Challenge Cup 2019/20 Format Confirmed

[BigLad]

eliteleague.co.uk/2019/07/01/challenge-cup-format-confirmed-for-new-season/

GROUP A
Belfast
Dundee
Fife
Glasgow

GROUP B
Cardiff
Coventry
Guildford

GROUP C
Manchester
Nottingham
Sheffield

Top 2 from each group + 3rd in Group A qualify for the quarter-finals. Teams finishing bottom in Groups B & C have a 1-leg play-off to decide final quarter-finalist.

[iginla]

Well there’s a surprise,who would’ve guessed that ! 🙄

[ashfieldpanther]

could that be any more complicated ??

[Bagheera]

So in groups B&C you could easily lose all your group games and still have a shot at a QF place. 😂😂

[wgray]

Playing 2 home and 2 away games in the group is just too much, 1 home and 1 away would have sufficed. If the clubs think they’ll make money out of this they’re wrong, especially if any of the games are mid-week. People will turn up for the games against Sheffield, but the Manchester ones won’t sell.

[nottinghamsenator]

I half understood the reason for the format with 11 teams in the League but with 10 this makes absolutely no sense. All it does is ensure half the games are dead rubbers and they’ll be played with no one there.

[pingchowchi]

We will play the Steelers 4 times ( minimum) in the cup? That's already making me yawn

[wgray]

Jul 1, 2019 12:48:47 GMT pingchowchi said:

We will play the Steelers 4 times ( minimum) in the cup? That's already making me yawn

We now play the Steelers and Storm at least 10 times this season. I was hoping we’d see less of Altrincham this season.

[Yotes]

Wait, we have to play those 2 teams 4 times each, to eliminate none of us?

[Deleted]

Just when you thought the elite league couldn't get any more farcical !! Some teams must be losing money hand over fist!

[Deleted]

Joke!

[wgray]

Jul 1, 2019 13:45:40 GMT Yotes said:

Wait, we have to play those 2 teams 4 times each, to eliminate none of us?

Yes, it’s 2H 2A against each team in the group. Absolutely barmy!

[Discoray]

Jul 1, 2019 15:28:46 GMT wgray said:

Jul 1, 2019 13:45:40 GMT Yotes said:

Wait, we have to play those 2 teams 4 times each, to eliminate none of us?

Yes, it’s 2H 2A against each team in the group. Absolutely barmy!

Gotta keep milking that Panthers/Steelers rivalry. Biggest in Europe don’t you know?

[spik]

There's no other reason but to get 'bucks' out of dead-end games to make the clubs happy. what about the fans. The argument from them would be that they would have to travel longer to play more teams but they continue to do this is a long haul league. Not much thought or even guts to try something a tad different.

Group A play two less games than the other groups. Fine, but if you ever advise of better formats for competitions the complaints from the organisers has always been that clubs need equal opportunities to get income, yet this starts the season at odds.  

[Yotes]

They could easily do two groups of 5, 8 games again, ditch the quarterfinals.

Some very odd decisions made at HQ.

[Discoray]

Jul 1, 2019 20:25:15 GMT Yotes said:

They could easily do two groups of 5, 8 games again, ditch the quarterfinals.

Some very odd decisions made at HQ.

Not odd to the clubs on financial grounds. As they believe doing away with the QF stage would result in more meaningless group games, which they in turn also believe would result in lower crowds for what are for the most part ticket only matches.

I do appreciate their side on this to a point, but all this faff when there are 10 teams again seems unnecessary to say the least. Though it does tell me where their biggest priority lies, and its sadly not the fans.

[kipvelt]

Just boycott the early games I have for the last 5 years fed up of paying out hundreds of pounds on season tickets just to pay out another hundred for the first 3 to 4 games as they are not on the ticket

[iginla]

Jul 1, 2019 20:25:15 GMT Yotes said:

They could easily do two groups of 5, 8 games again, ditch the quarterfinals.

Some very odd decisions made at HQ.

Or three groups of three and just give Belfast a bye into the quarters,because that’s basically what they’ve already done again ! 🙄

[ted logan]

Bit of a joke competition format the past few seasons.

I’d rather it were ditched altogether and we had a prolonged play offs.

[John Casey]

Jul 1, 2019 20:35:14 GMT Discoray said:

Jul 1, 2019 20:25:15 GMT Yotes said:

They could easily do two groups of 5, 8 games again, ditch the quarterfinals.

Some very odd decisions made at HQ.

Not odd to the clubs on financial grounds. As they believe doing away with the QF stage would result in more meaningless group games, which they in turn also believe would result in lower crowds for what are for the most part ticket only matches.

I do appreciate their side on this to a point, but all this faff when there are 10 teams again seems unnecessary to say the least. Though it does tell me where their biggest priority lies, and its sadly not the fans.

I get what you are saying but I don't get this Quarter Final stage, home teams generally discount the game and it still seems to not be full. I can only assume that they must be getting some sort of discount on the rental of the building.

If my memory serves me correctly, didn't Belfast put their Leg online for free because they did such a number on Dundee in The 1st Leg?

I really wish that some on the NIHL teams would join, it would mean some newer teams to play and for fans to visit. Granted some games may be hammerings but I'm sure the likes of Telford, M.K, Leeds...etc would give it a go and they could upset someone.

In a way it's like The Elite League in The CHL, none of the teams were expected to do anything but (As we have seen) anything can happen.

Surely something's got to give on this competition?

[Caesar]

I just found out how the Cup competition in Denmark works. What a brilliantly simplistic idea.

After the first 16 league games are complete, the top four teams go into the semi finals. The semis and final are played on one weekend in late January/early February. Winner goes into the Continental Cup. Sønderjyske are in the Continental Cup this year because they lost the final to Rungsted who also won the league.

[iginla]

Oct 13, 2019 10:21:34 GMT Caesar said:

I just found out how the Cup competition in Denmark works. What a brilliantly simplistic idea.

After the first 16 league games are complete, the top four teams go into the semi finals. The semis and final are played on one weekend in late January/early February. Winner goes into the Continental Cup. Sønderjyske are in the Continental Cup this year because they lost the final to Rungsted who also won the league.

Crikey they must have some very clever people running the Danish league.
I wonder why the EIHL haven’t got any of those kind of people. 🙄
Meanwhile in our challenge cup you can play 14 games,lose 10 of them and win just 4 but win the trophy.....it’s complete madness ! 🤣🤣

[Bagheera]

Oct 13, 2019 10:21:34 GMT Caesar said:

I just found out how the Cup competition in Denmark works. What a brilliantly simplistic idea.

After the first 16 league games are complete, the top four teams go into the semi finals. The semis and final are played on one weekend in late January/early February. Winner goes into the Continental Cup. Sønderjyske are in the Continental Cup this year because they lost the final to Rungsted who also won the league.

Not a bad idea. Not extra games to squeeze more money from fans though so never going to happen here.

[Caesar]

Oct 13, 2019 10:21:34 GMT Caesar said:

I just found out how the Cup competition in Denmark works. What a brilliantly simplistic idea.

After the first 16 league games are complete, the top four teams go into the semi finals. The semis and final are played on one weekend in late January/early February. Winner goes into the Continental Cup. Sønderjyske are in the Continental Cup this year because they lost the final to Rungsted who also won the league.

Just to add to this, before someone picks up on it, (and yes there must be some very clever people running the Danish league), its a 9 team league and everyone plays each other home and away for the first 16 games so that no one plays the weaker or stronger teams more

[DMS]

Oct 13, 2019 11:00:14 GMT Caesar said:

Oct 13, 2019 10:21:34 GMT Caesar said:

I just found out how the Cup competition in Denmark works. What a brilliantly simplistic idea.

After the first 16 league games are complete, the top four teams go into the semi finals. The semis and final are played on one weekend in late January/early February. Winner goes into the Continental Cup. Sønderjyske are in the Continental Cup this year because they lost the final to Rungsted who also won the league.

Just to add to this, before someone picks up on it, (and yes there must be some very clever people running the Danish league), its a 9 team league and everyone plays each other home and away for the first 16 games so that no one plays the weaker or stronger teams more

This level of planning an organisation is so far away for the EIHL it’s like a dot on the horizon.

Whilst the challenge cup format is always an issue every year I feel it’s so protracted and convoluted now that it’s hard to be interested in it. The scheduling also causes massive disparity in total league games played which is quite frankly amateurish from a supposed professional league.