Robthegasman

Or Estrella

I as a Swinton Lions fan welcome the fact that the Championship has been expanded to 14 teams,not because it gives us a fighting chance of survival but that it is logical and right.I am glad the Summer Bash is staying though ideally I would like to move it elsewhere as Blackpool frankly is a dump and s***hole.I welcome the fact that Championship 1 is going to be 12 teams which hopefully one day we will see 2 new clubs if they are viable and sustainable join the RL family. I have never been a fan of the 8s as they have proven to be a turnoff,it is a duplication of previous games where one is enough. I am also glad that the Championship and Championship 1 clubs were allowed to decide themselves on the format,good call. BUT there is one issue that as far as I can tell has not been resolved and that is the Central funding post 2021 and whether or not the same percentage of funding will be given to the clubs outside Super League And wasn’t that one of the reasons why your club and mine publicly said they would vote against these proposals which were in the main Super League driven?will there be funding for our clubs or not?yes or No?if yes good if No then why in God’s name was this voted for by what I have heard 9 fellow Championship/Championship clubs?potentially they may well have written their own death certificate along with that of fellow clubs like ours.I think it would be good if your Chairman Kevin Nicholas who I respect or ours Andy Mazey who I personally like and respect were to tell us yes or no. If the answer to my question is No then we have been dumped on and it will be bad enough Super League doing it but fellow Championship or Championship 1 clubs doing the dirty on us would be hard to stomach and would frankly be a huge betrayal of us all. So to sum up yes some good points and good decisions regarding the set up but nowhere near enough clarity regarding the future funding and that to me is not good enough and why I will not be doing cartwheels over this.

The Chairman of my team Swinton Lions has said virtually the same thing and he will be voting against it because of the uncertainty of funding for Championship and Championship 1 clubs.I for one support him on that even if we do end up not getting a potential reprieve relegation wise.Or to put it another way he is putting the game before club. Now personally I actually agree with the basic proposal per se as 14 teams in the Championship is more logical BUT if there is a chance that clubs like Swinton,Batley,Dewsbury etc end up with no Central funding(which is already poor as it is)if this proposal goes ahead then it has to be a resounding NO.

Cheers for that. We have got our fingers crossed and ideally I hope us and Hornets are given a reprieve with this potential restructuring and on the Lions front only I hope that whatever is decided it gives us a huge boost and injection of vitamins on the field of play and I hope we can rally and get a few wins in the remaining 4 games especially against both Barrow and Batley(sorry Dogfather)and for the icing on the cake shock wins against Featherstone and Leigh who with their off field issues along with frankly having nothing to play for as they are both going to be in the divisional Grand Final anyway could be there for the taking,Fingers 🤞 And if we are going to be in the Championship next season thanks to restructuring then with the now good management off the field and improvement on that side we can do what both Dewsbury and Batley have done and firmly establish ourselves in this division.

As a Swinton Lions fan I agree with the Rams and Doggies fans here who have criticised the timing of this,it is frankly appalling and this should have been decided at the beginning of the season but that is the Rugby League for you,they are worse at getting things done and they make Theresa May and her Government look like professionals of a high order strangely. Anyway back to the proposals yes I think a 14 team league in the Championship is logical and sensible with no 8s and league game wise there will be 2 games less and is I think a simple format and in my opinion the simpler things are the better understood they are. And yes I think that given the screw up that happened with Bradford when they should have restarted life as a new club in Championship 1 promoting the top 2 from Championship 1 and reprieving both Rochdale and us would be a fair way this season as this has only just been considered and put on the table so in effect the season this year you could argue through no fault of any club has been a dead duck so why punish us and Hornets on this one occasion even if admittedly on the field we have both been poor?

Danny Yates has also been linked with Swinton Lions assuming we with the new proposed structure don’t get relegated

As I live in NW Manchester I have heard it suggested that Leigh are well and truly in the stuff that you see at the Davyhulme sewage treatment place and at best there will be a lot of cost cutting at best going on but even by getting rid of all the full time players I doubt it will make up a shortfall of £1m assuming my maths are right.I would not be surprised if they go down the same route as Bradford and if they do then as a Swinton Lions fan I think they should be made to restart in Championship 1 come 2019 like Bradford should have done in 2017/18. I am also hearing that things aren’t too well at Fev either seeing as they have failed like Leigh have to get into the top four and it has I hear been suggested they too will have to cut cloth accordingly and again if they go down the Bradford road they should suffer the same fate and punishment. And we won’t talk yet about what will happen with Salford if they go down because that will or should at least bring a Council down. Now I don’t know what the finances at your place and the doggies place are like but I would think that you both along with us now do things right and in my opinion why are clubs like ours as we are very similar the ones who have to look over our shoulders and have the cloud of relegation hovering over us? It is time something was done about clubs like Leigh and others as frankly if that is the way they play it is cheating.

Tyson I think will move on at the end of the season and I have heard Widnes are keen on him,and my feeling is if that is true that is where he will end up at

Sale FC set the prices on the beer and unfortunately we at Swinton Lions don’t get a cut of the bar takings.And as you Dewsbury fans will have seen Sale as a place is quite affluent compared to other areas in the Manchester area,hence higher prices. One way or another Sale FC do very well from Swinton Lions from the rent and bar takings which has no doubt helped refurbish the bar areas.

Well actually it is just about 3 years and 7 months until the 2022 season starts and I grant you that it is a bit too long to make predictions with certainty.A lot can happen. That being said I think that Keighley Cougars in their club statement as they were informing all they are in the 💩 May well have let the cat out of the bag as they said quite explicitly that Super League will take over the running of the RL in 2022 where only those clubs will get funded from the SL suggesting that the rest will be cast aside,and if that is correct then clubs like Dewsbury,Swinton,Batley,Oldham etc need to start thinking now and getting our heads together and make plans in anticipation of this to ensure we survive because that 3 years and 7 months will fly by.

I think come 2022 when any new TV deal kicks in we will see a two tier Super League of either 8 or 10 clubs in each division and the rest of us the likes of Dewsbury,Batley ,Swinton,Rochdale and Oldham will all be in a reformed”Championship”where Championship and Championship 1 will in effect amalgamate and those clubs collectively will have to find their own new broadcaster and funding.

As far as I know things have got better off the field but it is still a case of there is not much money around

As a Swinton Lions fan I have heard it suggested that your club is unfortunately in a financial pickle.I don’t know the ins and outs but I have a genuine fear for your club.

I have only just seen this thread and I am neither a Yed or Hornets fan(Swinton Lions for me)and I can say that I for one would totally oppose a merger between Rochdale and Oldham.

I would tend to be inclined to agree with you