Teams missing out on Promotion, why?

[Southdowns White]

How many teams have missed out on promotion because it's not in the interest of certain players to be promoted.
It may sound a little silly to say this but, If you were a good older player maybe having stepped down a league you know that after promotion your chances would be limited. Possibly other players playing at their limit know that promotion would mean being shown the door at the end of the season with new(better players) coming in, that would mean finding a new club, trying to get a new contract, moving family to a new area etc.
Out of the current Fulham squad, who would it not suit to get promotion?

[filham]

Don't follow this reasoning, surely all players are on a lucrative bonus for promotion and an increase to Premiership if the stay. If they are transferred they no doubt benefit from the transfer deal.

[Jimmy Hill]

none

[Dodger53]

I have had this theory for many years. Really odd results in play offs to back it up. Happy playing for (say) Fulham but knowing you are not good enough for the prem why try too hard in those 'Cup Finals'. Hols booked for mid May and you dont want to miss them. That's why clubs that are no longer real contenders for the play offs all of a sudden become world beaters because the player want to stay where they are. 
A lot of this squad are not good enough for the prem and they know it, why would they want promotion? All they get from promotion is back on the 'for sale' market.

[Nero]

An old player will probably be rubbing his hands a moving on, nice signing on fee and maybe an increase in wages

[Carborundum]

I'm not convinced that any play off results are particularly odd.  These are the games where people are under most pressure.  Pressure does strange things to people, for the better and for the worse.  And it's effects are unpredictable.  Layer that on to the game of fine margins that is football and it's anyone's guess.

Anyhow, should we get to the playoffs we may conceivably play one or both of Huddersfield or Reading.  We whipped both 5-0 earlier in the season.  It's hard to believe anything that takes place in May will be stranger than those two results.

I'd prefer to think that the football pyramid is Darwinian with people who really, really hate losing rising to the top.  I hated losing and was hopeless at football!

When did you last see a play off winning team looking glum?

For every winning team there's a losing one and I don't subscribe to deep-seated psychological explanations.  If you have better players and better organised teamwork, you win more that you lose, but you still lose some and that's the playoff lottery.

Perhaps I'm just romantically naive. 

[hovewhite]

we have 5 players minimum that would struggle i think who are in our starting eleven .I understand your piont.