Isle Of Wight Raiders

Finny

Finny

Well-Known Member
#1
Thread starter #1
IOW Raiders have today confirmed they will be leaving the EPL and have applied to the ENL.

Not looking good for the EPL at the moment.

Romford have announced that there will be no team. Fans are putting presure on the Council to help them - but as Cardiff fans found - Councillors whilst fully behind fans publically are very hesitant in removing people from ice rinks.
Bracknell - not looking good unless someone is willing to put in 30k in the knowledge they probably won't get it back.
Telford - no news from them recently (that I have seen) - but their fans are very worried?

Minimum 8 teams for the EPL this year. But the maximum number and probable number are dropping week by week.
 
Finny

Finny

Well-Known Member
#3
Thread starter #3
I did start wondering the same thing. Perhaps not immediately, but in a year or so.

We keep having the same things happen every couple of years. Some of the lower ISL teams couldn't compete with the top ISL teams, so dropped into the BNL.
However, some of the lower BNL teams couldn't compete with these new teams - and so had to drop into the EPL. And then those lower EPL teams had to drop into the ENL.

The problem the EPL might have, is that in a year or two teams like Sheffield Scimitars, Swindon, and Bracknell (if they are able to start the season) - will find they can't compete with the top teams either. And unlike the EIHL - the EPL doesn't have enough wealthy owners to be able to help the lower teams

Hopefully by then Manchester and Basingstoke might have had enough success in the EPL to have got their crowds up to 1000-1500ish. Perhaps the longterm solution is the death of the EPL and the EIHL to expand into 2 divisions.

EIHL Division 1 could be 10 imports and a similar wagecap to what we have now.
EIHL Division 2 could be 6-8 imports and a lower wagecap - aimed at the top EPL/SNL and lower EIHL. Teams who can afford a semi-proffesional setup with multiple imports - but can't compete with the top teams.

The 2 Divisions keep their league fixtures seperate - but both are involved in the cup competitions. You could in an ideal world end up with:

EIHL 1: Cardiff, Sheffield, Nottingham, Coventry, Belfast, Newcastle, Guildford, Dundee
EIHL 2: Edinburgh, Fife, Braehead, Hull, Manchester, Basingstoke, Peterborough, Milton Keynes.
 
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