r/SerieB

Sarà Monza - Juve Stabia alle semifinali!

These are single-legged matches; in case of a draw, the match will go to extra time, and if it is still a draw, the best-placed team advances.

This season has been extremely uncertain even for Serie B standards. With 90 minutes remaining, the last promotion spot, the last playoff spot, the two teams in the playouts and the three relegated teams are still to be determined. What do you think is going to happen tonight?

I have seen this issue being brought up mainly by Palermo and Monza fans: "it's absurd that a team who just barely missed out on promotion must face teams 30 points below them who were never anywhere close to promotion".

Now, the typical counterargument is "well, those are the rules"; but are the rules fair?

Between 2013/14 and 2016/17, the rule on the margin to avoid the playoffs was slightly different: 3rd-placed promoted if at least 10 points clear of the 4th, otherwise the playoffs would be played including all the teams, up to the 8th-placed, within 14 points of the 3rd.

After four seasons in which six teams always qualified, the league decided that six teams in the playoffs were good and went for the current implementation: either there are more than 14 points between 3rd and 4th, or all teams up to the 8th enter the playoffs even if they are more than 14 points below the 3rd.

Things have always been pretty close; even with the old rules, only in 2022/23 and 2023/24 we would have had a 4-team playoff, with 6-team playoffs in all other seasons. And then there is this season, where there are 13 (!) points between the 4th and the 5th, but since the 3rd and the 4th were so close to each other, Avellino can enter the playoffs while ending 27 points below Monza.

With the old rules, there would have been a Monza-Palermo final: maybe the league would have been a bit less interesting, but such a playoff would have been more reflective of the exceptionality of this season. The 14-point perimeter allowed to take such exceptionality into account, while eliminating the perverse incentive to lose to the 4th-placed team if you are in playoff positions.

Of course, nothing will ever happen: the current 14-point rule makes the playoffs almost certain and with 6 teams participating the league gets more money. However, would you prefer a return to the old rules?

La Sampdoria, dopo questa vittoria di misura contro i Tirloesi, si possono dichiarare ufficialmente salvi a quota 44 PUNTI.

Abildgaard, autore del gol nel primo tempo e Martinelli, protagonista di parate utili per la vittoria.

Prima di risalutarci ad Agosto, dico:

SE VEDEMMU 💙

handbrake on, chocks under the wheels, fuel tank empty. they're parking and not going anywhere

(they only need a point to avoid direct relegation)

Secondo La Repubblica, Mancini e Lombardo sono a rischio addio a causa della popolarità che ostacola rivoluzioni. I primi sostituti di Lombardo sono:

-Lars Friis, allenatore Danese in scadenza al Cercle Brugge. Il suo approccio tattico é quella di un gioco che si sviluppa in verticale e pressing alto con un 3-4-3 o un 3-5-2

-Alberto Aquilani, allenatore italiano del Catanzaro che si basa su un calcio rapido con possesso palla e difesa a 4 con i terzini che a volte partecipano all'attacco

-Ignazio Abate, allenatore italiano della Juve Stabia con un passato al Milan. Il suo calcio é basato sulla costruzione dal basso e un pressing organizzato con formazioni ibride, simili a 3-4-2-1 o 3-2-5

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Cosa fareste voi?

secondo quanto scrive l’edizione genovese de La Repubblica, ci sarebbero, al momento differenze di vedute tra Nathan Walker e Jesper Fredberg. Il rappresentante degli azionisti, infatti, secondo il quotidiano, non vorrebbe più Andrea Mancini come direttore sportivo. Il danese, al contempo, ha già avuto contatti con possibili sostituti come Americo Branco (ex DS Portoghese del Fortuna Sittard), ma non sembrerebbe dispiaciuto all’idea di proseguire con il ds con cui quest’anno ha lavorato, premiando, quindi, la linea della continuità.

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Cosa ne pensate?

If any of Pescara, Reggiana or Bari win and Spezia lose, Spezia go down.