Play Offs Quarter Finals

[MAD_MAGPIE]

It is a bit weird that a team can finish 30 points higher over the course of an entire season, but all that no longer counts, and instead a couple of one-off matched decide who gets promoted. Notts clearly deserve to be playing a division higher, not Boreham Wood or Bromley or whoever. We're clearly better than those teams because the table tells us so. Yet here we are.

On the flipside, I do understand that playoffs keep a sense of competition alive and make a season exciting right until the end. But in terms of pure sporting fairness and integrity, it doesn't hold up well.

I suppose everyone knows the rules to begin with, so we can't have much to complain about.

What it has done is open up the conversation about two automatic promotion places at this level when you have two teams finishing on +105 points.

It’s about time the national league was realigned with other leagues and we have three up and three down from L2.

If that were the case we would have secured automatic promotion as runners up which in sporting terms is fair. A runner up in any professional football league should get automatic promotion.

If it were three down from L2 Crawley and Wimbledon would be fighting it out on the last day. Herein lies the problem. Turkeys voting for Christmas. The question is are either of those two teams better than Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley or Chesterfield? Doubtful.

The evidence is there from those that come down and those that go up. Look in recent years Southend, Oldham, Sc.unthorpe. The exception being Grimsby who bounced straight back neither have set this league alight. For Sc.unthorpe they’ve not been able to halt their slide. In the other direction nobody has returned in the time we’ve been in this league apart from Hartlepool who have had three seasons in L2. They couldn’t carry on what Dave Challinor started.

Will anything change? Or when all has been sorted and the dust has settled will this season be confined to the history books as one of the most freakiest seasons in National League or even professional football history?

[Notts78]

What it has done is open up the conversation about two automatic promotion places at this level when you have two teams finishing on +105 points.

It’s about time the national league was realigned with other leagues and we have three up and three down from L2.

If that were the case we would have secured automatic promotion as runners up which in sporting terms is fair. A runner up in any professional football league should get automatic promotion.

If it were three down from L2 Crawley and Wimbledon would be fighting it out on the last day. Herein lies the problem. Turkeys voting for Christmas. The question is are either of those two teams better than Barnet, Boreham Wood, Bromley or Chesterfield? Doubtful.

The evidence is there from those that come down and those that go up. Look in recent years Southend, Oldham, Sc.unthorpe. The exception being Grimsby who bounced straight back neither have set this league alight. For Sc.unthorpe they’ve not been able to halt their slide. In the other direction nobody has returned in the time we’ve been in this league apart from Hartlepool who have had three seasons in L2. They couldn’t carry on what Dave Challinor started.

What’s worse is that statistically you have a greater chance of being relegated from the National League. League 2 wants everything their way. 4 up but 2 down. Yet our league is 2 up and 4 down.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

What’s worse is that statistically you have a greater chance of being relegated from the National League. League 2 wants everything their way. 4 up but 2 down. Yet our league is 2 up and 4 down.

That’s a good point about the four promotion places from L2 as well. It’s the closest there is to a closed shop between L2 and National League.

They could rebrand the National League to L3 and have three up and four down. Part of the requirement for gaining entry into L3 would be having to turn full time professional if not already.

With the likes of Yeovil and Sc.unthorpe getting relegated if they stay professional then the quality in tier six improves as well.

[countygump]

That’s a good point about the four promotion places from L2 as well. It’s the closest there is to a closed shop between L2 and National League.

They could rebrand the National League to L3 and have three up and four down. Part of the requirement for gaining entry into L3 would be having to turn full time professional if not already.

With the likes of Yeovil and Sc.unthorpe getting relegated if they stay professional then the quality in tier six improves as well.

People keep telling me there's a good chance of 3 up/3 down being introduced in the NL next season, I'll believe it when I see it. One thing you can be sure of, if we get promo, it will be introduced, if we don't, it won't.

[Elite_Pie]

Will anything change? Or when all has been sorted and the dust has settled will this season be confined to the history books as one of the most freakiest seasons in National League or even professional football history?

Probably the latter. It will change eventually because it's merited, the NL is now a genuine Division 5. What might have hurried the change is if we had got top spot and Wrexham didn't go up via the playoffs. Wrexham will probably get more publicity than the other 23 League 2 teams put together, and will enhance League 2 massively. If the vote for change is down to the clubs, the votes will be based on self interest alone. The EFL need to push it, why would they want to deny such as Notts, Chesterfield, Oldham, Southend etc being part of their product simply to retain clubs like Crawley?

[Glad2BeAPie]

The best team will ultimately win the play offs, and the league position and stats show that to be Notts

[Elite_Pie]

The best team will ultimately win the play offs, and the league position and stats show that to be Notts

If only it was that simple.

The big problem is that the best team in terms of league position doesn't always win.

[countygump]

Just noticed Alfreton Town v Kidderminster Harriers is on National League TV tonight, NLN P/O QF.

[keldsyke]

If only it was that simple.

The big problem is that the best team in terms of league position doesn't always win.

Very true, just watching the build up
To the Barnet v Boreham game and you forget how much experience Boreham have with the Play-Offs in very recent years. We need to be at our best and not gift goals like they’ve just shown from the match at Meadow Lane against whoever we face!

[tommopie8]

Pretty sure Notts were one of the clubs that voted against expanding it to 3 up 3 down when we were in the football league.

I reckon we haven't finished 90th out of 92 since the vote but we've finished 2nd now, so backfired in hindsight.

I do think the play-offs need remodeling. 1st and 2nd automatic promotion, 3rd and 4th play a two-legged semi final and winner plays 3rd bottom of League Two in a promotion / relegation decider.

L2 and NL are already different from the rest of the EFL in terms of system and it's only the Championship that has a 3 up 3 down policy.

Wouldn't suggest that play-off format for the Premier League simply because of the gulf between those teams and those in the Championship not receiving parachute payments.