Saddened! wrote:Why? I fail to see how encouraging clubs to develop and improve on and off the field can be considered a bad thing? If Keighley want to be in Super League, invest in the club and develop the stadium and the fan base and win the Championship. Or don't, they'd be able to get up even without winning it if they improve as a club. The likes of Cas, Wakefield, Featherstone aren't going to bother, so plenty of opportunity for clubs like York, Keighley and Toulouse to replace them. We're likely never going to get to 12 category A sides, so the sporting integrity element Keighley are crying about so much will still be there. No category A side is going to finish bottom, so them being protected is irrelevant and there will never be 12 A sides. If there are then it'll prove IMGs proposals have been an incredible success. There aren't any more than a handful of A class sides currently.
Stop the world. I need to get off. I agree 110% with Saddo.
This isn't a closed shop like people seem to think it is. If a grade B side such as Fev wins the Champ and a grade B side such as Wakey finishes bottom of SL then they'll swap places. I appreciate that a grade C side could win the Champ but the chances are rather minimal.
Keighley are literally nowhere near SL as it is and would need to do all of the things on the list before they even have a chance anyway, so what are they actually complaining about?
The sport has been held back by certain clubs (all on the same side of the Pennines) for too long and provided they stick with it and don't take false promises like the last time (Crusaders success plus stadium development plans that still haven't happened) then this will force clubs to get their complete house in order which can only be good for the game.
