Championship Focus: Will Featherstone Rovers ever make it to Super League?

[The Phantom Horseman]

13 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

Regardless of watch some say the games are - friendlies in all but name so it is bound to put a lot/few ? fans off going. But every team will have its diehard fans who will go simply because its THEIR team. 

Not sure about this "no one will go because it's friendlies in all but name" line. It's no different from a few years ago - here's a "friendly" at Warrington in 2011 that saw Fev fans turn out in their thousands

 

[Fevrover]

3 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Not sure about this "no one will go because it's friendlies in all but name" line. It's no different from a few years ago - here's a "friendly" at Warrington in 2011 that saw Fev fans turn out in their thousands

 

Trust me I've spoken to plenty who won't be going now as they see them as friendlies, and it's not cheap for many at £25 and £20 for oaps. Well fans do turn out in their thousands for finals, at the London semi final i spoke to at least 15 people who either hadn't been much or hadn't been at all this season and this is the fans we need more then ever but i can't see them coming unless we get to the final.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Fevrover

[The Phantom Horseman]

3 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

Trust me I've spoken to plenty who won't be going now as they see them as friendlies, and it's not cheap for many at £25 and £20 for oaps.

The mood is as low now as has been for a few years (probably since late 2018/early 2019) amongst a fair proportion of our fans. I think your point about the cost is a very valid one in the current financial climate, but as well as having some of the best and most loyal fans in rugby league, we also have - like every club - a fair few fair-weathered ones.

Put it this way, if we managed to have a successful season and reached the Grand Final against a team who were already promoted via their IMG score, I bet there would be plenty of Fev fans turn up.

[tuutaisrambo]

Unless you buy a season ticket there's little reason to go to the regular season games......... even before IMG made things less interesting.

Apart from a local rivalry the games don't count for anything.

Whoever you support....whatever league you are in.......you can't go up or down based on results anymore.......... it's all just friendlies........ set against our soccer pyramid it's just rubbish.

Even in SL now the regular season means absolutely nothing other than a qualifying exercise with loop fixtures............and they wonder why crowds are poor.

You could say it's the same in the NRL but the clubs are more evenly balanced the standards are far higher and the NRL is massively scrutinised my the media and fans.

If you play poorly you get absolutely hammered for it....or sacked.......It's a closed shop but a super competitive evenly balanced one.

SL just goes through the motions every year then either Wigan, Saints or Leeds win it. 

[Fevrover]

18 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

The mood is as low now as has been for a few years (probably since late 2018/early 2019) amongst a fair proportion of our fans. I think your point about the cost is a very valid one in the current financial climate, but as well as having some of the best and most loyal fans in rugby league, we also have - like every club - a fair few fair-weathered ones.

Put it this way, if we managed to have a successful season and reached the Grand Final against a team who were already promoted via their IMG score, I bet there would be plenty of Fev fans turn up.

I've already said plenty would go to the final, happens every time.

[coolie]

34 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

Yer get used to it almost come to expect it really, i know its easy to say now but there were plenty who weren't bothered about going up as they weren't looking forward to getting hammered every week. Some were genuinely upset because their elderly relatives would never see us in SL but neither will they way its going.

Like Dewsbury 

We'll never be in super league

We will most probably bounce along never been a top club

And I don't expect us to be

It's not lacking ambition, it's more acceptance of the position were in, I'm happy to wake up every morning to have a club, it doesn't matter if we're not world beaters, doesn't matter if we're top of the league, it only matters that were alive and kicking as a club, and bringing a roller-coaster ride for them fans who give their all in supporting their team. 

[gazza77]

31 minutes ago, tuutaisrambo said:

Unless you buy a season ticket there's little reason to go to the regular season games......... even before IMG made things less interesting.

Apart from a local rivalry the games don't count for anything.

Whoever you support....whatever league you are in.......you can't go up or down based on results anymore.......... it's all just friendlies........ set against our soccer pyramid it's just rubbish.

Even in SL now the regular season means absolutely nothing other than a qualifying exercise with loop fixtures............and they wonder why crowds are poor.

You could say it's the same in the NRL but the clubs are more evenly balanced the standards are far higher and the NRL is massively scrutinised my the media and fans.

If you play poorly you get absolutely hammered for it....or sacked.......It's a closed shop but a super competitive evenly balanced one.

SL just goes through the motions every year then either Wigan, Saints or Leeds win it. 

Some of us go to the games because they're entertainment, at least occasionally. Yes, I'd love us to have a stab at SL, however I'm content with us aiming for being the best we can be. 

A competitive league, uncertain outcomes and an entertaining brand of rugby is what I'm looking for.

[The Phantom Horseman]

33 minutes ago, gazza77 said:

Some of us go to the games because they're entertainment, at least occasionally. Yes, I'd love us to have a stab at SL, however I'm content with us aiming for being the best we can be. 

A competitive league, uncertain outcomes and an entertaining brand of rugby is what I'm looking for.

One thing I've missed over the last year or two is the lack of games that we won that I didn't really expect us to. I think we would have been bookies' favourites for just about every game we played last year, can't remember about Toulouse away, but I think all of the others we would have been.

I can count on the fingers of one hand the games over the last couple of years where I was really buzzing after a win as a result. Maybe Leigh at home in February 2022 was the last time. Even for some of our wide-margin wins, it was a case of just overpowering the opposition.

I also had a bit of a sense of forboding if we did reach SL. We would have probably gone with a similar squad to this year plus Reynolds, Minikin etc, and let's be honest we would have probably struggled mightily (as will London I'd expect), because the odds are stacked so hugely against the promoted team unless they have a really wealthy owner who can build a SL-ready team in the Championship.

We'd have been relegated via IMG's system anyway if we had been promoted, the only difference being that the perceived wisdom across the league would have been that Fev had had their chance in SL and proved they didn't belong.

So at least we can now go back to being the underdog team with a bit of a chip on our shoulder. We probably all need to recalibrate expectations as fans, but that doesn't mean we can't get at least as much enjoyment out of supporting Fev.

 

[marklaspalmas]

2 hours ago, Michael Bates said:

Exactly. Either all As are equivalent, all Bs are equivalent, all Cs are equivalent, or you rank people on score. Having both is pointless.

Hard to fault that logic

[coolie]

Well by the looks of it I'm going to have to find a new team to hate

 

Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo.

Put the baby on the po.

When he's done,

Wipe his bum.

With a piece of chewing gum.

This mean's

the new team

To hate

Is 

YORK

P.S 

Not all their fans because some are really nice

 

And 2 are not

(tongue in cheek post) 

If your not offended that's good, if you are I'm glad it hit the spot lol 

 

Right back to the tread after a little detour 

Bigger worry for Featherstone is what happens if anything happens to the chairman? 

Does he run with them on the 2024 season, handing over the reins for the 2025 season he might be on holiday come 2025?? 

Edited November 3, 2023 by coolie

[tuutaisrambo]

Fev have not got promoted because were weren't good enough......simple as that.

The only year we won the play off final under Powell there was no P&R..........every other year we haven't been good enough so I fully accept that.

I just hate the idea of licensing.......It puts me off everything to do with the sport.........someone sat there deciding this team is worthy and that team is not based on whatever  rule they feel like making up to suit their agenda.....it sucks.........and the way it is applied in Rugby League make the sport look weak (which it is)

Licensing should be about raising standards.......curbing spending........keeping everyone in line.......and maintaining parity so clubs don't cheat (like Melbourne Storm)

In SL it's about protecting the big boys club and holding onto the ever decreasing slice of the sky money pie.

We'll always have this problem while the gap between the bottom of SL and the top of the Championship is so small (often not much more than the central funding you get for being a SL club)

If the game had a hard split between full time and part time........and the FT comp was more like the NRL with the bottom side still miles ahead of any of the PT clubs it would be easier to accept. But that just isn't realistic...UK rugby league has one Massive club (Leeds), a handful of large/medium ones and a load of smaller ones. The big clubs can keep changing things around to try and get the game how they want it but they never will. They want a league of x12 Leeds and Wigans.........but we've only got 2.

I support Leeds United....there's no way they would ever get booted out of the Premier League based on GRADING but they lost games and went down.....That is the sporting culture of this country.

I'll still go watch the odd Fev game but there's just nothing to buy into other than a one off afternoons entertainment.

IMO RL can't afford to keep upsetting the few fans that it has and unless IMG prove to be marketing geniuses I don't think grading will work. Channel 4 have already pulled out after 2 seasons and a dozen or so games. The new sky deal is less money. And this is with everything stacked in the SL clubs favour.

The sport is only as successful as its biggest brightest star clubs.....and they are doing a bang average job and blaming the state of the game on smaller clubs working miracles on peanuts 

[tuutaisrambo]

55 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

One thing I've missed over the last year or two is the lack of games that we won that I didn't really expect us to. I think we would have been bookies' favourites for just about every game we played last year, can't remember about Toulouse away, but I think all of the others we would have been.

I can count on the fingers of one hand the games over the last couple of years where I was really buzzing after a win as a result. Maybe Leigh at home in February 2022 was the last time. Even for some of our wide-margin wins, it was a case of just overpowering the opposition.

I also had a bit of a sense of forboding if we did reach SL. We would have probably gone with a similar squad to this year plus Reynolds, Minikin etc, and let's be honest we would have probably struggled mightily (as will London I'd expect), because the odds are stacked so hugely against the promoted team unless they have a really wealthy owner who can build a SL-ready team in the Championship.

We'd have been relegated via IMG's system anyway if we had been promoted, the only difference being that the perceived wisdom across the league would have been that Fev had had their chance in SL and proved they didn't belong.

So at least we can now go back to being the underdog team with a bit of a chip on our shoulder. We probably all need to recalibrate expectations as fans, but that doesn't mean we can't get at least as much enjoyment out of supporting Fev.

 

The standard in the championship isn't great..........a modest squad well coached can go a very long way........look a London this year

And Fev under Ryan Carr.............I'm not sure our current coach is good enough though

[haskey]

A fair reflection of the game T

[coolie]

14 hours ago, tuutaisrambo said:

The standard in the championship isn't great..........a modest squad well coached can go a very long way........look a London this year

And Fev under Ryan Carr.............I'm not sure our current coach is good enough though

Bang on

James Ford is not the man

[spanishknight]

15 hours ago, coolie said:

Well by the looks of it I'm going to have to find a new team to hate

 

Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo.

Put the baby on the po.

When he's done,

Wipe his bum.

With a piece of chewing gum.

This mean's

the new team

To hate

Is 

YORK

P.S 

Not all their fans because some are really nice

 

And 2 are not

(tongue in cheek post) 

If your not offended that's good, if you are I'm glad it hit the spot lol 

 

Right back to the tread after a little detour 

Bigger worry for Featherstone is what happens if anything happens to the chairman? 

Does he run with them on the 2024 season, handing over the reins for the 2025 season he might be on holiday come 2025?? 

Cheers Coolie, what have I done?

[coolie]

1 hour ago, spanishknight said:

Cheers Coolie, what have I done?

Your on the list mate so don't worry about that my friend

[spanishknight]

15 minutes ago, coolie said:

Your on the list mate so don't worry about that my friend

[Catflap]

16 hours ago, tuutaisrambo said:

The standard in the championship isn't great..........a modest squad well coached can go a very long way........look a London this year

And Fev under Ryan Carr.............I'm not sure our current coach is good enough though

Give Ford a chance to prove himself with his own team. I remember fans writing DP off when he first arrived and the rest is history.

[J Phil Loxton]

19 hours ago, coolie said:

Well by the looks of it I'm going to have to find a new team to hate

 

Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo.

Put the baby on the po.

When he's done,

Wipe his bum.

With a piece of chewing gum.

This mean's

the new team

To hate

Is 

YORK

P.S 

Not all their fans because some are really nice

 

And 2 are not

(tongue in cheek post) 

If your not offended that's good, if you are I'm glad it hit the spot lol 

 

Right back to the tread after a little detour 

Bigger worry for Featherstone is what happens if anything happens to the chairman? 

Does he run with them on the 2024 season, handing over the reins for the 2025 season he might be on holiday come 2025?? 

Campbell is in a meeting just now contemplating having you transferred back to Dewsbury

[gittinsfan]

3 hours ago, J Phil Loxton said:

Campbell is in a meeting just now contemplating having you transferred back to Dewsbury

How much are you going to have to pay though

3 hours ago, J Phil Loxton said:

Campbell is in a meeting just now contemplating having you transferred back to Dewsbury

 

[J Phil Loxton]

3 minutes ago, gittinsfan said:

How much are you going to have to pay though

 

If Dewsbury won't stump up then York can have him on a season long loan

[coolie]

4 hours ago, J Phil Loxton said:

If Dewsbury won't stump up then York can have him on a season long loan

I couldn't imagine owt worse

 

 

 

I'd rather watch Mansfield Marksmen

[Daft old hooker]

1 hour ago, coolie said:

I couldn't imagine owt worse

 

 

 

I'd rather watch Mansfield Marksmen

Mark Campbell tried but they wouldn’t take you 

[coolie]

12 hours ago, Daft old hooker said:

Mark Campbell tried but they wouldn’t take you 

Well tell him to put me a word in at Lancashire Lynx then, much appreciated

[Fevrover]

13 minutes ago, coolie said:

Well tell him to put me a word in at Lancashire Lynx then, much appreciated

That's another blast from the past .