2021 Season

[Rupert Prince]

There is a press conference timed for 16.00 I believe.  Tbe virus is co ti uing to spread.  Its qukte possible the chrismas rules might be tightened and it seems almost inevitable that the whole Nation, the entire UK, will soon be under more controls.

Does it make sense for SL (and Championship) to start in March?  Could it not be delayed until April? And loop fixtures scrapped.   Other sports are now still cancelling matches.  We need to give our selves time to prepare for the World Cup.  The loop fixtures need to go now.

[Man of Kent]

Three months is a long time. Winter is peak for any respiratory virus, isn’t it? I’m naturally optimistic but by March days will be longer and warmer, and things should be improving.

[Spidey]

Should only impact London & The South. So no impact to our local M62 comp

[Damien]

16 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

There is a press conference timed for 16.00 I believe.  Tbe virus is co ti uing to spread.  Its qukte possible the chrismas rules might be tightened and it seems almost inevitable that the whole Nation, the entire UK, will soon be under more controls.

Does it make sense for SL (and Championship) to start in March?  Could it not be delayed until April? And loop fixtures scrapped.   Other sports are now still cancelling matches.  We need to give our selves time to prepare for the World Cup.  The loop fixtures need to go now.

In World Cup year especially the loop fixtures should have been scrapped anyway and we should have been starting in April. If fans aren't allowed into stadiums to any meaningful extent come March then it certainly makes no sense starting up then.

[Rupert Prince]

4 hours ago, Spidey said:

Should only impact London & The South. So no impact to our local M62 comp

Sigh...!

[Mr Plow]

They say it’ll be mostly back to normal by Easter. At this point they’ll have vaccinated the elderly and vulnerable and will be working down the age groups. 

[Rupert Prince]

4 hours ago, Damien said:

In World Cup year especially the loop fixtures should have been scrapped anyway and we should have been starting in April. If fans aren't allowed into stadiums to any meaningful extent come March then it certainly makes no sense starting up then.

I do agree with that...

But my main worry is that we will not be able to give space for games and players if things go wrong.  27 games next year, of all years, is too many.  I'd settle for no loops and two magics.

Let's not forget that twice now ... and this seems to be affecting the whole world ... we thought things were getting better but have gone back to square one.  A few countries thought they were being clever with it, but everyone (especially if they are populous) is getting it worse.  

[Oxford]

15 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

I do agree with that...

But my main worry is that we will not be able to give space for games and players if things go wrong.  27 games next year, of all years, is too many.  I'd settle for no loops and two magics.

Let's not forget that twice now ... and this seems to be affecting the whole world ... we thought things were getting better but have gone back to square one.  A few countries thought they were being clever with it, but everyone (especially if they are populous) is getting it worse.  

The loops are rubbish, there are too many games.

Yes of course we hoped things were improving and ended up where we started and there are very obvious reasons why but mentioning them here will get the thread locked,

[Griff]

If we have any sense, we'll drop the loop fixtures for 2021.

But I'm not convinced we have enough sense.

[Griff]

15 hours ago, Oxford said:

The loops are rubbish, there are too many games.

Been saying so for ages but I keep getting shouted down.

[Scotchy1]

15 hours ago, Oxford said:

The loops are rubbish, there are too many games.

Yes of course we hoped things were improving and ended up where we started and there are very obvious reasons why but mentioning them here will get the thread locked,

The game needs the money, its dead on its ######. It can't afford to cut nearly a third of the season off.

Especially going in to a TV renegotiation. 

For SL there are no good options and the kicking we take next year on the back of this year won't be good. 

The lower leagues are much simpler, mull furlough as long as you can't, aim for a summer start. Not point paying players to play untelevised games in empty stadia

[Toby Chopra]

Just now, Griff said:

Been saying so for ages but I keep getting shouted down.

There are not too many games. Don't you like watching rugby league, why do you want less of it? 

27+playoffs+Cup+internationals is nice and similar in season length to the obvious comparisons. No one says 27 is too many for the Championship. 

Of course, how we get to 27 regular season SL games given the size of SL and the money available is a separate question entirely. We've debated it forever and no doubt will continue. There are no perfect answers. But the tail shouldn't wag the dog. 

[Tommygilf]

16 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

They say it’ll be mostly back to normal by Easter. At this point they’ll have vaccinated the elderly and vulnerable and will be working down the age groups. 

You'd hope so but look how much things have changed between now and 3 months ago in September.

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

29 minutes ago, Griff said:

If we have any sense, we'll drop the loop fixtures for 2021.

But I'm not convinced we have enough sense.

It’s more likely the early rounds of the challenge cup will be dropped, with the Cup been a Super League only competition as it was this year.

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

9 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

You'd hope so but look how much things have changed between now and 3 months ago in September.

Look how much things have changed between now and 3 days ago 

[Blind side johnny]

16 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

They say it’ll be mostly back to normal by Easter. At this point they’ll have vaccinated the elderly and vulnerable and will be working down the age groups. 

"They" have said a lot of things and sometimes, just occasionally, have been proven to be not quite right.

[Futtocks]

38 minutes ago, Griff said:

Been saying so for ages but I keep getting shouted down.

Lots of people have said that, and many more have agreed. But the sticking point is that the fans aren't the ones making the decision.

[Harry Stottle]

16 hours ago, Mr Plow said:

They say it’ll be mostly back to normal by Easter. At this point they’ll have vaccinated the elderly and vulnerable and will be working down the age groups. 

Apparently the vaccine we have will run out in January, and the next lot won't be available till March.

[Scotchy1]

1 minute ago, Futtocks said:

Lots of people have said that, and many more have agreed. But the sticking point is that the fans aren't the ones making the decision.

In a sense they are. Its their attending/viewing habits that make the loop fixtures the more profitable option

[Futtocks]

21 minutes ago, Scotchy1 said:

In a sense they are. Its their attending/viewing habits that make the loop fixtures the more profitable option

Only if the attendance numbers plummeted to a level where it wasn't bringing the clubs enough money to actually put on the fixtures. And, seeing as loop fixtures haven't gone away, the numbers must still be favourable, whatever complaints people have.

[Scotchy1]

2 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Only if the attendance numbers plummeted to a level where it wasn't bringing the clubs enough money to actually put on the fixtures. And, seeing as loop fixtures haven't gone away, the numbers must still be favourable, whatever complaints people have.

There is the elasticity of demand its not just a question of do they lose money on those fixtures but do they also bring down the value of the existing ones aswell. Would we be able to charge more/get more in if we created scarcity 

We are where we are now because that's the best system for current viewing habits.

That could change, no reason that if we wrapped it up and packaged it in a different way different people wouldnt consume in a different way

[Ramon Rojo]

The major threat to recovery and getting everyday life back is the total ignorance and stupidity of large sections of the British public.

Just look at the chaotic London exodus.

Where our game will be come March nobody knows. We just have to hope the vaccine roll out works.

In the interim I feel our only chance of beating Covid is for the Government to apply rigorous enforcement. There's simply too many deniers out there unwilling to follow the rules.

For now, let's keep the Super League schedule as it stands and hope common sense gets a look in.

[Futtocks]

45 minutes ago, Scotchy1 said:

There is the elasticity of demand its not just a question of do they lose money on those fixtures but do they also bring down the value of the existing ones aswell. Would we be able to charge more/get more in if we created scarcity 

The clubs know that the status quo works. It may or may not work as well as other options, but that would involve taking a risk instead of sticking with what they know. 

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, Griff said:

Been saying so for ages but I keep getting shouted down.

Who on this forum has shouted you down for saying loop fixtures are tripe, I’ve never seen anyone disagree with that assertion. 

[Oxford]

2 hours ago, Scotchy1 said:

The game needs the money, its dead on its ######. It can't afford to cut nearly a third of the season off.

Especially going in to a TV renegotiation. 

For SL there are no good options and the kicking we take next year on the back of this year won't be good. 

The lower leagues are much simpler, mull furlough as long as you can't, aim for a summer start. Not point paying players to play untelevised games in empty stadia

Having the concentration, persistence and imagination levels of a gnat shouldn't be the qualification for decisions about the season or posts about those decisions Scotchy. The questions should be what can we do to increase involvement & interest not how can we bore our fan base into submission?