Originally Posted by
Gray77
It may be nostalgia, it may be a rose-tinted view of my youth, but the system we had when I was growing up has IMO never been beaten in the 20-odd years since Super League came about.
14 team league, 26 game league season, team at top is Champions.
Top 8 Premiership comp at the end of the season, final at Old Trafford.
I accept that the JPS/Regal Trophy and the County Cups fell by the wayside for a decent reason, but the rest of it was great in my opinion. League games were important, the Cup was massive because it gave teams out of the title race another goal to go for half way through the season, and the Premiership was a decent little comp at the end of the season which clubs took pretty seriously. It gave the reward of a home QF for finishing Top 4 and gave the reward of a chance of a trophy for those who finished Top 8.
In many seasons Saints priorities as the season went on were as follows...
Try and win the league
League is not do-able, prioritise the Cup
We've been knocked out of the Cup, get a Top 4 spot for a Premiership Home QF
It all tied in for me, and the current format just doesn't match up. League games are diluted, the Cup has been talked down over many years by the broadcasters of the league, and the season drifts for long periods because games just aren't as important IMO.
I don't think I feel any differently about Saints now than I did in the mid 80s when I started following them. They're my hometown club, I love them, and they are a part of my life that I will never let go. But back in the day I'd look forward to games all week. I'd be gutted when we lost a league game, I'd be delighted when we won one. The league table and upcoming fixtures were obsessed over, and Cup games were big things. Now, I'm annoyed a bit when we lose a league game, and I don't go overboard when we win games because I know they don't actually help us win anything unless we get it done in Sept/Oct.
My feelings towards Saints haven't changed, but my feelings towards the game have.