Question

[BODISGOD]

Hmmm, one lads opinion. Paul Ackford once opined that club union 'is, and always will be, a pastime for middle-aged blokes living in the south-west, the midlands and a small pocket of London. It?s just how it is' [/end thread]

As I said, its the lads opinion and good luck to him....he'll be back

You are right about the rose tinted specs...For example, the Premiership wasnt a comp everyone wanted and he's got the play off/ League comparison wrong in my opinion...
Theres that word again...

I'm sure you'll get the type of replies you're after tho....nowlt like a bit of negativity ay :lol:

Not particularly, it's just an all encompassing article on one guys opinion on the state of the sport in England. He certainly is having a good ol' winge and comes across as a mid life crisis happening for him but some of the points are certainly worth discussing.

 

[joedynamo]

I think the Bradford chairman should of used his cyrstal ball though. If you have a liability secured on an asset and you sell the asset then there is a fair to middling chance the guy you owe may either change interest rates or in this case just call the loan in

Im not sure the O/D was secured against the lease.

Thats the short term concern. Long term the business needs to get hold of spending. It cannot carry on losing over a million a year. But thats an obvious thing to say and i have no idea how to do it.

:lol:Ima going for euro lottery win meself ;-)

Widnes were always the team coming up, so you wonder how much the other championship teams really put into it. If people had known in advance the Crusaders were going then more may of been done. Wakey were not a high target to aim for, but who knows.

Great point, tho if true, would back up the RFLs conclusions that fax et al wearn't ready.

Fax would make an easy replacement for the Bulls, but why replace Bradford with a smaller version of Bradford? I think we either lose a team and introduce a bye week, bring in an expansion team (most likely from France but maybe Kent, as the game is developing there. A bit early yet though i think.) or let them start as a newco next year.

If theres no Bradford NewCo then add Toulouse, or maybe (with suitable finance in place) one of the new Championship clubs...Hemel or the Sonics? *Edit: Or maybe Workington West Cumbria, guarentee them a 5yr franchise...We might actually get some positive out of all of this.

I think the fairest way is to simple cancel next seasons license that the Bulls hold. Then any club who wants it, Toulouse, Fax, Leigh, Bradford Newco, anyone, can apply for it. Then the best club is chosen to play next year. If none are upto it, then we have a bye week.

Aye, IF this moves into a liquidation event and no phoenix arises then I'd prolly agree with that..my preference would be as in the previous answer.

Further more, i would give Bradford a points reducton this season, this is so if Bradford Newco (they will have to change that name!! ) play in the ESL next year then they start on zero points and its game on.

I think the RFL are just waiting to see how we exit Administration..but I like your thinking lol.

 

[joedynamo]

Not particularly, it's just an all encompassing article on one guys opinion on the state of the sport in England. He certainly is having a good ol' winge and comes across as a mid life crisis happening for him but some of the points are certainly worth discussing.

Tbf, the fella has supported St's for almost as long as I'v supported Northern/ Bulls, I reckon he's entitled to say whatever he wants :lol:

 

[deluded pom?]

theres more people live in greater manchester (wigan & salford),cheshire (warrington,widnes) & merseyside (st helens) than live in greater sydney.......about 4.9mil v 4.4mil


then if you compare west yorkshire & humberside with south east queensland....both have roughly 3million+ people..


what im getting at is the heartlands of the game both here & australia have roughly the same amount of people in them...


just sayin

Feckoff 'spud. ;-)

 

[Teddyboy]

Just going to point out btw that this is a bit far from the mark. Super League enjoys good solid tv ratings throughout it's run but second best is really not true in reality and gives a false impression.

Soccer dwarfs ALL 365.

Only things that get a look in really for main sport pages during periods they're on would be;
Formula 1 if British driver involved and doing well
Golf during the majors (if Brit or Irishman involved at the top), British Open
Wimbledon (other tennis grand slams if Murray is doing well)
Six Nations/Rugby World Cup
Olympics
Grand National/Cheltenham

Probably forgetting a couple but there you go really, those above get maybe to share the front page with soccer if they're on for their brief duration.

Unfortunately Rugby League doesn't have such an event. The International game is key here to find something to tap into the general discussion, if England are playing the Kangaroos for instance, there is obviously a bit more discussion above it. Problem is the International League scene is uneven in scheduling and riddled with self interest hindering it. It never catches fire like it should.

Yet it was not any of those Sporting event's that made me sit up and watch as it was Wigan v Leed's 1994 Challenge Cup final a week before the Soccer FA final that got me into TGG...it was like a mix of 100 M athletics's, Judo/Wrestling/Boxing and everything Soccer/Rugby Union /Super Bowl/ AFL and GAA should be i.e. fast and furious but not complicated.

 

[roughyedspud]

Feckoff 'spud. ;-)

lol its not humberside anymore is it? east yorkshire now?? lol

 

[BrisbaneRhino]

Aussies generally overestimate the scale of RL in Englan, although funnily enough a lot of English fans tend to do the same about Australia, talking about it as a national game when its nothing like.

The geographic spread of RL is small in England, and is highly inconsistent over the "M62 corridor" area that on a map RL seems to have covered. Many of the biggest towns and cities in the north have virtually no RL presence at all (South Yorkshire has next to nothing and many of the big towns in Lancashire have nothing either).

In addition the reality is that even in a place like Leeds, RL is far, far behind football (soccer) in the general consciousness. If Leeds Utd were in the Premier league, they'd average 30k+, with people paying a LOT more per ticket than to watch the Rhinos. Melbourne AFL vs RL is probably a reasonable comparison in terms of general interest with Leeds, with soccer replacing AFL. Even with Leeds Utd in the doldrums, if you did a random poll on the streets of Leeds, you'd find far more people able to name a dozen Premier League footballers than a single Rhino.

When you take all that into account, and factor in the GFC (which would always tend to hit minority sports much harder than football), I'd argue RL in England is actually doing remarkably well.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Given the title of this thread is question, I thought this would be the most appropriate place to pose this

From my understanding not all super league games are telecast, and I would assume that the uk is getting more tv channels due to digital tv like Australia. So why doesn't the esl offer one game a round to free to air. Even if it is free to start with, with whatever channel that takes up the rights just paying production costs, it would do a lot to improve interest in the game in the country. Though I do understand that the television landscape is very different over there.

 

[BODISGOD]

Given the title of this thread is question, I thought this would be the most appropriate place to pose this

From my understanding not all super league games are telecast, and I would assume that the uk is getting more tv channels due to digital tv like Australia. So why doesn't the esl offer one game a round to free to air. Even if it is free to start with, with whatever channel that takes up the rights just paying production costs, it would do a lot to improve interest in the game in the country. Though I do understand that the television landscape is very different over there.

Simple answer:

Sky

 

[roughyedspud]

im sure if sky and the RLF let bbc buy a 'sunday game tv rights package'.....and sky booked all the advertising space around the pitch of that game it would actually be a win win situation for both sky & the RFL..

 

[BODISGOD]

im sure if sky and the RLF let bbc buy a 'sunday game tv rights package'.....and sky booked all the advertising space around the pitch of that game it would actually be a win win situation for both sky & the RFL..

Nah it really wouldn't, it would undermine Sky's exclusivity and knock a huge chunk off what they are willing to pay.

I've never understood why they don't allow finals of a comp like Super League onto FTA though. It doesn't damage them with plenty of sports, all they'd lose would be a bit of advertising revenue through ratings lost for the final but they'd have good occasion to showcase their product.

 

[WireMan]

Nah it really wouldn't, it would undermine Sky's exclusivity and knock a huge chunk off what they are willing to pay.

I've never understood why they don't allow finals of a comp like Super League onto FTA though. It doesn't damage them with plenty of sports, all they'd lose would be a bit of advertising revenue through ratings lost for the final but they'd have good occasion to showcase their product.

The challenge cup...


I can't see Sky buying the rights to the super league then allowing the final to be on the bbc.

Maybe if they made it so the league was worth anything it would be worth doing. Until then its not.

 

[BODISGOD]

Challenge Cup final is protected though so automatically it makes it less attractive for Sky. In addition for the BBC, continued coverage fits into their policy of showing those events which they have a deep undertaking in for many years.

Super League is now where it's at though...tbf the Wembley final is not as big a deal as the Old Trafford one. Maybe the old fans still love going down for the tradition but the spectacle on tv isn't what it once was. If I was to choose one to be FTA it would be SL.

 

[Teddyboy]

Challenge Cup final is protected though so automatically it makes it less attractive for Sky. In addition for the BBC, continued coverage fits into their policy of showing those events which they have a deep undertaking in for many years.

Super League is now where it's at though...tbf the Wembley final is not as big a deal as the Old Trafford one. Maybe the old fans still love going down for the tradition but the spectacle on tv isn't what it once was. If I was to choose one to be FTA it would be SL.

The CC has lost it and SL is the better final plus the new Wembley is an eye sore with all those member's seats being empty for the game yet back in the 80's/90's the old piss smelled Wembley looked packed out be it 70 odd thousand to 90000.

 

[joedynamo]

Messing around with the dates hasnt helped the CC...and neither has the gap between most of the Rugby Super League teams and the rest(yea, Im aware fev beat a very crap Ian Milward coached team earlier this yr, meh).

 

[WireMan]

Challenge Cup final is protected though so automatically it makes it less attractive for Sky. In addition for the BBC, continued coverage fits into their policy of showing those events which they have a deep undertaking in for many years.

Super League is now where it's at though...tbf the Wembley final is not as big a deal as the Old Trafford one. Maybe the old fans still love going down for the tradition but the spectacle on tv isn't what it once was. If I was to choose one to be FTA it would be SL.

Only because of the Sky hype machine.

If it went to free to air (which won't happen) it would get back to the old status as an end of season comp in no time.

The CC has lost it and SL is the better final plus the new Wembley is an eye sore with all those member's seats being empty for the game yet back in the 80's/90's the old piss smelled Wembley looked packed out be it 70 odd thousand to 90000.

The old Wembley was terrible. Hated that ground. The new one is nice.

Hopefully when the 10 year club Wembley tickets run out the rugby can be removed from the list so they can go on sale.

Messing around with the dates hasnt helped the CC...and neither has the gap between most of the Rugby Super League teams and the rest(yea, Im aware fev beat a very crap Ian Milward coached team earlier this yr, meh).

Agreed.

The CC should be much earlier in the season so it actually puts a bit of competition into the start of the comp. At the mo. the first few months don't matter.

The gap is a big one, but it has always been the case. Wigan won it for years in a row not so long ago.

 

[BODISGOD]

The Super League is more valued now because that's where the money is. I do agree the CC was in a much better slot only 10 years back and this August malarky is crap though.

No way if Super League final went to FTA would it lose its current status. Sky hype doesn't equal what the BBC can do for a sport, nothing does. The BBC if covering the top event of a sport gets the max out of it, especially for non frequent viewers.

 

[BODISGOD]

The old Wembley was terrible. Hated that ground. The new one is nice.

I'm not a big fan of it. The location is the location and has always been crappy for the Tube and general access from the center of London.

The stadium is alright and not really worth the ridiculous sums spent on it though.

Best stadium by a mile in Britain is the Millennium.

 

[joedynamo]

I'm not a big fan of it. The location is the location and has always been crappy for the Tube and general access from the center of London.

The stadium is alright and not really worth the ridiculous sums spent on it though.

Best stadium by a mile in Britain is the Millennium.

Oh noes..I'm in agreement with Bod...well, partly.
Posted before that Im not a fan of new Wembley, cant describe why, it just lacks...something. Maybe (assuming we get there, obviously) an England win in nxt yrs WC semi final will change that.

The CC should be much earlier in the season so it actually puts a bit of competition into the start of the comp. At the mo. the first few months don't matter.

Agree totally...its too spread out and too close to the playoffs imho.

The gap is a big one, but it has always been the case. Wigan won it for years in a row not so long ago.

Aye, its prolly memory failure on my part :lol:...tho I do like the idea thats been around various forums, of the Super League sides only selecting Home Nation qualified players against Championship opposition in the CC...

 

[BODISGOD]

I think as WireMan says the Club Wembley seats do damage it. I don't think you should have to queue for 20 minutes for a pint at half time like I have there, I certainly didn't experience that in other modern stadiums. Seats don't seem to hang the pitch well relative to the Millenium. Just for the chunk of change they spent on it, doesn't seem like they got everything right.

As you say though...a big win there for someone could change that, the stadium hasn't really had a signature events since it reopened has it?