NO RELEGATION : Wed Sep 28, 2022 11:13 pm  

If you are a "A" graded team you are exempt from relegation from top flight RL

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:32 am  

These are only recommendations nothing passed yet meeting Oct 13th cant see the lower clubs voting for this in the past when Maurice Lindsay brought radical structures it was kicked out .RL wants a major change or it will die we can see that happening already major changes neede from top to bottom.

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:45 am  

I'm not a fan of having a closed shop but I could deal with the licensing system, but 2 years instead of 3. Also the league needs expanding in my eyes, York, Newcastle, Leigh, Fev and Toulouse have all shown that they want to compete. Expand the league to accommodate these sides and then open the licensing system. York and Newcastle on particular have invested in youth and women's games too so it would be unfair to just shut them out when they are very eager to show progress.

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:01 am  

Pie_Eyter wrote:

I'm not a fan of having a closed shop but I could deal with the licensing system, but 2 years instead of 3. Also the league needs expanding in my eyes, York, Newcastle, Leigh, Fev and Toulouse have all shown that they want to compete. Expand the league to accommodate these sides and then open the licensing system. York and Newcastle on particular have invested in youth and women's games too so it would be unfair to just shut them out when they are very eager to show progress.

you can still be relegated as the licenses renew annually and if you slip from an A to a lower B you will go down, I like the idea, all we need now is a good tv deal and massively raise the cap

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:18 am  

what are the chances of some / all of these proposals being voted through. I can actually see some current SL clubs being graded C, depending upon the criteria, so i feel its unlikely to get too far off the ground as they arent going to be too positive about it are they?

i think the one thing we all agree on is that things need to change, licencing is a good option, but didnt work last time as they just kept saying its ok, we'll let you off with not investing in academy, ground etc etc. Catalan were proof that it can work, as they were given 3 years to get things right, and have been a success

i would be happy with the A,B, C etc as long as it is fair, consistent and applied. No point saying you need to meet this or that, but then not punish the clubs for failing miserably

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 8:13 am  

The pieman wrote:

what are the chances of some / all of these proposals being voted through. I can actually see some current SL clubs being graded C, depending upon the criteria, so i feel its unlikely to get too far off the ground as they arent going to be too positive about it are they?

i think the one thing we all agree on is that things need to change, licencing is a good option, but didnt work last time as they just kept saying its ok, we'll let you off with not investing in academy, ground etc etc. Catalan were proof that it can work, as they were given 3 years to get things right, and have been a success

i would be happy with the A,B, C etc as long as it is fair, consistent and applied. No point saying you need to meet this or that, but then not punish the clubs for failing miserably

might work this time if they dont let them off

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 8:40 am  

People have got it in one. It will work if the game's authorities stick with the rules and no longer accept IOUs from certain clubs instead of seeing tangible, positive transformations in terms of stadia, academies etc.

The fact is, this IMG business is not really about pushing the game forward into imaginary sunlit uplands, it's about survival. When you're not going forwards, you're going backwards ... and we've definitely not been going forwards for a very long time.

Someone mentioned the smaller clubs voting it down. That underlines the problem. Many of our so-called professional clubs are only professional because of the money they're given each year. That has to end. It's a drain on the game. We need a slimmer competition that rewards excellence.

I know, by the way, that most of the criteria for A-grading have not been revealed yet, but look on Twitter and you'll see the fans of lower level clubs trotting out the usual 'it's just protection for Wigan, Saints, Leeds, Wire' b######s. From what I can see in this IMG outline, there is scope for promotion if you actually get your house in order, sort out your ground, get the money in place etc ... and that's the way it should be, because if you can't do that, what use are you to the rest of the game?

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 8:41 am  

In the current system any club qualifying as an A grade club should be nowhere near the drop anyway.

Wire obviously had a terrible year but they were never going down and I highly doubt they will be at the foot of the table in 23 unfortunately.

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 10:03 am  

Cruncher wrote:

I know, by the way, that most of the criteria for A-grading have not been revealed yet, but look on Twitter and you'll see the fans of lower level clubs trotting out the usual 'it's just protection for Wigan, Saints, Leeds, Wire' b######s.

Not to mention the usual comments about renting from football clubs.

From what I've read of the plans/suggestions I can't really disagree. The tail has wagged the dog for far too long. What IMG need to do is be able to make changes without having to run it past the narrow minded clubs beforehand otherwise the next 12 years will be pretty pointless from their point of view.

Re: NO RELEGATION : Thu Sep 29, 2022 10:35 am  

It will sting some but Wigan, Saints and Leeds are rugby league. It's time we looked after the big clubs and stopped pandering to no hopers. Without either of these teams I'd doubt the game would survive.