Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 12:12 pm  

Saint Simon wrote:

Swiss football used the system for 15 yrs i believe so hardly a complete failure

Someone posted that it had been scrapped after one year due to the poor attendances in the "2nd eight"
What else I find strange is that the coaches of Widnes and Bradford have come out against the plan, but their clubs voted for it.

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:05 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Someone posted that it had been scrapped after one year due to the poor attendances in the "2nd eight"
What else I find strange is that the coaches of Widnes and Bradford have come out against the plan, but their clubs voted for it.

It does make you wonder if the clubs have been offered a sweetener that is so good they would be foolish to refuse.

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:13 pm  

roader wrote:

It does make you wonder if the clubs have been offered a sweetener that is so good they would be foolish to refuse.

Return of reserves (ish), homegrown cap cap, and potentially marquee signing rule at a guess.

And for the lower clubs, increase from 5 to 7 for off quota.

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:29 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Someone posted that it had been scrapped after one year due to the poor attendances in the "2nd eight"
What else I find strange is that the coaches of Widnes and Bradford have come out against the plan, but their clubs voted for it.

I think the threat of relegation is what worries the coaches, much more pressure on their jobs! The chairmen can see the sense in it, and in Bradford's case their landlord may have suggested they vote for it

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:47 pm  

If we are saying that coaches should decide the structure then we would be in trouble.

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 7:50 pm  

Players and coaches have a vested personal financial interest in the outcomes of these decisions, so whilst their opinions are valid, they shouldn't be used as the foundation of any strategic decisions.

Not everything the RFL does is great, and not everything they do is incompetent, but they do have a recent track record of major decisions in each category.

From my view point, something had to change - not sure that system 888 achieves the outcomes that were needed, but I am prepared to give it a chance. I do suspect that in 3 years we will be going through the same process again, however.

If they (the RFL and the clubs) have the ability to market the additional 888 games properly there is no substantive reason why the system cannot work.

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:58 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Does his glowing support not seem a tad hypocritical given he was one of the Chairmen that walked out of the previous meeting?

Can someone also tell me what all the fuss was about last time, when suddenly they all love the idea?

Seems a tad silly to me. I'm not overly concerned about promotion and relegation, but don't really understand what the three 8's is about. I can't see it existing in 5 years time. It also makes it look like the decision to move away from promotion and relegation was done for reasons other than avoiding financial meltdown and now they are using the desperation of avoiding relegation as the main PR point about the new structure. 'Bringing back the £1m match' isn't a great tagline to go with.

Has anything been released with regards to the funding? The only thing I've read is a promise from the RFL that the clubs outside the top 12 will get a 'far greater' share of the central funding. How will that work without the top 12 clubs being pillaged for that? The title sponsorship deal is another thing I would have thought the clubs would have prevented. £4.5m over 6 years is pittance and will likely mean no additional funding to the clubs at all, that'll disappear on overheads at the RFL. Rugby Union's Aviva deal was £20m over 4 years, signed at the height of the recession and gives more money per year than the RFL got in total over 6 years.

Unless there is a promise of significantly increased funding from Sky, the u-turn from the guys who walked out is just mystifying?

The difference between now and then is probably how the dosh is split between SL and the Championship i.e. last time SL was being asked to give up too much.

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:13 am  

The Swiss FC gave a similar league structure a chance, to try and improve on attendances and sponsorship, but quickly changed back when it failed, I just wonder how long we will give it a chance, clubs should do what is best for the game, not just their own club and what Nigel wants, I still say with his failure over the past few year he should never been asked to do the report in the first place. I still feel that it should have been one club relegated and one promoted, that club should then keep their place for two season's, otherwise we are going to see clubs go bust, just trying to gain promotion!

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:31 am  

jaybs wrote:

The Swiss FC gave a similar league structure a chance, to try and improve on attendances and sponsorship, but quickly changed back when it failed, I just wonder how long we will give it a chance, clubs should do what is best for the game, not just their own club and what Nigel wants, I still say with his failure over the past few year he should never been asked to do the report in the first place. I still feel that it should have been one club relegated and one promoted, that club should then keep their place for two season's, otherwise we are going to see clubs go bust, just trying to gain promotion!

Quickly changed back? I read it ran from 1988 to 2003. 15 yrs is hardly a quick change is it?
I do worry how London will go in the new structure. Is it better for them in the long term?

Re: Big Mac's view on the new SL structure : Fri Jan 24, 2014 8:35 pm  

I feel that the move away from franchising and back to a form of promotion & relegation is a retrograde step, and will bring back the sort of panic-buying of journeymen plodders we used to have, at the expense of the bringing through of young players, which we've increasingly seen this last season.

Good news for the sort of player that big clubs tend to release in their early 20's because they're not good enough to make it at the top.