GiantFalcon wrote:I went to the Gateshead vs. St Helens game on Saturday night (as a neutral) and thought the standard of Gateshead was abysmal. It was boys against men. It really demonstrated the difference between Superleague and the Championship. There was a reasonable crowd though (over 4000) but a lot of neutral shirts there. I was a bit miffed at the level of entertainment I got for my £15 too, Gateshead just weren't at the races. I won't be rushing out and buying tickets for their next match anyway.

Doseymarker wrote:The challenge cup needs some freshening up in the earlier rounds.

Its still a great comp in the later stages.

1 The magic idea for the last 16 was floated by a few as an alternative to the current magic format. I think its a great idea.

It would give magic a competitive edge, give the lower league clubs a realistic venue to aspire to getting to, give all SL clubs 1 week off and (if my variation was used) the top eight a bye into the last 16 giving them 2 weeks off as a balance to playing in the previous years finals.

The fixtures can be drawn with the eight finalists as soon as the previous seasons league finishes with 8 qualifier balls which is when the magic weekend has been drawn in the past.

Also imagine if we could get magic on the beeb even if we got 2 live games+ (hopefully 4) and the rest on red button.

2 Why not let the sl academy sides enter the cup perhaps from the first round , only proviso they cant meet their senior side and senior players cant step down.

3 Tighten up the scheduling of the comp in the latter rounds - 2 months till the semis? Play the final before the FA charity shield.