Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:05 am  

craig hkr wrote:

I would love to see Catalans relegated and I say that as a fan who witnessed last year's MPG. I predict a Leigh v Catalans MPG but would prefer Widnes v Catalans.Either way the French need to go.Can you ever imagine a French league inviting an English team in French league,

Brexit !
That leaked white paper said something about British employers not been allowed to bring in foreign workers if their skill set was below the standard already available in this country.
We are better than la Cat, so out they go and we're in !!!!
Simples
Get on with it Mr Davies

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:31 am  

craig hkr wrote:

I would love to see Catalans relegated and I say that as a fan who witnessed last year's MPG. I predict a Leigh v Catalans MPG but would prefer Widnes v Catalans.Either way the French need to go.Can you ever imagine a French league inviting an English team in French league,

Soccer & union both have full European leagues! yet when we try our fans throw nothing but derision at the RFL for expanding? . But if the little Englanders prefer a day trip to Featherstone as opposed to the South of France or Toronto then so be it. No wonder our great game is on its knees. & don't use "they don't bring any fans" if we can't be bothered to turn up in large enough numbers for our club to prosper we deserve to go down the pan.

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:15 am  

Beverley red wrote:

[/b]Soccer & union both have full European leagues! yet when we try our fans throw nothing but derision at the RFL for expanding? . But if the little Englanders prefer a day trip to Featherstone as opposed to the South of France or Toronto then so be it. No wonder our great game is on its knees. & don't use "they don't bring any fans" if we can't be bothered to turn up in large enough numbers for our club to prosper we deserve to go down the pan.

Its a bit of an age old argument that I can see both sides of. Catalans bring a fair but to SL, near 10k audiences and a more attractive package for the tv companies.

The negative I feel is that it stifles the french league somewhat. The ideal would be to emulate how football and to some extent RL do that they have the individual leagues and then a pan europe competition that is the show piece.

I personally have no preference to who loses the MPG (as long as its not us) and I'll feel for the fans and boards of anyone in that position.

I do sometimes think fans of our game would prefer it to crumble ala speedway and ice hockey just so they could say I told you so to the RFL.

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:09 am  

barham red wrote:

Its a bit of an age old argument that I can see both sides of. Catalans bring a fair but to SL, near 10k audiences and a more attractive package for the tv companies.

The negative I feel is that it stifles the french league somewhat. The ideal would be to emulate how football and to some extent RL do that they have the individual leagues and then a pan europe competition that is the show piece.

I personally have no preference to who loses the MPG (as long as its not us) and I'll feel for the fans and boards of anyone in that position.

I do sometimes think fans of our game would prefer it to crumble ala speedway and ice hockey just so they could say I told you so to the RFL.

Yes and No to what you are saying, Has I have said a few times we should have gone up with out playing this stupid game of MPG and who ever was bottom should have gone down

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:55 am  

barham red wrote:

Its a bit of an age old argument that I can see both sides of. Catalans bring a fair but to SL, near 10k audiences and a more attractive package for the tv companies.

The negative I feel is that it stifles the french league somewhat. The ideal would be to emulate how football and to some extent RL do that they have the individual leagues and then a pan europe competition that is the show piece.

I personally have no preference to who loses the MPG (as long as its not us) and I'll feel for the fans and boards of anyone in that position.

I do sometimes think fans of our game would prefer it to crumble ala speedway and ice hockey just so they could say I told you so to the RFL.

I can't really disagree with what you say but the same argument for holding back the French league is the same argument that super league is holding back the rest of our leagues & pro teams are affecting the amateur sides. I think the main problem is trying to run a pro club with little real cash in the game, gone are the day when local businesses men could bankroll a club for a hobby. We are obliged to take cash off sky ( I suspect most club boards would prefer not to if they could raise cash elsewhere). In the 50 years+ I have watched the game the smaller clubs have struggled from the simple fact they were small towns & just don't have the population to warrant a squad of 25 full time players. The Cumbrian clubs are a prime example. Even a large city like Hull has been pushed at times to run one decent team, even with a council with cash to assist. Much as I dislike the qualifiers at least it gives new sides & the ones who can raise the funds a pathway to the top. But as posted on here bottom down top promoted is what should happen, as we may end with the same as last year (the team that did not come last relegated).

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:16 pm  

Beverley red wrote:

[/b]Soccer & union both have full European leagues! yet when we try our fans throw nothing but derision at the RFL for expanding? . But if the little Englanders prefer a day trip to Featherstone as opposed to the South of France or Toronto then so be it. No wonder our great game is on its knees. & don't use "they don't bring any fans" if we can't be bothered to turn up in large enough numbers for our club to prosper we deserve to go down the pan.

I meant domestic leagues not cup kos.Little Englanders? People have different opinions and strong arguments for both viewpoints but classic new labour tactics of labeling anyone who disagrees with you is normally first point of call.As for Toronto I find the whole idea absurd but that's just my view. Some people want expansion some don't. If the game is on its knees like some say then look no further than big Nige and his gang.So many mistakes and format changes and no improvement. Needs professional board or a Barry Hearn type business man (Not Hearns biggest fan but look what he's done with snooker/darts,even fishing).We have a great game devalued by incompetent management

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:21 pm  

craig hkr wrote:

I meant domestic leagues not cup kos.Little Englanders? People have different opinions and strong arguments for both viewpoints but classic new labour tactics of labeling anyone who disagrees with you is normally first point of call.As for Toronto I find the whole idea absurd but that's just my view. Some people want expansion some don't. If the game is on its knees like some say then look no further than big Nige and his gang.So many mistakes and format changes and no improvement. Needs professional board or a Barry Hearn type business man (Not Hearns biggest fan but look what he's done with snooker/darts,even fishing).We have a great game devalued by incompetent management

The game being played primarily in Yorkshire and Lancashire is the reason its dying. Whether you like it or not, globalisation means expansion is needed for the game to grow and get the sponsors and cash it needs. Who outside of those counties want to watch a regional game. The further we can expand the game the better coverage it will get which in turn means more money. If you're happy for the game to stay in the heartlands only, then be prepared for the game to go back part time or even amateur.

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:19 pm  

That remains to be seen.If we can't put down professional level roots in the south or North east or Wales etc there must be a reason? Union goes from strength to strength nationally and internationally,Womens world cup got lots of coverage. Our top brass have no discernable long term plan I even doubt there is a short/medium term plan? It's fixable but needs new fit for purpose board. Anyway I'm going to respect your views and get back to things Rovers.

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:36 pm  

If Catalans go down via the MPG then so be it. Why anyone would want them to go down I find absolutely bizarre.

We have a competition here that struggles for fans, media coverage, sponsors and a shallow player pool, and people want to see one of the clubs that bring the most to the competition go down, purely because of some ideology that only English teams should play in the league?

It might be news to some, but there isn't a fully professional league for them to join in France, and the main reason for that is that no broadcaster is willing to throw any money at it like Sky do with us. If they leave our set up, they revert to semi-pro, and RL loses an asset.

Fully agree on everything said with regards to the RFL and an utter lack of strategy.

Re: ...and then Catalans : Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:50 pm  

craig hkr wrote:

That remains to be seen.If we can't put down professional level roots in the south or North east or Wales etc there must be a reason? Union goes from strength to strength nationally and internationally,Womens world cup got lots of coverage. Our top brass have no discernable long term plan I even doubt there is a short/medium term plan? It's fixable but needs new fit for purpose board. Anyway I'm going to respect your views and get back to things Rovers.

you get your Barry Hearn type to run the game the first thing that will happen the small clubs will be forced out of existence. I class us at Rovers in that group. There are probably only 4 clubs in England that would survive as they will want only teams from large cities & a geographically wide spread across Europe & beyond. As it will be the way they will see TV revenue compete with Union & other sports. It may not be palatable but it is the modern way like it or not.