Don't you know by now
No one gives you anything?
And don't you wonder how
You keep on moving?
One more day your way
Oh, your way
When there's no one left to leave you
Even you don't quite believe you
While you see a chance, take it...
Because it's all on you
While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood
IMPORTANT
Currently, as of Tuesday, December 3rd, there hasn't been an official announcement. Although it's been tempting to share this now instead of waiting for a formal press release, I've held off out of respect for the club. However, I've jotted down some initial thoughts that I'll share once the news is publicly available. Any statement might clarify or even contradict what I've written here, so I apologise in advance - these are just initial thoughts.
The news that Coventry Rugby's Board had given the go ahead for the club to meet the criteria for Premiership status in 2025/26, as detailed in the RFU's Minimum Standards Criteria, was first announced by Jon Sharp, unofficially I guess, on the coach returning from Ampthill last Saturday.
A rare success at Dillingham Park meant the travelling faithful were in good spirits, literally in some cases I imagine, and there was a fair amount of singing and comradery from the onset.
Among those returning to Cov was none other than the Coventry Chairman, Jon Sharp. Apparently swept up by the strong sense of camaraderie and goodwill towards all things Cov Rugby, he called for some quiet and then announced that the club are planning to fulfil the requirements outlined in the MSC this current season.
This prompted a raucous reaction from those who had heard Jon, followed by a near continuous flow of classic 80s hits that played for the rest of the journey. I say 'those who had heard' because Jon had spoken from the rear of the coach and his voice, though strong in itself, was no match for the constant chatter that emanated from the front from those unaware that Jon was speaking, let alone making such an important announcement.
So those at the front were oblivious to all this and the huge roar from behind that accompanied this news was ignored given that it's not a particularly infrequent occurrence following wins on the road these days. It was only when someone asked me a couple of days later if I'd heard Jon Sharp's comments, presumably as there was no mention of this in the blog the next day, that I became aware of what had been said.
I have to admit, Jon Sharp's informal disclosure came as something of a surprise given his comments in early October when he confirmed on BBC CWR the impossibility of Coventry Rugby Club meeting the January deadline re: Premiership membership criteria and that Cov wouldn't be promoted this season, even if they were to win the Championship and the play-offs that would follow.
By way of a recap, he went on to state that with current funding disproportionately in favour of Premiership sides, more work needed to be done on the small print and costs involved in achieving full planning approval for stadia were prohibitive - the capital investment required was just too high given there is no guarantee of promotion (and it could be all for just a single year of prem rugby anyway).
He went on to develop this further - before any application could be approved, there has to be contract in place to build the 10000 seater stadium and he questioned 'who on earth would risk the sums of money involved without the guarantee of promotion?' At least a further £500,000 was still required to ensure all the necessary surveys are completed in order to get the full planning approval.
Fast forward a couple of months and it seems Coventry Rugby is prepared to take that risk and whilst as supporters we're not privy to the discussion in the Boardroom that have led to this momentous decision, it's an interesting exercise to second guess what the thinking behind this decision might be. Clearly the situation has changed very drastically for such a volte face to have taken place...
It's a really positive decision and a brave one at that - I'm sure they'll be some supporters questioning whether the squad is competitive enough to both win the Championship (which it probably is given its performances so far this season both in the League and Cup competitions) and the two play-off games against the club finishing bottom of the Premiership (something which is more open to debate). Of course, it matters not a jot what I or any of the supporters think, the Board, the coaches and the players all believe it is and that's all that matters.
Whatever your thoughts, you just have to applaud the ambition. Irrespective of the final outcome, the fact that the club is giving it a go is massive and it's incumbent on everyone to get behind the club to ensure it’s able to give it its best shot.
Clearly, the club has secured the monies needed (a further £500000 apparently). I'm not even going to dwell on anything related to the financial side of the bid - over the years, since 2012 I guess when Jon Sharp became Chair (I think), Cov has shown itself prudent and cautious when it comes to managing the club's monies and I have to have complete faith that they would never risk the club's future whatever the possible benefits.
Maybe the club has decided this year represents our best chance of promotion and having found the necessary funding, it makes sense to go for it now, rather than next season when the league will consist of 14 with the probability of one of the franchise clubs being included.
Presumably Alex Rae and the coaches will have been involved in discussions at some point and you'd imagine that whilst there are plenty of banana skins still to come, they must believe the likelihood already is that Coventry and Ealing will be the two sides fighting it out for the top spot in five or sixth months' time. And Ealing are beatable, of that there's no question. They've lost once already and we've yet to play them either home or away, so there's a definite pathway through to the play-offs for Coventry, albeit a difficult one. But it's not a given and teams like Doncaster and Bedford will have a big say still in who wins the Championship.
But supposing Cov are crowned Champions and win the right to play the bottom side in the Premiership for the right to play in the top flight next season.
Well, here I have a theory,...
Win both games (or presumably score more points in total over two games than your opponents if it's one game apiece) and what appeared just a pipe dream at the start of the season suddenly becomes a reality. Lose and maybe it's still well worth all that investment.
Here's my reasoning. We know that just completing everything required by the MSC will cost at least another £500000 in excess of what has already been spent. Delay the application process for another 12 or 24 months and inevitably the costs will increase, and probably at levels well above inflation.
Further, by reaching the play-offs this season and with the revenue from a sell-out home fixture (plus all the tv rights, marketing, merchandise sales and so on) and you're well on the way to recouping a good percentage of that additional £500000 outlay. To be honest, whilst it might well be that the cost of a ticket is included in the price of a season-long membership, I don't think too many season ticket members would object to paying for entrance into the home leg provided they were given first option before the remainder were made available to the general public (thus substantially increasing to gate receipts).
The fact that Cov plans to meet the criteria should enhance Cov's profile for the rest of the season, likely boosting ticket sales for the remaining home games, which is certainly advantageous for the club too. Therefore, it's surprising that the news hasn't been shared on the club's social media yet, especially with the next home game against Hartpury this Saturday. With no disrespect to Hartpury, it's not the most enticing fixture on the schedule, so why not spark more interest by announcing it sooner? More interest almost certainly means more money in the club's coffers.
Therefore, there's an argument that applying now instead of waiting a year or two is already advantageous for Cov, as it will save a significant amount of money by getting in early, even if we don't end up as Champions.
Doncaster, the only team to have already met the MSC, must be delighted that they won't have to undergo the process again in the future and can focus more on strengthening the squad rather than navigating costly hurdles, as they already appear to have done over the Summer.
Perhaps the RFU, feeling the backlash regarding its treatment of the Championship, has eased some of its legal stipulations to allow Cov to apply sooner than anticipated.
It's possible, though I doubt the RFU possesses the leadership necessary to demonstrate such empathy and self-awareness.
Regardless of the reasons for the change of heart, this is undoubtedly positive news, with the important caveat previously mentioned: this mustn’t place the club under unnecessary financial strain in order to achieve this. But given Jon Sharp's governance in recent years, that's a very unlikely scenario.
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