WHY I HATE THE PLAY OFFS

Thankfully in the English Premier League the team with the most points wins.

This season Manchester Utd. won rather comfortably.

How stupid it would be if at the end of the season they had to play the third placed team; Liverpool; for the right to play the winner of the Chelsea v Arsenal match, in order to win a Play Off game. Yes it is as ludicrous as it sounds.

Or maybe Sheffield United can play Wigan in a relegation playoff. Again,

ludicrous.

It's difficult to imagine any case in which the record of a team over 38 games can possibly not be an indicator of how good they are. The long haul of the EPL separates the wheat from the chaff. Sheffield United can bemoan the Tevez and Mascherano transfers and cry foul play but had they won one more of their 38 games the point would be moot.

Certainly, towards the end of the season; safe, mid-table teams have little but pride to play for.

Prize money does rise with your place in the table. The previous two seasons Chelsea won just over 9.6M GBP ($19M approx.) whilst the bottom team took home less than 0.5M GBP ($1M approx).

Quite a sum to be played for. 25% of the TV money is paid on a performance basis.

End of season excitement was also not in short supply, relegation and European places to be avoided or up for grabs. Plenty of reasons for a manager to motivate his squad on a Saturday afternoon.

The rest of the League is not so lucky. In the Championship, League One and League Two The top two (three in League Two) teams are promoted and the bottom three (four in League One, two in League Two) teams are relegated. The third (fourth in League Two) promotion spot in each division is won through the play off system.

With 24 teams in each of the lower divisions the games played in a season is 46. An arduous season for all the teams.

Come May when the final ball is kicked two teams are happy, promotion, more money and a different itinerary next season; new stadia to visit.

For the teams in places 3 through 6 it's a different world altogether.

In League two four teams go up so the play offs involve places 4 through 7.

Home and Away ties do mean guaranteed income for the clubs and that trip to Wembley is a nice juicy bonus.

However lucrative the play offs maybe it can't be hidden that they mock the effort of the third (fourth in League Two) place team in each division. Over the course of 46 games they have been proven to be the third best team in their respective division.

Points don't make prizes.

The TV and Money men of football have taken the paying public for idiots. They create phony product and generate the hype and marketing to flummox the public into thinking play offs are worthy, important and necessary.

Play offs are none of these things, they are just a great marketing con. Instead of the body of work in a season of 46 games being the benchmark for your success or failure you have to play another three games. Your whole season based on three games. Ludicrous.

Unfortunately they have become a part of the footballing landscape in the UK. Thankfully for now at least not in the English Premier League.

The way it played out this year was a terrible turn of events, as usual. In League Two Bristol Rovers attain Promotion to League One. They had 72 points, MK Dons on 84 points and Lincoln City on 74 must be particularly sickened.

In League One and The Championship things panned out better for the two third placed team. Derby County and Blackpool both won Promotion. Justice seemed to be done. Although going through all the play offs seemed just a touch superfluous.