The sadness of 9

Your football team doesn't win 9-0 very often, I can guarantee that no matter who you support. The last time it happened to my memory was Dagenham's humiliation to Hereford back in the 2003/4 season. In normal circumstances I would be using this blog to lord it over any readers who's club failed to score more than a paltry six goals over the weekend. This time though the situation does not allow for that. On Friday night Weymouth informed their first team players that they were free to look for other clubs if they had an offer, they also could not afford the insurance to play those who remained. This forced them to field their youth team, and unfortunately answer those who on clubs message boards question whether fielding the youth team would do better than the uncaring overpaid Prima Donna's who are under achieving in the first team.

Man of the match Domo Pulls off another save

Weymouth's youngsters will have walked out onto the pitch at the Wessex stadium full in the knowledge that they faced the seemingly impossible. To describe what followed as men against boys would be unfortunately apt. Rushden found the target 16 times, with nine of them finding their way past man of the match Domo. The very fact that the 16 year old Domo was man of the match said it all about the Professional way the Diamonds went about their task. It almost seems cruel the way it ended but had, as some have suggested, Andy Burgess and co got to three goals and then spent the rest of the match passing it around it would have been surely worse for their young opponents. Despite the cruel scoreine Weymouth fans had a lot of praise for all but one of the visiting team. Dale Roberts; Rushdens young keeper, applauded every save that his opposite number pulled off, and ran over to congratulate him at the final whistle. The fans all gave the youngsters a standing ovation come the end of the match.

This was a sad moment for the home fans, but there is always a good side to everything. For Rushden this should give a much needed confidence boost after the upheaval of Garry Hill's resignation, and having not won since the game against Northwich in 2008. For Weymouth it has highlighted their plight to a much greater audience than before, their messageboard has been inundated by football fans from all across the country wishing them well and their appeals to raise money have had their takings dramatically improve. The youngsters will learn from this, they will gradually get stronger as the games pass and shouldn't lose by that margin every week.

Weymouth fans are trying to help raise the 300k needed to pay off debts

There is nothing pleasurable about a football club going out of business, and there are all too many clubs in a perilous situation in the Blue Square premier. Northwich have just got back into her ground having been locked out two months ago, York are in a lot of debt and rumours abound about many of the other clubs. People focus on those league clubs going into administration, but drop out of the league and you can see that clubs are in much much more trouble. Action needs to be taken, the result yesterday sparked interest, I just hope it can spark action.

The end of the spectre of relegation

The Super League is not an English competition; it has never been so from its inception. It began in 1996 as Super League (Europe) with Paris Saint Germain contesting the first season. When they went by the wayside the only teams left in were English. The problem was that there was not a high enough level of Rugby League being played across the rest of the continent for a team to make its way into the highest league available in the northern hemisphere. This was rectified by the introduction of Catalans Dragons in 2006; they were given a three year protection against relegation to make sure that they had time to establish themselves as a top level team. The move was made in order to help the spread of the more flowing code of rugby better into other countries than England and the Antipodes. There is no doubting that the sport needs to grow, the world cup last year was a pitiful showing of how little recognition the sport has across the world. Bringing Catalans into the Super League cemented the growth into southern France, but the growth would have dwindled had the team been relegated in their first season. The main attraction to Catalans has to be that they are playing in the top competition in the Northern Hemisphere (and if the World Club Challenge is anything to go by the best in the world). They started off life in the Super League fielding a large amount of players seeking refuge from down under but their continued presence in the Super League has allowed them to bring through a larger number of native players helping spread the appeal of the sport even more amongst the residents of that part of the world. Had they been relegated straight off there is little chance that the crowds would have remained, this would have lead to a downward spiral that would ultimately lead to the demise of a promising Rugby club.

Salford return to what is probably their home at the top table of League

So we come to 2009 and Super League XIV kicks off with 14 teams in it for the first time. The choice of teams to add was controversial but the main issue was the elimination of relegation and promotion to and from the Super League. The example of Catalans is ideal to show why this is a good idea, the new clubs are being given time to establish themselves into competitive Super League clubs. Crusaders especially need time as they are a young club from a country outside the usual spectrum of League, they have the opportunity to establish the sport in Wales, a country steeped in rugby tradition but still untouched by the other code. If they were relegated now their chance of gaining a foothold would be lost, but it’s not only they who will benefit. Salford, a once great club fallen on hard times, and even Castleford will now be given the opportunity to improve themselves. Being a guaranteed top flight club means they are more likely to be able to attract top class players, as a result the whole league will benefit as the standard of rugby will go up as a result.

Crusaders begin their first ever season at the top Flight in 09

Over in America they have no concept of what promotion or relegation is, looking to American Football, all teams in the NFL play at the highest level of the sport. There is no chance of a small team fighting their way into the top flight and suddenly finding themselves well out of their depth, as Leigh did in the Super League in 2005. The players are all at the top level of their sport and crowd interest is consistently high. For whom has promotion and relegation worked out for in the Super League over the last fourteen years? It’s not those clubs who have slipped out of the top flight that they would once have expected to be in without a doubt, clubs like Widnes. It’s the big clubs, the Rhino’s, Bulls and Saints of this world. They find themselves with easy points every year in a round that might as well not be played, these games have attracted lower crowds due to the knowledge that the level of sport on show would be lower. Without the stigma of being a club who are probably only in the league for a year the teams will no longer be easy targets. Crowds should eventually rise not just in the new areas but at the established clubs as the fans know that they are going to see the best rugby they could find.

Freezing the Super League will provide a better spectacle, better Rugby, more financially viable teams and more fans across new parts of the world. The winner out of this change can only be the sport of Rugby League.