Tractor boys are top.

[TheOstrich]

The play-off system is widely used in non-league football as well, but there has been a lot of disquiet about it this year.

Because various teams have been deemed "ineligible" for promotion, i.e because they're reserve sides, they don't meeting ground-grading criteria, they fielded an illegible player earlier in the year and its only just been discovered, etc., some teams finishing as low as 7th in a division have found themselves catapulted into the playoffs ......

[Workingman]

Why do we have play-offs anyway? Money?

Two or three up and down worked. The best teams got promoted and the worst got relegated. Job done.

And if we have to have play-offs why not have relegation play-offs? Bottom two go down automatically, but the next four useless teams go into play-off mode.

[TheOstrich]

Well, it can't be denied money is a factor ..... and these playoffs attract the crowds.

Attendances last night (Tuesday), taken as a snapshot from match reports on the non-league football forum I inhabit:

Hellenic Premier League Play-Off Final: Royal Wootton Bassett Town 0-4 Cinderford Town - attendance 934
Isthmian South East play off: Ramsgate v Chichester City 0 - 1. Attendance: 1462.
NPL West Play Off Semi Final: Runcorn Linnets 0 City of Liverpool 2. Attendance Full House 1600
NPL West Play-Off Semi-Final: Prescot Cables 1-0 Bootle (aet). Attendance: 2,035 (highest in the 21st century)
SCEFL Premier Play Off Semi Final. Glebe 1 v 2 Erith Town - Att. 450 (looked more)
NPL Midlands Play-off Semi Final. Harborough Town 1 - 1 Leicester Road (Harborough win 4-2 on pens) Attendance: 706

Some non-league play off attendances last Saturday were over the 2,000 mark

And Master O was going to go online at 20:00 this evening in an attempt to get a ticket for the NPL South's Worthing v Braintree Town all-ticket play-off final this coming Saturday.
He's just emailed me: "Took ages as the website kept crashing but I got the tickets!!!!"

And I think I'm going to have to make an early start if I want to get to Saturday's Western League Division 1 play off final down the road at Wincanton Town .......

[miasmum]

I like the sound of those play offs Frank and yes why don't we have playoffs for relegation too

[TheOstrich]

Saw that BBC News item with all those primary school kids cheering for Ipswich tonight.
Good luck for tomorrow!

[miasmum]

Thank you

I was just saying on one of the Ipswich facebook pages its seems unreal that we came up from League one in second place to Plymouth who were champions and they did brilliantly last year

Now we are on the brink of promotion and they are struggling in the relegation places

[Workingman]

Hearty congratulation to Ipswich.

You did a great job and nearly pipped Leicester for top spot. Well done.

Leeds now have to play the Norfies who were 17 points adrift. Then it's the winner of Saints v Baggies who were miles behind also rans.

We can lose this play-off stuff, we are professionals at it.

[miasmum]

thank you and so are we Frank and absolutely masters at losing to Norwich

I am so pleased for Kieran and the team and the fans.

So off we go for our season in the sun, (there's a song about that, the Cobblers fans used to sing it to Peterborough) and who knows where we will end up this time next year

But I will say this hand on heart there is nowhere like the Championship. I was said to leave last time, thrilled to be back and sad to go again.

If you stay down, just enjoy being in such a fantastic, closely matched league

[Workingman]

Cheers, Shell, enjoy your season(s) in the sun (Terry Jacks, the worst song ever).

The Champ is way better than the Prem - no VAR - to favour to the FA's favourite teams, and fewer plastic fans. Third league in Europa. Some teams get better crowds than even high-up Prem prima donna teams.

[TheOstrich]

Well done!