bullsonfire wrote:
What reasons were given for removing promotion and relegation when Super League was introduced? What benefits has it brought to the sport?
I think the RFL, and perhaps more importantly Sky, wanted to see a fully professional league containing only teams from larger towns and cities, with large fan bases providing ever more subscribers for Sky sports. I suppose it was considered impossible for many of the 'little village' and suburb clubs, to compete at this level. Unfortunately for the authorities, that particular demographic is strongly represented and very vocal within RL. When you look at the criteria used under licensing, it was clearly designed to weed out those clubs who needed to raid the 'leccy box' to subsidise the part time wages paid to their players, however well they were performing.
I think it was assumed that RL would spread out from its 'heartland' and that new towns and cities would jump on the emerging bandwagon and set up clubs, in fact assistance was given to foster that idea, much to the annoyance of the 'flatcappers'. I think we may have all worked out that it didn't really turn out well.
