NL Play-offs
Jun 11, 2017 8:34:40 GMT
Post by ChrisB on Jun 11, 2017 8:34:40 GMT
So the play-offs in the National League will now include the sides finishing from 2nd to 7th.
Personally I find it a very odd idea that a side finishing seventh after a possibly quite average season could go up ahead a second-placed side who might have fought out a great battle with the champions over a forty-plus match season.
This year two sides (Poole & Hungerford) from National South were barred from the play-offs on ground-grading issues and Hampton & Richmond made up the numbers from seventh place. So would the ninth (or tenth?!) placed team next season make up the numbers if a similar situation occurred? i.e. a play-off place from an essentially mid-table finish!
Have the clubs been pushing for this change for a long time - I'd not seen anything about it until very recently - or is this an idea floated by the League?
I can, of course, see that if the carrot of promotion was shown to clubs finishing even lower down the table than now then they'd probably vote for it. But is that a good reason for making the change?
Any thoughts?
Personally I find it a very odd idea that a side finishing seventh after a possibly quite average season could go up ahead a second-placed side who might have fought out a great battle with the champions over a forty-plus match season.
This year two sides (Poole & Hungerford) from National South were barred from the play-offs on ground-grading issues and Hampton & Richmond made up the numbers from seventh place. So would the ninth (or tenth?!) placed team next season make up the numbers if a similar situation occurred? i.e. a play-off place from an essentially mid-table finish!
Have the clubs been pushing for this change for a long time - I'd not seen anything about it until very recently - or is this an idea floated by the League?
I can, of course, see that if the carrot of promotion was shown to clubs finishing even lower down the table than now then they'd probably vote for it. But is that a good reason for making the change?
Any thoughts?