Martin Haag: Don’t stop clubs from daring to dream

No clubs should be denied the chance of ‘doing a Bournemouth’. That’s the verdict of Nottingham coach Martin Haag.
Unfancied and unfashionable AFC Bournemouth shocked the football world this week when, six years after they nearly dropped out of the league altogether, they all but mathematically sealed promotion to the Premier League.
In rugby terms, that’s the equivalent of London & SE National outfit Guernsey reaching the dizzy heights of the Aviva Premiership.
Ring-fencing would stop such smaller clubs with designs on playing at the highest level, and however fanciful the idea might seem to some Haag says those outside the elite must be allowed the chance to chase their dreams.
“You need competition, you need integrity and you need to allow people and clubs to dare to dream,” Haag told The Rugby Paper.
“Imagine if Bournemouth had been denied promotion after doing so well to get to where they are. If a three or five-year moratorium on promotion and relegation was in place they might never get another opportunity. Who would that benefit?
“There are lots of advantages to keeping promotion and relegation,” Haag continued. “You’ve got a lot of academy players who are getting experience in the Championship and a lot of Championship players have moved up because they have developed in a competitive environment.
“If you look at the club scene, Exeter are a fantastic model as to what can be achieved; they are now one of the top clubs in the country.
“Harlequins and North-ampton both got relegated and since then they have both gone on to win the Premiership. That just shows you that competition is healthy.
“Also, if London Welsh hadn’t been deducted points for an administrative error in their first season they may well have stayed up. Had they done so would people still have been calling for ring-fencing?
“If someone is willing to help finance a push for the Premiership I don’t see why measures should be put in place to stop clubs lower down the divisions, not just in the Championship but in other leagues as well.
“We have fantastic sport in this country and a lot of it involves promotion and relegation and we need to continue with that.”
Haag’s Nottingham narrowly missed out on a Championship promotion play-off spot to Rotherham, who are also staunch advocates of a ‘seamless game’.
“Ring-fencing didn’t work for Rugby League, did it?” said Titans chairman Nick Cragg.
“Looking at our own position, we’re trying to attract new money all the time, and if there is a journey to be had to a bigger and some would say better place you have much more chance of getting people on board.
“If it’s more of the same people will potentially think what’s the point?
“We’ve had a very torrid time of it in the past (in the Premiership), but you’ve got to give it a go. If the drawbridge was pulled up it would be a real concern.”
JON NEWCOMBE