Wellsy4HullFC

Controversial Option 4. Instead of giving a club an extra "bye" round, that club is the club playing the WCC and if they win that it's 2 points also. Better than giving away 2 points! But still not ideal.

Why would we? They play in blue.

If only it was the right shade!

Contracts can be renegotiated. And I'm not talking about next season in fairness, it wouldn't work due to when the final is (it would need to be in August). That's what I'm suggesting. (I'd go one further and have the quarters at one neutral venue also and have the Cup be entirely on the road as a unique selling point). Yes, I know about the final. I wasn't suggesting next season, I was suggesting future seasons for that reason. The cup final needs moving back to August bank holiday. Round of 32 - Jan/Feb (all SL clubs away) Round of 16 - May BH (at Everton) Quarter Finals - June (at one venue) Semi Finals - July (as now) Final - August The cup should be unique. At the moment, when playing it at venues you already go to every year it just looks like an afterthought. I'm surprised clubs make any money on it. I'd also remove the French teams (one doesn't enter anyway and the other isn't wanted when they are the travelling side or finalist!) and have them in their own cup competition with the top French clubs. Final on same weekend. French Cup winners as a selling point for those clubs, and it's much needed exposure for any potential new French clubs.

It's for extra investment. Extra investment comes with terms and conditions. You either accept them or don't.

Sky only want 3 games a round, so unless they've specifically asked for Magic (I've no idea the details) then we can look at alternatives. The fact BBC don't want to show the cup means we need to look at making it a more attractive package. The logistical challenges are manageable. If the Round of 32 is first game of season (end of Jan) and the Round of 16 Magic Weekend is May bank holiday, that's a huge amount of time to plan.

Simplest solution in future: 26 games, 2 byes, 28 rounds. Play 12 teams twice and 2 teams once. Still have 13 home and away games. Move Magic to the Cup. Create a separate Cup for the French teams so they interact with their own nation's clubs and help build more interest that way whilst we're at it.

FFS. How many times does it need saying that you can't have an odd number of games for a league competition with an odd number of teams!

Is Derek the only one publicly against so far?

If they could have just used the flame colour for the sponsor, that would have been perfect. I mean, they've changed it to black from the pink colour it was in the corner, so can't see why it was beyond reasonable.

Yes, ironically I think it was Barrow AFC. That's due to FIFA having rules about military or weapon-related imagery. I don't think rugby league has the same tight rules to worry about!

The bites in there are more deadly than the ones in Australia!

NZ2 is obvious. 5th QLD team is fishing where the fish are plentiful. Makes sense. #22 would make sense in the only major city in Aus without a team to fully complete dominance. Is there appetite for a second Melbourne/Victoria team in future? I think that would be interesting to create a Victoria rivalry. Would love to see it down the line but it's not a priority. Central Coast I only imagine would happen if a current Sydney side relocated. Japan would be huge, but would need a hell of a lot of investment interest to ever happen.

That was my feeling. Thoughts, in this order: Miles better than what it replaced (bar that's not a high bar!) A bit busy for the digital age Might look good with a digital simplified version alongside it, like just the sub.

Why not just insist new clubs need to buy into the league initially? Full funding is based x-number of positions in the league and reduced/zero funding for clubs wishing to join initially or that finish in a certain position. After x-years, number of funded positions is changed depending on upcoming TV deals and either it covers everyone or if certain clubs can't afford to continue without funding due to their standing in the league, they naturally will have to drop out? Promotion based on initial investment, and relegation based on lack of contribution. Encourages clubs to put their money where their mouth is whilst at same time challenges current clubs to prove their worth or pay for it.