I don’t like the term minority sports.
But in reality, every sport in this country is a minority sport compared to football. Such is the popularity and the resources available to it, nothing will ever compete with football. But there are plenty of alternatives.
My primary alternative, and my actual sporting preference, is rugby league. But running a close second is ice hockey. Unfortunately, the landscape of UK ice hockey has once again taken a considerable bashing.
For those of you unaware, ice hockey in this country enjoyed a boom in the mid-90s, with large arean crowds of 10,000+ enjoying what is dubbed the fastest team sport in the world. The Super League (ISL) was packed with top quality imports and decent British players, but as the crowds faded away, teams could no longer pay the money required to sustain its quality. And following the withdrawal of Cardiff Devils and Newcastle Jesters in 2001 and Bracknell Bees in 2002 and the collapse of both Ayr Scottish Eagles and Manchester Storm, the ISL collapsed.
Out of the ashes came the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), and for the past six seasons, the league has gone by relatively incident free.
All that changed last night.
Out came the revelation that six clubs (of 10, although Basingstoke have already withdrawn from the EIHL for next season) had met on Monday to plan the future of the league and had, according to some sources, failed to invite representatives of three clubs (Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh).
There has been unrest amongst fans of some clubs for years about the power of the so-called big four – Belfast, Coventry, Nottingham and Sheffield – and claims that they regularly break the wage cap, thus rendering a supposed “levelling process” obsolete.
It is believed, by some fans, that these four clubs don’t want to lose money by helping out the smaller clubs. The “missing” trio of Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle have all voiced concerns about the economics of the league during the recession, and it is believed now that the league will carry on without them.
So now there’s the background, what’s actually been happening.
Well, Manchester were the first club to come out with an official response, in which they claimed to be unaware of Monday nights meeting and that they were to make an announcement on Thursday morning.
But that statement has been contradicted by a press release on the official EIHL website, which claims that all clubs were aware a meeting was taking place.
It appears that the “missing” trio wanted a reduction in the wage cap and the number of imports to help with the economics of the league, but such requests were dismissed by the “big four” and the other two clubs in the six, Cardiff and Hull.
It’s no secret that clubs are struggling, particularly as immediately after their play-off defeat at the weekend, Newcastle coach Rob Wilson expressed concerns about the Vipers’ future.
Just a week ago it was confirmed that Basingstoke Bison were ending their tenure in the EIHL, citing a substantial loss and an inability to compete on a level playing field.
The general consensus on the Manchester Phoenix official forum is that the big four are merely looking after themselves. Heck, an article in a Nottingham newspaper is even suggesting that this move may be the start of some sort of NHL-type revolution in this country. What?! The arrogance of this piece, and perhaps a reflection on the stature of the big four, is the following quote:
And who would Nottingham supporters rather see for a season, four or five high-quality games against Sheffield, Coventry, Cardiff and Belfast?
Or the likes of Edinburgh and Newcastle, who go from game to game, needing a home fixture each week to pay the bills?
The Bolton Evening News calls it a “controversy”, and if there’s one thing the situation is, it’s a controversy.
So what does this mean for the future?
The likelihood is the Elite League will continue on with six teams, but what this means in the long term is unknown. I can’t help think that hockey would benefit from a pyramid structure and a regional system, perhaps with leagues running alongside each other, maybe with different tiers to encourage movement up the leagues. Another blogger has his own ideas, but it remains to be seen what will happen.
What is for sure, the situation will unfold and become clearer in the next few days – hardly ideal, considering UK ice hockey’s yearly showpiece – the play-off finals weekend – takes place this weekend at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham.
Watch this space.
Pics: Elite League,
