Promotion and relegation 2019/20 season

[Medway Blue]

I wonder if a solution might be to play out the remaining fixtures for this season whenever it is safe to do so. Then have a shortened special season for 2020/21 with fewer fixtures with perhaps only playing each side once.

Disastrous for season ticket and matchday income of lower league clubs.

 

[Westcliff DGS]

I wonder if a solution might be to play out the remaining fixtures for this season whenever it is safe to do so. Then have a shortened special season for 2020/21 with fewer fixtures with perhaps only playing each side once.

You could do similar by cancelling all the cups and playing each other twice still.

 

[kentblues]

You could do similar by cancelling all the cups and playing each other twice still.

The playing each other once would certainly be consistent with the EFL’s clear objective of driving as many clubs as possible out of business..cancelling cups wouldn’t be so damaging financially but will still hit clubs hard in the pocket.

We could as an alternative cancel this season saving clubs money on unnecessary contract extensions and the cost of behind closed doors matches, whilst continuing to benefit from furlough, and then have a full new season with cups as well.. obviously this for the EFL has the disadvantage of allowing clubs to plan and stay in business..

 

[USAShrimper]

How about something radical, like absorbing L1, L2 and the National League together.
Then split them into 4 regional leagues, North, South, East & West. The winner of each division would be promoted to the Championship, with the 4 relegated teams being realigned to a regional division. Less travel, more derby games, less expenses. There would have to be a loosening of ground rules and other considerations. There is a real opportunity to restructure the EFL now, It can't just keep lumbering on as normal.

 

[kentblues]

How about something radical, like absorbing L1, L2 and the National League together.
Then split them into 4 regional leagues, North, South, East & West. The winner of each division would be promoted to the Championship, with the 4 relegated teams being realigned to a regional division. Less travel, more derby games, less expenses. There would have to be a loosening of ground rules and other considerations. There is a real opportunity to restructure the EFL now, It can't just keep lumbering on as normal.

The leagues would be of very different strengths and some a lot easier to get out of than others- national based leagues takes this problem away

 

[Justleavingwork]

The leagues would be of very different strengths and some a lot easier to get out of than others- national based leagues takes this problem away

I like the proposal, you would need to do super playoff mini league for the top 5 of each league and the three/four top clubs to be promoted

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

How about something radical, like absorbing L1, L2 and the National League together.
Then split them into 4 regional leagues, North, South, East & West. The winner of each division would be promoted to the Championship, with the 4 relegated teams being realigned to a regional division. Less travel, more derby games, less expenses. There would have to be a loosening of ground rules and other considerations. There is a real opportunity to restructure the EFL now, It can't just keep lumbering on as normal.

With 4 regional divisions there would be need to move teams around to balance the divisions every season.
'Central' teams could end up being in the 4 different regions over the course of 4 seasons.

Only 1 promotion place and 1 relegation place each season would leave many dead rubber games. That was one of the problem with the old Div 3 North and South.

 

[USAShrimper]

The leagues would be of very different strengths and some a lot easier to get out of than others- national based leagues takes this problem away

I think all criticisms of this proposal are valid. However, my suggestion is a long term model that would be able to reinvent and enhance itself over an extended period of time. That's what the FA & Football League have been able to do over the last 30 years. I guess I've got too much time on my hands with this lock down. The thrust of my idea is that there is a real opportunity to "reinvent the wheel" that is lower league football in England.

 

[Westcliff DGS]

The playing each other once would certainly be consistent with the EFL’s clear objective of driving as many clubs as possible out of business..cancelling cups wouldn’t be so damaging financially but will still hit clubs hard in the pocket.

We could as an alternative cancel this season saving clubs money on unnecessary contract extensions and the cost of behind closed doors matches, whilst continuing to benefit from furlough, and then have a full new season with cups as well.. obviously this for the EFL has the disadvantage of allowing clubs to plan and stay in business..

We could cancel the season, as I said on other thread there are 3 options. Void the season, cancel and standings stay as are or play the season. Non would be populnar with everyone.

UEFA are the ones saying they want the season finished now so maybe for once, and I can’t believe I am saying this, it isn’t lol on the FA

 

[Westcliff DGS]

One of the problems with regional leagues is what happens say if 2 or more teams from the same region got relegated from the championship you could put them with too much travel as that negates on of the reasons for having the regional leagues

im not old enough to remember fully but think that was one of the reasons years for why they got rid of a north and south division

 

[Streaky]

How about something radical, like absorbing L1, L2 and the National League together.
Then split them into 4 regional leagues, North, South, East & West. The winner of each division would be promoted to the Championship, with the 4 relegated teams being realigned to a regional division. Less travel, more derby games, less expenses. There would have to be a loosening of ground rules and other considerations. There is a real opportunity to restructure the EFL now, It can't just keep lumbering on as normal.

Would you consider bringing in the Scottish leagues at the same time?

I guess you would get a few problems like Southend - could be in the Southern league or the East league.

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

A friend of mine suggested that you cancel the season now, allow all those clubs in the automatic promotion positions to go up, but no relegation. You then play next season out but have an appropriate amount of relegation places in each division to restore the numbers again for the following season.

An interesting idea to throw into the mix, but can still see it open to legal challenge by those close to the automatics.

 

[Kestrel]

A friend of mine suggested that you cancel the season now, allow all those clubs in the automatic promotion positions to go up, but no relegation. You then play next season out but have an appropriate amount of relegation places in each division to restore the numbers again for the following season.

An interesting idea to throw into the mix, but can still see it open to legal challenge by those close to the automatics.

I suggested something very similar 4 weeks ago - message #68

Southend United are STAYING UP....That's Official

Greg Clarke (The FA Chairman), has gone on record saying that he cannot see how the football season can be completed this season and that there is no alternative but to null and void the season. Emergency meeting to be held next Thursday, which will discuss the real possibility of voiding this...

www.shrimperzone.com

 

[MK Shrimper]

Southend to Exeter is further than Southend to Crewe and one would be in the same league as us and one wouldn't. Not sure the regional thing works. There's not enough teams in the SW to justify a league for just that region of the UK.

 

[rigsby]

Southend to Exeter is further than Southend to Crewe and one would be in the same league as us and one wouldn't. Not sure the regional thing works. There's not enough teams in the SW to justify a league for just that region of the UK.

Sunderland is further than Exeter. So is Fleeetwood, Blackpool, Bolton, Rochdale and Tranmere......Of course regional leagues work.

PL, Championship and L1. Then L2 North and South would be better than 3 regional leagues going straight into the Championship. If that happened the financial jump would be to big because 3 regional leagues would not have much interest from the all important TV companies.

 

[MK Shrimper]

So where would you draw the line? Peterborough is further north geographically than Coventry. Peterborough would play in the Southern league, Coventry in the northern. How does that make sense?

 

[BriggBlue]

Regional leagues shouldn't exist in the the professional game in the 21st century, fans no longer live and work just down the road from the football club they support and therefore travel to the game.

besides it actually makes the problem worse as the national leagues would get more advertising and TV money and therefore the step-up will be much much bigger.

the real problem is too much money at the top of the game and it doesn't get passed down to the lower leagues, the only way to sort that out is introduce budget caps for the prem but that is never going to happen

 

[Zeuss]

A friend of mine suggested that you cancel the season now, allow all those clubs in the automatic promotion positions to go up, but no relegation. You then play next season out but have an appropriate amount of relegation places in each division to restore the numbers again for the following season.

An interesting idea to throw into the mix, but can still see it open to legal challenge by those close to the automatics.

I don’t think you can have read my original introduction of this thread which suggests (almost) exactly this ! With some detail.
I’ve been reading all the discussion and possible alternatives but remain convinced that this is the best way forwards.
Whatever gets decided,legal challenges cannot be ruled out.

 

[jim]

I am sure other people remember Bishop Stortford based in Hertfordshire played in the Conference North about ten years ago.

 

[tallboyblue]

It’s too complicated, keep it simple void the season and start all over again as soon as possible.