glossop saint

Have sky or anyone else said how much SL they will show on their TV channels? 18 to 24 matches seems like a lot. Also £20 if you have sky basic is then dismissing the cost of Sky basic, which I have no idea how much that is.

By the sounds of things it is also something that Catalans do quite well as well. Hopefully it is something that other clubs can emulate.

More meaning of words than phrases but I always wonder why some awe is good but to be full of awe is bad.

A disaster in many peoples eyes but not bad enough for those with bias to admit it. But bad enough that it continues the slow decline of not just the event. Pretty standard across the sport the last few years.

That is the point I'm making. There isn't just one goal. And maybe we are/were meeting those multiple goals in part. We will see about how well it goes this year. It won't be acknowledged as a disaster, at least by the RFL. I don't see how hosted it in a stadium widely acknowledged even by those with a bias towards it as being unsuitable, in a city that already hosts possibly the biggest club in the country fulfills any of the aims. I would like to see it used as a Challenge Cup round of 16. I think in that instance then you could have it in a heartland location to allow for relatively last minute qualification for it. It would however require all SL clubs joining at that stage and I would like to see the draw made months in advance to allow people to plan. I doubt this will happen and there are plenty of reasons why it shouldn't.

I don't think that there is one main reason for magic. Whether there was at the start then I suppose only the RFL will know for certain. Money, expansion, a festival all play a part in a successful magic. Unfortunately it seems as though this year's version is unlikely to fulfill the majority is indeed any of these. Cardiff and Newcastle fulfilled all, or at least had the potential to. Manchester did as well to an extent. I just don't think that ER will. The only hope being that some Leeds United fans maybe give it a go though I would be surprised if there are many of them who aren't at least aware of RL. Judging by comments i can't even see any festival of RL being successful given the state of the stadium and people likely only to watch their club and maybe one other match. So sad to see after having experienced fantastic magic weekends in the past.

I think that that first Thursday or Friday has got to be Wigan v Leigh. Champions v CC winners. Local rivalry. Both sides made some good high profile signings, albeit maybe after the fixtures have been planned. For me it is an absolute given if we want to start the season with a bang. The Hull Derby is another good option for an opening week fixture.

Maybe we should become non contact due to the strikes within the NHS?

Ah but anything wrong with the sport now provides a perfect opportunity to have a go at IMG, even if it is completely outside their remit or going against their recommendation. This thread would be half the size if you took any posts relating to IMG out.

You would. If their manager gave them the opportunity. In this case I think it is quite obvious they didn't.

Absolute nonsense.

I agree. I suppose I was just playing devils advocate and wondering how other clubs would respond. You have hit the nail on the head with the words 'planned approach'. I'm not sure that that has existed for well over a decade. It felt promising when we had Skolars, Hemel, All Golds, Coventry and talk of Bristol and Leicester. When we got the bumper TV at that point that should have been when a planned approach was used and taken some of that to really promote and support those teams (with various caveats and targets relating to community work, player development and attendance). Unfortunately that ship has sailed which is going to make this harder as those southern clubs are more isolated with greater costs and, I would hazard a guess, a more hostile administration.

As well as ring fencing costs to help Cornwall and develop rugby league there I assume you mean. Though I wonder how that would have gone down amongst other clubs. I wonder what clubs would make of the size of those respective ring fenced sums.

If they weren't that would be appalling. Compromising the integrity of a competition in order to avoid playing a member club just due to travel costs.

Strongly supporting the theory that it was the Championship clubs who didn't want Cornwall in the 1895 Cup. Those championship clubs who some people (not you) are forever telling us are not selfish like SL and only want what is best for the game.