Comments on: Safe at last http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:14:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Chris Bertram http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/comment-page-1/#comment-151132 Chris Bertram Tue, 11 Apr 2006 09:09:47 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/#comment-151132 No Pearce bailed out after failing to get anywhere with plans to take Bristol to Oxford or to merge with Bath. He claimed that the city didn't want to/was unable to sustain top-flight rugby, but I think he's been proved wrong on that one. No Pearce bailed out after failing to get anywhere with plans to take Bristol to Oxford or to merge with Bath. He claimed that the city didn’t want to/was unable to sustain top-flight rugby, but I think he’s been proved wrong on that one.

]]> By: Tim Worstall http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/comment-page-1/#comment-151130 Tim Worstall Tue, 11 Apr 2006 08:58:05 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/#comment-151130 Does Malcolm Pearce still own Bristol? Or did he set up that consortium he was talking about around the time of relegation? It always rather bugged him that he got beaten to the ownership of Bath. Still, with Leeds so far behind I think Bath is safe again this season as well? Does Malcolm Pearce still own Bristol? Or did he set up that consortium he was talking about around the time of relegation?
It always rather bugged him that he got beaten to the ownership of Bath.
Still, with Leeds so far behind I think Bath is safe again this season as well?

]]> By: Chris Bertram http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/comment-page-1/#comment-151107 Chris Bertram Mon, 10 Apr 2006 20:26:57 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/#comment-151107 That's a somewhat fraught question at the moment, right across European sport. In rugby the Premier League is in constant conflict with the governing body (the RFU) over the availability of players for internationals etc. In soccer the G14 (an elite group of some of the richest clubs) want a system the guarantees their members Europe-level competition year-on-year without having to qualify via their domestic leagues. On relegation, I agree it keeps it interesting. But there is something silly about the way it works in rugby in England because the club season continues running during internationals. So you get weeks when the strongest club sides are without their best players. If you are a weak team (like Bristol or Leeds) you hope for a fixture list that gets you the best opposition when they are deprived of international players. The lucky points that you pick up because of the vagaries of the fixture list may make all the difference between survival and relegation. That’s a somewhat fraught question at the moment, right across European sport. In rugby the Premier League is in constant conflict with the governing body (the RFU) over the availability of players for internationals etc. In soccer the G14 (an elite group of some of the richest clubs) want a system the guarantees their members Europe-level competition year-on-year without having to qualify via their domestic leagues.

On relegation, I agree it keeps it interesting. But there is something silly about the way it works in rugby in England because the club season continues running during internationals. So you get weeks when the strongest club sides are without their best players. If you are a weak team (like Bristol or Leeds) you hope for a fixture list that gets you the best opposition when they are deprived of international players. The lucky points that you pick up because of the vagaries of the fixture list may make all the difference between survival and relegation.

]]> By: mpowell http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/comment-page-1/#comment-151105 mpowell Mon, 10 Apr 2006 20:11:01 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/#comment-151105 I think the european method of running professional leagues this way is awesome. It certainly keeps the season interesting for far teams than just the top ones in the top league. Coming from an american perspective, it is hard to imagine how the politics work out. In the NFL, for example, the league is operated by the owners collectively. Who operates the premier league and what is its association w/ the other leagues? I think the european method of running professional leagues this way is awesome. It certainly keeps the season interesting for far teams than just the top ones in the top league. Coming from an american perspective, it is hard to imagine how the politics work out. In the NFL, for example, the league is operated by the owners collectively. Who operates the premier league and what is its association w/ the other leagues?

]]> By: Chris Bertram http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/comment-page-1/#comment-151093 Chris Bertram Mon, 10 Apr 2006 17:44:29 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/#comment-151093 It was a great match! It was a great match!

]]> By: dearieme http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/comment-page-1/#comment-151092 dearieme Mon, 10 Apr 2006 17:37:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2006/04/10/safe-at-last/#comment-151092 I hope it was a better match than the dire cup final between Wasps and Llanelli - that was a bore of almost soccer proportions. (Professor Wenger's Academy excepted.) I hope it was a better match than the dire cup final between Wasps and Llanelli – that was a bore of almost soccer proportions. (Professor Wenger’s Academy excepted.)

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