Revamped play-offs to bring extra excitement, says former Premier League stars
Play-off expansion will create exciting final run-in
The potential extra excitement that the revamped Championship play-offs will provide next season has won the approval of two respected football pundits.
Clubs in the second tier voted to expand the play-offs from four teams to six in March.
It means a team finishing as far down as eighth or seventh in the final league table could find themselves playing Premier League football the following campaign.
The new play-off structure is weighted in favour of the teams finishing higher up the table, but former Premier League stars Danny Murphy and Wes Brown believe the expansion will mean more clubs will have something to play for in the final run-in.
Preston were in favour of the change. Manager Paul Heckingbottom said: “I think it is positive. If you finished third or fourth, you might feel hard done to if the eighth-placed team beat you. But is that not what we want, that excitement?”
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Murphy agreed. He told BetWright: “I like it because ultimately what you want is jeopardy in football.
“As it comes to the end of the season, you’re going to get bigger crowds because there’ll be an excitement that you might sneak in there (the play-offs).
“Ultimately, the bigger clubs in the division might find it a bit harsh, as they could go out to a team that’s 15 or 20 points below them.
“I understand that argument, but for the overall goodness of the game, I think it creates a more interesting final quarter of the season.”
And former Manchester United defender Brown told betTOM: “It brings more of a buzz.
“Do I like changing tradition? Not necessarily, but we might see better football because of it.”