UllFC wrote:
Playing with fire if that happens, wont take much of a dropoff in pass sales for crowds to drop off and dip below the IMG 7.5k threshold. We are then solely relying on he stadium for good points as the 3 year performancss average will be dipping even further.
The fortunate thing is with Fev having money troubles and doubts about travel costs for Toulouse theres not a queue of strong applicants from the Championship.
I think that under the current IMG format our SL status is relatively safe. With or without an A-grade rating we are still, given our current circumstances, comfortably one of the top twelve clubs in the sport which keeps us within the elite.
My big worry would be if in, say two years time, a decision is made to abandon any ranking process and to go back to straightforward on the field promotion/relegation.
If, in that scenario, the promoted team turn out not to be the usual sacrificial lamb (such as Leigh last year) then we suddenly find ourselves in a straight fight with Cas/Salford/Leigh/whoever to avoid the drop. Having pruned the squad back to the bare bones, in the name of cost cutting, believing we were safe come what may, there then becomes a genuine chance of relegation for us rather than a theoretical one.
We all know what the sport is like for carrying out sudden U-turns at a whim. If we continue to go with ever weakening squads we will run the risk of being caught out by a sudden turn of events. Relegation would most likely see the end of the club in its current set-up. We are not equipped to survive outside the top flight.
