www.therfl.co.uk/surveys/supporters_survey , Mmmmmmmmmm , now where do I start ?

www.therfl.co.uk/surveys/supporters_survey , Mmmmmmmmmm , now where do I start ?

It's an honest attempt by the RFL to get some data about fans outside SL.

No doubt some of the morons on here will fill it out with stupidity. However, I'd suggest that people fill it in as honestly as you can as it's a chance for fans to get their voices heard

One person's stupidity may be anothers realism. I'd love to see the results of this, especially a comparison from SL fans and those of the Championship and also Championship one.

The more we view the lower league as a feeder competition, which a lot are starting to! The more fans we will lose from OUR game simple as that, the RFL need to address this sharply otherwise we will be in big trouble in a few years time.

How many is that so far then?

The RFL need to address it?

How do you suggest the RFL address the fact that most clubs outside SL can't motivate more than a few hundred fans to get off their backsides to come watch the product they're offering?

Let me guess, automatic P & R to Super League? I can see how that would put a couple of thousand on the gates at places like Workington and Dewsbury. No, really.

When are fans of non-SL clubs going to stop heaping the blame for their own failures at the door of Red Hall?

It won't instantly boost the attendances, of course not, but I do think it's a reason why more and more towns such as those mentioned see people wandering about in Super League shirts rather than that of their local club. Still, is that much of a problem to the RFL or the all-powerful Super League clubs?

or 20 clubs like Widnes ?

What the RFL do does however have a bearing on that , and at the moment we are heading for the former , not the latter

They seem happy enough to help SL clubs advertise with things on press releases about up coming games etc yet leave clubs outside to their own devices, not even a 5min slot on Boots N All anymore etc. If the RFL want these clubs to exist they need to do a bit more to promote our game outside SL simple as that.

A lot in SL have the 'i'm alright jack' attitude and as an example are happy to get SKY money advances on wages... What does a champ club do if a sponsor goes busy or major backer goes ill? There us nothing for them to fall back on!

RL is OUR game not just SL's game!

I don't know how it could be done, but i'd love the championship and champ 1's TV rights to be sold deliberately to a terrestrial TV company. Think it would do the smaller clubs a world of good in terms of exposure and sponsorship money.

A proper fixture structure instead of the half-assed attempt made in January every year - gaps all over the place and no home fixtures for 4 weeks. Sort this out at least.

That would be a start.

Why the RFL though - with the greatest of respect if the RFL release a press release about a representative game for example and tack on the end that Featherstone are playing Halifax next Sunday, how much additional interest is that going to generate?

I would suggest that the overwhelming majority of people interested in going to see Featherstone play Halifax will already be aware of the game, and if people in Featherstone or Halifax aren't aware of it then maybe those two clubs need to question what they are doing to promote their games locally?

As for scheduling of Boots N All, take that one up with Sky. Maybe as a commercial sports channel they're pitching their product at where they think the major audience lies.

This might test the depth of belief some hold in "automatic" P&R:

[iA proposed new framework for the community game was recently announced by the RFL recommending a move to a March and October season.

Are you in support of the Championships forming part of a fully integrated pyramid structure for Rugby League?*

Should Championship One move towards connecting to the National Premier divisions ensuring clubs with suitable standards can pass between divisions?[/i

In that case, the same question can be asked of the RFL sending out e-mails on behalf of clubs to promote upcoming games - I regularly get emails from the RFL promoting Wigan Warriors games because of being on the RFL database with a WN postcode.

Close it down. No need for a pretend professional league. Just have each Super League team adopt 2 or 3 of these mickey mouse outfits each and have them run their academies and reserves through them. Standards would improve and the fact they were no longer professional would drive the age of the players down to create a proper ladder system like they have in the NRL.

Here speaks the 'protected'. Good bit of bait though, fair play.

So now you want these clubs to provide you with the replacements for your players who leave for a bit more sunshine

Bit of a dummy spit by Eamon



Well send them your idea's , this is your chance

I reckon one or two people might have a couple of words for 'saddened'

'I' and 'love' by any chance?

I wasnt 100% sure of the meaning/aim of the question "What is the purpose of Championship 1?" other than to provide a competition for the teams within it

remove the salary cap in its current format. replace it with a percentage of generated income.

the more cash you bring into the club the better team you can have.

same should be applied in SL.

the salary cap has not worked. most teams are now in a worse position financially than they were when the cap was introduced.

Surely linking expenditure to what is brought in will only see the top clubs swallow up all of the best players and the clubs near the bottom staying their with inferior players.

My answer to the question..
"Provide details of how you feel the Championships could be improved for 2012 onwards:*"

The Championship and Championship one should once again merge to form one larger and stronger RL competition. Looking back the league boasted much larger crowds and was a much more Vibrant competition when there was only one division ( if looking at old Widnes programs are anything to go by ). With the leagues better financial structure's being enforced by the RFL one division of 16 teams would be much stronger than 2 of 10. If at the end of the 2011 season the top 16 placed teams were put into the Championship and the remaining clubs dropped into the National conference ( to be renamed Championship one ). The Championship consisting of 30 Games in a season followed by a 8 team play off more in tune with Australia's. The Championship one would consist of those clubs that did not make the cut at the end of 2011, and would merge with the current National conference teams to form a true league structure. Any club Winning this Division Given some basic requirements on facilities would gain promotion to the championship if they so wished ( same play off structure as the Championship ). this league would work on a much smaller cap then the championship ( max £60K ) and would focus more on developing club structure's ready for the step up in class. Where possible any club given a strong enough set up would be accepted into this division ( up to a maximum of 16 ) after that a new division would be set up to allow for expansion of the sport.

If the Championship was promoted more as a competition in its own right as opposed to just as a tick in the application box then it would add greatly to its Value. Winning things should not be a requirement when considering applications for SL, A club should be judged solely on its foundations, Financial, Youth, Support and facilities and not on the luck of a cup draw or recruiting for one big push. If Franchising is the way to go then it needs to be done properly. Invite Applications from all clubs, And the top 16 Applications get the next 5 years of Top flight Footy. No small print, No preferential treatment. ( yes increase SL to 16 clubs )

If more was done to promote the Championship in its own right then failure to gain a franchise or having one revoked would not be such a bitter pill to swallow. There are plenty of former great clubs in these Divisions which have thousands of lapsed Fans, the way to get them back is to bring the local edge back into the competitions. A larger league where local rivalries are more likely to be played would gain far more coverage in local media, and would gather far more support from local people. And the new Championship One with a much smaller cap would be a better proving ground for new or revived clubs and give them a more steady and certain avenue into the Higher Division.

The Northern Rail cup should be dropped, As a Widnes fan i have enjoyed it more than most but a more soundly structured league that supports more clubs with more games of value would be a better solution for all clubs across the Divisions.

Lastly, Each successful applicant for SL should be paired with a Championship One club, The SL club giving help with Players, coaching, And general Advice on how to run a successful club. Therefore helping the game expand, Grow and mature. The SL clubs performance with this should be assessed at the end of each year with clubs that fail to support their partner club receiving reductions in the next years Central funding.

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Thats my take on things and im sure 90% of the posters on here will disagree with a large amount of that. But as things stand the Championships are not fit for purpose and are just a place for clubs to wilt and Die.

does that not happen anyway? even under the current system.

at least it would reward ambition.

Mmmmmm , lets see , a fan of a club that is one of the favourites to drop down out of SL into the Championship wants the RFL to remove the Salary Cap in the Championship , a SC that has made the Championship highly competitive , now why would they suggest such a thing ?