I am afraid I agree with you on this point (Afraid 'cos no-one will get
promoted, not 'cos its you :-) )
SLE held out an olive branch to FASDA clubs, which was "The Winner of the GF
will gain promotion providing they meet all our criteria", knowing that none
of the clubs would fulfil all the criteria, and if they did, the criteria
would simply be changed, as they have been AFAIK from the original "Framing
The Future" document. Of the two clubs in the final, Wakefield will be
moving to a new ground (possibly), but Belle Vue is simply not up to
standard. Featherstone have spent a great deal of money improving Post
Office Road but I am not sure if its maximum capacity is high enough
(someone on another thread mentioned 10,000 - if this is true then Post
Office Road is too small). IMO, whoever wins on Saturday should be permitted
to take up their rightful place in SL - After all, they were only denied in
the first place by an arbtrary decision on numbers for the division (and, in
Featherstone's case, this was by a solitary place). And, to all those out
there who think that SL clubs are so superior that neither Wakefield nor
Featherstone could cut the mustard, I have a simple solution - relegation.
Thats the revolutionary idea whereby the bottom club, who has been proved
not to be good enough, is relegated out of the SL. That way, if the winners
of the GF are not good enough, they'll only be getting in your way for one
season. However, if they -are- good enough then someone else from your cosy
club will be dumped, and we can't have that, can we?? It is my honest belief
that SL needs promotion and relegation the same as any other sport - can you
imagine the uproar if the football premiership said they were closing their
doors? I know I am a lone voice amongst the many SL evangelists who think,
for some reason they have a divine right to be in the sport's elite without
proving their worth, but to those people I would say two things
1) What happens to the credibility of the sport if certain teams in the
first division become better than teams in the SL (which could be proven in
the SCCC)? Don't simply say it couldn't happen, because it could
2) Think about what will happen when your franchise is reviewed - SLE are
committed to bringing in teams from new areas. The league cannot continue to
grow indefinitely, so someone is going to lose out. How would you feel if
your team lost its rightful place in SL on an arbitrary decision, and had no
possibility of entry back into the elite. Again, don't think it can't
happen, it would appear to have happened already to Wakefield and
Featherstone.
I truly hope Featherstone can win on Saturday, for the glory and the money,
but I won't be betting my house on us playing in SL next year if we do (or
Wakefield if they win, for that matter), and that really saddens me for the
future of the game. I'll support Featherstone whatever division they are in,
as I have since I was five (27 years ago), but many people won't, because
the competition will lose credibility if promotion is barred. The ultimate
result of this is that Featherstone, and so many other clubs like them, will
cease to exist, and my newly born daughter will never have the chance to
stand on the terraces at Post Office Road. It makes me sick.
Quote:
>>Despite the mocking of
>>Div 1 by our SL friends I would say that its the
>>best fev team for years and with perhaps a couple of additions would
acheive
>>a
>>mid table
>>placing in SL.
>I agree the winning of the Semi was a wonderful result BUT BE
REALISTIC!!!!!!
>NO team from the Current 1st Division is going into SuperLeague . I really
do
>wish people would undertand exactly what is going on.
>regards
>Keith - Cougar Fan
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