Monday Musings - Promotion fever or fright?
Monday, 3rd Mar 2008 16:19 by Paul Redfern

Last week a Hull City fan wrote in to Teletext to say he didn't want them to go up as he didn't want his team to do a “Derby”.

He cannot be the only one. There must be several fans, particularly those of Stoke, Bristol City and Plymouth who are uneasily eyeing the league table and having mixed feelings about the prospect of getting into the Premiership. Of particular concern would be acquiring the unwelcome prospect of “beating” Derby's record and gaining (?) the lowest ever points total. A more general concern would be the impact of the ravages of the Premiership on the team and on the fan base.

Those of West Brom and Charlton are more likely to have more positive views having experienced Premiership life, and fancy another stab at it. They at least know that it can be successful, even if success is measured by a place five points above the relegated teams.

Watford and Ipswich fans are probably more likely to accept that even if they got into the Premiership they would probably come straight back down, but at least they would hope to avoid the ignominy of the lowest points total.

Promotion fright is not unknown. There have been several cases of teams leading the Second Division (now the Championship) up to around February or March only to fall away mysteriously in the final weeks. This, of course, led to speculation that the club chairmen were too nervous of going up as it involved stretching finances beyond their means. The parachute money has reduced this kind of nervousness and if memory serves me right there has been very little talk of promotion fright since then.

However, I do wonder now if this kind of nervousness may make a comeback despite the parachute money as no-one at the Board level wants to be saddled with an unenviable record, a disgruntled fan base, an utterly demoralised squad that needs a radical makeover, and maybe a few players that signed up to lucrative deals who can't be moved on as their wages are too high for other clubs – a la Ravanelli.

That led me to start daydreaming – what if the top three or four all suddenly got promotion fright and started to try and lose so they could get into the play-offs (and get a bit of extra money at no risk) but make sure they didn't win?

What if the last match of the season proper was between two teams supposedly vying for the coveted second spot and their respective managers told their teams to on no account win. What if the play-off final was between two teams not wanting to win? We would be treated to a spectacle of teams trying to lose. Think it can't happen? How about Austria and Germany 1982 when Germany needed a win while Austria needed to avoid defeat by four goals. The match was a farce with each team playing out a 1-0 win for Germany for 79 minutes.

What if it got so bad, that the top five or six teams all suddenly lost interest in the final three or four games – losing them all in the process and they were replaced by complete no-hopers from mid-table that put together a run of two wins and two draws only to find themselves promoted?

Could the club chairmen then issue a writ for wrongful promotion? Appeal to FIFA? Take the FA to High Court on the basis that they had the right not to accept the promotion citing the mental and physical damage that would be done to their club?

I know it sounds ridiculous but last year we saw Sheffield United going to Court alleging unfair practices by West Ham. Who would have thought ten years ago that this kind of law action would take place? Could it be possible that teams that don't want to do a “Derby” can take court action to avoid being promoted?

Stranger things have happened and with the greed so prevalent in the Premiership and the blatant favouritism shown to the big clubs by the powers that be, I for one would not bet against it happening.