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At the 2026-27 EFL season launch in Manchester, several EFL players and managers gave their thoughts on the change.
Nigel Clough, manager of League One side Mansfield Town, expected the format to be used in League One and League Two in future seasons, but was not keen on the expansion.
“If you come third and are 20 points away from eighth and in the same competition for the last few
Wrexham finished nine points behind Southampton at the end of the regular season. Replacing Southampton in the play-offs was not a potential outcome of the EFL’s independent disciplinary commission.
But the club is monitoring the situation and will wait for the imminent release of the full written reasons of the verdict before considering if there is any course of action to take.
One option is that Wrexham – and other
When Sheffield Wednesday trailed Peterborough United 4-0 after the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final in 2023, it seemed like it was all over for the Owls.
Boss Darren Moore was not convinced though, so much so that he had his team preparing for all possibilities in the second leg.
“When I came in on the Monday, we finished training and I started taking penalty kicks with the
Warnock says one of his most memorable play-off triumphs came with Plymouth Argyle in 1996 as they won promotion from what is now League Two.
“I enjoyed Plymouth because it was the first time the Green Army had been to Wembley and they were always really supportive – I remember people queuing for tickets and the talk around the town,” he says.
But that victory was far from simple for
Southampton have been thrown out of the play-offs after admitting they spied on three clubs in the Championship season.
The EFL charged Saints with watching training sessions of Oxford United and Ipswich Town, in addition to filming Middlesbrough as they prepared for the first leg of their play-off semi-final on 7 May.
The independent disciplinary commission also handed Southampton a four-point deduction in the Championship for next season.
Saints will
Most of the attention around Middlesbrough’s statement on Friday will centre around the club wanting Southampton thrown out of the play-offs.
We sort of knew this anyway, of course, but Boro coming out and putting it on the record ramps up the story another notch.
But buried in the detail is one important fact: the Riverside club have not been named by the Independent Disciplinary Commission as an “interested party”.
Available for over a year
Play-off winners Tommy Smith, Lyle Taylor and Darrell Clarke are with Aaron Paul to celebrate 40 years of the play-offs.
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore joins the pod to reflect on one of the greatest playoff games of the last 40 years, the ‘Miracle of Hillsborough’, when the Owls came from beat Peterborough 5-1 in the second leg to overcome a 4-0 first leg
The EFL is desperate for the uncertainty to end.
But this is now in the hands of an independent disciplinary commission.
The process is managed by Sport Resolutions, an independent mediation company.
The panel is made up for three members. The chair is usually a judge, lawyer or barrister who is a KC or QC. They sit with two side members who are sports lawyers, barristers or mediators.
Appointments are
Win the first leg and keep clean sheets – how to stand a chance in the play-offs
This article was originally posted on https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/crmpj27ykklo
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In the 21 play-off campaigns since the Championship era began in 2004-05, the club finishing in third during the regular season has won promotion the most often.
Recent history shows that teams finishing in fourth place are well set up for promotion, too.
The past six Championship play-off winners have all finished in either third or fourth, of which four successful sides have finished in fourth spot.
With nine of
