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Post by jerome29 on Jul 14, 2011 15:27:40 GMT
Hello all,
The problem with the Elite League is a lack of sponser and how the league can regain some much needed credibility. I have been thinking about this and this they should have this as rule 1 next season.
Rule 1
If any club goes into administration & liquidation through poor management of their own finances that club will return all trophies won that season, players will return any winning medals and the club will start the next season will a 15 point penalty for administration and 30 points for liquidation.
There you go I have just saved the Elite League the trouble of hiring solicitors to draw up a contract.
What does everyone think to this as an opening rule for next season?
This is not a witch hunt against any certain clubs but to try and bring some stability to a league that needs help. If you have a financially stable structure you can then attract better investment.
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Post by dreadface on Jul 14, 2011 16:33:29 GMT
The problems with the Elite League making rules is theres no rule book to put them in....
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Mythosman
Matt Myers
Age is a big price to pay for maturity!
Posts: 1,661 
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Post by Mythosman on Jul 14, 2011 16:35:29 GMT
That will be Rule 1 of the non-existent EIHL Rule Book then Jerome?
TBH, I don't really think that implementing such a rule would actually restore the credibility of the EIHL, and I certainly don't think it would make the League any more attractive to a potential sponsor - in fact, as a sponsor, if I saw that the first Rule of the EIHL was legislating against bad management, intimating that is was a fairly common occurrence, I would walk briskly in the other direction!
Sponsors are fairly single minded, looking for high profile advertising opportunities on TV and in the national media as justification for blessing any sporting competition with a sizeable chunk of their marketing budget - end of!
Therefore, IMHO the EIHL would be better off using their communal IQ to negotiate more EIHL action on Sky at reasonable viewing hours, rather than imposing draconian penalties against those clubs who can't manage their business.
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Post by jerome29 on Jul 14, 2011 16:42:45 GMT
They have rules about the games on their website, why not about what the league expects from the clubs in regards to business practice??
Mythosman do you believe that the current boom and bust attitude in the league hinders its progression?? How can you sell a professional product without implementing good strong rules from the foundations?
I agree about having more games on Sky Mythosman, Sky Sports is always crying out for more action especially on Sky Sports 4.
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Yotes
Forum Admin 
Posts: 16,406
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Post by Yotes on Jul 14, 2011 16:58:26 GMT
I don't get how they managed to get BMI Baby to sponsor it when we weren't shown on Sky, and now we are they can't find a replacement. I know times is hard and all that, but you'd think it'd have some value to someone, maybe they're asking too much, or just not trying. Seems very odd.
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Post by ripleypanthergirl on Jul 14, 2011 17:29:02 GMT
If I had that job, i'd be trying to get Reebok or one of the big supermarkets as league sponsor
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Tom
Pat Casey
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Post by Tom on Jul 14, 2011 17:56:43 GMT
If I had that job, i'd be trying to get Reebok or one of the big supermarkets as league sponsor Well I think News International would be the ideal sponsors of the Elite League after all they have the same core values as the Elite League. Honesty Reliability Accountability  |
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Post by pantherdman on Jul 14, 2011 17:57:27 GMT
If I had that job, i'd be trying to get Reebok or one of the big supermarkets as league sponsor Then what? part the red sea? turn water into wine? Seriously, the league isn't 'run' at all IMO, it's all adhock and last minute. Why would any house hold name sponsor want to be associated with some unprofessional, cloak and dagger sport, where the clubs keep being liquidated leaving local businesses out of pocket and local people out of jobs? they've got better things to spend their marketing budget on. The league needs a complete overhall and needs to be governed impartially. i could write an essay on this but i will have said it all before. Ice hockey could be massive, but it would take massive change and a long time. Speedway, greyhound racing and ladies netball get priority on Sky for a reason. The fact there is no rule book, just 'gentlemans agreements' is the biggest joke i have ever heard = beer league. |
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Post by StolenAngelSlice on Jul 14, 2011 18:05:13 GMT
I would love to know the viewing figures from the games and the highlight show on sky! Does anyone know how that could be found? Another thing is I'm often disappointed at the lack of exposure on local news of ice hockey, who is to blame there, lazy PR or a reluctant BBC?
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Post by sparkymark75 on Jul 14, 2011 18:57:39 GMT
I think Simmsey has stated before (I think it was on a recording of Steelers recent fan meeting) that they have spoken to terristrial TV channels but they want an exorbitant sum of money to show it. The highlight show costs them around £300 to make!!
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Post by Stargazer on Jul 14, 2011 19:00:47 GMT
If I had that job, i'd be trying to get Reebok or one of the big supermarkets as league sponsor Well I think News International would be the ideal sponsors of the Elite League after all they have the same core values as the Elite League. Honesty Reliability Accountability You could be on to something there!!!! |
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Post by Stargazer on Jul 14, 2011 19:10:01 GMT
If I had that job, i'd be trying to get Reebok or one of the big supermarkets as league sponsor This is a good idea. Target a financial giant which would vastly increase the amount of sponsorship and awareness of the league, whilest at the same time it would only be a tiny drop in the ocean of the annual turn over of a big company/organisation - thus little risk..........All good in theory but im not sure how easy it would be. |
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Post by pantherdman on Jul 14, 2011 19:19:20 GMT
What on earth would be in it for Reebok?
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Post by texpef on Jul 14, 2011 19:30:25 GMT
We had a high profile sponsor in heineken and they pulled their money and put it into rugby and imho the sport has never recovered....
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Post by icebandit on Jul 14, 2011 19:37:03 GMT
It's a shame Skoda don't put a bit more money into Ice Hockey in this country, as they seem to sponsor alot more competitions in Europe.
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Post by Stargazer on Jul 14, 2011 20:24:40 GMT
What on earth would be in it for Reebok? Picture it now - Simmsy presenting on sky sports, wearing a pair of Reebok Classics with that tacky grey suit he wears! ;D |
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Mythosman
Matt Myers
Age is a big price to pay for maturity!
Posts: 1,661
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Post by Mythosman on Jul 14, 2011 21:18:49 GMT
Mythosman do you believe that the current boom and bust attitude in the league hinders its progression?? How can you sell a professional product without implementing good strong rules from the foundations? As it happens Jerome, yes I do believe the cavalier attitude of some clubs is hindering the EIHL's progression, but probably no more than the haphazard way the EIHL operates generally. Unfortunately, having written Rules (if they actually had a Rule Book!) relating to the consequences of financial ineptitude / suicide won't stop it happening either. Perhaps a better ploy would be to actually undertake 'Due Diligence' tests on some of the numpties who think they are capable of running a hockey club as a viable business, only to be proven horrendously wrong either part way through, or at the end of, a season. The flaw in this cunning plan is that because of the weakness of the BIHA several years ago, the EIHL was actually developed and is operated by the owners of the EIHL Clubs, so what chance is there of one of their own number ever being deemed 'unfit to manage'? |
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Post by sanjosefan on Jul 14, 2011 22:12:32 GMT
Things I would do.
Clarify the rules, does the EIHL follow IIHF or NHL rules instead of trying to mix the two together.
Publish the rule book to the fans. I.E. what happens to a player during the 14 days notice.
Try and create ties between the EPL and ENL, and use those leagues as feeder teams. I.E. If a player is playing poorly in the EIHL, move them to the EPL until their game is back on track, and to help a nurture British players if a player in the EPL or ENL is performing well, give them a chance in the EIHL.
Scrap the playoff weekend and create a Stanley Cup esq playoffs.
Get a league sponsor and an independent shirt manufacturer i.e. CCM, RBK
Remove certain people from their role in the EIHL media and get an independent media team in.
Hit players where it hurts, introduce league fines. I.E. If player X goes out and injures another player and is assessed a 5min major and a match ban. Fine them.
With fine money introduce and emergency EIHL fund. If a team is struggling give it to the team, on the condition they can re pay the money to the league. If not a points deduction.
Get retired match officials to monitor current match officials, if a match of official is performing below standards drop them to a lower league if a lower league official is performing well if them a chance at the EIHL.
Introduce a wage cap make all signings public to the EIHL. If a team is over the wage cap dock them points, or if they've qualified for a competition final throw them out of the CC final and replace them the losing semi finalist that they beat.
Introduce a EIHL trading system. Example if half way through the season things aren't working out with Benedict for example and Sheffield are interested in Benedict the Steelers must give the Panthers a player for Benedict. I.E. Benedict for Legue.
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Shaggy
Forum Moderator 
Am I a cynical idealist or an idealistic cynic?
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Post by Shaggy on Jul 14, 2011 23:03:54 GMT
J-Bone... whilst your intentions are undoubtedly good, some of those are utterly unworkable...
Which, by and large, only benefits the EIHL teams. Most of the effect on the lower-league teams would be simple disruption... they've got their own league campaigns, and pulling players out & sticking others in willy-nilly is hardly conducive to good team-building. Yes, I know they use a farm team system over in North America... but they've got a hell fo a lot more resources to hand to make it work.
You are kidding, right? Not only would that nark off all of the fans who enjoy the finals weekend, but it's completely unworkable for getting ice time. Again, it's down to money... there isn't enough money in it for the rinks/arenas to put by ice time just on the off-chance that a series may go to game 5 or 6 or 7. Hell... the Panthers - the team with the largest attendances in the country - regularly get bumped for some new gig that the arena wants to host... we can't even rely on already-agreed dates, much less reserve others that may never even happen!
If only it were that easy... wouldn't it have been done already? We can't put the lack of a league sponsor totally down to the incompetence of the EIHL (partly, sure... but far from completely). A ramshackle league in a minority sport with sod-all publicity and (by and large) as much financial stability as Greece... if sponsors are reluctant to give money to big-name Premiership football sides... what makes you think they'd chuck any our way?
Again... not that simple. Struggling how much? Loan them how much for how long? Repayment how and when? Who decides all of this, and how can you ensure no conflict of interest - the league is run by the clubs, remember? Etc etc. The devil's in the details, and there are far too many details there to be comfortable.
Ah yes - the wage cap. To be enforced exactly how...? Brown envelopes to be prevented how? That's assuming you can even get the owners to agree on it... because you can bet that over half of them have broken the wage cap at least once, probably on a semi-regular basis or more. (And that doesn't just apply to the richer teams, or those who can allegedly afford it. Look what those idiots at Basingstoke did - big blowout financially, crash and burn).
Do the players get a say, or are they just traded like pieces of meat? - they don't earn uber-bucks like over in the NHL, are they going to be compensated for having to move at a moment's notice? Does this only apply to imports and/or only those players who aren't settled somehere, or does it include those with their own homes and/or families in a city etc? What about university and/or sponsorship deals? How do you judge the relative worth of players - and get the clubs to agree? Etc etc.
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Warren
Greg Hadden
Posts: 1,467
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Post by Warren on Jul 15, 2011 7:04:58 GMT
The AHL / ECHL / CHL all get cherry picked by the League above's clubs but there are championships for all 3. so EPL / ENL tie in's could work, and has to an extent. We used to have 2 way contracts, allot with Peterborough back in the day.
The rest of the points all boil down to 1 point. Independently Run Board. At the moment its just the owners of the current teams. IMO, that is the crux of the problem. Running the league independent from any club is the first and biggest step to running this league competently. I believe this is why we have no headline sponsor. Who wants to touch us when the best plan is on the back of a fag packet in some blocks Kitchen in Romford.
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Post by straw32 on Jul 17, 2011 14:51:57 GMT
i think the eihl should produce a rule book for fans to buy
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Post by pantherfan007 on Jul 17, 2011 17:34:25 GMT
Why would any successful business want to be associated with the EIHL? Especially given the rumours flying around concerning unpaid VAT etc etc.
To get a credilble sponsor on board paying any sort of useful money will take immediate clean up and transparency of the EIHL plus at least 5 years of consolidation, growth, and no dodgy dealings.
Don't hold your breath.
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woggle
Jade Galbraith
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Post by woggle on Jul 17, 2011 19:28:39 GMT
As it seems that since the Heineken league days all attempts to run a successful proffessional league that attracts big media and sponsorship interest have failed or are verging on failing what are the possibilities of the NHL/AHL taking over the running of professional hockey for a period of time in the UK and set up a sound league structure that could be successful, and bring a bit of North American hype that might attract interest in the media and bring in big sponsors.I guess it would involve a buy out of sorts and no doubt there are loads of reason it couldn't happen but they run things pretty slick compared to our bumbling efforts and there musy be something they have to offer in the commercial, PR and structural departments .
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Post by NickThePanther44 on Jul 17, 2011 19:38:38 GMT
As it seems that since the Heineken league days all attempts to run a successful proffessional league that attracts big media and sponsorship interest have failed or are verging on failing what are the possibilities of the NHL/AHL taking over the running of professional hockey for a period of time in the UK and set up a sound league structure that could be successful, and bring a bit of North American hype that might attract interest in the media and bring in big sponsors.I guess it would involve a buy out of sorts and no doubt there are loads of reason it couldn't happen but they run things pretty slick compared to our bumbling efforts and there musy be something they have to offer in the commercial, PR and structural departments . As fantastic as that could be there's a huge stumbling block, what's in it for them? |
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woggle
Jade Galbraith
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Post by woggle on Jul 17, 2011 19:51:50 GMT
to be honest i had not thought it through in detail but i guess it would be a classic capitalist risk- buy into a failing business, turn it around and make money from running it properly.If Hockey's potential was properly exploited there would be all sorts of media and commercial rights to make money from.
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