[Pumpetypump]

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:14 am  

Bull Mania wrote:

Better than licensing where we would have ZERO chance of getting back into SL.

Really? With our fanbase, seeming financial stability etc I would have thought we'd have an absolutely superb chance of getting back in at the next franchising opportunity. And added to that, once in SL you get to use the three years to grow sensibly and recruit accordingly.

I'd much rather have licencing or a system whereby you get 2 years protection upon promotion than the absurd faux promotion system we have now.

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:39 am  

At the risk of playing fantasy RL, and putting the cart about fifty miles in front of the horse, that kid Tom Johnstone looks like one of the best young players to come out of Wakey in a little while.

On the subject of P&R, I agree that the current system leaves the deck stacked heavily against championship sides. It's going to be a very tough ask to get up as things stand, although I'm sure we can rely on the RFL to cook something new up that may, or may not, ease the path back to the top flight. Sadly for the duration of the "New Era" I'm left wondering if our best chance might come at the expense of a team that goes bust? After what the bulls have been through I'm not sure I would wish that on any set of fans.

[Bulliac]

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:00 pm  

I suspect that no-one will get within 'cooeee' of promotion under the current system which, at risk of serious repetition, I'll say again , was always the intention. It won't be long before the 'Championship Mafia' work out they've [we've] been had, and a new push for licensing or a genuine P&R system, starts up. Can we hold the fans for three years?

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:02 pm  

Good points made above. I believe that the RFL did feel that we had to go down because of the problems we had in those last couple of years - and so did I. I also strongly believe that the SL isn't as good as everyone would like it to be. I strongly suspect the RFL will do "what they can" to help the Bulls get back up when we have clearly shown that we are being run properly again. I am not arrogant enough to say they desperately need us again but they could do with another club challenging the top few clubs as SL looks a little predictable at the moment.

If I had being in charge of the RFL I would have still had this middle 8 play-offs as I do like the idea but it would have been a little different. The bottom SL club would have been relegated and replaced by the top championship club - so one club is guaranteed promotion and wouldn't that make those last few games in either division vital. The play-off's would then be against the 3 other clubs in each division - middle 6 play-off's. Same idea as now but one guaranteed promotion for the top club.

Maybe if the Bulls fail to get up but finish top a few years the RFL might just introduce this idea - or am I dreaming a little now?

Whichever way I look at it and trying to keep an impartial head on, I struggle to believe that if the Bulls prove they are run well and are a strong club again the pressure on the RFL to find a way of getting us back in will start to build. I would think other club chairmen such as Hetherington will be having a quiet word.

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:04 pm  

Pumpetypump wrote:

Really? With our fanbase, seeming financial stability etc I would have thought we'd have an absolutely superb chance of getting back in at the next franchising opportunity. And added to that, once in SL you get to use the three years to grow sensibly and recruit accordingly.

I'd much rather have licencing or a system whereby you get 2 years protection upon promotion than the absurd faux promotion system we have now.

What makes you so sure we'd get in through licensing? Wakey went into admin once, we went in twice and neither were relegated. Yes we are making money, but the super league clubs will receive a lot more money next year to get their books balanced.

Also how long do you think fans would stay paying to watch us, when we're not actually playing for anything. I pay to watch competitive sport, not who has a nice spreadsheet.

That said I do think the new system is flawed and it is pretty much now or never for us. May have an outside chance next year if we can keep Gaskell,O'brien etc

Should be simple 1 up 1 down. But given te choice, I'd choose this current version than the awful licensing system.

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:03 pm  

The problem with the current system is the gulf in the salary cap between the Super League teams and the Championship teams that will be competing in the Middle 8s. It's a very tough ask to expect a team on a much lower salary budget to compete with a team on a much higher one. It's going to make promotion extremely difficult and the odds are stacked in the Super League teams' favour. All eight teams in the Middle 8s should be on a level playing field, salary wise, in order to give everyone a fair shot at promotion. With the current system, promotion isn't a certainty for any of the Championship teams.

The benefit of having a franchise system is that it allows teams in the Super League to run themselves as businesses, safe in the knowledge that their status in the division is secure as long as their clubs are run properly. The downside of this of course is that the teams in the league below aren't really playing for anything apart from hoping that come the next round of licence application that they'll meet more criteria than one of the Super League teams.

With promotion and relegation, in a one up, one down format for example, the teams in the league below are playing for the chance to get into the league above and establish themselves in that division. It makes for competitive games in the Super League, with teams knowing that if they lose too many games they'll be dropped into the league below, rather than just ending the season without a play-off spot for another year. It also makes games in the Championship more exciting too, with teams knowing they are actually playing for promotion, rather than just being champions of their own division and then staying there again the next season, which happens in a franchise system. Quite simply, the stakes are higher.

I'd have promotion and relegation in a pure format, with the team that finishes top of the Championship earning promotion and replacing the team that finishes bottom of the Super League for the start of the next season.

As for the current system, I'd have an even salary cap across the Super League, Championship and Championship One, to allow teams the best possible chance to earn promotion and even the odds. It will also allow teams like us and Leigh, who are more than likely to be competing in the Middle 8s, to start planning for next season in terms of signing players, as we know what salary cap we'd be operating under.

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:53 pm  

Our first signing for the 2016 season will be announced tomorrow morning to season ticket holders.

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:01 pm  

dddooommm wrote:

Our first signing for the 2016 season will be announced tomorrow morning to season ticket holders.

Or re-signing perhaps more accurately!

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Wed Jun 24, 2015 5:48 am  

Sidlow gets another 2 years with Bradford. Very good news for a Wednesday

Re: Recruitment 2016 Rumours & Signings.. : Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:12 am  

Notice the article says we are looking to make more signings before the middles 8's, wonder if it's another prop???