Championship 2025 Onwards

[Click]

22 minutes ago, Griff said:

It's not that cold these days.

Isn't it? I seem to have some memory of friendlies being cancelled in RL in the last few years due to pitch issues from the weather, but that may just be something my mind is making up.

[Tommygilf]

11 minutes ago, Click said:

Isn't it? I seem to have some memory of friendlies being cancelled in RL in the last few years due to pitch issues from the weather, but that may just be something my mind is making up.

You aren't making it up, and it is that cold these days

[Griff]

Global warming is obviously a figment of our imagination.

[Click]

2 minutes ago, Griff said:

Global warming is obviously a figment of our imagination.

That isn't how that works ..

[Tommygilf]

10 minutes ago, Griff said:

Global warming is obviously a figment of our imagination.

It's called climate change now - precisely because global warming wasn't an accurate description as per the current discussion topic.

Are you okay mate?

[dkw]

2 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

It's called climate change now - precisely because global warming wasn't an accurate description as per the current discussion topic.

Are you okay mate?

I'm hoping it's a poor attempt at a wind up...

[Griff]

1 hour ago, dkw said:

I'm hoping it's a poor attempt at a wind up...

Three years since we had a match postponed for bad weather. Can't remember the time before that. Let's see how we go this winter.

It's a small sample so far but the current score is 0.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, Griff said:

Three years since we had a match postponed for bad weather. 

In January 2023 pre-season games at York and Doncaster were called off due to frozen pitches.

[Griff]

We haven't had a proper winter for forty years. The worst we get these days is a bit of snow that lies around for a week. The Beast from the East lasted three days.

[Griff]

33 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

In January 2023 pre-season games at York and Doncaster were called off due to frozen pitches.

It's not exactly the winter of 1947, is it? Or even 1963.

Not that I'm particularly angling for an earlier start to the season. I think it's a carp idea. But I am surprised how nesh everyone seems to be.

[Sports Prophet]

12 hours ago, Click said:

How do you re-schedule the 3/4 games that inevitably will be postponed in Jan/Feb ?

I doubt some SL pitches would hold up, the Championship grounds definitely would struggle.

Where there is a will, there is a way. I am simply noting that I expect the Championship would benefit in a big way from being exclusively the professional RL competition which plays competitive matches on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. If some fixtures are frozen throughout January, there are 1895 and CC weekends to fill the void. There could be a blank weekend before the finals to play any outstanding fixtures. There is a chance of frozen pitches. The challenge is anything but insurmountable.

[Griff]

6 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Where there is a will, there is a way. I am simply noting that I expect the Championship would benefit in a big way from being exclusively the professional RL competition which plays competitive matches on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. If some fixtures are frozen throughout January, there are 1895 and CC weekends to fill the void. There could be a blank weekend before the finals to play any outstanding fixtures. There is a chance of frozen pitches. The challenge is anything but insurmountable.

Why do you think that the Championship clubs didn't benefit in a big way from being exclusively the professional RL competition which played competitive matches on Boxing Day and New Year's Day when this idea was last tried some 25 years ago?

What's changed?

The truth is that we tried, the paying public were, at best, indifferent. At worst, they hated it.

[Sports Prophet]

4 hours ago, Griff said:

Why do you think that the Championship clubs didn't benefit in a big way from being exclusively the professional RL competition which played competitive matches on Boxing Day and New Year's Day when this idea was last tried some 25 years ago?

What's changed?

The truth is that we tried, the paying public were, at best, indifferent. At worst, they hated it.

To suggest they hated it is what I would think is to similarly suggest that the RL public hated top division football at Christmas and New Year, which I find hard to believe. 

Why do I think they didn’t benefit previously you ask. I wasn’t present 25 years ago but I can hazard a couple of guesses:

- RFL focus was primarily on making SL super and not the NFP

- Clubs were not prepared to capitalise on an opportunity of being exclusive pro RL in the festive season

My personal opinion is that if the RFL and Championship clubs can’t make a go of good crowds and excitement for rounds 1 and 2 on Boxing Day and NYD then there is little hope for the division at all. Fortunately, despite a pitiful track record, I think the RFL and the Champ clubs do have the capability to make a go of it

[gingerjon]

7 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

Where there is a will, there is a way. 

Thankfully, there is no will.

Just as well, it's failed before, and the only 'new' suggestion seems to be, "Surely this time will be better".

[Griff]

45 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Thankfully, there is no will.

Just as well, it's failed before, and the only 'new' suggestion seems to be, "Surely this time will be better".

Ah - a voice of reason.

It'd obviously be commercial suicide to go head to head with the darts.

[Griff]

15 hours ago, Griff said:

We haven't had a proper winter for forty years. The worst we get these days is a bit of snow that lies around for a week. The Beast from the East lasted three days.

I take it that the folk confused by this are all young people, with no experience of a cold winter.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

This is an interview from Australian Paul Taylor who played for Oldham in the 80's. Kids today would never believe you!! Aaah still miss Watersheddings. 

Q, You had two stints with Oldham in England...fond memories from your time there?

A, I remember it was snowing before one game. They put out on the radio to the fans that if they wanted the game to go ahead then they had to come down and shovel the snow off the field. So they came down, shovelled all the snow off the field and we had to play. The ground was rock hard, so if I could have found a shovel I'd have shovelled all the snow back on!

Edited December 30, 2024 by The Art of Hand and Foot

[dkw]

6 minutes ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

This is an interview from Australian Paul Taylor who played for Oldham in the 80's. Kids today would never believe you!! Aaah still miss Watersheddings. 

Q, You had two stints with Oldham in England...fond memories from your time there?

A, I remember it was snowing before one game. They put out on the radio to the fans that if they wanted the game to go ahead then they had to come down and shovel the snow off the field. So they came down, shovelled all the snow off the field and we had to play. The ground was rock hard, so if I could have found a shovel I'd have shovelled all the snow back on!

We had an exhibition game at Derwent Park between Town and Fiji for Jimmy Pickering, ground was filled with a freezing fog, it was unbelievably cold, I think at least 4 Fiji lads ended up in hospital with Hypothermia.  Meanwhile james Robinson was trying to convince the ref the pitch was OK by dropping his knee into it several times, with it basically banging against solid ice/mud, much to the amusement of pretty much everyone else. 

[Damien]

On 30/12/2024 at 13:09, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

This is an interview from Australian Paul Taylor who played for Oldham in the 80's. Kids today would never believe you!! Aaah still miss Watersheddings. 

Q, You had two stints with Oldham in England...fond memories from your time there?

A, I remember it was snowing before one game. They put out on the radio to the fans that if they wanted the game to go ahead then they had to come down and shovel the snow off the field. So they came down, shovelled all the snow off the field and we had to play. The ground was rock hard, so if I could have found a shovel I'd have shovelled all the snow back on!

I can only imagine what playing for Oldham was like for an Aussie. The Watersheddings was always cold enough for the rest of us.

[Sports Prophet]

Criticism of starting the Championship on Boxing Day for potential pitch difficulties seems a strange call when only three weeks later Rd 1 of the Challenge Cup is scheduled.

@gingerjon or @Griff could you enlighten me to how pro RL on Boxing Day and NYD is deemed a “failure” of the past. I have tried researching but can’t come up with anything which would back an argument one way or another (except for a YT video at Wilderspool from the 80s I think and the joint was heaving).

There’s a good few here too from two years ago https://youtu.be/TtlEB_oo9FE?si=XisCqZXeSaDnuI2V

Edited January 4 by Sports Prophet

[FR23]

Word going round fev again, players and staff haven’t been paid for December yet and Paul Cooke hasn’t returned training until he gets paid…

[Bulls2487]

4 hours ago, FR23 said:

Word going round fev again, players and staff haven’t been paid for December yet and Paul Cooke hasn’t returned training until he gets paid…

If true not good for Fev

Accounts not filed at Companies house yet was due 28/11/24

Confirmation statement also overdue was due to be filled 05/01/25.

 

 

 

[Griff]

On 04/01/2025 at 21:54, Sports Prophet said:

@gingerjon or @Griff could you enlighten me to how pro RL on Boxing Day and NYD is deemed a “failure” of the past. I have tried researching but can’t come up with anything which would back an argument one way or another (except for a YT video at Wilderspool from the 80s I think and the joint was heaving).

It's not so much Boxing Day - although some clubs will benefit more than others - it's the following two months.  Any benefit from Boxing Day is lost in January and February.   

We shouldn't be starting until March.  The players should be taking their families on holiday in October.  Imho.

[Griff]

29 minutes ago, Bulls2487 said:

If true not good for Fev

Accounts not filed at Companies House yet was due 28/11/24

Confirmation statement also overdue was due to be filled 05/01/25.

They've had a three month extension granted but that wasn't enough.

Cut them some slack on the confirmation statement.   It's two days late and there's a very lax compliance régime for them.

[Sports Prophet]

7 hours ago, Griff said:

It's not so much Boxing Day - although some clubs will benefit more than others - it's the following two months.  Any benefit from Boxing Day is lost in January and February.   

We shouldn't be starting until March.  The players should be taking their families on holiday in October.  Imho.

There is NYD too although fair enough, but what happens in the months of Jan and Feb? Low crowds I assume and are you suggesting this is weather related?