Well here is my essay
As I have mentioned, I did post on different forums my idea as to how the sport can go forward IMO, and here is my idea.
In an ideal world, there would not be two leagues, which are separate. I believe that if all the teams were under the same umbrella, there would be more of an effect than separate leagues.
In total, I would have 24 teams within the same umbrella, coming from the Elite League, British National League, English Premier League and the Scottish National League. I would split it into three divisions of 8 teams. If this was to be the set up next season, I would have the teams in the following divisions.
Division 1 – Basinstoke, Belfast, Cardiff, Coventry, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield
Division 2 – Bracknell, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, Guilford, Hull, Milton Keynes, Newcastle,
Division 3 – Camperdown, Kilmarnock, Kirkcaldy, Invicta, Paisley, Peterborough, Romford. Solihull
As you can see there is a mixture of teams from the current top 4 divisions/leagues.
The league schedule would consist of 36 games, 3 at home and 3 away against each opposition. With having only 36 games, this frees up time for 2 cup competitions.
League Cup
All 24 teams would be entered into this, with a preliminary round played first, consisting of all the teams from Division 2 and 3. This would consist of 2 legged games with the aggregate winner going through to the next stage. The final would be played at a neutral venue
Challenge Cup
This would be a regional based tournament, with the same group year in year out.
I would separate the groups into North (x 2), Midlands, South
North 1: Camperdown, Edinburgh, Fife, Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock, Paisley
North 2: Belfast, Dundee, Hull, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield
Midlands: Cardiff (I know hardly midlands but then with the other Southern group teams!!!) Coventry, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Peterborough
South: Basinstoke, Bracknell, Guilford, Invicta, London, Romford
Just like the 6 nations with rugby, you would play each over once, with the home and away fixture changing each year (E.G. Sheffield plays Newcastle at home in year 1, the next year the fixture is played in Newcastle)
The top two from each group go through to a knock out stage. The difference is with this, is that after the quarters, you could have a Challenge Cup weekend (at a venue different from the Play Offs) with Semis n Final played over the weekend. To decide who plays when, a draw would be made prior to the weekend.
So with all the games covered, what about the other issues which need addressing
Import levels
I would have a staggering level of imports, being determined by which league you are in
Div 1 – 12
Div 2 – 8
Div 3 – 4
Now people will start saying “how can the brits develop when the import levels are that high?” The difference would be, is in Div 1, you would have a minimum of 20 players (including 2 net minders) which would leave room for 8 brits to play per team = 64 brits in the top flight.
Work Permits
Div 1 – 5
Div 2 – 3
Div 3 – 2
Wage Cap
Div 1 - £275,000
Div 2 - £195,000
Div 3 - £115,000
Each players wages will be made public, therefore to avoid gossiping from teams enquiring how they can afford x player, it should also deter cap busting. If a team is daft enough to break the cap, then they would be docked 10 points per £7,500 over the cap. That way the punishment will fit the crime.
One part of the league structure that I have left out purposely, is the bottom end of the divisions. So that the bottom position in div 3 becomes a comfort zone, for the worst team in all three divisions. I would set up a British Premier League. This would consist of 8 teams, 4 from the SNL and 4 from the EPL/ENHL/ESHL. These would play 28 games a season but be split into regions (obviously England and Scotland) (2 at home, 2 away)
The teams who finish top of both conferences, plays against each over and the winner replace the bottom placed team in Div 3. To keep the numbers the same, a system of relegation would be set up. The bottom team automatically is relegated back to the SNL/EPL the team finishes 3rd would only go down, if the bottom placed team is from the same country, and the promoted team is from a difference conference. The winner of the EPL/SNL will replace the bottom team from their respective conference.
