IMO we only got in on the Franchise system last time because of the promise of Stobart sponsorship to Superleague (which was a farce) by our owners at the time.
I think that is us firmly uninvited to the Superleague party for good.
Given the financial difficulties many people have - which may well get worse - the lack of P&R means some clubs may go to the wall.
Given the financial difficulties many people have - which may well get worse - the lack of P&R means some clubs may go to the wall.
Playing (for the millionth time) Devil's Advocate...........
Is it not only a matter of time before a club goes to the wall because of P & R?
Throwing money in they've not got to go / stay up in SL?
Licensing was not perfect, but is automatic promotion? Ask Leythers (three times) Broncos, Toulouse, who all found the gap too wide, but conversely............
Should we win on Sunday, of course I think we should go up! So...........
I know in our case, it's League 1 to Championship, and a long way from middle tier to SL, but is that me contradicting myself?
Is there a perfect solution? I seriously doubt that there is!
Spelly.
I expected them to re-introduce licensing/protectionism, they are not going to allow the likes of Dublin and Glasgow into SL only to relegate them 12 months later.
But what I don't like the look of is a league where some teams start the season exempt from relegation and others don't; that's not fair. So, if Leigh for example's sake finish 2nd bottom and Dublin finish bottom, Leigh get relegated if there is another more favourable Category B team. Not right that, it would be fairer to just axe P&R altogether.
This is in effect the football super league that there was so much aggro about. Except, as it's RL, no-one is in a position to argue.
I did expect IMG to open up new commercial opportunities and extended sponsorships to try and move RL some way towards what an IPL is, bigger name RL and possibly RU players coming in. If all they are going to do is move the season slightly and protect the big clubs, nothing will change and interest in RL will continue to wane.
Can anybody see a Catergory B,SL club getting binned off to the Championship ? Leigh couldn't have timed it better.
Can anybody see a Catergory B,SL club getting binned off to the Championship ? Leigh couldn't have timed it better.
... or maybe Batley!!
Totally agree the attempt to promote the international game and try to bring back the attraction of the Challenge Cup. I suspect that there will be a move to grow the game in France - with Catalan and Toulouse joining the French league at some stage - and maybe other European countries.
It is good to see that at least initially, the aim is to retain the current Championship/League 1, with promotion and relegation between those two leagues. The question will be just how the central funding will be distributed to clubs outside the top tier.
Surely, the long term aim must be to expand the number of clubs meeting the category A criteria and expand the game with a bigger league, or will the game continue to be dominated by a few clubs ie St Helens, Wigan and Leeds and the structure adapted to accommodate them.
Would any fan trust the current RFL to have a transparent process to determine the Category A and B clubs and to decide fairly when clubs are re-classified? For example, if McMAnus or Leneghan decided to pull the plug on their investment in St Helens/Wigan, would they be downgraded to Category B?
We're nowhere in the short to medium term.
Screw IMG and screw SL.
Screwed us over that is us out of the running. Game is getting boring run by these twats.
I expected them to re-introduce licensing/protectionism, they are not going to allow the likes of Dublin and Glasgow into SL only to relegate them 12 months later.
But what I don't like the look of is a league where some teams start the season exempt from relegation and others don't; that's not fair. So, if Leigh for example's sake finish 2nd bottom and Dublin finish bottom, Leigh get relegated if there is another more favourable Category B team. Not right that, it would be fairer to just axe P&R altogether.
This is in effect the football super league that there was so much aggro about. Except, as it's RL, no-one is in a position to argue.
I did expect IMG to open up new commercial opportunities and extended sponsorships to try and move RL some way towards what an IPL is, bigger name RL and possibly RU players coming in. If all they are going to do is move the season slightly and protect the big clubs, nothing will change and interest in RL will continue to wane.
The main positive I take from the report is … that there’s no place in the new structure for the vastly overpaid and underperforming Ralph Rimmer.
At least IMG seem to be offering something different in an attempt to widen the appeal of the game. The key may well be how they define the categories and what incentive is there for a team to invest in an attempt to gain category A status, if the SL has reached the proposed number of teams ie 12?
It seems a team like Widnes could win the Championship play-off in 2023, but not get promoted; and a team finishing outside the play-off position getting into SL because they have attracted a well-heeled investor, or otherwise meet the category A criteria. It looks like London and Newcastle may well be seeing a brighter future in SL.
That would be the exact way we got into Superleague last time......awarded a franchise due to off the pitch stability/promise whilst being woeful on the pitch. I seem to recall losing by 50 at Leigh the week in the first game after the announcement.
This is the thing. IMG the well heeled non RL company swan in and tell us some absolute hyperbole that was the Richard Lewis mantra circa 2007.
We aren't worthy of SL atm, I accept that, but in 3 years time if we had built back up again we, or any club should win promotion based on the performance in the league.
Anyone who thinks 'the game' is going to benefit from these clowns needs to have their head testing.
I genuinely thought that IMG would be proposing innovative rule changes, new competition opportunities, new commercial and sponsorship opportunities etc.
I didn't realise that they were just going to make the likes of St Helens even more powerful and then add an International weekend into the calendar. I mean, have IMG got the Z-team working on this one?
How does anyone see this moving RL forward at all?