The premiership is third in the pecking order of top-level soccer in the region, behind the Palmerston-heavy Federation League embracing other Central regions' top teams and the Central League, which is Wellington-heavy.
Maycenvale, on historically winning promotion to the Central League, lost their perch last winter under coach Dion Adams after struggling to find enough home-grown talent to make up a competitive squad.
In wooing players from outside the Bay, predominantly Wellingtonians and a couple of Solomon Islanders, they were unable to train a squad, quite often having a session when everyone arrived from the capital city on the game day at a venue.
None of the players remains at Maycenvale after their demotion, including coach Adams who is with the Havelock North Wanderers this winter.
Venting his spleen on the Fed League, which is seen as the pathway to Central League, Hill says: "It needs to be kicked out because it's a folly."
He believes soccer doesn't need to compete with other codes because the different bodies and segments within the sport are too busy kicking each other off the park.
"It's the same old, same old. We're destroying our own sport with clubs, franchises, futsal and schools all fighting for the same things," he laments, after submitting a proposal to Central Football Eastern operations manager Holt early this year on how the Bay premiership can provide more zest and lift its standards.
His proposal, primarily selling the concept of finding sponsorship whereby the Pacific Premiership can be played for prizemoney, also champions the universal soccer promotion/relegation concept.
However, it is understood there was lukewarm response from the Bay clubs who were emailed the proposal for their perusal well before the season kicked off.
Hill says Holt's decision last winter to allow two Taradale teams to compete in the Pacific Premiership was shambolic.
"He put two teams in at what expense ... how stupid can we be?"
Holt included the Jamie Hall-coached Taradale AFC last season because in the umpteenth hour the Fed League fell through to leave them in limbo.
Holt came to their rescue with Geon Taradale already in the premiership as defending champions before they lost the title to Team Gisborne.
Hill says proof that soccer is in dire straits here is evident in the lack of any age-group representatives, as far as he's aware, from the Bay.
"Just ask Jonny Gould," he says of the former Hawke's Bay United Academy head and coach who is plying his trade with the Wellington Phoenix franchise.
"You see, we create a pathway for Little Johnny to get to whatever and then we're all scrapping over the same thing."
Hill says New Zealand Football needs to take responsibility for things.
The schools' lack of rapport in the Bay with Central Football, he believes, is also cause for concern and disruption in the development of youngsters.
"I'd just love to have a debate with NZ Football on their terms."
Holt says the promotion/relegation is hard to employ here because most major clubs had teams in the premiership, as the rules do not permit two teams from the same club to play in the same elite league.
"Only teams such as Central Hawke's Bay and Eskview United come to mind if they want promotion."
He says most of the other grades are social ones so, consequently, they aren't keen to go up.
Holt emphasises the hall-coached Taradale were granted permission in a one-off situation last season because they belong to one of the flagship clubs in the Bay who have ambitions to prosper to the Central League level.
Leaving the Dale side in a limbo after the Fed League fell through would have done little for the club, players and competition.
Reflecting on the premiership format, Holt says the top-four playoffs system is open to scrutiny and if clubs aren't happy it can be tweaked.
He also clarifies that teams who will finish bottom four, after two rounds in the premiership, will not be able to move to the top four in the playoff segment.
However, the top finisher of the top-four sides after the playoffs will become the champions after the regulation two rounds of home-and-away matches.
Some premiership coaches have expressed confusion as to what stage of the league teams will be declared winners.
