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Another SL restructure is being planned


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2 hours ago, The Daddy said:

According to 40-20 magazine and rumours that are going around.

Anyone heard anything specifically?

Are you sure this isn’t just the whole Super League and RFL reunifying thing?

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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For the hundreds of thousands of pounds wasted in exploring investment for Super League, it could have been used to deploy a business development expert across the clubs to help them become more sustainable and productive companies, without the need to fight over a couple of hundred grand of extra central funding that they are desperate to stop anyone else getting.

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3 pages and nobody has the slightest idea what these plans, if they actually exist, are. The sooner the pubs open again the better.

 

Oh!

Sport, amongst other things, is a dream-world offering escape from harsh reality and the disturbing prospect of change.

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People on here should look at the NRL, with its 16 clubs, all of which have healthy fan bases unknown in Super League, and which are mostly not profitable on their own but which are all thriving on a generous TV contract, and  ample commercial sponsorship. This would have not been possible had four of the preexisting clubs not agreed to merge into two — something that many parochial northern Englishmen from Yorkshire find unacceptable.

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2 hours ago, Clogiron said:

Thirteen teams, each club gets 2 byes, 24 games top 4 play off, bottom team plays top team in championship for promotion, break for mid season internationals, draw for whose bye coincides with magic if it must be continued with, if chosen taken out of draw for following seasons until all clubs have missed it. So obvious that it will never be implemented.

I'm not sure why anybody would think that an odd number of teams is some sort of panacea.

Byes are great if they're in the right place, evenly spacing your season.  Start of a season, not so good.

I prefer not to think of them as byes, rather blank weeks.  And we definitely shouldn't give points forf byes like the Aussies. Folk were up in arms about bonus points - "a point for losing".  Yet the NRL give two points for not even bothering to turn up.

Crazy idea.

"We'll sell you a seat .... but you'll only need the edge of it!"

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41 minutes ago, Manfred Mann said:

People on here should look at the NRL, with its 16 clubs, all of which have healthy fan bases unknown in Super League, and which are mostly not profitable on their own but which are all thriving on a generous TV contract, and  ample commercial sponsorship. This would have not been possible had four of the preexisting clubs not agreed to merge into two — something that many  parochial northern Englishmen from Yorkshire find unacceptable.

What about parochial northern Englishmen from Lancashire or Cumbria?

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I see nothing wrong with P&R as long as there’s some kind of system in place to protect clubs from financial ruin when relegated.

I would suggest that the RFL provide a dedicated team of staff to undertake the administration duties that befall a newly promoted club. These staff can be gradually replaced by the club’s own staff in season 2 & 3 , should they survive.

The replaced staff can then move to the next promoted club to perform the same duties for them.

The beauty of this is that upon relegation less jobs are lost and some of the financial burden is removed from the relegated club thus helping to avoid an insolvency event.

Im sure there are other ways in which the governing body can temporarily take on some of the costs of being promoted and thus the negative financial impact of being relegated.

This could be directly funded from the profits of Super League and in part funding from each of the clubs, after all its in everyone’s interest that a successful P&R system is in place.

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15 minutes ago, OMEGA said:

What about parochial northern Englishmen from Lancashire or Cumbria?

They are irrelevant at this time. It is the fans who live in the region of the Calder river whose parochialism inhibits progress in the current era.

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Whatever it is, whatever the plan, stick with it. Chopping and changing so much devalues the competition. FWIW I didn't mind the middle 8's I think with a few tweaks it could have worked, same with a 14 team division and licensing. I'm not that tied to a particular format as long as it allows movement between divisions. 

I was born to run a club like this. Number 1, I do not spook easily, and those who think I do, are wasting their time, with their surprise attacks.

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It is clear which existing clubs definitely belong in Super League:

Wigan

St Helens

Warrington

Leeds 

Hull FC

Hull KR

Catalans

Toulouse

 

There are the borderline existing Super League clubs:

Huddersfield (slightly insufficient fan base)

Castleford ( unacceptable stadium)

 

There are the attractive possible future Super League clubs:

London

York

Newcastle 

Avignon

Paris

Toronto

Ottawa

 

There are the failed existing Super League clubs who need to be relegated:

Wakefield (unacceptable stadium, inadequate fan base, inadequate finances)

Salford (inadequate fan base)

Leigh (inadequate fan base)

 

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1 hour ago, Northern Eel said:

For the hundreds of thousands of pounds wasted in exploring investment for Super League, it could have been used to deploy a business development expert across the clubs to help them become more sustainable and productive companies, without the need to fight over a couple of hundred grand of extra central funding that they are desperate to stop anyone else getting.

How many clubs don't have a Chief Commercial Officer or similar such role?

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7 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

How many clubs don't have a Chief Commercial Officer or similar such role?

In this day and age, there shouldn't be a single club without - and I certainly expect that all do have someone with such a remit. I am pretty sure many clubs would benefit from the input of an individual who could help them identify additional income streams and innovative ideas, unless of course they already generate every penny possible through their work. This isn't about whether employees are any good at their jobs, it is about being prepared to be an outward looking organisation, happy to receive help and ideas where it didn't previously exist. 

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3 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

In this day and age, there shouldn't be a single club without - and I certainly expect that all do have someone with such a remit. I am pretty sure many clubs would benefit from the input of an individual who could help them identify additional income streams and innovative ideas, unless of course they already generate every penny possible through their work.

The issue I have with that is that I don't think it's the responsibility of a governing / central body to micro-manage clubs. 

What is needed is a system that, to be frank, allows clubs that don't do what you suggest to "fall behind". At the moment, because of the way the salary cap works, clubs that are successful are prevented from investing the fruits of that success into playing talent, whilst those clubs that don't succeed commercially are allowed to remain competitive because the salary cap doesn't even keep pace with inflation. 

As long as we have a salary cap that forces everyone to run at the pace of the slowest, areas like commercial development, PR and marketing will always be seen as costs that can easily be cut. 

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29 minutes ago, Manfred Mann said:

It is clear which existing clubs definitely belong in Super League:

Wigan

St Helens

Warrington

Leeds 

Hull FC

Hull KR

Catalans

Toulouse

 

There are the borderline existing Super League clubs:

Huddersfield (slightly insufficient fan base)

Castleford ( unacceptable stadium)

 

There are the attractive possible future Super League clubs:

London

York

Newcastle 

Avignon

Toronto

Ottawa

 

There are the failed existing Super League clubs who need to be relegated:

Wakefield (unacceptable stadium, inadequate fan base, inadequate finances)

Salford (inadequate fan base)

Leigh (inadequate fan base)

 

So the best licensed Super League structure should be:

Wigan

St Helens

Warrington

Leeds 

Hull FC

Hull KR

Catalans

Toulouse

 

Huddersfield*

Castleford* 

 

* = 3 years probation pending rectification of problems.

 

A 10 team Super League would then plan future expansion to 12 or 14 clubs with London, Newcastle, York, Avignon, Paris, Toronto and Ottawa as preferred candidates.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

The issue I have with that is that I don't think it's the responsibility of a governing / central body to micro-manage clubs. 

What is needed is a system that, to be frank, allows clubs that don't do what you suggest to "fall behind". At the moment, because of the way the salary cap works, clubs that are successful are prevented from investing the fruits of that success into playing talent, whilst those clubs that don't succeed commercially are allowed to remain competitive because the salary cap doesn't even keep pace with inflation. 

As long as we have a salary cap that forces everyone to run at the pace of the slowest, areas like commercial development, PR and marketing will always be seen as costs that can easily be cut. 

I hear what you are saying. The salary cap was introduced to try and stop clubs spending money they don't have and therefore avoid administration/insolvency. My guess would be that in removing the salary cap, we would go back to some of the financial meltdowns suffered in the past. I am not suggesting micro-management, just a way of the governing body of the sport investing in the future of its 'biggest' competition. 

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1 hour ago, Manfred Mann said:

People on here should look at the NRL, with its 16 clubs, all of which have healthy fan bases unknown in Super League, and which are mostly not profitable on their own but which are all thriving on a generous TV contract, and  ample commercial sponsorship. This would have not been possible had four of the preexisting clubs not agreed to merge into two — something that many parochial northern Englishmen from Yorkshire find unacceptable.

How's that tautology coming along, man?

Sport, amongst other things, is a dream-world offering escape from harsh reality and the disturbing prospect of change.

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1 hour ago, Griff said:

I'm not sure why anybody would think that an odd number of teams is some sort of panacea.

Byes are great if they're in the right place, evenly spacing your season.  Start of a season, not so good.

I prefer not to think of them as byes, rather blank weeks.  And we definitely shouldn't give points forf byes like the Aussies. Folk were up in arms about bonus points - "a point for losing".  Yet the NRL give two points for not even bothering to turn up.

Crazy idea.

I wouldn't give points for a blank week, 24, League games plus cup and play-off games would mean a player has at max 30 games a season which seams about right.

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5 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

I hear what you are saying. The salary cap was introduced to try and stop clubs spending money they don't have and therefore avoid administration/insolvency. My guess would be that in removing the salary cap, we would go back to some of the financial meltdowns suffered in the past. I am not suggesting micro-management, just a way of the governing body of the sport investing in the future of its 'biggest' competition. 

Not necessarily. You can have fiscal controls that prevent financial mismanagement, have an effect on preventing a "Wigan in the 80s" situation and ensure that clubs that are commercially successful can invest that success in improving the on-field product. An FFP-style system could very much do that. 

A hard cap doesn't really serve any purpose. It doesn't make the league more competitive (because smaller clubs get poorer value from it), it doesn't improve the product on the field (because it supresses the wages of the talent, adding further incentive for them to go elsewhere) and it doesn't prevent financial problems (because there is no link between the cap and commercial performance). 

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2 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

Not necessarily. You can have fiscal controls that prevent financial mismanagement, have an effect on preventing a "Wigan in the 80s" situation and ensure that clubs that are commercially successful can invest that success in improving the on-field product. An FFP-style system could very much do that. 

A hard cap doesn't really serve any purpose. It doesn't make the league more competitive (because smaller clubs get poorer value from it), it doesn't improve the product on the field (because it supresses the wages of the talent, adding further incentive for them to go elsewhere) and it doesn't prevent financial problems (because there is no link between the cap and commercial performance). 

So why do smaller clubs get poorer value from it? Is it down to their income generation?

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6 minutes ago, Northern Eel said:

So why do smaller clubs get poorer value from it? Is it down to their income generation?

Let's create a scenario - imagine you are an out-of-contract player and your options are:

Option A; Club with a decent track record of competing for honours, maybe getting into major finals every now and then, training in excellent facilities, playing in a state-of-the-art venue in front of good crowds and a good record on player welfare. 

Option B: Club consistently fighting relegation, minimal chance of playing in showpiece events, training on "Dogs**t Park", playing in a dump every second week in front of small crowds, and for a chairman who has no problem going to the press to slag-off his players, pressuring them to take pay cuts with sinister "we will remember it if you don't comply" messages and telling you to "grow a pair" in the local rag if you have a problem with the way in which the club is run. 

How much more money would Club B have to throw at you to convince you to join them instead of Club A? 

That's how smaller clubs get poorer value from the salary cap. 

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2 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

Let's create a scenario - imagine you are an out-of-contract player and your options are:

Option A; Club with a decent track record of competing for honours, maybe getting into major finals every now and then, training in excellent facilities, playing in a state-of-the-art venue in front of good crowds and a good record on player welfare. 

Option B: Club consistently fighting relegation, minimal chance of playing in showpiece events, training on "Dogs**t Park", playing in a dump every second week in front of small crowds, and for a chairman who has no problem going to the press to slag-off his players, pressuring them to take pay cuts with sinister "we will remember it if you don't comply" messages and telling you to "grow a pair" in the local rag if you have a problem with the way in which the club is run. 

How much more money would Club B have to throw at you to convince you to join them instead of Club A? 

That's how smaller clubs get poorer value from the salary cap. 

2 down, 2 up would possibly solve much of that. Equally, if the small crowds are not going to naturally increase, and the money is not available to improve the infrastructure, then some sound financial advice wouldn't be a bad thing to listen to.

But, this is just one facet of the thread. Ultimately, clubs need to be help to account in some way for the way they operate and a range of minimum standards should, in my view, not only be expected, but prevail.

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4 hours ago, Manfred Mann said:

The only restructuring that makes any sense is a return to licensing, but with the rules of licensing enforced, unlike last time. This means modern 10,000 seat minimum stadium, and a fan attendance average of at least 5,000 or even 6,000. A viable business plan would also be necessary, of course.

That would end the burden of having Salford, Wakefield and probably Leigh weighing down Super League. If Castleford can’t get a 21st century stadium to play in, then they too will have to go. Their current stadium is an embarrassment and a disgrace. It would certainly guarantee the participation of Toulouse, and possibly other French or North American clubs, in Super League. It would give hope to Bradford (assuming their business side is guaranteed), Newcastle, York and London. 

The restructuring change I propose would surely make Super League more attractive to TV broadcasters and commercial sponsors.

Leigh meet you criteria,Bradford don’t 

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5 hours ago, Manfred Mann said:

The only restructuring that makes any sense is a return to licensing, but with the rules of licensing enforced, unlike last time. This means modern 10,000 seat minimum stadium, and a fan attendance average of at least 5,000 or even 6,000. A viable business plan would also be necessary, of course.

That would end the burden of having Salford, Wakefield and probably Leigh weighing down Super League. If Castleford can’t get a 21st century stadium to play in, then they too will have to go. Their current stadium is an embarrassment and a disgrace. It would certainly guarantee the participation of Toulouse, and possibly other French or North American clubs, in Super League. It would give hope to Bradford (assuming their business side is guaranteed), Newcastle, York and London. 

The restructuring change I propose would surely make Super League more attractive to TV broadcasters and commercial sponsors.

Stop it MM I don't like agreeing with you 😁

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