Re: Why Ealing shouldn’t go up!
ExiledChameleon
25 August, 2018 00:25
Quote:HMRH
Nothing against Ealing specifically but I don’t see how rugby in England is best served by small teams
Being promoted to the Premiership. Yes it’s good to see a new face and exciting and all that but they’re bankrolled by one man and his company, they have no history of being a major club and will be another stadium renter - sadly as are we.
We are better served by ring fencing the Premiership at least for 10 years and allowing clubs to find the balance between costs and squad sizes. Would I feel the same if we were not included in a ring fenced Premiership? Possibly not but the argument holds water regardless.
We want packed grounds with great players - that’s not going to happen by admitting small clubs.
The best way to go would be to look across at France, where the LNR manages both top leagues, and a decent proportion of TV rights are shared with the ProD2, this enables the ProD2 to be a credible second tier, which means that when teams get relegated to it they don’t suffer massively.
However since PRL is way too greedy the ideal solution for England would be a 16 team, 2 conference setup IMO, current 14, plus two of Ealing, Doncaster, Bedford, and Nottingham. Ring fence it for three years, then introduce P&R, with 15th v 2nd in Champ and 16th v 1st.