Forty years of Football League drama: new light shone on how the playoffs were born

Archives reveal how a format that even one winning manager wanted abolished four decades ago came to beAs the playoffs begin for the 40th time, it is easy to forget there was once a world without them. But where did they come from? Whose idea were they? And how did they take root in English football? The EFL granted access to its archives containing the documents and meeting minutes charting how an idea, conceived to help lower-league clubs financially and add late-season spice, evolved into one...