Sport Today

Keighley Cougars are still on course to be where they should be , in
the super league.

JD

: >
: > Keighley Cougars are still on course to be where they should be , in
: > the super league.

: Its a shame that it's not two up as all of us would like to see them
: there. Still, they should join Salford there at the end of next season:)

I wouldn't bank on it if I were you. Don't be surprised if this is the
last season of relegation and promotion we have.

--
Bradford Bulls RLFC      | Rugby League Home Page:
Wembley Finalists 1996   | http://www.brad.ac.uk/~cgrussel/
British Beef - You won't | Full club-by-club guide to the 1996
get better!              | European Super League season

JD

When Hull eventually gain some consistency (and the signs are
there) I expect them to give Salford & Widnes a close run for the
single promotion place. We have just about filled the overseas
player spots now, even though there is likely to be a dispute with
the RFL arising from the fact that two of our players have strong
Australian accents but hold UK and Eire passports and are therefore
EC citizens - just like Daniel Divet before them (Somebody should
tell the Eire RFL about Moffat).

Coach, Sigsworth, has now made an offer to Liddiard (the younger of
two who played so well at Oldham) and is awaiting his reply and
another, unnamed player has also received an offer.

Watching Wire & Saints on Firday must of been painful for some of
the Directors (and Stephen Ball) at Hull FC because Kohe Love (whose
mother comes from Hull) tried desperately for a trial and signing
before Murphy gladly snapped him up.  If anybody knows why Hull let
so many talented local (and those connected to the city) players
slip through their hands, please tell me, perhaps I could save them
some import duty.

David Williams - Kingston-upon-Hull, England

JD

1) Oberfuhrer Maurice telling the Hull clubs they'll be in SL if they
merge.

2) *Much* talk of Cardiff and Dublin being in the Super League next
season with possibly Barcelona the year after.

3) Any new clubs on that scale will need some measure of official
funding as well as private backers. Guess who'll probably lose out to
provide that. Now that I *will* put money on.

Something else I'll put money on as well, though this depends on a few
decisions certain clubs would have to make. If Workington go down and
Salford come up to replace them, my money is on Oldham going down the
following year with failure to meet SL criteria as the reason. Unless
that is they move to Boundary Park permenantly until they can get
their own stadium built. As it is I see The Watersheddings being the
end of the Roughyeds.

Bradford Bulls RLFC      | Rugby League Home Page:
Wembley Finalists 1996   | http://www.brad.ac.uk/~cgrussel/
                         | Full club-by-club guide to the 1996
Mooland Uber Alles!!     | European Super League season

As I've said before the way to go about things is the way its happening
in Ice Hockey with franchises. The Manchester Storm were set up last
year, stuck in a terrible division and yet broke the British IH
attendance record 4 times with crowds of up to 16000.

The Manchester name alone attracted new fans to the Nynex arena and I
can't think of an example where a new club in any sport has been so
professionally set up from Day One with the best facilities in the
business.

I love Salford from the bottom of my heart but I'd certainly be all for
a Manchester side running out at Old Trafford in front of 30000
supporters every week. And I'm not just talking about plucking two clubs
from the same general vicinity and saying "make a team called Manchester
out of what you now have".

Imagine a franchised SL consisting of London, Paris, Cardiff, Newcastle,
Manchester, Birmingham, Hull, Liverpool etc.

However while that would attract more supporters than we already have we
can't just toss aside the people who have been going for years as you
seem to be suggesting. The game is a spectator sport first and foremost
and you can't change human nature. Using the example that would affect
me most last year's proposed merger was as follows;

Salford and Oldham to merge and form a Manchester side.

I don't know about the Bears but the these are the reasons the Reds
rejected the merger.

***Oldham's conditions to merge***

The club would not have to lose the Oldham and Salford names but would
be called "Oldham-Salford" instead of Manchester (catchy eh?)

Andy Goodway would be coach

Jim (is it) Quinn the Bears chairman would be chairman

Games to be played at Watersheddings (even though the Willows is a
better ground)

***

Now obviously these are ridiculous and nobody would accept them but
there is simply no middle ground. Instead of forcing existing teams new
ones should be created and maybe some form of drafting system a la
American Football could be employed initially so that everybody gets a
fair spread of talent.

Just to finish off before I get flamed I would hate to see RL in Salford
end as I know every supporter will feel the same about their side but I
guess some changes are going to be made whether we like it or not like
usually happens.

Paul

        ww
    |\---/ >

     \____/      --------------------------------------------

I tag onto the end of this thread rather than hammer loads of posts out.

I doubt very much that Salford, Keighley and yes, even Widnes, are
looking too closely at Hull for a problem this year. It's all very well
playing out of your skins against the best teams in the division at home
and then losing to the first collection of rabble you come up against a
la Dewsbury. How did Hull follow up their morale boosting victory over
Salford - by scraping through against the worst side in Division One.
Hardly a good indication.

Hull have lost 3 in 7 already and it's unlikely that whoever wins the
division will lose that number of games all season.

Regarding Keighley there's a little Cougars v Reds game on a week on
Sunday that should make for interesting viewing. There's gonna be
shitloads of atmosphere, tons of us lot are heading over and hopefully
they'll be a little putting to the sword to celebrate as happened last
season.

Paul
        ww
    |\---/ >

     \____/      --------------------------------------------

 does not

If you see my article, making League super, this is the sort of thing
I am advocating.

I changed my opinion since writing this article, or should I say
moderated my views. I have watched alot of super 12 Union and it is
brilliant and Augments the domestic Union in the SH nations. A SL
contest of a similar nature, of 12 - 16 franchises over Europe with
domestic League in its current format to follow is the right way
forward I think. No mergers, but and expanding game.

It is one thing to broaden your horizons, but you cannot do it at the
expense of alienating your base support, something I had not fairly
considered.