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Hi all: just a little question for you about loop fixtures (please submit your answers to the poll. If it works......).

Personally, I hate them! For the following reasons:
- Unfair and unequal for teams who are at both extremes of the table, where final points really matter
- Cheapens games if you play the same team 3-6 times per season
- Needless extension of the season, which could be replaced with more exciting alternatives that might be better for the game e.g. annual set-in-stone Internationals week or Regional/SoO-style week. (or maybe even starting the season once the snow has gone)

Thoughts?

Money is often quoted as the reason for them. But why is this so?
And where should the line be drawn between Money and Fairness/Common Sense? If clubs could get more money for players playing on pongo sticks, do we think that would also be worth a go?

[Fantastic Mr Catpiss]

when you say, they never used to happen, is that disregarding the previous 17 or so years that they've been happening?

20 years, even

There's a bit of rose tinting here - even pre SL you could well end up playing the same team several times per season: twice in the league, Challenge Cup, John Player/Regal Trophy and County Cup (Lancashire/Yorkshire), Premiership play-offs, Floodlit Trophy, etc.

i recognise that drawing a team in a knockout is slightly different than a predetermined "loop" fixture, but given the relatively small pool of teams, together with more knockout cups, repetition did happen in the past.

[Uncle Rico]

MillennialRhino wrote:

Hi all: (snip) If clubs could get more money for players playing on pongo sticks, do we think that would also be worth a go?

I'm not a fan of predetermined 'loop fixtures' so generally agree with you, but the idea of playing on a "pongo stick" just stinks

Uncle Rico wrote:

I'm not a fan of predetermined 'loop fixtures' so generally agree with you, but the idea of playing on a "pongo stick" just stinks

Yes, you're right. Sorry for the crap spelling.

Why not just add a couple more teams to the League.....makes sense to me

CrusaderPete wrote:

Why not just add a couple more teams to the League.....makes sense to me

Because the SL chairman won’t share the decreasing sky money they receive. So instead you get a ‘wigan v Saints derby’ 5 times a season and they wonder why attendance figures are dropping (pre-covid).

I’m not saying adding extra teams is the fix but SL chairman are not going to vote to spread the thin even thinner. We’ve already seen that in them pulling the money from the championship

Bulls4 wrote:

Because the SL chairman won’t share the decreasing sky money they receive. So instead you get a ‘wigan v Saints derby’ 5 times a season and they wonder why attendance figures are dropping (pre-covid).

I’m not saying adding extra teams is the fix but SL chairman are not going to vote to spread the thin even thinner. We’ve already seen that in them pulling the money from the championship

I know that they don't like sharing the pot 'o gold, but as business men, I'm stunned they can't see they need to arrest the decline or they'll end up with a six team league or a merger with the Puntmonkies (who are discovering that Union has largely the same problems). What was wrong with just switching the old 16 team First Division to Summer, without all the other poop!

CrusaderPete wrote:

Why not just add a couple more teams to the League.....makes sense to me

You raised this on another thread. Do we reduce the clubs share of an already heavily reduced SKY deal further??

I could see SKY avoiding showing the bottom four clubs and their struggles, and if that happened the other SL clubs would question how do these extra clubs justify getting any SKY money. I can remember when London were in Superleague and were slaughtered weekly in the 2014 season? they didn't earn a penny of the SKY money

We must ensure the TV audience sees competitive games week in and week out hence the salary cap.

Bulls4 wrote:

Because the SL chairman won’t share the decreasing sky money they receive. So instead you get a ‘wigan v Saints derby’ 5 times a season and they wonder why attendance figures are dropping (pre-covid).

I’m not saying adding extra teams is the fix but SL chairman are not going to vote to spread the thin even thinner. We’ve already seen that in them pulling the money from the championship

Sorry, I missed your post, so please take mine as agreeing with you.....