The Play Offs

[Glostergull]

Darn it. we have lost 3 or 4 points at Boxing day and New years day. I enjoyed our local derbies against Forest Green. Tranmere might be a big club but a long way away. not that many fans travelled and it makes the league even tougher. oh well its looking more like a division 5 every year. wonder how long they will last in the league. feel sorry for Gloucester City as they will inevitably lose the floating/plastic fans to FGR.
And what Swindon fans will make of humus and badger burgers. vegan tea and the other muck instead of burgers well heavens only knows
ooh dear. the commos are talking about the arrogance of the big league teams coming down. not a thought about the arrogance of FGR toward those in our own league or below. Same ole same ole. and players swearing on live radio. ho that caught the commo out.Pot calling the kettle black.

[portugull]

Congratulations to FGR on a giant killing performance today against a much bigger Club in Tranmere Rovers.

Good luck next season in League 2. In the history of EFL this Club will come from the smallest population ever. Remarkable record.

[desperado]

Yeah, the team who we stuck 9 past and should have beaten twice, 4-3 and 5-3 are up
As Lucy said looks like Eastleigh at Xmas, or possibly Aldershot, we used to play them Boxing Day, remember
beating them 5-2 one Christmas and we beat them 5-2 away as well that season, Stubbs got 7 of them

[merse btpir]

Well done to FGR who played a brand of football almost unknown at this level of the game as far as I've seen this season.

People talk about the money they have thrown at it but be really honest and acknowledge that man for man they were just a normal sort of fifth tier footballers excellently coached and managed.

They do have a plan and they do have a future I would say and the very best of luck to some very nice people. I've never had anything but maximum enjoyment from a visit to Nailsworth ~ and there have been a few!

[brucie]

I've always enjoyed my visits to Forest Green but have found that their fans make so little noise I thought they were dead. Who would have thought that during the Buckle days it would be Forest Green who would bypass us.

As for playing an unknown brand of football - well its hardly worked all season has it?

Biggest budget by a mile and they have struggled at times this season.

As for arrogance - well Vince is a zoomer. What the feck was he dressed in?

After last years defeat by Grimsby he stated they would walk the league this year.

Yesterday he stated that "getting into League 1 will be easy" and they are bound for the Championship. Sounds like arrogance to me.

Looking at the state of us its all a bit hard to take really.

[SuperNickyWroe]

I've always enjoyed my visits to Forest Green but have found that their fans make so little noise I thought they were dead. Who would have thought that during the Buckle days it would be Forest Green who would bypass us.

As for playing an unknown brand of football - well its hardly worked all season has it?

Biggest budget by a mile and they have struggled at times this season.

As for arrogance - well Vince is a zoomer. What the feck was he dressed in?

After last years defeat by Grimsby he stated they would walk the league this year.

[highlight=yellow][highlight=yellow][highlight=yellow]Yesterday he stated that "getting into League 1 will be easy" and they are bound for the Championship[/highlight][/highlight][/highlight]. Sounds like arrogance to me.

Looking at the state of us its all a bit hard to take really.

agree Brucie. League 2 will not be a walk in the park.

[tomogull]

Like Hector, I am not a huge fan of the Play Offs but I accept that it maintains interest for clubs halfway down the table until the end of the season. Back in the 'good old days' (Wivel will remeber them) of two up, two down, interest tended to peter out for most clubs by about February so yes, that is a big plus in favour of the Play Offs. Gullscorers suggestion of eight up, eight down is an interesting angle. It will never happen of course but it would keep every club interested until the final match. I am told that in Scotland, the highest relegated side takes part in the play offs - i.e. if that happened this side of the border, the National League play offs would be between Port Vale, Tranmere, FGR and Dagenham. I think that's an interesting concept.

As for yesterday, without wishing to take away the euphoria of FGR fans, I really wanted Tranmere - a properly supported club - to go up as they deserved. Can you imagine it next season - Coventry v Forest Green Rovers. It wouldn't surprise me if they become the North Ferriby of Div 2 next season. In any case, when the money dries up when it eventually will, they will come tumbling down just as Rushden & Diamonds did.

[Neal]

I bet Tranmere spent a good deal this season and they didn't manage it. I have no evidence but it wouldn't surprise me if they spent far more than anyone else to get back to the FL in one go.

Money is not everything BUT it bl**dy well helps, and if you havnt got the money you better have a very good manager and committed staff from the bottom to the top. I would say we have committed staff at the bottom but not the top

[Neal]

And before some bright spark pipes up, Im not including KN as the top!!!!!!

[Bomber]

agree Brucie. League 2 will not be a walk in the park.

It wouldn't surprise me if Lincoln continue their journey under the Cowley brothers and win promotion to League One next season.

[merse btpir]

As for playing an unknown brand of football - well its hardly worked all season has it?
As for arrogance - well Vince is a zoomer. What the feck was he dressed in?
Yesterday he stated that "getting into League 1 will be easy" and they are bound for the Championship. Sounds like arrogance to me.

He didn't say it would be 'easy' he said it would be 'easier than getting out of the National League' on the basis that there are four promotion spots to League 1 and only two for League 2 from the NL......and that brand of football kept them in the mix all season did it not?

You're not seriously bothered at someone dressing 'below their age' are you? Bloody 'ell I'd better keep out of your way then!

[gateman49]

And with my cup half empty, it's also easier to get back into League 2 from League 1 than from League 2 to National League as we proved after Southend.

[happytorq]

Next Saturday, I will go to Sandy Park to watch Chiefs play Saracens, with home advantage for finishing 2nd, as opposed to the opposition's 3rd place. Chiefs get something for finishing higher.

In football, they probably would not want to do without the revenue of the two-legs. So, why not do as they do in baseball/ice hockey and play more than two legs? Play a three-leged tie, with the team finishing higher having two home games. If one team wins the first two games then there would be no need for a 3rd leg. Probably not the best idea but one that at least offers an advantage to the highest place team.

This doesn't really work unless you decide on a win-on-the-night system. That is, no draws. That would suck because for the away game, a team would probably play for penalties and that's a pretty poor spectacle.

I'd be in favour of one-off games where the higher-ranked team got to play at home, but even then you run the risk of having the same problem as I described above.

The play-offs have been tremendous for football. Without them there would be little interest at the end of the season as the middle 10-12 teams have nothing to play for. I even like the idea of a playoff to decide the last relegation spot (so iuf you finish 4th bottom you have to beat a team from the division below to stay up) although I don't exactly know how that work, logics-wise

[gateman49]

In the early days of the playoffs that last option was tried (I seem to remember Rotherham surviving a drop by winning against a team trying to climb up and over them)

[Jeff]

If you don't like the Playoff format that we have, try getting your head around that in the Italian Lega Pro (AKA their third tier).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016%E2%8 ... _play-offs

Finish 10th and you can still get a chance of promotion