View: Unorthodox Collymore solution to PL confusion is unlikely to be popular with West Brom
West Brom are still no closer to knowing for sure how their promotion push will be resolved this season.
The Coronavirus pandemic has caused havoc across the length and breadth of professional football, and as yet, there has been no concrete indication on how the Premier League and the EFL plan to conclude their respective campaigns.
The clearest message yet came from EFL chairman Rick Parry earlier in the week, with the senior figure claiming that he still expects three teams to be promoted to the top flight.
But the details on how the governing bodies will actually decide which sides are eligible for promotion are still foggy at best.
Stan Collymore thinks he has found a viable solution, however.
Writing in a column for the Mirror, the former Aston Villa man has called for the season to be wound up now, with the Baggies to be promoted alongside Leeds United, and no Premier League sides being relegated.
That would lead to an expanded top flight of 22 teams next season.
He said: “Surely, we can wait two months if it means reducing the risk of spreading the virus.
“We could promote Leeds and West Brom from the Championship and say no relegation from the Premier League.
“That way we’ll have more games for broadcasters and more revenue for clubs next season to get things going again.”
But while there is a certain amount of logic to Collymore’s suggestion, it is unlikely to be a particularly popular one amongst those associated with Albion.
As reported by the Express and Star, Slaven Bilic has already told his players to be ready for a return to training next week – a sure sign that he is ready and eager to get things up and running again.
Moreover, the prospect of winning promotion properly, rather than having it handed out with an asterisk alongside it, is always going to a much more preferable outcome.
According to The Athletic, the prospect of an expanded top flight is unlikely to find favour amongst English footballing bosses either.
The outlet reported earlier in the week that the prospect of an overly congested fixture list would be enough to dissuade many from supporting the idea, while there could also be issues with distribution of central income.
Of course, this is a highly unconventional set of circumstances, and in some respects you have to credit Collymore for trying to think outside the box, but the reality is that his proposal is far too flawed and shortsighted to ever get off the ground.
In other West Brom news, Exclusive: Phillips suggests Albion may unearth new Mahrez amid 16-goal attacker link.