Keighley Cougars hit out at RFL ‘attempt to silence us’ with grading score of zero

[Total Rugby League]

KEIGHLEY COUGARS say they have been targeted by a decision to award them zero points in this year’s club grading process following a late submission....

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[wayner]

In my opinion the whole points system is non sense - clubs get points for their social media activity so club news is drip fed so supporters will return the the social media platform again and again - does that make a club successful I don't think so.

I agree, I think the  RFL are punishing Keighley for their past criticisms of the RFL 

[Dovster]

I agree and believe most Cougar fans believe the same regarding the IMG system.

According to the club the mistake was made due to a cost cuting exercise. The person who would have been responsible for making sure the deadline was achieved had been "let go".

This resulted in the submission being late and presenting the RFL with an opportunity to show the Cougars that you really shouldn't argue with them.

I agree that some punishment was warrented but this really does seem way over the top and highlights again that the people in charge are not fit for purpose.

[Indigogo]

2 hours ago, Dovster said:

I agree and believe most Cougar fans believe the same regarding the IMG system.

According to the club the mistake was made due to a cost cuting exercise. The person who would have been responsible for making sure the deadline was achieved had been "let go".

This resulted in the submission being late and presenting the RFL with an opportunity to show the Cougars that you really shouldn't argue with them.

I agree that some punishment was warrented but this really does seem way over the top and highlights again that the people in charge are not fit for purpose.

The club has messed up, I wish the owners would come out and do exactly what they should do and take some OWNERSHIP of the situation. The person that everyone is referring to was unable to make the final submissions, that was only possible for the owners to do. Yet again though they choose to pass the buck and we look like the laughing stock of the league. The RFL have released a statement saying they made the club aware the submissions were due 08th Sept but didn't receive a reply until 10th September, so someone, somewhere is lying about the timeline. I think I know who it might be that's telling porkies.

That aside, the IMG grading has little to no impact on a club like us. We can't go up, we can't go down. The club (probably rightly) have cut back on costs across the backroom staff and playing staff. The squad we have is currently largely the same as last years that was poor if we are being honest, although I think Kilshaw did a decent job and improved performances and with a pre season think there is potential for us to be better still. I'll also mention that i don't think this is a Kilshaw squad yet, there are players that were given long contracts that I don't think he fancies but we've struggled to get off the wage bill - I don't think he would keep Flanagan, Farrell, Pickersgill and maybe Ioane on the money they are. They take a big chunk of our budget up. We've got rid of Hatton and i believe he's going to Rochdale, but we've had to pay him off. The players that have re-signed have done so on lesser terms and so far we've made 3 signings, 2 are kids from reserve set ups and Max Clarke from Workington (i think he will be a good signing). Hopefully there is more to come but the caliber of those players will probably show where we are in terms of budget and/or ambition.

[wayner]

That's the problem - the fact that the RFL have or will punish clubs - well maybe the RFL have forgotten without clubs (which are businesses) there won't be an RFL - so the very thought of punitive action on a late submission to a system that has been imported from a US sports management company where as we know in all the US sports whether it be American football, baseball, basket ball, hockey, etc promotion / relegation doesn't exist just franchises - so I am for one think the whole IMG system is a mistake.

[Indigogo]

1 minute ago, wayner said:

That's the problem - the fact that the RFL have or will punish clubs - well maybe the RFL have forgotten without clubs (which are businesses) there won't be an RFL - so the very thought of punitive action on a late submission to a system that has been imported from a US sports management company where as we know in all the US sports whether it be American football, baseball, basket ball, hockey, etc promotion / relegation doesn't exist just franchises - so I am for one think the whole IMG system is a mistake.

Totally agree the IMG system as a whole is a bit of a farce. I think that's widely accepted now. Keighley may as well not waste time on the submissions moving forward, it takes up time and resource that we probably don't have, just to be told we are grade C club. What's the point? 

Credit to the owners on the IMG front, they called it out and were very vocal from the start. They of course were laughed at but it seems most clubs in a similar position to us now agree. 

[Dovster]

21 hours ago, Indigogo said:

The club has messed up, I wish the owners would come out and do exactly what they should do and take some OWNERSHIP of the situation. The person that everyone is referring to was unable to make the final submissions, that was only possible for the owners to do. Yet again though they choose to pass the buck and we look like the laughing stock of the league. The RFL have released a statement saying they made the club aware the submissions were due 08th Sept but didn't receive a reply until 10th September, so someone, somewhere is lying about the timeline. I think I know who it might be that's telling porkies.

That aside, the IMG grading has little to no impact on a club like us. We can't go up, we can't go down. The club (probably rightly) have cut back on costs across the backroom staff and playing staff. The squad we have is currently largely the same as last years that was poor if we are being honest, although I think Kilshaw did a decent job and improved performances and with a pre season think there is potential for us to be better still. I'll also mention that i don't think this is a Kilshaw squad yet, there are players that were given long contracts that I don't think he fancies but we've struggled to get off the wage bill - I don't think he would keep Flanagan, Farrell, Pickersgill and maybe Ioane on the money they are. They take a big chunk of our budget up. We've got rid of Hatton and i believe he's going to Rochdale, but we've had to pay him off. The players that have re-signed have done so on lesser terms and so far we've made 3 signings, 2 are kids from reserve set ups and Max Clarke from Workington (i think he will be a good signing). Hopefully there is more to come but the caliber of those players will probably show where we are in terms of budget and/or ambition.

Agreed. We definitely under performed last year and got better when Kilshaw arrived. It looks like we have three or four places left in the squad and these do need to be filled with Championship quality if we are to compete.

Also I Wonder if the owners have been distracted by the acquasition of the soccer team.

[Blind side johnny]

Surely the simple point, putting persecution complexes to one side, is that every other club completed these requirements in time. Why didn't Keighley?

Disagreeing with the system is irrelevant. 

[Indigogo]

7 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

Surely the simple point, putting persecution complexes to one side, is that every other club completed these requirements in time. Why didn't Keighley?

Disagreeing with the system is irrelevant. 

Incompetency is the short answer. I think this will be something Keighley fans are going to get used to over the next few months and years. We have next to no backroom staff, no media man, no general manager any more. Not sure where the club is heading really.

[Dovster]

There is no arguement that Keighley weren't responsible.

Only the punishment doesn't appear consistant with last years. With that being the case you start to wonder why.

[Indigogo]

1 hour ago, Dovster said:

There is no arguement that Keighley weren't responsible.

Only the punishment doesn't appear consistant with last years. With that being the case you start to wonder why.

Both Whitehaven and Batley received a score of 0 on the IMG ratings last time, so that is consistent with ours this year. What both of them clubs received was a grading on what their scores would have been, so they could calculate the central funding they would receive. Whether Keighley get the same treatment on that front i'm not sure, it's not clear from the RFL statement.

The below is worth a read.

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/rugby-league-news-rfl-respond-as-aspects-of-keighley-cougars-statement-refuted-after-club-awarded-zero-img-points-109127/