‘Points-per-game’ is just the wrong way to settle things

Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony insists awarding automatic promotion and play-off places on the basis of a points-per-game (PPG) average is just ‘plain wrong’.

Posh would drop a place to seventh and miss out on the play-offs should such a formula be employed to determine the final 2019-20 League One positions.

League Two clubs voted to adopt an unweighted PPG formula last week, but the move has still to be ratified by the EFL and the FA.

MacAnthony now appears to be pinning his promotion hopes on a play-off programme expanded to include eight teams.

MacAnthony said: “Just because League Two clubs have voted for PPG, it doesn’t necessarily follow League One clubs follow suit.

“The fat lady is not singing yet. There is still plenty to debate and many mid-table clubs are backing our stance.

“There was an openness at the last EFL meeting which was good and I get the reasoning used by clubs who don’t want to play. There were no raised voices at the meeting. It was just every club speaking out on the options we have to settle the season.

“We didn’t even have a vote on anything, but the right thing to do is still to play on whenever that’s possible.

“If they use points per game to decide final placings it would mean we were screwed out of the play-offs as well as denied a chance to push for promotion. That would be deflating.

“We have lost three of our last 10 games, we have nine matches left and five are at home. We really fancy automatic promotion with the games we have left so how can it be right that the chance of promotion is just taken away from us?

“There are too many relevant factors that are ignored by using PPG. Wycombe would move above us under PPG, but their game in hand is at Coventry who have lost three times all season. Who decides they would win that game and move up to third?

“It’s just wrong on so many fronts.

“I even suggested if we had play-offs we should go for broke and have an 8-10 team tournament with matches live on Sky to determine who joins the top two in the Championship.

“It would be exciting, teams would make some money and we would at least settle the argument on the field.

“If the EFL think they have to promote the top two then go ahead, but at least give the rest of us some hope.”

EFL chiefs have come in for plenty of criticism for the way they have handled the current crisis. Posh director of football Barry Fry has described the leadership shown by the governing body as ‘non-existent’.