Harry Stottle

Yawn.

I Should imagine to Sky we are to small a sport for a channel of our own bob.

http://www.rugbyleagueontv.com/ Book mark this Eddie, it is refreshed with the next few weeks very often, all the games that are in TV.

Anyway, we are not talking just one team when the sporting contest is reduced in the division by having no relegation.

Not at all, what did the Leigh do? That is the new blueprint.

What position did Wakey finish in the indicative scores? It would be foolhardy not to makesure that position was maintained, you do realise there is a massive difference in the funding they would receive if they were to go into the Championshipnext season, and all the other monetary positives that come along with SL status, bigger crowds, merchandise sales, matchday revenue etc etc, c'mon glossop it's not hard.

But reduces the sporting contest over all the division, fine if you like that kind of thing.

Of course, but be reasonable Clicky, aren't those two clubs guaranteed SL status? I was specifically talking about clubs with low IMG scores there was actually a clue in the wording of my post "If I was a local lad to a low ÌMG scoring club with aspirations" but you chose to highlight just the sentence after. Touche, I only view IMG one way, that's a bit rich isn't it?

It won't happen Taffy by design or by default, the RL are not expecting it to and I should imagine that is after consultation with IMG, why else would they announce that the Championship - 14 clubs and L1 - 10 clubs are amalgamating to make 2 x 12 leagues.

That could well happen with Toulouse this year, how I don't know.

Yes off course, but all joking apart would money men those local lads who have made good be put off under this IMG system? Until recently we had not heard off (well I hadn't before their involvement with RL) Matt Ellis - Wakefield, Mike Danson - Wigan who have recently bought their clubs, and the game is awash with the 'local' owners, Caddick, McManus, Hudgell, Beaumont, Moran, Davy, Guasch. If I was a local lad to a low ÌMG scoring club with aspirations and a few million to spare, I would most probably not bother, It's food for thought!

Your analysis of "the longest pre season" is totally wrong part of the league system leading up to the cut off for qualification to the play-offs or being consigned to the middle 8's for SL clubs and for Championship clubs attaining a top 4 position in their league system. The next mini league the Middle 8's led to the MPG which was the decider contested by the clubs not good enough to finish top 3 for automatic qualification to SL or bad enough to finish in the bottom 3 and immediately consigned to the Championship. As far as your last sentence is concerned you are obviously just relating to a SL club "losing a one-off match", for any SL at that time to lose out to a championship club either in the MPG or finishing below one in the mini league is quite extraordinary with the difference in funding and the level of competition they had been exposed to all season had no one to blame but themselves.

Yes of course John, and just like Bob Dylan with his song "With God on our side" implies each side believes they are right.

Sorry Chris got called away. Anyway to answer you, I will ask you the question while is it then still perceived when attending a formal occasion such as a wedding, funeral, job interviews (granted not all) that "making the effort" to dress for the occasion involves dressing in the way I described as was the norm on Friday/Saturday evenings out?

What you are advocating Yedder is that you want to initiate the divorce proceedings, I would sooner get in the marriage guidance and let the parties see and become aware that what they are advocating and steps they are taking will resolve themselves just by making them realise that things are not as black as they are being painted and the grass is not really greener on the other side.

You surprise me Tommy, you are far better than that remark. Did you not know that having won promotion there was a Middle East Prince from the same Abu Dhabi royal family who own Manchester City who was going to invest quite heavily in London Bronco's, but having been advised that even if the Bronco's emulated the success of his cousin at City and topped the League, travelled just down the road to parade the Challenge Cup having won it at Wembley and then won the Grand Final at Old Trafford. Then his Royal Highness the Prince finds out that if they managed to do all that they would under the auspices of IMG be relegated next season so he pulls out! Is there any more vindication this system needs?

Yes of course they would undoubtedly so, but is the game a better spectacle to watch under the present style and methods, absolutely not in my opinion. It's like comparing clothing styles from modern times to years ago, Friday/Saturday nights people would get dressed up to go out and looked very smart, men in a suit, tie, polished shoes, ladies in a nice dress and high heels, compare that today to men with ripped jean's, T shirts with pictures or advertising something or other and trainers, and Ladies who in the main have forgot how to look feminine, the test of time doesn't always mean improvement Bob!

Agreed but then be radical with the changes, wipe the slate clean and look at the game as a whole not just one section. What we have now got with just a few tweaks is the 'licensing years' all over again, it is the same but with a different coat of paint. It is designed in such a way that after the initial introduction and settling period it will be impossible for clubs outside of the initial - chosen 12 - to ever rise to it, or for the incumbents to leave it. The scoring system has been really thought about and is purposefully weighted to do exactly what the committee of the 'Framing the Future' did those years ago in choosing who would be the elite and who will be the onlookers. The licensed years did not last the test of time simply because those clubs on the outside were waning and the game in that section was struggling, it needed rejuvenating and sensibility prevailed in 2015 when the licences were rescinded and P&R was reintroduced. There are those (usually fans of SL clubs) who say the Championship can have a vibrant competition all of it's own, well that didn't prove to be the case in licencing it was dying a slow death in a dead end street, and it will do the same with IMG's methods. Licensing lasted 6 years 2009 to 2014 inclusive, if the same happens again and the Championship is going downhill by 2030 IMG should be confined to the history books as licencing was "tried and it didn't work".

Well we shall see what happens if that fraction of a point comes into play on the next spreadsheet which as you know could mean a club losing SL status. You know it accrued to me when writing that last bit - losing SL status - how it was treated with such horror and trepidation when your club (but it could have been anyone) lost in the MPG and it relegated them, it was said people will lose jobs, the club would lose a lot of central funding, but the thing is the club had a fighting chance on the field to sort their destiny, this system doesn't offer that to the same degree.

Yeah, the only similarities are the rules of the game.......... oh hang on a minute!

Football is nationwide and as you say an obsession so will do well in all those respects, both codes of rugby are basically regional games, that will never change and as such we will always struggle, anyway no need to explain it to me it was JohnM who brought it up.

Tommy, I distinctly said "it is the British Psych" and mentioned the major pro sports which you are taking to task, I also said P&R is very evident in many other sports/pastimes if there are enough in the teams in the system to have more than one division, you have for reasons of your own failed to mention, somehow you have missed the intention of my post.

Hopefully it doesn't come down to a fraction of a point to form a legal challenge, but if the system is not transparent then there is most definitely reason to dispute it. Let me just clarify something you said in your first post, you said "all the clubs have signed up to compete on the basis of this being the model, and any internal appeals process being final" My question to you is, do you honestly know for sure that the documentation that was signed, included a clause which would give IMG complete jurisdiction on any internal appeals process being finite? Or have you made that bit up? I have signed many contracts in my time but would never go anywhere near one that to all intents and purpose gives one party complete freedom to act as they wish in all important respects. More fool any club that has put their name to that, I doubt one Neil Hudgell would do that considering his background.

That as always been my point Click, if you have clubs with the ambition and desire to achieve their goal why deny them the opportunity? Besides that, how much pleasure did you get from the latter part of last season from your club, I bet you wouldn't have missed that for the world.

For each Burnley, Leicester and Leeds you will have other clubs and fans exhibiting excitement and euphoria, it gives them the chance to improve themselves. Just think about that one, you get SL coaches even the one from your adopted club who when questioned last week about two player's absent because of suspension saying, it presents others with the opportunity to impress and stake a claim. As for pure speculation on my part, and just on football who employ the system seeing that you have used that sport for your example, operating a P&R system as they do, does not seem to do them any harm whatsoever, there are many who go to watch it live, many pay subscriptions to watch it on the box, TV companies are clamboring over each other offering million £ contracts, trade mags are in big supply, newspapers sell for their football coverage, do you want me to go on? The P&R system is not broken, it don't need tampering with John.