Featherstone - Boom or Bust by the looks of it

[steve oates]

2 hours ago, The Masked Poster said:

So, no, I don’t think there should only be certain clubs in SL, just ones who either earn it on the pitch, or find an eccentric billionaire willing to throw squillions at them. But it all goes back to the lack of groundwork in RL historically anyway, it’s reaping what it has sown. 

David Argyle was just that and is still that now........

And Toronto Wolfpack they didn't work did they 

As long as there is a salary cap it will never work outside the Heartlands.........

[steve oates]

5 hours ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

I've always held the view that challenger sports like ours need to evaluate elite competition membership on a wider basket of criteria than just on-field performance. Especially when playing budgets in tier 2 are such that it only takes one wealthy bloke's lifestyle choice for a couple of years to almost guarantee promotion. I see no greater "sporting validity" in that. That's not an argument for parachuting in non-clubs in random areas with no platform (the straw man thrown at us sometimes), just an argument for being a little more nuanced in how we grow in future. 

How about this cobblers??

• Fandom (25%): encouraging clubs to attract more fans in stadia, both at home and digitally, and improve fan engagement, contributing to both club and central revenues.
• Performance (25%): incentivising clubs to perform on the field and drive fan awareness and engagement. Teams will be ranked between 1 and 36 based on where they finish in the leagues for the previous three seasons. Bonus points will be awarded to teams who win league and cup competitions in the previous season.
• Finances (25%): reflecting the success of fan engagement and business performance and rewarding sustainable investment, as well as diversified revenue streams and sound financial management.  
• Stadium (15%): based on a number of factors, including facilities and utilisation, which add value to the fan and broadcast or digital viewer experience, and match or exceed competition from other sports and events.
• Catchment (10%): based on area population and the number of clubs in the area, with a view to maximising growth of the sport in the largest markets to generate new fan bases and incentivise investment. 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

39 minutes ago, steve oates said:

How about this cobblers??

• Fandom (25%): encouraging clubs to attract more fans in stadia, both at home and digitally, and improve fan engagement, contributing to both club and central revenues.
• Performance (25%): incentivising clubs to perform on the field and drive fan awareness and engagement. Teams will be ranked between 1 and 36 based on where they finish in the leagues for the previous three seasons. Bonus points will be awarded to teams who win league and cup competitions in the previous season.
• Finances (25%): reflecting the success of fan engagement and business performance and rewarding sustainable investment, as well as diversified revenue streams and sound financial management.  
• Stadium (15%): based on a number of factors, including facilities and utilisation, which add value to the fan and broadcast or digital viewer experience, and match or exceed competition from other sports and events.
• Catchment (10%): based on area population and the number of clubs in the area, with a view to maximising growth of the sport in the largest markets to generate new fan bases and incentivise investment. 

Yes, looking at the detail underneath it they all seem like pretty sensible metrics to me? Meaningful items that are all important to evaluating a club's value and potential, and well balanced. This framework looks like it enables clubs to work towards 'SMART' goals in order to progress. What part don't you like? Better that than just blowing the local used car dealer's wedge for one or two years, and get promoted winning easily against a load of under-resourced, part-time sides who haven't been so lucky. 

It's nice to see some professionalism brought into our sport for a change, reading it I felt I could almost be in work meeting with some bright people. 

 

 

 

 

[Man of Kent]

6 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

It´s woeful because it gives sl clubs an incumbancy advantage. Are Salford, Wakey , Giants getting those crowds in the Champ doubtful. Wouldn´t Fev double there crowds like Leigh have in SL? Probably. That criteria is close to turning me into a flat capper it´s so rigged.

If you expected a level playing field you haven’t been paying attention.

 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 hour ago, ShropshireBull said:

It´s woeful because it gives sl clubs an incumbancy advantage. Are Salford, Wakey , Giants getting those crowds in the Champ doubtful. Wouldn´t Fev double there crowds like Leigh have in SL? Probably. That criteria is close to turning me into a flat capper it´s so rigged.

Any model would have an incumbency advantage. Rightly. The current one does (you can be poor on many criteria, including playing, and not be relegated). Security of tenure except in exceptional circumstance is part of us having a platform for sustained investment, rather than boom or bust.

In reality it’s expected that additional teams will be allowed in as they add value, rather than as replacements, certainly most of the time. 

[Gav Wilson]

1 hour ago, ShropshireBull said:

It´s woeful because it gives sl clubs an incumbancy advantage. Are Salford, Wakey , Giants getting those crowds in the Champ doubtful. Wouldn´t Fev double there crowds like Leigh have in SL? Probably. That criteria is close to turning me into a flat capper it´s so rigged.

It's a good job there are plenty of other areas to earn grading points then. 

[bigbaldnmad]

On 09/03/2023 at 10:44, steve oates said:

You find it "amusing" that the RFL and and SKY have not "grown the game". However growth was not the point. Survival was and remains the point in the new age of televised sport. We have over a hundred years of experience that tell us Soccer are the kings, and Union rules outside the M62. Chucking SKY money at our top clubs is exactly what has saved the game. So over to you to tell us what will "succeed" in terms of chucking SKY money at developing the game instead, and keep a mind of the fact that not many kids nowadays are bothered about any any code of football...... 

 No, I find all the irrelevant BS funny.

I think that you may well have misinterpreted my post as being pro expansion, far from it. I don't have a problem with expansion, but it won't work without a network of junior and community clubs around to support it. Just sticking a SL club in Birmingham, because it is a big city, would never succeed.

So the main point of my original post was fund the levels below SL. Underfunding the Championship, League 1 and starving the grass roots was my point. Do I think that the junior structure and community game will expand nationwide, the answer is certainly NO.

Fund championship, league 1 and community clubs, and don't waste it all on SL. The game in the UK will be stronger for it.