trip to Wembley? I’d keep it as is, no need to change what isn’t broken.

AddicksAddict

golfaddick said:

Callumcafc said:

https://x.com/theathleticfc/status/2021296943234716147

Clubs in the English Football League are set to vote on plans to expand the Championship play-offs to six teams at an extraordinary general meeting on March 5.

The proposal would follow a similar format to the National League play-offs, with the team that finishes fifth playing the eighth-place team and sixth meeting seventh in one-off ties at the home ground of the higher finishing club.

The winners would then progress to a two-legged semi-final tie against the teams who finished in third and fourth, before the final at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.

The aim is to reduce the number of meaningless games towards the end of the season, add two more high-profile games to the calendar and give more clubs a shot at promotion.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7036443/2026/02/10/championship-playoffs-vote-efl/

So you can get promoted by finishing 8th. That is bottom of the top quartile. 

Sounds like the Champions League where you qualify for finishing 4th.....or even 5th if certain conditions apply. 

What next.......teams that get knocked out of the FA Cup in the 1st round have a mini knockout tournament to see who goes through to round 2 just so their season isnt over in November. 

Please make it stop. 

Quarter of 24 is 6, not 8.

jimmymelrose

The whole debate about the play-offs centres on two critical arguments:

Argument 1: 3rd place should go up as they have proven over the season to be the better team.

Argument 2: Play-offs make the regular season more interesting as it gives more teams something to play for.

The further down the table you allow teams to qualify, the more you actually weaken Argument 2 because although you give more hope to mid table teams, you also possibly weaken the motivation for teams in 3rd-5th/6th place. If you go into your last 5 games already too far behind 2nd place but many points ahead of 9th place then the interest for these teams is decreased which therefore lowers excitement in the league rather than increases it. 

This season it looks like one of Middlesbrough, Coventry or Ipswich is going to miss out on automatic promotion. One of them may get to within 3-5 games of the end of the season and where's the excitement? 
You’ll have top teams resting players, and lack of interest in the top teams to the benefit of mid-table teams.

Moden football administrators are like small children who think that adding more makes everything better. Instead, like FIFA, the EFL will just dilute the flavour. Idiots all of them, and will lead to a decrease, not an increase, in interest and excitement. 

sam3110

Shite idea.

I'd go further and make it a really shite idea, and drag a couple more teams into it from the league above, so bottom 2 go down, top 2 go up, and then 3rd-8th and the next bottom 2 from the Prem go into a 8 team tournament.

17th Vs 8th = Winner 1
18th Vs 7th = Winner 2
3rd Vs 6th = Winner 3
4th Vs 5th = Winner 4

Winner 1 Vs Winner 4 
Winner 2 Vs Winner 3

Those 2 teams are in the Prem, rest into the championship

So yes, the team in 8th can get promoted, but would have to beat a prem team and a higher ranked championship team to do so. 

Finishing third gives you a slightly better chance still because you play the worse of the Prem teams or teams further below you in the league. Can make it single elimination games or over 2 legs in the first round, and then have 2 games at Wembley for the other round if desired

Zulu

if it means we have a better chance of promotion, then go for it.