Totally agree with this post no interest in games , all that matters is top 8 finish. The top team after weekly rounds should be crowned champions, make the play offs different competition. Seems pointless playing weekly rounds. Look at saints how well they have done yet actually won very little.

I think a lot of the reason English sport prefers a promotion/relegation setup is the love of the underdog. The relegation battle is usually much more interesting than the race for the championship and the idea of a "smaller" team turning over a "larger" team to stay up appeals to the national psyche.

What can't be disputed is that the SL play-offs were brought in to sustain interest over the course of the season and yet two months in and fans as a whole are already yawning and examining their watches. On that basis the present format is failing.

The grand-final is undoubtedly now a key event in the games calendar, with attendances to confirm it, but that doesn't vindicate the play-off format generally, nor does it nullify the promotion/relegation argument.

Try telling the Barcelona manager or Bayern munich manager that the fifth best team in spain, Malaga, could yet become winners of the Champions league.

The sixth best team in England were "Champions of Europe" last season.

I still reckon most of the negativity on here is caused by the hangover of our recent failure to win Super League, even if it is subconscious sulking in some cases.

As someone said earlier, if we had won the Grand Final no one would be saying Wigan should be champions.

Don't get me started on the format in football.

I remember the Scousers going round claiming they were champions of Europe with such greats as Djmi Traore and Harry Kewell in their team when they finished 5th in the league and were below Everton, just because they won a one off knock out game on a penalty shoot out.

Nowadays all football is about is the mighty fourth place in the league.

Play weakened sides in the League Cup, even the FA Cup, just chase that magic fourth!

Imagine If the 'multi club' World club challenge format takes off, imagine if its popular, entertaining, taken seriously by the Aussies, and an English side could win it. we could scrap the grand final go back to first past the post and the big end of year event would be the World club challenge Final.... and you'd still give mid table teams something to aim for by finishing in the top four and qualifying for the WCC.

ahhh But then clubs would be accused of aiming for fourth place and a WCC spot, and fans would start moaning and saying it was better when you had to win the grand final to become world champions........


it all seemed so much simpler when we were rubbish

After reading this thread i have had my mind firmly changed... I realise i was wrong. The compelling counter argument of 'people are just moaning because we didnt win the Grand Final' is a strong one.

So lets ignore the sanitisation of the game, the half paced tempo of league games and the flat atmospheres... Lets be grateful that we have the greatest game on earth.

I promise, going forward, to not find myself being bored watching rugby league.

I believe loosing last seasons grand final tarnished some people's thoughts and you can see arguments for & against the play off system. It could be worse, we could okay for 90 mins and fall to the floor at any opportunity just like football. "Come on the Wire"

Are you from Wigan?

Don't be daft , he can read & write.

This

It seems in this debate that you can't seem to point out to people often enough, that The Premier League and Champions League are two separate competitions. just because two English teams won the champions League trophy it didn't mean that they they usurped the Champions of England.

Sorry City, Chelsea won a 'bigger' cup so they've leapfrogged above you...yeah right

I actually think the quality of games has increased from the games I've seen. Granted I didn't see the thumping Wigan gave Widnes but overall I think the intensity up until the last round of games seemed higher than last season.

I don't agree that we should have a top 8 play off but that's the way it is, and I'd take a play-off system to decide the champions over the boring FPTP format. With the play offs it means you get the top teams playing each other more often which I think is better for the game. I mean would we rather see the title decided infornt of 5,000 at Salford or 70,000 at OT.

Last year we had a situation where we played Saints and got beat. We played them again two weeks later and won rendering the first game meaningless apart from having to play an extra game in between.

I don't know how that is better for the game.

It's not anti Leeds sentiment your are a top, top side, or 'sour grapes' by yours truly, but, I'm still not persuaded by the 'Play Off' argument.

If we accept that Wigan win the title at Salford (God forbid), and it mean't something, do you think that it wouldn't sell out? Your 5,000 figure is there to make your point and in some way makes mine. The reason that there might be only 5,000 at Salford is because "it's only the hub cap, the minor prem' blah de blah

What I would offer is that the Grand Final is now a stand out fixture, an event that attracts a broad spectrum of rugby league supporters from non participating clubs, great marketing, a bit like the Challenge Cup only closer to home.

Do you think they wouldn't sell out OT if the reward was tweaked? For example, based on last year Wigan were Champions (bit of a sorry theme here) and Warrington and Leeds were playing for a big pot of Sky cash to spend on next years recruitment and the second spot in an expanded WCC?

im not reading that clearly...?? are you suggesting you could crown a team champions and have the two runners up to them play infront of 75,000 fans for no trophy no title just some nominal prize money and spot in a WCC competition.?

we cant sell out the halton stadium for a knock out game that gets the winner a spot at wembley big prize money and national media coverage......... surely your completely dreaming. we can only ever sell out old trafford for a grand final.

we cant even sell out a football stadium by getting half of the league to play local derbies in it on one day.......