English Promotion Play Offs

[Scott7 5,161]

Should be interesting with four big names Villa and WBA, Derby and Leeds but the actual football is likely to be cautious with so much at stake. 

 

I like West Brom but I’ve not forgiven them for downing tools when they got to a position of comfort over two seasons ago. Villa should manage to get past them. With their resources they should have been contending for outright promotion but they can’t seem to get things right so they will be defeated by the winners of Leeds/Derby.

 

Derby have momentum. I think they’ll go up.

[Gribz 743]

Really tough to call. I would say Derby having momentum will get past Leeds who have ran out of steam although I would like to see Leeds back up in the top flight.

 

Im taking West Brom over Villa so a West Brom v Derby final for me.

[Rousseau 9,370]

Leeds are done, unfortunately. Bielsa sides do burn out at the end of seasons.

 

West Brom are under a caretaker manager, so I think Villa will get past them. Villa have been on good form too.

 

Villa have smashed Derby in both games this season, and although anything can happen, I see Villa being too strong for Derby.

[Rousseau 9,370]

Three predictions, three different winners. 

 

That shows you how competitive it is!

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,476]

The momentum argument isn't backed up by facts. Over the 20 odd years of the play offs , the highest percentage of winners are teams who were 3rd ie. The teams that as just losing out and regarded as losing momentum

[buster. 4,808]

2 minutes ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

The momentum argument isn't backed up by facts. Over the 20 odd years of the play offs , the highest percentage of winners are teams who were 3rd ie. The teams that as just losing out and regarded as losing momentum

I reckon the end of the regular season can be a psychological stop, think and go again.

 

Hence the play-off mind-set tends to be different and momentum from what has gone before often goes out of the window.

[buster. 4,808]

Just to add, I think man-management becomes more important in the play-offs.

 

The only guy to have won something is Bielsa, so I'll go against the odds and take Leeds. 

[compo 6,132]

12 hours ago, Scott7 said:

Should be interesting with four big names Villa and WBA, Derby and Leeds but the actual football is likely to be cautious with so much at stake. 

 

I like West Brom but I’ve not forgiven them for downing tools when they got to a position of comfort over two seasons ago. Villa should manage to get past them. With their resources they should have been contending for outright promotion but they can’t seem to get things right so they will be defeated by the winners of Leeds/Derby.

 

Derby have momentum. I think they’ll go up.

The final usually turns out to be a very good game as well  .

[Scott7 5,161]

1 hour ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

The momentum argument isn't backed up by facts. Over the 20 odd years of the play offs , the highest percentage of winners are teams who were 3rd ie. The teams that as just losing out and regarded as losing momentum

That’s an interesting fact.

 

I wonder how many of the third place finishers had fallen out of the top two and how many had surged up from lower places.

 

This isn’t a demand for clarity, BSRT. If I’m too lazy to check for myself, I’ll just have to wonder.

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,476]

1 minute ago, Scott7 said:

That’s an interesting fact.

 

I wonder how many of the third place finishers had fallen out of the top two and how many had surged up from lower places.

 

This isn’t a demand for clarity, BSRT. If I’m too lazy to check for myself, I’ll just have to wonder.

I'm not sure Scott7 tbh. With regards to the overall point of "momentum" I wonder do teams get more momentum/confidence from a good semi final victory as opposed to just scraping through? I suppose at the end of the day it comes who turns up on that particular day.