North and South split for Tigers?
RADICAL PLAN SUGGESTED FOR CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS IN 2020-21
Aradical plan has emerged that would regionalise the Championship next season to cut down on travel and accommodation for clubs following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
With football’s finances being hit hard, the radical proposal would see each of the three divisions below the Premier League - the Championship, League One and League Two - divided into north and south sections.
According to a report in the Sun on Sunday, the plans would entail a series of play-off matches between the top teams in the north and the top sides in the south to determine promotion to the divisions above.
“A league revamp would involve the 12 teams in each sub-division clashing home and away before coming together for play-offs to decide promotion and perhaps relegation,” the Sun on Sunday report said.
“This would, in theory, reduce the risk of the competition having to shut down in the wake of new Covid-19 outbreaks. It would also cut travel and accommodation costs.”
These plans would see each team play only 11 home matches, compared to the 23 currently on the schedule, which would result in a huge decline in matchday revenue - although it’s also been suggested that it could be a year until fans will be allowed to be in attendance, so the match-day revenue argument would be redundant.
The proposal also has an eye on protecting the Carabao Cup, allowing the competition more space in the calendar to play the games because, at present, it looks as if it will be crowbarred into what is likely to be an extremely congested schedule next season.
Of course, this is just the latest of many suggestions pertaining to how the football landscape will be shaped when it eventually returns following the Covid-19 outbreak.
CHAMPIONSHIP NORTH: Barnsley, Blackburn, Derby, Huddersfield, HULL CITY, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Preston, Sheff Wednesday, Stoke, Wigan. SOUTH: Birmingham, Brentford, Bristol City, Cardiff, Charlton, Fulham, Luton, Millwall, QPR, Reading, Swansea, West Brom.