Super League Has Failed

Quote: The Lucky Black Cat "SL is not the success Sky, RFL and Clubs are painting for various reasons like
1) Clubs struggling if not getting seriously in debt. Wakefield, Bradford, Crusaders are just the tip of the iceberg. Salford, Cas, London and Hull KR are struggling to not just compete but survive in SL. Even the likes of St.Helens lose a lot of money. Is this really how SL was meant to be?

2) Standards on the field in SL have not seen the chasing clubs move nearer to the top clubs, but rather the top clubs have seen their standards drop. The defence is still as poor by many teams as in previous years. And the intensity of games is still nowhere near what it should be. How many games are real tough and of a high quality similar to an average NRL game? Very few.

3) SL Clubs would still rather waste money on average or less NRL players than invest that money on academy players and bringing through youth. Even clubs like Leeds, Wigan and Hull do not spend enough on Youth and rather pay the kids peanuts and train a couple of times a week. Maybe if the youngsters were full time and do more training alongside the Uni/college work they would be better prepared for RL and standards would be better both for individuals and clubs. Clubs still look for the quick fix rather than spend time and money on youngsters. As per usual Clubs dont take Academy rugby seriously and are now looking to change things because clubs dont want to spend the money or invest in something they dont feel is important. Typical Short term thinking.

4) The Licence procedure is a joke. Its all done behind closed doors and its clear that something is not working when Bradford are giveb a "B" grade and a couple months later are announcing debts close to 2 Million and going in to administration. The Crusaders was also a real joke made worse by the RFL and Nigel Wood personally knowing the problems, but chose to ignore what was going on and made empty promises to people who are still owed a lot of money. I cant say that the licence procedure is a success at all as it still has managed to miss severe problems in the game more than once. Halifax, (amongst other Championship clubs) make small profits and are deamed "ridiculous and not good enough for SL, meanwhile a number of Sl clubs are given praise and a licence and are losing hundreds of thousands a year and run badly. Sorry but that for me is something I cant accept and fail to see how licences have improved things that much.

I think SL needs a minimum standards, not just for clubs wanting to get in to SL, but also those currently in. For instance standards on ground, running of the club, Academy teams at U18 and U23 ( I think U20 should be changed to U23 and all clubs in British SL & Championship forced to run teams at these levels) etc should be part of the minimum standards, but why cant you also have P & R as well? If the Championship club fails to meet the minimum standards then they stay where they are with no relegation. No system is ever perfect, but more should be done to not just improve SL but Pro RL. But clubs like Fax, Fev, Leigh, Sheffield should be given the chance to play in SL if they meet the minimum standards but they also need to work hard alongside Sl clubs and not just left to feel they dont have much chance of ever seeing SL.
I dont think Nigel Wood and Ralph Rimmer are the right people to be running our game. They both have failed miserably when at SL Clubs and have left many unhappy people- some who have never returned due to how they did things at Halifax and Sheffield/Huddersfield. The way they treat people and seem to ignore many serious warning signs is a worry for me. I dont trust them and I know many friends who follow Sl clubs as well as Championship clubs dont either. The RFL really needs another person to run the game IMHO. Richard Lewis for me did many good things and has helped bring in extra money from various places. He was not perfect but probably the best leader the game in the UK has had. We need somebody similar to help the game at many levels and especially have a plan for all levels not just SL. Currently the Championship is a mess and the RFL come out with badly thought ideas like the Rail Cup, the recent Euro games etc. These ideas need to be better thought out and better planned.'"

Wood et al. are very poor and won't even keep the game stable now that Lewis has gone, so heaven help us if they try to implement another 'expansion' idea any time soon. If you take a step back, its a shame the NRL doesn't decide to embrace expansion, and treat us in the UK as an expansion target. I'd rather be run by them, as some kind of second or third tier NRL, than be run by a few self-deluded windbags who consider themselves capable administrators.