Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:54 pm  

It's a great decision for me.

A clear and sustainable pathway for championship clubs up to Super league, more relevance and therefore intensity added to regular season rounds and a real selling point of innovation to market the game on.

But there'll always be people stuck in the past who'd rather see us go to 12 teams with a simple 2 up 2 down P/R which would eventually lead to the bankrupting of many high end championship and low end Super League clubs.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:56 pm  

Th'ump wrote:

Reinstating relegation is a ridiculous & backwards step.

We'll soon be back to clubs packing their squads with journeymen (often overseas ones) just because they're experienced, cos the chairmen are terrified of the financial consequences of relegaton. The major plus of having no relegation is that SL clubs have been far more happy to play young players, which is a massive boost for the game in the longer term.

As usual, RL is on a short-termist and totally parochial basis.

Well said.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:56 pm  

Fev 1979 wrote:

For all those super league fans that are going to stay away many championship fans will return.. Look at wakefield attendences when in the then northern ford premiership in 1998 the year they beat fev in the final to get to super league they were similar to revs crowds now.
Best news in rl for years this

and what crowds was they before franchising?

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:57 pm  

Th'ump wrote:

And I'll add that the splitting of leagues mid-season, with some teams retaining their points whist others don't, is just gimmicky, unnecessarily complex, and totally arsewitted.

This could be the end of me following the game. It's just a joke.

So what you are saying is if your team was a division lower you would stop supporting them? Top fan then!

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:02 pm  

wiganermike wrote:

As it says on the press release the exact details will be explained later in the month so finer points will be clearer then.

Teams demoted from championship next year will not have the door slammed and locked behind them as you put it. It was stated early on when the plans for restructure were first mentioned that P&R between the 2nd tier (Championship) and 3rd tier (Championship 1) would continue. So from 2015 there will still be a way for the teams below the top 24 to get into (and leave) the top two leagues. Also there are 23 teams in the Championships (14 and 9) not 28.

It has not yet been confirmed that Toulouse are joining the set up but if they are then 9 teams from the Championships will make the initial top 24. If no Toulouse then 10 will make it. It was also reported at the end of last season that there would be opportunity for one team from Championship 1 to win promotion into the top 24 at the end of 2014 (most likely via a playoff). So we would have a scenario where the top 9 in Championship in 2014 would make the 24 with the 10th placed team in a playoff against the winner of Championship 1 for the final place in the 24. (If Toulouse are coming in then it would be the top 8 making the cut with the 9th placed team in that playoff for the last place). This detail along with whether or not Toulouse are in will be announced with the rest of the full details.

It has not been confirmed how the cut to 12 will occur though it has been assumed that the bottom two in SL will be relegated. That matter needed to be voted upon by the SL clubs and now I would assume this has been done.

Thanks for sharing the knowledge. So effectively it's more of a wait and see as it stands rather than a see yer later. For some reason I expected it to be mentioned by the media but I should know better. Where was the commitment to a lower league promotion structure reported?

I meant there were 28 teams in Super League plus Championship, I should learn to proof read more!

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:02 pm  

The whole things a farce. I just don't get the idea of the 3rd tier. Is this right?. The 8 bottom places of the championship playing each other for exactly what?. Being poor?. These clubs wont get many supporters coming in as it is. Its got disaster written all over it.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:03 pm  

dubairl wrote:

and what crowds was they before franchising?

Where at in particular?
In the championship all clubs were getting better crowds before than they do now..look at keighley they should of gone up they were denied and crowds dwindled..

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:03 pm  

Saint Simon wrote:

I like the system generally (a top 8 playoff in a league of 12 is stupid) but what happens to the bottom of the current championship 1? thats my main concern

All of the current Championship 1 teams and the bottom 4 of the current Championship will be in a new league in 2015. Say Doncaster, N Wales, Rochdale and Workington finish in the bottom 4; seriously though are those teams going to make it to the top 8 of S League any time soon? No. But if it becomes clear that one of them has a better structure/development etc. than a Championship team then they should then replace them, so I would like to see a licensing system between the future Championship and this new league.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:13 pm  

Fev 1979 wrote:

Where at in particular?
In the championship all clubs were getting better crowds before than they do now..look at keighley they should of gone up they were denied and crowds dwindled..

just do the top 4 from last season as they are more than likely the ones who may replace a super league team.

Re: Today's big decision : Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:17 pm  

SmokeyTA wrote:

Yes, so finishing 9th is absolutely pointless. There is literally no difference to finishing 9th as opposed to finishing 12th. There is no difference between scoring 20points and finishing 9th missing out on the play-offs on points difference, than scoring 0 points and finishing 12th.

And if a team finishing 9th should be comfortably good enough to stay in SL anyway, why are they playing in this 7 game play-off?

Win 4 of 7 of the 2nd part of the season absolutely nothing that happened in the previous 22 rounds matters.

This made me laugh thanks Smokey, i don't think anyone in any league in any sport has ever said what's the point in finishing 9th before.