Super League to 14 clubs?Championship and League 1 to merge?Good idea or not?

[Robthegasman]

I saw it suggested that the Super League could be increased to 14 clubs,hence no relegation for Leigh or Salford.

 I also saw it suggested that the Championship and League 1 could merge and form one division.
 

Now if this is the case is this a good idea or not?

[Saint Toppy]

20 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

I saw it suggested that the Super League could be increased to 14 clubs,hence no relegation for Leigh or Salford.

 I also saw it suggested that the Championship and League 1 could merge and form one division.
 

Now if this is the case is this a good idea or not?

Suggested by who ?

Either I imagined it or I thought it had already been announced that there would be no change from a 12 team SL at least for 2022, especially with the reduced TV deal coming into play as well.

[Hela Wigmen]

We don’t talk enough about structures on here, this should be interesting 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

link?

 

[Damien]

14 teams with no loop fixtures is what I've wanted for years and is what should have happened with the last bumper TV deal.

Interestingly RUs Premiership have just announced they are going to 14.

[Oxford]

It's hard to see how this would marry up with the quality of SL players has taken a nose dive from the likes of Luke Gale etc.

[Barley Mow]

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere.

As a concept it would have positives and negatives:

14 in SL works well structurally, as Damien says, it gets rid of loop fixtures.

It would however mean the combined championship/league 1 would have 22 teams - assuming we aren't arbitrarily chucking clubs through no fault of their own.

In SL the lower tv funding figure would have to be split more ways and the playing standard would also be reduced overall by spreading the talent across more teams.

[sweaty craiq]

TO and Fev are playing in a different comp to the rest, if it was an 11 team SL then Leigh Fev and TO would be playing in a comp above the rest.

Make it 14 and 1 up/down means the best 2 of the above 3 will get better in year 2 when they have a chance to recruit.

[Eddie]

1 minute ago, sweaty craiq said:

TO and Fev are playing in a different comp to the rest, if it was an 11 team SL then Leigh Fev and TO would be playing in a comp above the rest.

Make it 14 and 1 up/down means the best 2 of the above 3 will get better in year 2 when they have a chance to recruit.

14 with 1 up and 1 down automatically but 13th in SL go in the play offs with 2nd to 4th in the championship. 

[sweaty craiq]

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

14 with 1 up and 1 down automatically but 13th in SL go in the play offs with 2nd to 4th in the championship. 

I would say no to that, as you would have 2 clubs every year scraping the player barrel in October

[Hela Wigmen]

14 only serves to get rid of loop games, it doesn’t however mean it’s the answer. It would be short-term thinking, which is our speciality as a sport. 

[sentoffagain2]

3 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

It needs to be 14 and playing standard could stay stable if part time players have the financial incentive to go full time.

Yes less tv money per club but the teams likely to come up in future  (Tolouse York Newcastle) should have enough ability to make good  commercial income. 

   I would like 14 teams and within 5 years 16 S.L. teams, admit we don't have enough quality players so the top players would have to be spread more evenly through the League.I would grade players  1-2 and 3 with clubs only allowed 8-12- and any number of younger development players for grade 3 to make up the squad.Part time players would probably want a contract over 60 k a year to go full time even if they wanted to leave a secure job which may be their future career.If we eventually get to 16 that would leave 20 teams in the lower division so split into two groups of 10 group 1 play each other home and away 18 games and each of the other clubs once 5 home games 5 away games this would give a 28 match season before any play offs for outright Champions.

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, Hela Wigmen said:

14 only serves to get rid of loop games, it doesn’t however mean it’s the answer. It would be short-term thinking, which is our speciality as a sport. 

It's the complete opposite of short term thinking. Nonsense like loop fixtures and making SL ready clubs like Toulouse wait in the Championship, and so holding back the development of a potentially big club, the game in France and the international game, is short term thinking.

[Hela Wigmen]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

It's the complete opposite of short term thinking. Nonsense like loop fixtures and making SL ready clubs like Toulouse wait in the Championship, and so holding back the development of a potentially big club, the game in France and the international game, is short term thinking.

There’s very few benefits and you’re just plucking names out to try and build a narrative to back your story. 

Going to 14 would be like getting a can of Carling (a rubbish lager) pouring it into a glass and watering it down further. The standard of Super League is poor currently. Not just on the pitch but off it. The standards are woeful, watering it down further would be a terrible move. 

[The Frying Scotsman]

1 minute ago, Hela Wigmen said:

The standard of Super League is poor currently. Not just on the pitch but off it. The standards are woeful, watering it down further would be a terrible move. 

This part, 100% true.

I am astonished how some people on here repeatedly talk it up. 

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, Hela Wigmen said:

There’s very few benefits and you’re just plucking names out to try and build a narrative to back your story. 

Going to 14 would be like getting a can of Carling (a rubbish lager) pouring it into a glass and watering it down further. The standard of Super League is poor currently. Not just on the pitch but off it. The standards are woeful, watering it down further would be a terrible move. 

You just don't like to hear the opinions of others. There are benefits, plenty. There are no benefits to 12 teams and loop fixtures.

[Hela Wigmen]

5 minutes ago, Damien said:

You just don't like to hear the opinions of others. There are benefits, plenty. There are no benefits to 12 teams and loop fixtures.

You can’t construct a debate, can you? 

I didn’t say there was a benefit to loop fixtures now, did I? 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

weren't the NRL going to buy up the league?

[Eddie]

3 minutes ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

weren't the NRL going to buy up the league?

No! 

[Damien]

14 minutes ago, Hela Wigmen said:

You can’t construct a debate, can you? 

I didn’t say there was a benefit to loop fixtures now, did I? 

I forgot you were the master of intellectual debate 

I never said you did, did I?

[Hela Wigmen]

Just now, Damien said:

I forgot you were the master of intellectual debate 

I never said you did, did I?

And you’ve reverted to your usual type. As predictable as you could be. 

[Damien]

38 minutes ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

This part, 100% true.

I am astonished how some people on here repeatedly talk it up. 

Who talks it up? I think most on here are well aware of the issues with Super League and the standard of it. However people on here are RL fans, who strangely like Rugby League, so do enjoy it all the same.

[The Blues Ox]

Because of the money and how the game is run theres more chance of going to 10 teams rather than 14. Now I know Leigh didn't have the best team in the championship when they were chosen but it still highlights the gulf in class and the lack of quality available that they are comfotably the worst team in SL. As has been mentioned moving to 14 teams to further waters down the product with nowhere near enough money to go around to make the best part time players even consider going full time.

Brandon Moore is a decent example, when he went to Huddersfield on loan last season by the time the season finished he had been one of Huddersfields best players yet when Salford came in for him there was not a hope in hell that they would give more than 50k to a player from the championship and despite him getting Fax's blessing to speak to them their offer was described as laughable.

Given the youth structure in the country as well its pretty clear we are doing an awful job of developing youth players and too many are been lost to the game simply because SL teams must sign every player from good youth teams just incase they make it. It really said it all when the RFL try to stop teams from having academies, in what backward thinking reality does that even happen?

The game needs a huge overhaul from top to bottom. Won't happen in my lifetime though.

[Hela Wigmen]

9 minutes ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

weren't the NRL going to buy up the league?

There was a couple of articles suggesting they were and I think Sky News even reported it but it never seemed to go any further than that. Shane Richardson has said he wants to get the two working together but that’s easier said than done. 

[EastLondonMike]

Would be good to know the rationale behind going to 14 teams, if this was being discussed. I too don't believe we have the quality currently, and haven't had for some time IMO, and adding an additional two teams wont improve anything other than riding us of the loop fixtures.

The administration of the game really do need to get a grip on things. We really do need to reset and work out what we want to be and where we want to go with our sport.