League restructuring

[beermatt42]

I think the three groups of eight will be league system Cran Cran, with the top and bottom groups carrying their points forward from the first half of the season ( sorry if this is confusing, but it could possibly be the RFL and not me) so the middle group will have to start from scratch, because they come from two different leagues and simply cannot carry their earlier points forward, presumerably, the top four from this middle group will then go into Superleague 1 for the start of the next season.   So if that is Bradford, Widnes, London and Wakefield for example, and it is only an example, then effectively there has been no promotion after all that palaver, which is crazy.  There could also be issues about whether the home and away games have been organised in a way that's fair to everyone.
Perhaps  the RFL can clarify some of the finer details next week. Hopefully is should all become a little clearer by then.

[Tommygun]

So that's at least 5 clubs relegated from the Championship this year then, and possibly 6 if they bring Toulouse in next year. We could finish 9th again and be relegated !

[spacecake]

2015, haven/town will merge to become west cumbria! The bigwigs have got their way!

cant see it happening if only one of us makes the cut why merge with the other when you could just raid all their best players with the extra money I cant see all the cumbrian teams making it

[whitey12]

 

sounds complicated to me p@r would of done

  sounds like a plan.

[egremont]

why is there dual reg this season if next season there's the restructure. the golden teams will do what evr they can to ensure their feeder club stays in the championship as it's going to be more beneficial for them to have their plaayers playing at a higher level.
looks to me as another 4 clubs will now go into the level of no publicity/money
absolute disgrace that in a democratic society one club one vote doesn't count - this league restructure affects all the divisions.
My opinion as it has been for sometime is tell the SL to RAM IT, leave the championships 1&2 to themselves and within two seasons SL will be be doing all they can to get us on board

[beermatt42]

Well I think even some of the SL clubs tried to defy the Rugby Football League on this one Egremont pal, hence that walkout in October, and Wigan's attempts to reject the RFL's governance of the game, which obviously came to nothing.

Still, I have to agree with you there on many points, especially about another four clubs going down the pan, it's not right pal and only a diabolical madman could have dreamt up this scheme, probably that Brian Barwick no less, but the whole formula is riddled with flaws and won't work for very long, not in practice anyway.

[random2]

I don't often come on here now as I got disenchanted with RL since they did away with promotion, meaning totally pointless rugby for the likes of Haven.

My ears pricked up earlier when I heard it had been re-instated. Upon looking at the detail the SL clubs have been very clever in theoretically opening up the possibility. However, to get promotion a championship side would have to beat SL clubs in the play offs with a fraction of the budget and part time players.

Not going to happen.

Back to the football I go, see you later. (Just not at the Recre)

[cran.cran]

Yes all bluff and spin and hot air, it will all end in tears - again.

[beermatt42]

Francis Cummins, the Bradford manager has today described the new system as rubbish, and complained that some teams will divert money from their academies to buy new players, in order to avoid relegation.

He said the idea of relegation is rubbish and suits only the television companies but is not good for the game, because things like the academies will suffer, he also said that there is no team in the Championship who could be promoted to Superleague and maintain mid table status, so they would be better off scrapping relegation and sticking with clubs like Bradford.

What do you make to that?

[Steven DeMont]

That's the problem with RL the 'top' teams think they are in charge of the game and should be protected at the expense of the rest of the game. Who cares about Bradford - here's hoping they go down.

[cran.cran]

trouble is St De Mont that they actually are in effective charge. Since they up S.L.Europe Ltd [think that's its name] the Sl clubs can operate as an independent body. I don't think there would be much anyone could do if the SL clubs voted to breakaway. No sponsors would want anything to do with sponsoring the lower divisions and SL clubs know that. Sky wouldn't be interested in cominf in I am going to post this mid post due to yesterday's troubles

[cran.cran]

By the way did anyone else have trouble posting yesterday? to continue however I am pretty sure they would have difficulty in using the name rugby league, claiming the challenge cup or any of the structures that currently exist. What would it leave the bottom clubs, would they be able to struggle along in a viable sport, would SL merge with the top RU clubs? Could they compete with the top RU clubs? Perhaps a few could but certainly not 14 of them. The game is in deep crisis, why we cant just have three divisions with one up one down and a parachute payment I don't know. Bring in sensible rules get back to our roots and the game will market itself - well almost. We have lost all our sporting kudos because of daft unfair rules, stupid gimmiks, abandoning GB and the VERY prestigious tours etc etc I'm a broken record I know but which way the game has degenerated [strong word] is quite appaling. Red Hall run on same lines as Copeland Centre.

[beermatt42]

Statements like that simply show how Bradford are worried about the drop, they must be one of the favorites and this little rant of Cummins just belies his own insecurities, he knows his team aren't good enough to avoid the bottom two.

I don't understand his point about academies suffering either, for starters, I'm not even sure if Bradford has got one because they have recently took aboard three players from the Warrington academy who will no doubt be promoted to the first team at Bradford, so he is effectively borrowing players from other academies.

It must be bad if players like Frank Winterstein would rather emigrate than stay at Bradford, probably unpaid and just on the other point, how does he know that Championship teams would fare worse than his Bradford squad?  How does anyone know what is going to happen next year?

Nothing but sour grapes from Francis Cummins.

[beermatt42]

I don't think the top teams could form a breakaway league Cran Cran and they know it.  Their relationship with the RFL may be a little fraught at times but like it or not, both sides need each other to survive and that is that.

Those six clubs that walked out in October and challenged the RFL's authority are now back on board, they have got no choice, a breakaway league of six teams would just be too small to work, it's best that both sides just drop the petty political power games and learn to co-operate, which they have done.

My only regret is why did reform have to be so complicated?  Couldn't they have just had a simple two up two down scenario?

[cran.cran]

One up one down each division is sooooo easy agree they have gone out of their way to complicate things but that is a very modern way of doing things - comes from far too many 'consultants' introduced to governemt in the Blair/Brown years. If you do not make something very complicated how can you justify your fat fee?