Championship 2025 Onwards

[Hopie]

21 minutes ago, Worzel said:

Countdown to the IMG thread gobbling this one up in three... two... one...

IMG...  IMG.... IMG

 

[Sports Prophet]

I’m not totally against the idea of running the Championship to a different timeline than SL. I think a straight swap of summer for winter is off the mark but I think starting the season in December including Boxing Day and New Year and running through to a GF in July does give the league some differentiation and exclusivity. It would warm them up for those earlier CC ties against SL teams too.

There are some very famous club names in the Championship and many have the opportunity to be the heart of their communities, while other clubs in larger areas could use their history and differentiation to draw supporters in from the get go. I am a believer of “if you build it, they will come” but it’s about building the right thing to resonate with the community.

I don’t think a TV audience should be out of the question. Again, well attended live RL on Boxing Day and New Year would be a great add in to any SL terrestrial broadcaster, as would a summer finals series.

[ricky]

After decades of being perfectly aware of RL without ever having watched any of it on the telly, a month or two ago I suddenly decided to go to a game. I liked it, so I went to another. I'm now eager for next season: I fancy trips to Batley, Dewsbury, Hull, Goole, Featherstone etc.

Everywhere I look on social media I see people telling that the sport's a joke and that watching Championship level is a waste of time. When I think of the pleasures that I enjoyed of those two experiences, I recall a lot of things that all these IMG-fixated discussions seem completely unaware of. 

For what it's worth, Mr Newcomer thinks March to September in Yorkshire is quite cold and wet enough. Schedule a League One game in the gloom of December or January, and I will not be attending, let alone travelling back home in the soggy dark.

[Tommygilf]

14 hours ago, DEANO said:

And the year before had they been mid table championship 

Then they really shouldn't be anywhere near SL.

There is a massive gap between FT clubs and part time ones.

Purely in staffing these numbers are dramatic. That gap is massive, and rightly it should take a lot for the sport to drop an existing FT outfit in favour of someone else.

[Blind side johnny]

19 hours ago, Roughyed Rats said:

Bright and warm? You a Catalans supporter Some of us genuinely miss those winter days.....and there was nowhere colder than Sheddings I can assure you.  

 

 

Sorry to point this out but you are now almost 30 years older than when you last watched winter RL (pro or semi-pro). I don't know about you but I certainly feel the cold more than I then did.

One other point is just how many players have any real experience of winter RL?

[Roughyed Rats]

30 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said:

Sorry to point this out but you are now almost 30 years older than when you last watched winter RL (pro or semi-pro). I don't know about you but I certainly feel the cold more than I then did.

One other point is just how many players have any real experience of winter RL?

That's true Johnny - I wasn't a pensioner back in the day and it was cold enough then.

Edited October 22, 2024 by Roughyed Rats

[sentoffagain2]

      Halifax Oldham and Bradford in Dec Jan and February ! Wheres my scarf ,gloves and flask.

[Taffy Tiger]

17 hours ago, DEANO said:

And the year before had they been mid table championship 

Should a team finishing mid table in the Championship be in SL ? They would definitely have more chance (albeit very small) than under current P&R system .

 

[sheddingswasus]

17 hours ago, Gav Wilson said:

Because an investor can invest in a whole club and improve it across the board, rather than just fuelling their ego by signing a few fringe NRL lads. 

This is the crux of the issue. Featherstone have tried this approach and seemingly failed and now  seem to have lost ambition (or the means to continue) One or two other clubs have tried it also. 

As I see it the answer is to build the foundation of the club, as this seems to be the strength to move forward. In rebuilding our club(Oldham) the board have specifically rebuilt the off field structure in parallel to the on field operation. They have a Commercial Manager, a Sponsorship Manager,  a Pathway Manager, Head of player  Development, Head of Women’s Development. They are linked to the community via Rugby Oldham (the Supporters Trust, which is a body representing the game at all levels through the town) The Yeds (which is a supporters club that co-ordinate away travel and charitable operations and more), the Past players Association and the Heritage Trust. The connection and support of the local community clubs has never been stronger. There are others too not mentioned  

Running in a shoestring budget with a few big names won’t create a long term success but good foundations will. 
 

 

[DEANO]

8 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Then they really shouldn't be anywhere near SL.

There is a massive gap between FT clubs and part time ones.

Purely in staffing these numbers are dramatic. That gap is massive, and rightly it should take a lot for the sport to drop an existing FT outfit in favour of someone else.

One of us is missing the point. As I understand it points are awarde over a rolling 3 year cycle. So if an investor comes in at the low end of the championship in year 1 and improves to mid table the following year and tops the table after year 3 ,it won’t be enough to gain promotion? So who’s going to invest 

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, DEANO said:

One of us is missing the point. As I understand it points are awarde over a rolling 3 year cycle. So if an investor comes in at the low end of the championship in year 1 and improves to mid table the following year and tops the table after year 3 ,it won’t be enough to gain promotion? So who’s going to invest 

Different aspects of the criteria is graded over 1 or 3 years, depending on the individual criteria.

Those who would invest are those in it for the long haul and with the finances to boot. Not 1 year wonder's or people whose talk is bigger than their wallets.

[Taffy Tiger]

Just now, Tommygilf said:

Different aspects of the criteria is graded over 1 or 3 years, depending on the individual criteria.

Those who would invest are those in it for the long haul and with the finances to boot. Not 1 year wonder's or people whose talk is bigger than their wallets.

Agree , and which is surely the whole point of IMG 

[Gav Wilson]

7 minutes ago, DEANO said:

One of us is missing the point. As I understand it points are awarde over a rolling 3 year cycle. So if an investor comes in at the low end of the championship in year 1 and improves to mid table the following year and tops the table after year 3 ,it won’t be enough to gain promotion? So who’s going to invest 

Anyone getting bored before year 3 isn't the kind of person the sport wants or needs to be attracting. 

[Taffy Tiger]

The other thing to consider is the expansion of SL in the future . We don't yet know when there will be more than 12 clubs achieving Category A , but isn't it more likely that it will just be 1 club(ie 13 in total) that breaches the 12 team barrier when the time comes.

 

If so I would imagine that it is almost certain that the RFL will go to 14 clubs that season rather than 13 , especially considering loop fixtures situation that we currently have .

When that happens it will mean another team will be promoted who will almost certainly be a Category B .

Surely it makes sense for Championship clubs to plan for this secenario in the future so that when this happens they can be the next best Category B club . 

Only my opinion I know , but I do think that SL will expand from 12 teams to 14 , so there will be at least 2 more Championship teams to be promoted in the future , so no way a closed shop for quite a while in theory .

Edited October 22, 2024 by Taffy Tiger

[DEANO]

5 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

Anyone getting bored before year 3 isn't the kind of person the sport wants or needs to be attracting. 

Have just said 3 years won’t be enough so minimum 4. All while other clubs are looking to improve their scores 

[Gav Wilson]

7 minutes ago, DEANO said:

Have just said 3 years won’t be enough so minimum 4. All while other clubs are looking to improve their scores 

Yes. That's the whole point of this exercise.

[iffleyox]

2 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

Yes. That's the whole point of this exercise.

The whole thing is designed to stop a local boy with a scrapyard* from taking a club on a journey for 2 years then leaving them high and dry. 
 

if no one better comes forward for a club then that’s the way it goes, but the table stakes have arguably been far too low for far too long. What’s needed is people with 5-10 year plans.

*random example

[Tommygilf]

21 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

Anyone getting bored before year 3 isn't the kind of person the sport wants or needs to be attracting. 

Exactly 

[Tommygilf]

26 minutes ago, Taffy Tiger said:

Agree , and which is surely the whole point of IMG 

Absolutely.

As much as many would deride Ken Davy's Huddersfield, he has been in it for the long term and got the backing to do it. To lose them for someone who will up sticks and leave with no plan when the reality of not having enough money for SL hits is not a loss the game can afford or justify right now. We aren't football, and the drop to part time is vast.

[iffleyox]

7 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Absolutely.

As much as many would deride Ken Davy's Huddersfield, he has been in it for the long term and got the backing to do it. To lose them for someone who will up sticks and leave with no plan when the reality of not having enough money for SL hits is not a loss the game can afford or justify right now. We aren't football, and the drop to part time is vast.

Counter factual time - imagine Huddersfield over the past 20 years with KD’s money and a grading system to focus his spending a bit better. Might have looked at their own ground 5 years ago+ ?

But even rattling around in the John Smith’s, if we had/had had a dozen of him the game would be healthier.

[iffleyox]

If IMG disappeared tomorrow, it’s still focused minds on improvements in a way nothing else has. With the exception of one club where with every day that goes by I believe more and more in @Tommygilf’s conspiracy theory that they thought having London in the name would be enough, so just sat back…

Edited October 22, 2024 by iffleyox

[DEANO]

38 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

Yes. That's the whole point of this exercise.

Don’t think you’ll get any takers

[Tommygilf]

24 minutes ago, iffleyox said:

If IMG disappeared tomorrow, it’s still focused minds on improvements in a way nothing else has. With the exception of one club where with every day that goes by I believe more and more in @Tommygilf’s conspiracy theory that they thought having London in the name would be enough, so just sat back…

Don't, I'll start believing them myself 

[Wakefield Ram]

5 hours ago, sheddingswasus said:

This is the crux of the issue. Featherstone have tried this approach and seemingly failed and now  seem to have lost ambition (or the means to continue) One or two other clubs have tried it also. 

As I see it the answer is to build the foundation of the club, as this seems to be the strength to move forward. In rebuilding our club(Oldham) the board have specifically rebuilt the off field structure in parallel to the on field operation. They have a Commercial Manager, a Sponsorship Manager,  a Pathway Manager, Head of player  Development, Head of Women’s Development. They are linked to the community via Rugby Oldham (the Supporters Trust, which is a body representing the game at all levels through the town) The Yeds (which is a supporters club that co-ordinate away travel and charitable operations and more), the Past players Association and the Heritage Trust. The connection and support of the local community clubs has never been stronger. There are others too not mentioned  

Running in a shoestring budget with a few big names won’t create a long term success but good foundations will. 
 

 

Oldham have certainly spent a lot. And they'll need to keep spending for 4-5 years and still then will be very unlikely to get the points to get promoted. 

[sheddingswasus]

41 minutes ago, iffleyox said:

Counter factual time - imagine Huddersfield over the past 20 years with KD’s money and a grading system to focus his spending a bit better. Might have looked at their own ground 5 years ago+ ?

I thought Ken Davy owned or was the major shareholder in the ground?