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Colin James

Coach
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  1. Interested to see how the fixtures will fall, the release makes it sound like there's a chance the third bottom Championship team will be waiting around for a few weeks between finishing the season and playing the play off game which isn't ideal. Inviting applications for a new side and only announcing them in September doesn't seem a great idea. I fully expect us to get to August with no obvious candidate and they'll end up either going with nobody or putting in someone who clearly isn't ready and it being a disaster. I may be wrong but that's what history tells us to expect.
  2. I think it could be a good experience for Oldham. Reading their message board and from what Long said afterwards, it sounds like they rather arrogantly thought they just had to turn up last night. I expected a much tougher game for the Lions. Anyone who thinks this Oldham team would be top end of the Championship have had a rude awakening. There's a lot of teams in the Championship who aren't as flashy or who don't look as impressive on paper but are well drilled and do the simple things right and you have to earn the right to play against them. Batley have been the embodiment of that for years. Keighley similar to Oldham spent a load of money on names, walked L1 and then couldn't do it against better opposition. From a Swinton point of view, it's another solid performance, if we keep it up some people might even be forced to predict we won't finish bottom which is where most pundits put us every season without fail. Patton is a quality and experienced half and has started well. I know Bradford fans said he was a bit hot and cold for them so we will wait and see how he goes but so far looks a very good piece of recruitment.
  3. The statement specifies it was League One clubs who objected to Cornwall being in the 1895 Cup.
  4. Can London only stay up if they improve their grading to the extent that they either get an A or a higher score than all but 11 other sides?
  5. If we trust the scores have been done fairly then they can't lie. If Keighley aren't doing as well as they'd have us believe then it gives light to that. If you take the approach that bad scores damage the sport they may as well have given everyone an A and told the world that the sport is flying high.
  6. Biggest surprise for me is how low Keighley are. I know they've been vocal critics of the system but from the outside they looked to be doing ok over the last couple of years it's only a year since they were talking of SL on the back of a strong promotion from L1.
  7. I don't fully understand the calculations but it would seem to me that if your team is playing away against a side with a similar score, it's beneficial for your club if you don't attend as taking away fans boosts your opponent's score. Could we see a situation where the gradings leads to boycotting of away games?
  8. That doesn't seem a huge amount required. Makes it strange they went so quickly on the withdrawal. I hope they can get what they need and that figure isn't an underestimation of what is really needed.
  9. They want a merger. How the fixtures are worked out isn't decided. Would you have preferred me to say 'they want the sporting merit aspect of the divisional split to be replaced by a geographical split'? I'm not totally against the conferences idea though how the lines are drawn is a massive can of worms. My issue is very clear, Championship clubs have earned the right to play in that division as is in 2024. They've recruited and budgeted for it. They've sold season tickets for it. They've sold sponsorship for it. To paint them as the bad guys for not wanting to put those plans in the shredder is more than a little unfair and the adversarial nature of comments coming from some clubs in that direction is bang out of order. And to repeat yet again, this shouldn't have ever come to this as the RFL should have taken charge from the off and made clear that it wasn't up to the clubs to decide. Instead they were quiet and allowed this Us v Them thing to kick off.
  10. To be clear I have no issue with a merging of the divisions and think it is one of two options we have, the other being we rebalance the divisions by relegating more teams/promoting fewer in 2024 to lead to a more even split in 2025. My issue is the painting of Championship clubs as the bad guys for looking after their own interests when some clubs may not be in a brilliant position and have earned the right to play in the division as is.
  11. Hunslet: "It’s little secret that Hunslet has consistently pushed for a merged Championship and League 1 division, split into two conferences, for a number of years. Unfortunately, at last week’s Championship and League 1 Forum, a number of Championship Clubs made it clear that they had no interest in that option." Rochdale: “For avoidance of doubt Rochdale Hornets absolutely support immediate change for the good of the whole sport. Further more myself and others would be excited by this and will invest more in our club to be competitive and add value to an expanded Championship and or a conferenced type structure"
  12. I haven't once said L1 clubs want money. What they want, and at least a couple have explicitly asked for is an immediate merger of the divisions. That merger would benefit those clubs in terms of 2024 and only those clubs. Championship clubs would get nothing from it and if anything are likely to lose out. Perhaps charity is the wrong word. A gesture of goodwill, a leg up, a lifeline call it what you want. My point is, it's easy to have a pop at Championship clubs for not wanting to do that when they probably aren't in a great position themselves. If you are charged with custody of a club you have to make decisions in that club's interest and unfortunately the sport is in a place where long term thinking isn't always possible when you have bills to pay tomorrow. I've said from the off the RFL should make the call and not the clubs and clearly what I feared namely putting clubs/divisions against each other has come to pass to the extent that people are rolling out capital letters and different colours.
  13. It's correct the RFL make the decision but the way they've allowed the debate to become L1 v Championship clubs is poor. They should have stated as soon as Newcastle went that it would be their decision and not the clubs.
  14. They need to decide 2025 now also. Clubs need to start the season knowing what they are playing for. If finishing places in 2024 will have no relevance to what happens in 2025 clubs may as well slash their playing budgets now.
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