RFU plots club revolution

[An Tarbh]

I think the Aussies have taken bastardisation to new levels though with the Qantas Wallabies, how that one got off the ground I'll never know.

Don't think chucking money is going to get you anywhere though with this club v country battle. Why someone can't knock some heads together and get the RFU and the club owners together to come up with some decent plan for the future of the game is beyond me.

 

[Prestwick]

I think the Aussies have taken bastardisation to new levels though with the Qantas Wallabies, how that one got off the ground I'll never know.

Don't think chucking money is going to get you anywhere though with this club v country battle. Why someone can't knock some heads together and get the RFU and the club owners together to come up with some decent plan for the future of the game is beyond me.
[/b]

If I was someone in a position of power, I really would summon the Red Baron and the Club owners and give them a serious peice of my mind.

All of them are incompetent, selfish and money grubbing ******** who are playing a tug-o-war, using the fans as the rope and the winner will get to ravage the said fans wallets for what they have.

All of the RFU and Premier Rugby's words about "representing" the fan is utter tosh. If you believe that your Club is out there, backing your interests, you are seriously deluded.

On the same token, if you think the RFU has fans interests at heart with all this, again, you must be on LSD or something.

Club and Country are out there for your cash. Nothing else. Period.

If I were a Munster fan, I'd be confident knowing that the club is representing me and other Munster fans because the fans make up the Club and the Club is out there to win and break even, not to make as much cash as possible out of their fanbase.

As a Sarries fan, I support my club, but I know that at the end of the day, its there to return a profit on it's owner's original investment. Its not there for me, or any other fan, other than the fan who has ploughed millions into the Club. Saracens is there for Nigel Wray, not for me.

But, at the end of the day, its bare faced capitalism that keeps both the clubs and the RFU afloat these days. Community spirit and franchises sadly wouldn't balance the books. As a result, us fans are left out of the important decisions.

Sad really

 

[Black-Monday]

I mean Manchester? wtf, isn't sale the club of the northwest? The plans seem like they are trying to carbon copy what happened in the celtic countries.

However that was a different story, Wales was a smaller country and it made no sense having the amount of teams they had. Also it will kill off some of the fringe players in the teams as they are realligned to the new squads.

My ideas would be to invest more into the lower leagues, bring back the knockout cup where they competed with the GP.

I still think running a different competition in the international period would be a good idea, means the clubs are so strained in those periods, say having a north vs midlands vs london etc tourney

BM

 

[O'Rothlain]

Adamant RFU deny threat to clubs
Full Article from the Telegraph

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

How about a two tier Premiership solution with 8 teams in each division...this'd give loads of time for other competitions, tour matches, international breaks & traditional friendlies. How about :

Bristol
Leicester
Wasps
Gloucester
Sale
Saracens
Harlequins
London Irish

Bath
Newcastle
Northampton
Worcester
Plymouth
Pertemps Bees
Leeds
Earth ***ans

Good geographical spread too.

 

[An Tarbh]

Swap Bath with Sale and you might be onto something, I doubt Bath would want to lose their derbies. It's funny though no matter what solutions people come up with there's always some group against it and there's always someone advocating more fixtures not less.

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

Swap Bath with Sale and you might be onto something, I doubt Bath would want to lose their derbies. It's funny though no matter what solutions people come up with there's always some group against it and there's always someone advocating more fixtures not less.
[/b]

There'd be promotion and relegation between the divisions plus the free weeks could be utilised for friendlies so derbies could be preserved.

SB

 

[Bullitt]

Swap Bath with Sale and you might be onto something, I doubt Bath would want to lose their derbies. It's funny though no matter what solutions people come up with there's always some group against it and there's always someone advocating more fixtures not less. [/b]

All he's done there is carve a line at 8 in the current premiership standings and tacked on the top 4 ND1 sides.

In reality, all the west country sides would have to be kept together, all the london sides together, Saints and Tigers together and all the northern rivals together for it to work.

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

All he's done there is carve a line at 8 in the current premiership standings and tacked on the top 4 ND1 sides.

In reality, all the west country sides would have to be kept together, all the london sides together, Saints and Tigers together and all the northern rivals together for it to work.
[/b]

It was a bit more geographic than that. They need more than the current 12 teams to have a representative top level but the extra games will make it unfeasible. This will do that.

If Leicester were to spend a year or two in Premiership Two then Saints could have a friendly with them.

The teams in the second tier should still get a decent slice of the pie allowing it to stay competitive...maybe have two up two down to keep it fresh.

It's a softer way into a franchises based game.

The top clubs would be encouraged to support the smaller teams in there area...perhaps scrap the Guinness A league and farm out reserve to get experience at these clubs like baseball teams do.

 

[Bullitt]

Drop the derbys and you lose fan interest, simple.

How would you feal if Liverpool and Everton were enforced into different leagues?

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

Drop the derbys and you lose fan interest, simple.

How would you feal if Liverpool and Everton were enforced into different leagues?
[/b]

I'd think "I hope liverpool get promoted again so we can have the derby back.............actually, nah **** 'em".

I'll admit it's a flaw in my plan but, as I've said, old style friendlies would provide a solution.

This will mean that there is no longer any reason not to invest in clubs as they can only fall so far...Everyone will have a team & there'll be a safety net.

 

[Bullitt]

Yeah, but friendlies don't mean f*** all. To cost your rivals the points, that's when it counts.

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

Yeah, but friendlies don't mean f*** all. To cost your rivals the points, that's when it counts.
[/b]

Well if you were in the 2nd tier and you wanted a piece of your rivals then you'd just have to get behind your team and get them back up into the top tier.

Remember it's only counted for about 15 years. Everyone was happy before that.

 

[Rob The Titan]

They should have a 10 team top tier with a promotion and relegation spot like they already do, but.....

Decrease funding for Premiership sides on a pro-rata basis, depending on how many non-England qualified players they have in their team. This money could then be added onto the pot for the National Leagues at the end of each season to give them a boost.

Then you have the 'elite' teams in theory producing more England players to benefit the National team!!!

To keep the fixtures down scrap this stupid Anglo-Welsh thing aswell as the end of season play-offs and bring back the National Cup, playing it on International weekends so the elite players don't have to play in them. Another boost to the grass roots game. The one thing that saddens me most about about modern rugby is that my team can never play GP sides in a competative match.

I'm an idealist I know and it won't happen, but where's the catch, everybody's happy surely. From the National Team producing more players, the GP sides who still get to play League and Heineken Cup games at full strength (24-27 games at full strength which I don't think is too bad) and the National League teams have something to aim for.

Easy!!! :bana:

 

[Prestwick]

They'll probabbly ditch the Anglo-Welsh Cup and wille eventually ditch the playoffs because one team will be passed over for the GP ***le even though they came top because they lose one match in the playoffs.

The situation will probabbly solve itself actually...that is we don't instead end up with an Anglo-Scottish Cup and some kind of retarded SUPERBOWL style end of league cup thing.

 

[LarryWatson]

Yep, thats how they bank.