So many domestic supporters longingly advocate the promotion-relegation system, and it really is difficult to argue the sentiment. The agonizing battles to stay up can be as glorious as the drive to win it all.
In reality, that structure would be a hard sell in America for a myriad of reasons. But the structure itself is stocking-stuffed with merit.
There is, however, a small nick in the Kevlar on this one, the one downer I see about promotion-relegation:
Mid-pack teams have nothing to play for at the moment. Look toward England, for instance.
Clint Dempsey scored (again!) Saturday as Fulham took down Norwich. Did it matter? For Dempsey it certainly did, as the Texan continues to build on the best season yet for any American in Premiership employment – any of them not wearing ‘keepers gloves, at least.
For his team? Meh.
Fulham isn’t going anywhere. Even with Saturday’s win on the last day of March, there’s just no way to see the Cottagers making up 14 points on Newcastle or Chelsea for sixth spot and a possible berth in European play next year.
On the other hand, they’ve done enough in 2011-12 to be safely free of the relegation monster. Only some epic collapse would see Martin Jol’s men of West London threatened by a drop into second-tied soccer.
So, Fulham’s got pride for which to play – but what else?
Same for Norwich, Stoke City, Swansea and Sunderland.
The promotion-relegation structure has its undeniable delights. But what if those mid-pack sides were stalking for a playoff position? That wouldn’t completely stink either, eh?
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- derekjetersmansion - Apr 1, 2012 at 1:12 PM
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Fulham wasn’t looking too good a month to 6 weeks ago.
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- joeyt360 - Apr 1, 2012 at 3:09 PM
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I don’t get it. Is this article about promotion and relegation. . . or is it about playoffs? Because you could have both, and in fact Mexico does.
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- paladinvt - Apr 1, 2012 at 5:15 PM
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Actually, BPL teams, especially smaller clubs like those listed, have a lot to play for since each place in the table is worth about $1,400,000.00 in prize money that comes from the league. Fulham, for example, is 4 points behind Everton in seventh and making up those four points could be worth almost $6,000,000.00, which means keeping existing players and maybe even buying a few.
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- joeyt360 - Apr 2, 2012 at 9:25 AM
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Yeah, but the fans don’t get paid for it. They get nothing out of the difference between 7th place and 17th place.
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- ndnut - Apr 1, 2012 at 6:31 PM
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Mid-pack teams in the U.S.A. Have nothing to play for either. In fact, the back of the pack plays without purpose here too! Promotion/Relegation would be an improvement for all U.S. sports leagues, with the possible exception of MLS (ironically). Major League Soccer just doesn’t have enough teams (at present) to warrant that kind of structure.
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- Ted Meyer - Apr 1, 2012 at 10:01 PM
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How can the mid-pack teams have nothing to play for when only about half the teams make the playoffs. Your comment makes no sense. It also has much more to do with business than enough teams.
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- ndnut - Apr 1, 2012 at 11:11 PM
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8 out of 19 make the playoffs. 12-15 seems like a fair mid-pack range for this league. I love my nation’s soccer, but promotion/Relegation is kind of a numbers game. If you expand to 20, you are left with two ten team leagues. 10 teams is not a league! While it sounds great in theory, the practice is not practical at this time! If they can grow to about 30 teams, this could work. I just don’t see it as something that could be implemented in under a decade.
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- joeyt360 - Apr 2, 2012 at 9:24 AM
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Em, 10 of 19 teams make the playoffs. Which means if you were in that pack, you were in the playoff hunt until probably the last week of the season.
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