Ex-Black Cat Goodman proposes new system for deciding promotion

Former Sunderland striker Don Goodman has proposed an intriguing solution to decide the League One campaign – that would go beyond just the much-mooted pointsper-game system.

Goodman, a prominent Football League (EFL) pundit on Sky Sports, believes that sides should also be judged on how they have fared against teams in each of the tables when the final standings are calculated.

The League One campaign is expected to be ended this week, with it looking increasingly unlikely that all fixtures will be able to be completed by the EFL’s deadline of July 31.

And with promotion and relegation set to be decided on sporting merit, Goodman has a solution which he feels will ensure fairness across the board.

"There are some clubs that will have games in hand, and no one knows what the outcome of those games in hand would have been," said Goodman, speaking to Sky Sports.

"If it is going to be a points-per-game scenario, I think average home and away points-per-game has to be a factor.

"I would go even further and throw into the mix how well sides have done against teams in the top half and those they have played in the bottom half, on average, and then make a calculation based on all of those factors.

"That's probably as close as you are going to get to fairness, as there are going to be clubs who still have to play the top teams and those that have all the bottom teams to play.

"There's no perfect solution but I am glad I am not the one making these decisions!"

Goodman – who made more than 100 appearances for the Black Cats in the early 90s, and also played for Bradford City, West Brom, Wolves, Walsall and Exeter City – also proposed a play-off between sides in promotion contention to decide two of the three promotion spots that look set to be available.

“A play-off would be unfair on Coventry (City), who are seven points clear of the third-placed team with a game in hand," he added.

"But with the other clubs below, could we manipulate some kind of play-off scenario where we get two clubs promoted from those?”

Coventry currently top League One, with Rotherham United in second place.