14 Team Super League (Resurrected Thread)

[Luke HKR]

4 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Interesting quote from Lord Caine

 

”“I am honoured to have been asked to chair the panel to determine whether the Betfred Super League expands from 12 to 14 in 2026 and, if so, which clubs will take up the 13th and 14th positions in the competition.”

 

Imagine if Bradford came 12th on the IMG ladder and the ‘independent’ panel decided no other teams were ready so went with 12

The weird thing about that quote, is it would indicate that Salford are staying in, and only two clubs are coming in.

[gingerjon]

13 minutes ago, Luke HKR said:

The weird thing about that quote, is it would indicate that Salford are staying in, and only two clubs are coming in.

Nothing weird there.

Some people (me) have been saying it's the most likely outcome for a while.

[Luke HKR]

Fair point.

But to me it's a bad look on the sport if Salford stay up. Nothing against the club, but what chance have they got next year with whatever side they are able to put out. And if London are one of the sides coming up. That's two sides that big scores could be a weekly thing. 

But my main issue is, the league ends in five weeks. And not only do we still not know what the leagues are going to look like, but what sides will be in these leagues, the make up of the play offs in both leagues. This whole thing makes the sport look amateurish, and takes away from the product on the field.

[wilsontown]

45 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

I'll go further. It doesn't look bad, it is bad. It isn't a perceived conflict of interest, it's a conflict of interest.

Fair.

[Chrispmartha]

2 minutes ago, Luke HKR said:

Fair point.

But to me it's a bad look on the sport if Salford stay up. Nothing against the club, but what chance have they got next year with whatever side they are able to put out. And if London are one of the sides coming up. That's two sides that big scores could be a weekly thing. 

But my main issue is, the league ends in five weeks. And not only do we still not know what the leagues are going to look like, but what sides will be in these leagues, the make up of the play offs in both leagues. This whole thing makes the sport look amateurish, and takes away from the product on the field.

I f I were into conspiracy theories, which I'm not, you could argue that they would actually want Salford to be in the top 12, they can then go - look IMG is rubbish we urgently need to scrap it and pick our own teams

[Blind side johnny]

47 minutes ago, Damien said:

That is exactly what the rumours are saying, and we all know how uncannily accurate they often are.

If Bradford are 12th we have a 12 team SL. If they are 13th or 14th we go to 14. It stinks.

Rumours don't suddenly become facts that subsequently mean that the whole process stinks.

[Blind side johnny]

48 minutes ago, Luke HKR said:

The weird thing about that quote, is it would indicate that Salford are staying in, and only two clubs are coming in.

To me it indicates that the 12 will be determined by the agreed IMG criteria, as has already been stated. 13 and 14 will be determined by more complex criteria, as has also already been stated.

Apologies for reading stuff before jumping to any conclusion.

[Blind side johnny]

22 minutes ago, Luke HKR said:

Fair point.

But to me it's a bad look on the sport if Salford stay up. Nothing against the club, but what chance have they got next year with whatever side they are able to put out. And if London are one of the sides coming up. That's two sides that big scores could be a weekly thing. 

But my main issue is, the league ends in five weeks. And not only do we still not know what the leagues are going to look like, but what sides will be in these leagues, the make up of the play offs in both leagues. This whole thing makes the sport look amateurish, and takes away from the product on the field.

This is the outstanding issue that affects pretty well all of the clubs, not just those squabbling about who is in and who is out.

[dkw]

30 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said:

 13 and 14 will be determined by more complex criteria

Not that complex when its a few mates deciding it on the back of a fag packet.

[wilsontown]

How could Salford still be in? They're bust.

[Simon Hall]

Just now, wilsontown said:

How could Salford still be in? They're bust.

I'd like to think one of the the reasons they are having an "independent" panel decide 13 & 14 is the fear that Salford could still creep into the top 14 IMG gradings, and they want them out of SL.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

5 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Obviously you think that the newbies will be competitive, my opinion differs.

And when that team from the little know town (whatever has that got to do with anyting) you mention came up, they had the playing roster that was better than a number of clubs already in SL, and at this stage of the season whilst still in the Championship they were miles and miles ahead of their competition and victory in the GF was never ever in question, can you say that  about a 'big city' club with a capacity of just 8,500?

I actually thought the team in the championship was stronger than the one that started off in Superleague.

[Chrispmartha]

3 minutes ago, Simon Hall said:

I'd like to think one of the the reasons they are having an "independent" panel decide 13 & 14 is the fear that Salford could still creep into the top 14 IMG gradings, and they want them out of SL.

Well they could just alter the IMG grades do that a financial catastrophe means a demotion of grade points, oh hang on.

[JonM]

Quoting from https://www.totalrl.com/panel-revealed-to-decide-on-13th-and-14th-super-league-club-as-timetable-announced/

In addition to the five pillars under which clubs are judged in the Club Grading System (Fandom, Performance, Finances, Stadium and Community), the panel will judge applications against a further set of criteria relating to Finance and Sustainability.

These include their financial performance in 2025; detailed financial performance and sustainability forecasts for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 seasons; and their ability to field a competitive team in 2026 and beyond.

I read the first one as 'If your name is Salford, don't even bother to apply unless those hundreds of millions you plan to use to buy the whole competition have somehow finally turned up.' 

[Bull Mania]

4 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Well they could just alter the IMG grades do that a financial catastrophe means a demotion of grade points, oh hang on.

But Salford haven't actually had the financial catastrophe that triggers the penalty the clubs altered.

[JonM]

I note that 'are you French' doesn't appear to be on the list of criteria, and there is no mention of away fans, so possibly good news for Toulouse.

As there's only a bit over 3 weeks to get your final answers in, I suspect it's not good news for London because I would have thought insufficient time for new investors to get on board and make a difference.

[sam4731]

If Salford get in, in whatever system that keeps them there, the whole system is a travesty.

[JonM]

3 minutes ago, Bull Mania said:

But Salford haven't actually had the financial catastrophe that triggers the penalty the clubs altered.

Next hearing with HMRC is 3rd September, so there is still time. 

[Chrispmartha]

3 minutes ago, Bull Mania said:

But Salford haven't actually had the financial catastrophe that triggers the penalty the clubs altered.

The point being they've shown they can alter the grading system, they just did it the opposite way.

[phiggins]

1 hour ago, Luke HKR said:

The weird thing about that quote, is it would indicate that Salford are staying in, and only two clubs are coming in.

Why? The other 12 are determined by the existing grading system. Doesn't matter what Caine thinks of those 12, they are in.

[ELBOWSEYE]

If SRD retain their place in SL by any means will be a travesty. Loyal fans but the only reason they were competitive was by spending money the don't have ( basically cheating) there is little difference in what they have done and the salary cap cheats. And their recent record in spending more than they have is been going on for several seasons,the only difference is they have run out of begging bowls.

[Snowys Backside]

33 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Why? The other 12 are determined by the existing grading system. Doesn't matter what Caine thinks of those 12, they are in.

Salford won’t be in the top 12 so bearing a miracle (and a knight on a white horse comes in) 3 will be coming up from the Championship. 
 

Any true Salford fan would rather watch a competitive side start again then pretend on a whim. 

[Agbrigg]

32 minutes ago, Snowys Backside said:

Salford won’t be in the top 12 so bearing a miracle (and a knight on a white horse comes in) 3 will be coming up from the Championship. 
 

Any true Salford fan would rather watch a competitive side start again then pretend on a whim. 

Thats how I interpret the situation. Also knowing how this 'game' works , its not unreasonable to believe the lucky three will have already had a discreet nod. It would be imposssible for any club to put together a mildly competitive full time squad at such a late date in October.

[Bulls2487]

Nigel Wood no longer a shareholder at the Bulls

https://www.bradfordbulls.co.uk/article/3260/ceo-jason-hirst-provides-club-updates?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMRhJFjbGNrAxGEfmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEe5D_KMOB2RlFk13CZY1f9v9rJwaE3oTAeWUlqopIXVh6c3kacWeuR4NMbh2c_aem_bfRQg0MwSbysQ55UenNjTw

[JohnM]

5 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

Abi Ekoku is a Business Development & Strategy Consultant with significant experience in leading professional service teams and managing multi stakeholder groups - from Design & Planning, through Construction and across Marketing, Sales and Client Relations.

He would have been perfect for employment with IMG don't you think?

 "Consultant" is like a red rag to a bull at the down-home grits-and-hominy world of caravan decking. Still, never mind cutting-and-pasting from the RFL blurb, I'm sure he's fine guy, intelligent, articulate and capable, and depite those handicaps,  perfectly able to stand his corner, independent of Bradford Northern Bulls.

 The 14 clubs issue for me is this.

The agreed Re-imagining Rugby League project foresaw  the possibility of SuperLeague growing to 14 clubs, when ready. Well, it seems the Lavender Hill Mob think they - and enough clubs - are ready with less than 6 months to go - unless some clubs have... what shall we say...longer to prepare. We know that both Bradford Northern Bulls and London Crusader Bronco Hounds will join, since that was the plotters ambition - and coup catalyst - for quite some time.

Of course, I can see that the proposed process is born out of hope that the newbies will be  strong enough in all aspects (IMG grading plus evolved financial criteria) to stay the course out of their own resources.  A lesson: 13 years of serial disaster at Bradford says that whatever guarantees the club gives on entry to SL should be backed by gold bars in escrow. And that isn't going to happen.And London? 

Anyway, in other news, my granddaughter #4, a Disney fan, wanted us to buy her a Mickey Mouse outfit for her birthday, se we bougth her.....

Edited August 19 by JohnM