by Joey Davies
@theonejoeydSalford City Reds have made an admittedly poor start to the Super League season and a recent 4-38 defeat at home to notoriously bad travellers London Broncos would have concerned their loyal diehards.
Dr Marwan Koukash's takeover of the club rescued it from the brink of administration and despite playing their first four games with a bunch of kids and last minute deals, he decided to sack head coach Phil Veivers after the London defeat. Owners can do what they want, but is it not depressing to see a decent man who led a struggling club on the field while off it they battled a potential financial disaster, treated in that manner?
Indeed, the Reds have picked up a solitary point from the two games under the interim coach now in charge. The evidence isn't there that suggests to me that 'new manager syndrome' will be rocketing this squad up the table any time soon.
And here's the key point. Dr Koukash will not pay the price for his club's short-termism. He will never pay the price for it either, because the abhorrent, unfair and unequal franchising system will allow him to make all the changes he wishes, and even if Salford finish bottom of the pile, they will simply be able to give it another go next season.
The Salford City Stadium is an excellent, smart facility. Dr Koukash has a bit of money behind him. Ergo, the Reds will never be in any danger of losing their licence to compete in Super League at any point, especially while Castleford and Wakefield struggle to redevelop their old-fashioned terrace arenas. And that is a sad indictment on the state of rugby league football. It's no longer about results on the field, but about who has the most money, the biggest infrastructure and the smartest facilities.
I was a late comer into the sport, and I follow Wigan Warriors, but it was their battle against relegation in the 2006 Super League season that got me hooked. Remember the Battle of Belle Vue? Wakefield defeated rivals Castleford to overtake their neighbours, sending them into the second tier. The contrast in emotion between both sets of supporters is what sport is all about. Thrills and spills no longer available to the watching neutrals. Sure, it may relieve the stress for some fans knowing they won't have a nervous end to the year, but as a bonafide traditionalist, I believe the removal of Super League relegation is a greed-influenced stain on what should be a fairly contested sport at all levels.
Nearly half the league have nothing to play for come September now. Sure, there's eight playoff spots, but for 10th-14th they are generally playing a load of meaningless games with nothing riding on them. So why not bring back relegation and promotion? The clubs might despise the suggestion, so as a compromise, how about one spot for the team on the bottom of the pile? Then it really is a wooden spoon.
Also a system of no demotion means that the Championship- renamed that on the assumption it will make the RFL as much in pounds sterling as its namesake has managed to accomplish for the Football League, has been rendered obsolete. Sure, there's games to win, and a grand final at the end of the season, but no dream prize of playing in Super League. No prize of playing at the DW Stadium, Headingley and the Halliwell Jones Stadium. Imagine the outrage if the Premier League followed suit and introduced a franchising system?
But then again nothing surprises me with the RFL. This same governing body before the 2010 season kicked off, used their new licencing regulations in order to snub Widnes, a former top flight club with plenty of history and romance, in favour of the Welsh outfit Celtic Crusaders, who at the time played in Bridgend. It was a shameless stunt aimed towards expanding rugby league in a principality that knows only the union code. And that worked out well, didn't it.
Forced north to Wrexham's Racecourse Ground in order to take advantage of the big away followings stemming from the competition's north west giants, and having removed 'Celtic' from their name, the game never quite grabbed the attention of the locals and the Crusaders went into administration, forgoing their licence for 2012-14 and allowing Widnes back into the top tier. A lesson to all that British sport should never embrace franchising.
But it is the RFL's money obsession that has overseen the end of tradition, fairness, blood, sweat and tears. Rugby league is an honest, working-class sport, but making decisions in order to favour franchises is the complete opposite- it smacks of downright greedy corporate capitalism.
And kneejerk owners like Dr Koukash can sack as many coaches as he wishes knowing there's no gamble involved.
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