A radical 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.
It would see Nottingham Forest put into a northern Championship division, away from the likes of West Brom, Fulham and Brentford.
Instead, Sabri Lamouchi 's side would play in a truncated division, which would see them play teams no further south than local rivals Derby County.
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 teams 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,” says the Sun on Sunday report.
“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 plan could well take inspiration from what happens in non-league football, particularly in the National League.
Whilst the National League itself is a nationalised division, it feeds into a north and south division, with each of those having their own promotion and play-off spots.
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.
Here is how each division would look should they be split in two.
CHAMPIONSHIP
North: Barnsley, Blackburn, Derby, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Nottm Forest, Preston, Sheff Wed, Stoke, Wigan.
South: Birmingham, Brentford, Bristol City, Cardiff, Charlton, Fulham, Luton, Millwall, QPR, Reading, Swansea, West Brom.
LEAGUE ONE
North: Accrington, Blackpool, Bolton, Doncaster, Fleetwood, Lincoln City, Rochdale, Rotherham, Shrewsbury, Sunderland, Tranmere.
South: AFC Wimbledon, Bristol Rovers, Burton Albion, Coventry, Gillingham, Ipswich, MK Dons, Oxford Utd, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Southend, Wycombe.
LEAGUE TWO
North: Bradford, Carlisle, Crewe, Grimsby, Macclesfield, Mansfield, Morecambe, Oldham, Port Vale, Salford, Scunthorpe, Walsall.
South: Cambridge Utd, Cheltenham, Colchester, Crawley, Exeter, Forest Green, Leyton Orient, Newport Co, Northampton, Plymouth, Stevenage, Swindon.
