Next year is about money and the squad you can afford, having a £300k more gift will help, to get into the top 4 and then the top 5 mid eight as 5th gives you a promotion play off
At Leigh we have already stated we will be full time 2015 and full cap if in top two, and have signed a number of the squad to FT contracts 2015/6 already
My vision of the next few years is that 16 or more if Toulouse are in, clubs will be operating in a FT environment by 2017. The 2015 mid eights is unlikely to see a second tier promoted unless we have implosion in top tier but you will have a sniff with four home games and a 4/5 play off game, the win is a full year FT and being involved in the play offs will harden you for 2016 when I do believe a club with the backer will come through
2018 onwards I see two tens with £1m funding in tier two and at long last a closing of the gap, the future is what you make of it, talk the system up and the fans will return

It's still an opportunity for Championship club chairmen or benefactors to take that extra step if they want SL. The gate has been opened at least. Before, a benefactor was put off by a licensing system which was bent.

If Abbott or any of the Fax directors want SL they know what they have to do. If Leigh think they can go full time and compete with the bottom 4 of SL then they know the risks (although given their recent history of financial stupidity this may be an unknown quantity).

The opportunity is there but so too are the lessons of financial meltdowns, given freely by an "iconic" club like Bradford Bulls.

Am I correct in thinking the bottom 4 SL teams next year will be operating on a 1.8m salary cap(subject to change) where as the top 4 Championship teams will be working on a maximum of 1m? Championship teams will likely need a miracle to get in the top 4 either that or make sure that you finish 5th and try and win the one off game to get in to SL.

That way you increase your salary cap to 1.8m and with the right structure could push forward.

Keep saying it but you're right Rich.

Mr Abbott and the other directors were all over the SL talk when the SL door was firmly locked. Now it's slightly ajar it's all quiet on the western front. And who can blame them. They have done a fantastic job at Fax but they are businessmen and realise how much it will cost them to take us to the next level. Best to downplay expectations. Maybe TA realised owning The Shay would be a way of generating extra income to help, well never know now.

I only hope they stick around and slowly build the club, keep it working within its and their means and see where it leads.

I also hope Leigh have the resources, too many times they've gone pop before the end of the season whilst asking everyone to "beleighve". They're talking the talk, only hope they have the pockets to take the strain.

The new system ensures the status quo remains with the perennial RFL favourites, the Bulls and the Broncos being given as much of a leg up as possible!

If that's so, then what would be the point of a play offseries and a grand final?

Personally I would not want us to be in the Top 2. 500,000 is good but is it enough? And the odds are well stacked against the 2 Championship clubs. And I remain to be convinced if this system will last longer than a couple of seasons and I think the top 2 will not really benefit that much as I see this all as short term thinking from clubs and the RFL without really addressing any of the problems in the Pro game. I would not be surprised to see Sheffield and Fax not chasing a top 2 place but more a Grand Final win

That's a relief then , I don't think you have grasped the plan for the Future , next season will see the bottom 2 in SL relegated probably London and Bradford they will be given parachute payments along with the payments the Top 2 in our League will get , making the 4 teams Full time with a big advantage over the rest , then it will be "Hey Boys Hey ",for the Top 4 the season after for the Middle 8 places ,meaning this years 3rd downwards would need Dynamo , David Blane , and Divine intervention to get them to challenge the others above then , not to mention attracting better players .

But as you don't want to finish in the Top 2 it wont trouble you .

I am slightly mystified by the attitude of the majority of Fax fans on here, what more do you actually expect or want?

The door is open, no matter how small the gap is, the opportunity to build your club and compete if you work hard enough is available

This fixation with either central/SKY money or director input is strange and unhealthy IMO, while not being completely in tune with what Leigh are doing, they are attempting to build, hopefully without extending themselves too much

It will be interesting when it comes to who goes full time. The SL clubs and the two relegated this season will have the pick of the full time players leaving anyone else going full time picking up the scraps. Obviously you cant run a full time team if only half your team is full time so its not like you could have 10 or so full time players and the rest part time which then leaves the other top teams say Sheffield and Fax to claim all the best part time players with their inflated salary caps(or the max they are working to).

At the moment the top teams in the Championship can give the worse teams in SL a run for their money so basically what I am asking is the very worst full time players operating a 1m cap going to be much better that the very best part time players?

Either way in my opinion it leaves the teams in either situation quite a way behind the SL teams and leaving the 5th place team to try and get a bit lucky in the big playoff game.

One thing I would say is that it seems to me either the Fax board or some Fax fans do not realize that at the moment the club is looking at playing 3rd tier rugby once the split happens and they don't finish in the top 4 and I'm not sure the club can afford to do that.

Revenue? The chance for either of the teams involved to be Championis, Championis, if we are not in the top two then I would still enjoy a Grand Final day.
If we are in the top two I would still enjoy a Grand Final day.
Ps that's assuming we were in the Grand Final.

FW,

I see where you are coming from, but don't totally see it this way.

I think that unless London totally restructure they are likely to totally implode (I feel sorry for the real core of the London fan base if this happens).

The funding next year will mean that London can compete at our level, however unless they can maximise their income streams they will struggle and certainly will the following year. For example at best they will average 1000 in SL2 which compared to a current Championship team averaging 2000 will be a mean income that is £165,000 less that their rivals (Leigh/Fax/Fev) (so could be £2000k down after you consider other income streams). The parachute payment will help, but I think Leigh/Fax/Fev willl be better placed to compete than London over the next few years.

Bradford will have a big advantage next year (assuming they get relagated) but I see this leveling out over the next few years, this will mean that in the none too distant future the liked of Fax, Leigh and Fev will have a chance of getting to SL by winning the 4v5 middle teir decider. I can't wait to see Fex, Leigh and Fev competing in SL (I "beleighve" in the "Fevolution" including Fax)

I can't believe we wouldn't want to be in the top 2, although we seem to settle for mediocre in most things we do at Fax these days.