Newcastle to join EIHL

[Heanor Lair]

Please see info below:

Newcastle link

(Please tidy up Admin folks - Ta)


Thanks to Scuff for the post on SteelTalk

HL


Link tided up - MP

[Helen B]

Beat me to it
was just doing it and got sidetracked at work
excellent news for the league

[broders]

Sad day for the BNL good day for the EIHL ;D

[Doughnut]

Newcastle Vipers have quit the British National League and applied to join the rival Elite Ice Hockey League in time for next season.

...

If the EIHL accept the Vipers, Newcastle will again have an ice hockey team which will be up against other big city clubs such as Nottingham and Sheffield.

"If" ?! What happens to Newcastle if they don't get accepted by the EIHL? Wouldn't it have been sensible to get an acceptance before quitting the BNL?

[martin]

Can we take this to be an indication that there will be no BNL/EIHL merger at the end of the season then? After all, if there were to be a merger this announcement would be redundant!

[KimThePanther]

Doughnut said:

"If" ?! What happens to Newcastle if they don't get accepted by the EIHL? Wouldn't it have been sensible to get an acceptance before quitting the BNL?

I doubt that the EIHL will turn Newcastle down to be fair. They have a fantastic little set up there and the EIHL are keen to find new members.

It'll be good to have them back with us because I've missed the trip to Newcastle over the past couple of years.

It also says that it's Edinburgh's intention to resign from the league as well. Something is kicking off the BNL perhaps?

[Doughnut]

Panthers said:

I doubt that the EIHL will turn Newcastle down to be fair. They have a fantastic little set up there and the EIHL are keen to find new members.

That may be true, but if it was down to me I would want confirmation before quitting the BNL. Who knows, maybe they already have that confirmation but aren't ready to go public with it yet.

[KimThePanther]

This is quite an interesting quote from the article...

Illingworth and general manager Clyde Tuyl met EIHL officials last Tuesday and put forward their application to join the 17-team set-up.

A typo, or are we getting the unified league we all want?

[Deleted]

This would be great for the EIHL if it happens and if manchester come back too. Maybe this will persuade more teams to come too.

[Keyring]

yeah it's great news all round, it will make the league more enjoyable as manchester phoenix will also be back in business (hopefully anyway) i can't see the league rejecting newcastle because they are a decent side with good reputation and obviously they have the money to do pretty well in the league, wonder what edinburgh are going to do as they are not playing in that league next year?

[MP]

Bad news for the BNL - if Edinburgh are quitting the BNL as well, they are not going to have a viable league next season unless they can find some replacements.

In which case Bracknell may be interested in moving to the EIHL too and the merger of the two leagues might yet happen by default rather than design.

[Warren]

MP said:

Bad news for the BNL - if Edinburgh are quitting the BNL as well, they are not going to have a viable league next season unless they can find some replacements.

In which case Bracknell may be interested in moving to the EIHL too and the merger of the two leagues might yet happen by default rather than design.

A Valid point MP. I think that a full league merger would be a good set up, if done Correctly.

Assuming that there is a 17 team option I am unsure on how I would want it to be done. Would you have a full 17 team 1 table with a longer playoff system

Or

2 tables with Promotion and Relegation. This would also allow the Challange Cup to be used for full cross league games.... All the teams are thrown in a Hat and then drawn to play each other, winner goes through to the next round draw. Winner takes all. This would be the easiest to set up as you take the Cross Confrence table and cut a line straight through it.

Or

A 2 Confrence system with some kind of divide (North/South, East/West) Making it a N.American system. This would make the easiest option for an All-Star Game.

[heja]

Can we take this to be an indication that there will be no BNL/EIHL merger at the end of the season then? After all, if there were to be a merger this announcement would be redundant!

well all the teams have to join one league and that is what newcastle are doing now, rather than wait for teh reluctent teams in the BNL for years.

also are endinburgh going to join?? according to that articale it says that they have no wish to play in the BNL next year ethier(but not sure whether that means they don't want to play in the BNL or EIHL

[heja]

Assuming that there is a 17 team option I am unsure on how I would want it to be done. Would you have a full 17 team 1 table with a longer playoff system

that was a typo i would say.

[NevesMetro]

Panthers said:

This is quite an interesting quote from the article...
Illingworth and general manager Clyde Tuyl met EIHL officials last Tuesday and put forward their application to join the 17-team set-up.


A typo, or are we getting the unified league we all want?

A typo. Can someone tell them that we are a 7 team set up ;D

I doubt a unified league would happen so quickly because there are a lot of voices from the arena teams that are against it.
We need 3 games against Sheffield, Cardiff, Belfast, Coventry. These cross-over games have been fun but most wouldn't pull a crowd of much over 3,000 week in week out.

I would love a 10 team league with 27 home and away games.

[Admin]

Newcastle ... yes! I welcome them with open arms.

Edinburgh? .... okay I know they're having problems but that team that came to NIC last week are far below the standard needed in the EIHL. That said ... I will willingly eat my words if they improve.

And yes ... Manchester .... not heard much from FOMIH lately ... but my fingers are crossed for a return sooner rather than later ...

Interesting times .... I just hope that everything is done right

[Cunndies]

NevesMetro said:

We need 3 games against Sheffield, Cardiff, Belfast, Coventry. These cross-over games have been fun but most wouldn't pull a crowd of much over 3,000 week in week out

That's all well and good, but the rest of us need to be taken into consideration as well. If we're to have a unified league, everybody's wellbeing must be taken into consideration. You may get big crowds against those teams, but would you like to play in a league with just them? Thought not.

If, and it looks likely, other teams, like Fife, Dundee, Bracknell, Guildford and Hull apply to join the EIHL (or whatever league it is - the EIHL and BNL affiliations expire this summer), then they need to be taken into account as well. There's no way the BNL can continue with 5 teams, so these teams need to play top-level hockey somewhere. It's that, or the country loses 5 teams, one of which is the oldest, and one of the most storied clubs in the country.

[Shaggy]

NevesMetro said:

I doubt a unified league would happen so quickly because there are a lot of voices from the arena teams that are against it.

Such as?
Not heard a dickie-bird against it any time recently from any of the arena bunch that I recall.......

We need 3 games against Sheffield, Cardiff, Belfast, Coventry. These cross-over games have been fun but most wouldn't pull a crowd of much over 3,000 week in week out

Disagree.
Our games against Hull, Fife and Guildford were well attended - the Edinburgh game wasn't attended too well, but then midweek games rarely are.
And Fife, Guildford and Hull all brought easily as many fans as we normally see from Basingstoke, Belfast and London - if not more!

[MP]

BJ said:

Edinburgh? .... okay I know they're having problems but that team that came to NIC last week are far below the standard needed in the EIHL. That said ... I will willingly eat my words if they improve.

Can't see Edinburgh looking to join the EIHL at the moment - they are struggling in the BNL so are more likely to step down than up I'd have thought.

The EIHL could well be 10 teams next season as things look just now. If the BNL dwindles to 4 teams then the merger between the leagues will be defacto. As Cunndies said, thought would then have to be given to the remaining teams in the BNL who didn't want to drop down a level.

[NevesMetro]

Shaggy said:

Our games against Hull, Fife and Guildford were well attended - the Edinburgh game wasn't attended too well, but then midweek games rarely are.
And Fife, Guildford and Hull all brought easily as many fans as we normally see from Basingstoke, Belfast and London - if not more!

Because they are a one off and we haven't seen them in a while.
One of the reasons Newcastle gave for moving was "Also, our three biggest crowds of the season have been against Sheffield, Coventry and Cardiff. In the BNL we're playing teams that bring five or 10 people.

So, lose one sheffield game and replace it with another Fife game?
lose a Coventry game and replace it with a Hull game?
lose a Cardiff game and replace it with a Guildford game? IMHO That's a loss of £30,000 +
I agree losing a London/Basingstoke game makes little difference but I believe the others do.
So I would guess that if there is a merger (at this point) then the wage cap would go down to meet the BNL teams.
I know you hate our friend from up the road but I agree with him 100% on this one.. Maybe that says something about me ;D

[NevesMetro]

Cunndies said:

That's all well and good, but the rest of us need to be taken into consideration as well. If we're to have a unified league, everybody's wellbeing must be taken into consideration. You may get big crowds against those teams, but would you like to play in a league with just them? Thought not.

If, and it looks likely, other teams, like Fife, Dundee, Bracknell, Guildford and Hull apply to join the EIHL (or whatever league it is - the EIHL and BNL affiliations expire this summer), then they need to be taken into account as well. There's no way the BNL can continue with 5 teams, so these teams need to play top-level hockey somewhere. It's that, or the country loses 5 teams, one of which is the oldest, and one of the most storied clubs in the country.

Well if we were playing only those clubs I mentioned then we would have to play them 8 times. They are however our biggest pay-day and losing those 3 games would lose us money (more than likely a 1,000 off the crowd with games replaced by BNL teams) 3,000 paying on average £10 a ticket is a lot to lose.

So we lower the wage cap, lower the standards and teams like Sheffield play more games out of Ice Sheffield? Is that the way forward? I don't know, it's a tricky one.

[Cunndies]

NevesMetro said:

Well if we were playing only those clubs I mentioned then we would have to play them 8 times. They are however our biggest pay-day and losing those 3 games would lose us money (more than likely a 1,000 off the crowd with games replaced by BNL teams) 3,000 paying on average £10 a ticket is a lot to lose.

So we lower the wage cap, lower the standards and teams like Sheffield play more games out of Ice Sheffield? Is that the way forward? I don't know, it's a tricky one.

It is indeed.

Any solution that is beneficial to as many clubs as possible, preferably with none folding, is a good solution. If a new league is to appear, it has to suit everybody, not just Sheffield and Nottingham.

[NevesMetro]

Cunndies said:

It is indeed.

Any solution that is beneficial to as many clubs as possible, preferably with none folding, is a good solution. If a new league is to appear, it has to suit everybody, not just Sheffield and Nottingham.

Hence the problem because I don't believe that taking the steps I mentioned above would suit the teams in the Elite league, they would be seen as taking a step backwards, otherwise what was all the fuss about a year and a half ago?
Wouldn't it be the BNL under a different name? Maybe that was the ELITE plan
A tricky one indeed.
Cheers

[Tom]

Panthers said:

This is quite an interesting quote from the article...

Illingworth and general manager Clyde Tuyl met EIHL officials last Tuesday and put forward their application to join the 17-team set-up.

A typo, or are we getting the unified league we all want?

I believe the 17 team set-up refers to the EIHL being affiliated to the EIHA and therefore the EPIHL. It clearly counts 8 teams (including Manchester) in the EIHL and 9 teams in the EPIHL.

[NevesMetro]

Tom said:

quote]

I believe the 17 team set-up refers to the EIHL being affiliated to the EIHA and therefore the EPIHL. It clearly counts 8 teams (including Manchester) in the EIHL and 9 teams in the EPIHL.

Cheers Tom, that makes sense.
I (like some) thought that they had just put a one in front of the seven by mistake