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Rugby League's Real Super 8

Rugby League is preparing to embark on its new octo-adventure. Super League and the Championship will soon split into three leagues of eight as promotion and relegation returns to the sport's menu.

It's an innovative and novel development for a sport which has struggled to bridge the gap between full-time and part-time clubs. When the RFL announced the plan it's fair to say reactions within the sport were mixed, but Leigh's impressive growth and cup run have boosted hopes that we may actually see a side promoted. That gap between the elite and the rest could be closing further with the welcome news this week that Sheffield Eagles plan to go full-time in 2016.

The middle eight or the Qualifiers to give it it's proper name is the focus of the sport at the moment. But there is another group of eight teams which takes the RFL's 'Every Minute Matters' mantra to a whole new level. League One reads like a graveyard of fallen giants and expansion clubs but what has emerged this season is an extraordinary race for promotion.

In League One there is no split or blending of the division. The top five teams contest the play-offs with two sides being promoted to the Championship. But with five teams relegated from that level last season and only one team promoted, it was always going to be a tough division to get out of. And so it has proven to be the case as eight teams chase those five play-off spots.

We have the remarkable situation where clubs that are capable of finishing top of the table are in danger of missing out on the play-offs altogether. At the time of writing just six points separates first and eighth place. Here, every second matters. It's almost inevitable that sides will have to be split by points difference.

The league while not being artificially split by the rule-makers is a league of two halves. The expansion clubs haven't been able to compete against the northern clubs but shouldn't be banished to a regional league just yet. What this has meant is that the games between the promotion chasers are real-four pointers and extremely difficult to call.

Keighley set the pace before being pegged back by nemesis Swinton. The Cougars are in second place but with serious injury problems aren't certainties to make the top five. York, without a ground and in a mess off the field actually look the safest bet for a play-off spot despite being in fourth place. A fixture list in which not everyone has the same obstacles in front of them had to favour someone and this season it's York who benefited. That they only have to play ten games against the top eight sides while Swinton, Newcastle and North Wales play 14 times against that same opposition is something that needs to be looked at. Oldham are top but have probably the most difficult run-in along with form side North Wales. Swinton, Barrow, Rochdale and Newcastle are all capable of beating anyone else in this league but have suffered from inconsistency throughout the season.

The clubs in varying states of decay, revival and development are putting on a great show for supporters. With young players making a name for themselves (remember the name Rob Lever) and experienced pros trying to outwit their opponents it's an exciting league to watch. The speed and fitness might not be at Super League levels but that's not why we watch sport. We want to be entertained and in that regard League One's Super Eight is as good as anything those above it can offer.

I Don't Owe You Anything

Why football fans don't deserve the loyalty they demand

"No loyalty, it's all about money these days, I hope we spend well to replace him"

Words Tweeted, Facebooked and Talksported throughout every transfer window. Displaying a total absence of self-awareness the football fan blusters his way through the summer. Departing players are mercenaries, while arrivals who presumably haven't left anywhere to join their new club are welcomed with a photo-op holding the shirt and the usual clichés of joining a 'big club with a great set of fans'.


Footballers go to work and play football for a living. During their 15 year career nearly all will move clubs at some point. It's no different from you or I moving jobs. Except when we move on, we don't get personal abuse and threats from customers of the company we are leaving. A teacher who moves to another school doesn't get former pupils posting vile comments online. So why has it become so common for the bile and anger to overcome football fans?

The supposed death of loyalty seems to be the trigger for so much rage. There is only one loyalty in football and that is of the supporter to their club. Outside of that fans are just about as fickle as any group of people in the world. When a player is doing well we exalt them. Heavy words are so lightly thrown. Players are freely labelled 'heroes' and 'legends'. If he has a bad game we may show limited loyalty and search for excuses. 'He's carrying a knock', 'he needs a rest', 'he's being played out of position' or even the less vindicating 'he's just having an off day'. But such excuses and loyalty have an expiry date. Depending on the bank of goodwill a player has built up this could be several months or just several misplaced passes. 'Get him off!' can become 'get rid of him' in the space of a few weeks. Where is the loyalty then? Heroes of yesterday are quickly forgotten when a new star rolls into town.

What about managers? They'll sign a player and hail him a key part of the clubs plans. If the player doesn't perform he is dropped and eventually sold or released. To managers, players are a commodity. They are bought, used and then moved on when either their usefulness diminishes or is superseded by the money someone else is prepared to give in exchange. There is no loyalty. Circumstances change. A player may sign a four year contract after being told he's at the heart of the manager's plans. Does that mean the player has to start every game for four years? By football fans' own warped concept of loyalty I suspect it does.

Players can expect limited loyalty from supporters and their managers. So why is it demanded of them? It's funny how the loyalty of a departing reserve player is never questioned. But the second a star thinks about moving on and the gossip columns go into overdrive, posters are ripped off walls and shirts are set ablaze.

I've managed to avoid naming names so far but it's inescapable that this post is on the back of two of the summer's big stories so far. First Fabian Delph and the collapsed transfer to Manchester City. The news broke at the end of last week that he was set to move north. Nothing was official or confirmed but paper-talk was enough to get Aston Villa fans (and football fans generally) frothing at the mouth. Without going into the merits of such a move, it was a shining example of why fans' version of loyalty is so misguided. Delph, Villa's captain and player of the year, was subject to personal attacks and labelling based on something that never even happened. As soon as the story of his transfer broke his good play and invaluable contribution to Aston Villa's season was forgotten. Fans were tripping over their keyboards to label him a 'mercenary' and wish him failure in the future. The usual re-writing of history ('he wasn't that good anyway') was barely underway when the deal fell through and Delph announced he was staying. What must he be thinking? Fans turned on him while at the same time screaming for loyalty.

And finally to Raheem Sterling whose move to Manchester City does look like being completed. Liverpool fans stick to the jilted club script: 'only moving for money, we don't need mercenaries, he wasn't very good anyway'. Come the first day of the season they'll be cheering for players signed from other clubs. Fans of these other clubs will be cursing those who left but cheering for their own new arrivals and so on. Dejan Lovren threatened to go on strike if Southampton didn't let him move to Anfield. The Kop made him very welcome. Whether Sterling is a success or not at Manchester City is irrelevant. He played well for Liverpool and has moved on to what he hopes will be better things. Does he really deserve the vitriol he's been subjected to?

Bigmouth Strikes Again

It's not often I can turn the car radio on and hear them talking rugby league. Less so at drive time on a station that isn't Talksport. And that is Dr Marwan Koukash's great strength. His press conference on Tuesday was the latest in a long line of outbursts to make headlines beyond rugby league circles. He single-handedly gets the sport in the newspapers and for that we as a sport should be grateful. But should Salford fans? 

Dr Koukash flew into town and saved a dying club. But that does not mean the Salford faithful have to accept everything he says and does. And he has a lot to say. News coming out of Salford seems to be a stream of negativity. Whether it's the usual soft target of the RFL, players departed or even their own supporters there's always someone in the firing line.

Tim Sheens' appointment is a big coup for Salford. That should have been the story on Tuesday. Fanfare ought to greet the recruitment of a World Cup winning coach but it was lost in the noise of accusations and threats. Whether it is a good appointment or not remains to be seen (penny for Iestyn Harris' thoughts) but as a news piece it should have been standalone and something to shout about. 

What did Dr Koukash and Salford really gain from making accusations, counter-accusations and threats against the Council and Kevin Locke? The intention was some sort of rallying call to supporters but I think it was ill-advised and badly timed. The reaction from fans has been one of unease, not the 'us against the world' mentality Dr Koukash must have had in mind.

Negativity breeds negativity and I think in Salford we have a club with an image problem. They're desperate to increase attendances to help meet the huge rent costs of the AJ Bell Stadium. In March Dr Koukash announced the club could lose up to £20,000 a game if crowds didn't grow. Clearly attendances have been a major worry at the club culminating their official Twitter account calling out the fans after a poor turnout against Huddersfield in May. The backlash from fans couldn't have been clearer. 'How to alienate the fans', 'embarrassing', 'pathetic and small time' just three responses that summed up the mood. You can't expect thousands who wouldn't otherwise have gone to a game to turn up because you're telling the world you can't afford them not to. 

Putting aside issues with the ground itself, the location and access being the main bugbears, there is one thing that guarantees better crowds and that's a successful team. To that end Dr Koukash has done his best. He's funded some big names and pushed for the marquee player rule to come in so he can bring in a real crowd-puller. But it will take time to build a team that can challenge. This isn't football where relatively quickly you can assemble a title-winning side provided you have deep enough pockets. In the meantime you have to build a unity, the sense of a club all pulling in one direction. That is where Salford are completely failing.

Look at Leigh and the journey they are on is clear. The stories coming out of the club are relentlessly positive. They're attracting Super League players and have the momentum of a town behind them. The club is everywhere in Leigh. Of course it's easier to get everyone onside when you're a full-time side in a league of part timers and win comfortably most weeks. Salford don't have that luxury so what are they to do?

I think the time has come to shut up shop and focus on getting things right on the field. They can learn some lessons from across Manchester. When Manchester City won the lottery the club was the focus of lots of negative attention. When it started to get to those entrusted with running things they stopped talking. Motormouths like Sulaiman Al-Fahim and Garry Cook were given the boot. They even hired a manager whose press conferences are so outstandingly dull reporters have been seen drifting off at the back. Salford could benefit from a similar approach because the noises coming from the club are so overwhelmingly negative they can only be damaging.

Players and coaches can claim they don't let outside influences affect them but I don't believe that for a second. The negativity and image coming out of the club impacts directly on the team when it deters potential signings or makes current players think twice about signing a new contract. And it impacts indirectly when it affects the number of people watching games and the mood they are in when they get to their seat.

A strong Salford side would be good for rugby league but they need to reassess their approach as a club if they are to realise the owner's dream. They have much to be positive about, not that you'd know it if you read the newspapers.