Dunkirk Spirit wrote:
Just been reading this from today’s news
The London Broncos have decided that they will move to being a part-time team in 2022 due to the club receiving a vastly reduced central distribution. It's no secret that Championship clubs like London will be losing around £140,000 in central funding next year. Difficult times
Andy Mazey
@andy_mazey
·
1h
Harsh reality!
I wrote my programme notes last night for this Sunday’s game as we at Rochdale are set for a 78% cut in central funding for 2022.
We will hold a fans forum soon to fully enlighten our stakeholders and it will be a very clear call to action
Just the tip of the iceberg I suspect i
The truth is that the game now needs to get brutal.
Before I start with my suggestions I freely admit that it's a case of 'there for the grace of god go I' because the lower league clubs are where they are through no fault of their own, or at least not for the most part. The game has been run badly since SL started and the SL clubs have been selfish and short-sighted but sadly that can't be changed now. The game has wasted its golden opportunity by chasing stupid dreams and wasting money on dubious foreign talent.
So what to do?
First of all, we need to accept that some clubs will never be SL clubs. Some like Batley, Dewsbury, and say Rochdale though fundamentally sound are simply too small or under-supported to ever make it. In a way, they always were with only occasional moments of greatness. However, what's really changed is the demographics of these clubs. The working-class population of these areas is now predominantly Asian and Asians simply aren't interested in RL or RU, it's a fact. Why I don't know but they are not. So whatever fan base these clubs once had has now been eroded beyond repair IMHO.
These clubs need their own competition, one that is part-time, one that doesn't offer promotion, but one that allows meaningful tie-ups with SL clubs. A feeder league basically. I'm not apeing the Aussies for the sake of it, I'm doing it so it's viable. As an incentive, they still get to play in the CCup and perhaps a re-introduced Yorkshire/Lancashire Cup.
Then there are the potential clubs. Those who have at least an outside chance of getting into SL and staying. These clubs don't need full-time players or at least not a full squad of them but they should have basic full-time backroom set up. I don't think an automatic promotion to SL is the answer, for me a better idea would be either gradual expansion of SL using the most successful of these teams, or the replacement of a failing SL team. If it were to be an expansion of SL then the club would need to show it had the substantial financial backing to sustain it for the first two seasons before being granted full SL status and full funding. That should make people think.
So if I were creating the new league set up for next season is would be as follows.
SL, as is, no relegation, fully pro, including either an Academy or an A-Team, or both. No automatic relegation.Catalans DragonsCatalans
St Helens
Warrington Wolves
Wigan Warriors
Leeds RhinosLeeds
Castleford TigersCastleford
Hull Kingston RoversHull KR
Hull FCHull FC
Wakefield TrinityWakefield
Huddersfield GiantsHudd'sfield
Salford Red DevilsSalford
Leigh Centurions
Championship, semi-pro, with a junior setup. All have adequate Stadiums. No relegation and no automatic promotion for the playoff/league winners but a chance to apply. Some SKY funding to support junior setup. Will be seeded in the CCup to guarantee a good chance of playing an SL team Bradford
York
Widnes
Halifax
Toulouse
London
Featherstone (mainly because of its set up, astonishing support, and where it is)
Newcastle
Doncaster
Barrow or Workington or Whitehaven, (depending on who offers the most).
Eastern Regional League, fully part-time at all levels with the exception of a Coach and Asst Coach. Emphasis on running junior teams with support from the RFL for this. All clubs can sign deals as feeder clubs for SL, acting as A-teams.Hunslet
Dewsbury
Sheffield
Batley
Keighley
London Skolars
New or promoted BARLA club
New or promoted BARLA club
Western Regional League. fully part-time at all levels with the exception of a Coach and Asst Coach. Emphasis on running junior teams with support from the RFL for this. All clubs can sign deals as feeder clubs for SL, acting as A-teams.Rochdale
Oldham
Workington
Whitehaven
Swinton
Coventry
N.Wales
W.Wales
The top four from each region would play each other in a knock-out competition to reach a kind of Super Bowl, one with a meaningful monetary reward.
I know many will disagree and fair enough, but we are in a mess and only radical surgery and a realization that we are not a small big sport but a big small sport. If done well it will allow us to re-group and at some time in the future move forward again.
Obviously the above is just an opinion, my choices are just guesses and are not set in stone. It's just an FWIW post.
