From the Wigan site.
SmokeyTA wrote:
The thing is, it isn’t.
The problem with the top 8, 14 team league isn’t the 14 team league and top 8 per se. Its that it is too easy for some clubs to get in to the 8. Everything wrong with the league structure stems from the disparity between top and bottom. Whatever system we implement, these same issue will be apparent. If all clubs were of the quality of Leeds, Wire, Saints, Wigan, Hudds etc then it would be incredibly difficult to qualify for the top 8. You would need to be better than at least 6 teams over the season who were as good as the best clubs. Clubs would take more points from each other , the league would be more even, the teams at the top wouldn’t be safe and able to it down a gear because that would result in a loss, and a loss would put you in danger of missing the 8.
The reason we don’t have this is because the league as a whole doesn’t produce enough players, the reason we don’t produce enough players is that we A) don’t have enough amateur players and B) clubs don’t invest enough in youth development. The reason clubs don’t invest in youth development is because they argue they don’t have the money, the reason they don’t have the money is because they don’t have good enough facilities and we as a game don’t bring in enough commercial and sponsorship revenue, we don’t have a high enough visibility or good enough image. We don’t have these things because we don’t do a good enough job to bring in the commercial and sponsorship revenue, we don’t build visibility or present a good image and so on.
What we need to do is get the structure and governance right so that we make the right decisions, sell ourselves better, employ the right people who can increase commercial and sponsorship revenue, improve our image and visibility, force clubs to invest in youth development so we create a player pool and pathway capable of supporting the game, force them to invest in infrastructure and facilities so they can attract fans to pay for players and youth development. We need to make sure that we have the infrastructure, facilities and people in place to create a virtuous cycle of investments, returns, investment.
We get that in place and you can invent and implement any league structure at all that you want and we will have a strong vibrant growing game. If we don’t and we just implement a new league structure the same problems will exist, from dead rubber games, to big margins of victory, to not meeting attendance potential, to poor visibility, image, commercial and sponsorship revenue.
And my thoughts.
Your post is bang on the money.
How can we get more competitive by
REDUCING the number of academies.
Do they expect Wigan, Leeds, Saints etc to keep ploughing their money into youth development to then feed the rest of the clubs.
The U19's has been a disaster. Wigan have literally strolled through the season. How does that prepare those players for the next step in their careers. The clubs should be forced to spend more money on their youth systems.
And now we have the ludicrous decision to
INCREASE the number of overseas players.
It should be the other way round.
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