RP London

Sports tend not to have issues becuase they are strict with clubs, they have deadlines that clubs have to make or they will get kicked out, and are kicked out. They dont continually bend the rules which is a vicous circles and the point I am making. You only need to make a tough stance once and then people fall into line. However, as you show other sports do chuck teams out when they have to, the sport is bigger than a few clubs is the main mantra but that is especially true when they are a few clubs that cant actually sustain themselves. We all know, or should know from any business we work in or even service industry, fixed deadlines get worked to, people find a way, if you know that that deadline is not going to be adhered to then you tend not to worry too much about it "it'll get done" is the attitude.. and that is the attitude around RL at the moment and why these things keep happening. Be tough on teams and they will start to fall into line.

Luckily I dont need to be validated by you... Where did I say Featherstone Rovers fans are to blame? The club and owners are to blame 100% you're now just trying to imply I am saying things that I am not because you dont like how I think the situation should be dealt with (and is in almost every other sport). I have no respect for you or people who do this and therefore will put you on ignore.

it is "a mess" to think otherwise is non-sensical (and your last sentence says more about you than me, childish at the least... its not about having my "own way" and its not whining its about having a discussion on a forum) They had every chance to compete and failed.. to have a strong line in the sand would not lead to the demise of the game and is not insulting to any fans its about having rules that everyone has to abide by no matter who they are and not making it a subjective decision open to being skewed by personal interest. The sport would be stronger if it had this type of strong stance, clubs would have to fall into line to the governing body not the other way around... this "soft" approach we have now is getting us what we have which is a game that changes at the whim of one club here or another there, a game that is accused of treating clubs differently from one another etc etc that is a weak game in demise not a strong one that deserves investment. it really is a simple starting point.

but only after they had released the fixtures and caused this mess.. but you know this, you're just being difficult because its a negative on the RFL and this fixture set up which you see to want to defend as though its a personal project of yours... its odd. They should tell everyone they should be in the position to fulfill next years fixtures by the time they are announced or they will not be included.. that would have stopped this mess..

I know and if they cannot then make a delayed deadline then draw the line.. move on..

Shhhhh! ffs hes like Beetlejuice, say his name 3 times and he'll appear and none of us want/need that!

in the end that's down to the agreement in place... they can still grow to a point where they need to leave but that would be the same with anything they did unless they bought a ground, which is easier said than done as we know from so many clubs.

sorry to cut the quote but just on this las paragraph I think you are very much preaching to the choir. While people are criticising the coach here and glad he is gone I dont think anyone disagrees there are some real fundamental flaws. Again a big issue I have with the RFL is they dont want to look at the big picture of anything they like tinkering with small high profile things... issues with super league? just change the number of teams or the way the table works or P&R.. dont worry about the fundamental issues of the junior set ups or the quality of the actual "match day experience"... clubs, issues with turnover "we want more homegames" rather than making the homegame bigger and better, making them more profitable etc etc etc underperforming teams always sack managers its the same in any sport.. hoping the new one papers over the cracks, maybe giving them time to actually fix those cracks while the new manager works miracles.

yes and no... its not a 1 game takes everything match lose and you are the coach who got England eliminated in the group stage.. win and you have the chance to take the team forward and win the world cup... thats not a low bar

You may not buy it but there is no way the RFL didnt know what was happening at Fev and if they could delay the fixture list for 1 week for salford why not delay it for Fev... personally i would have told both to take a year off.. both were in such a state that whether they could fulfill the fixtures they were given were always under question, Salford given a ranking too high becuase no one knew what was going on as well as Fev now not being able to get to the deadline (and why is that deadline after the fixtures produced as well.. thats daft but so very RFL). My point wasnt expansion vs heartland in terms of right or wrong (as i stated quite clearly with "rightly or wrongly") it was merely a statement of fact that they are treated differently and the justification for it when it is expansion is becuase other clubs have to be able to plan and move forward or dont save one to the detriment of others yet they are happy to bend that for the heartland clubs and not worry about the detriment to others and yet we see it play out over and over like this and it damages the game, it damages other clubs etc etc.. The RFL just need to grow a pair and if they did clubs and new owners would work faster and better to make sure clubs get over the line. (Frankly show you can guarantee fixtures before the leagues and fixtures are announced would be a good start FFS!) In the end the lowest standard of behaviour you are willing to accept is the standard that standard behaviour will eventually become. It is being born out in front of our very eyes year on year.

most companies have a 5-10 year plan no longer.. to look to far down the line you miss the ability to pivot with what gets thrown at you, and we have all seen how the RFL dont like to keep things the same for more than about a month! I went to Bourneville to watch Sheffield Tigers RUFC play a friendly at the beginning of this season (and my 17 year old son make his debut).. its a really nice club house and the pitch is good but its very much just stand around the pitch so I was initially a bit deflated... however, they already have plans for a 350 seater structure, with a 20 year lease they can start to build things there, sustainably. That means they could have quite a nice ground there in 5-10 years time which they can then build form for the next 10 years, from there they are not tied in and IF they have progressed they could look at a bigger ground.. 20 years does not shout "small time no plan" it actually, when you start to put it together, can be a great length of time to build and then move (or build more with an extension to the lease).

There would be the exact same gnashing and moaning as there is as now, except all the other clubs would have been able to plan properly for the season. Its like the RFL never learn, they did the same with Salford last year, bend over backwards for one team while shafting the others and making their life more difficult. The one thing with RL in my mind that is the main problem is that all the clubs, and even the RFL, seem to want to look after themselves (and for the RFL they look after some clubs, normally good old traditional ones, rather than looking at what is best for everyone/the game as a whole. If this had been an expansion club they would not have been bent over backwards for, rightly or wrongly.. because it would have affected other clubs too much.. why then do we do this for Salford last year and Fev this.. i feel sorry for them and their fans but they end up punishing everyone for the actions of one or two club owners.. and its daft

I wonder, and this is based on nothing but supposition, if the RFL (thanks to the review) decided the job should be part time, which I dont think is a bad shout if we havent got any matches or training camps planned, and as such Wane said "no i dont really want a part time job thanks". Therefore he "stood aside"..

Got to say I think your idea of putting pictures up on the big screens (high def LED is hardly going to do most of these people any favours either) with what they did and the punishment for the next match (or when its been handed down) is a really good idea. Even just a case of putting them up every few matches as well as a reminder could work, you dont need it every match or people will just switch off it but every so often is no bad thing.. Also since when did stepping onto the pitch not get you an automatic expulsion from the ground and a night in the cells? or has that always been an urban myth?

This is why I like the aussie idea and the NFL idea that shirts just dont change that much, if at all, for a large chunk of time.. accept you arent going to sell to the same people year on year, however, you will sell to people as they wear out, or new players come in and they want that name on the shirt etc, people wont hold off one year becuase next year's may be nice and you dont have to give away/throw away a whole bunch of unsold merch each year as it all changes.. Change the nice normal stuff, t-shirts, hoodies, caps etc but leave the playing shirts alone.. build the brand.