I will play Devils Advocate.
So many sensible thoughts are being put on paper here ( paper? Showing my age there). Ever since RFL went to two and then three divisions there have been clubs who would Yo Yo up and down . Fax were one of these apart from the Brook years and when we spent the money from the sale of Thrum Hall.
I realise that without promotion the lower divisions will have lost fans appeal but what is the alternative, the slow death of pro League.
As i see it IMG were brought in to maximise the potential of the sport and particularly Super League. To be fair I have not read their submission but think this meant making it more attractive to advertisers and by definition to broadcasters.
The way to do this i feel is to make the games more competitive. How do you do this: salary cap. However very few clubs can afford to pay anywhere near the cap so central funding has to increase to each club. The problem is now Sky want to reduce what they pay. Will IMG`s ideas improve funding and the game overall? The Fax board and most of the others seem to think so.
What is the alternative, we may find out the next time someone is brought in to advise on how the game can survive.
I said to a group of friends in 1995 that i doubted professional rugby league would survive for ten years after union going pro. I was wrong but the lack of converts particularly from Wales has meant that the wow factor those quality players is no longer in the British game. I am glad I was wrong can still watch Fax nearly 30 years on all be it without a Freeman,Dixon, James ,Michael, Willicombe or Renilson in the side.