I don't read too much in to the size of population per town,I live in wakefield and you will find fans of all 3 clubs scattered round all the wakefield postcode and sadly a lot of rhinos too..
My point is although a small town if they become successful the larger area is huge..

Personally I think Fev deserve a shot at SL, they have been the best and most consistent team in the Championship,over the last few years and clearly now have the financial clout to go for it. (Ironic that Faisal was at Fax for a year then disappeared-wonder what happened there?)
I went to a meeting recently where KH and Michael Steele discussed the new structure and I came away with a distinct feeling we couldn't afford to compete with both Fev and Leigh and it now looks as though this is coming to fruition.
Only time will tell but the BOD at Fax need to take up the challenge pretty quickly, or talk to us diehards to manage our expectations, or we are going to get left behind.

Sadly I agree!

He must have seen something at Fev he didn't see at Fax, same as the DJ who has defected to The Bullsh'tes?

Nobody 'deserves' a shot at SL they have to earn it and Fev have in a way by finishing as league leaders 4 years on the trot but that was then and this is now so they will have to earn it all over again by trying to win their way to promotion with the new system next season.
I share your concerns though and am very worried that we ARE getting left behind, Fev have been in front of us on and off the pitch for years and still are plus now Leigh.
With no sugar Daddy we will just drift along and our fanbase is ever shrinking its a downward spiral.
My question about this announcement is why Fev? No offence Fev fans but you must admit you are not the most glamorous club or town nor will you ever be one of the big clubs in the SL so why you???

You just need to go back to 2005 to realise Leigh can make it to SL on the attendance front. We had 3200 hardcore fans who watch the side get battered inside and out in a concrete cauldron known as Hilton Park !

It has taken a while for fans like myself to accept LSV. I still think about the 80's seeing Leigh play Wigan with 13000 speccies on !! It is warning to me though and the day is far mor than 80 mins on a Rugby pitch.

BUT - Having Wigan, Warrington, St Helens, Salford and Widnes is not really a bad thing to have surly ?? Our gates will double (probably treble against Wigan and Warrington) and living in Warrington, I know what it means to them to have Leigh by their sides.

The new P@R proposals is a little bit of a red herring, and it will still be awfully difficult for an ex championship side to get promoted. All we wanted was a chance. All the top Champioship sides need to embrace that and show some ambition. Without that link, we would be no more !

Part quote:

"The new P@R proposals is a little bit of a red herring, and it will still be awfully difficult for an ex championship side to get promoted. All we wanted was a chance. All the top Champioship sides need to embrace that and show some ambition. Without that link, we would be no more !"

Pretty much in agreement with that Snowy.

It will be tough for the Championship clubs to win through the play off system against SL opposition, even though there is more money available for the top 2 there is still a significant gap and the SL sides will have been full time for sometime giving them another edge.

The Faisal approach could well redress the balance as the cash coming from Central Funding will in Fev's case be supplemented by a significant amount from himself and the other proposed backers.

Some of the less well off SL clubs who can't spend up to the cap may well be reeled in and surpassed by a big spending Championship club.

Nothing is ever guaranteed and it will come down to who is in it for the long haul.

Another scenario is, should any of the existing SL clubs fall into difficulties then the door may well be open for a well off and well placed Championship club to take their place more easily if they keep SL at the proposed 12 clubs if that were to happen.

As I have said on another forum people alway look at the negative side to things in RL when something like this happens I remember when Probiz came to Fev many people said he won't stop he will promise things and leave Last year he made an announcement that he would move us forward and invest in shares at the club to improve us. What he did was give us £300 000 to build at centre of excellence and it happened He also said he wanted us to be the best outside S/L so we could challenge to go up which we have been up to this season. The club employed a coach on recommendation from people within RL and it hasn't worked ( unfair to comment why when the coach cannot answer just ask Tommy Saxton) He was also allowed to bring his own players in and release the ones he thought wasn't good enough which he did wrong What impresses me is that when things are not right the BOD have acted to sort it out and not sat back and watch the club slowly fall backwards If he continues to invest and bring others in tell me which club wouldn't want that although money doesn't buy success it is important to move things forward I will leave it to him he has been here a few year now and he is a person who aims high and wants to be the best at everything he has already pumped money into the club and looks like he wants to continue What I do hope it that more clubs can attract these type of people and get the game to become stronger. We need strong sides in the championship for next year Leigh have set the pace lets all try to catch them up Although 2015 playoffs will be difficult get that 5th place in the 8 and play in the final for a place in S/L owt could happen

I agree JT and I can't see anything negative about what Fev have done over the last few years and what they are doing now, they are showing consistent commitment over a long period of time and now there is a pathway they are in a good position to take the next step and I for one are looking forward to the play off's in 2015.

The Champioship is a fantastic league, enjoyed by the most loyal fans in Rugby League.

SL is a dream. If Leigh fulfill that, good on them. If they don't, so what !

What this division can boast is stability. Franchising has caused some clubs in SL to completely self distruct which is completely the opposite to what it should have done.

Intersting quote on the Leigh forum. Fev have entered into a DR agreement with Wakefield

That raises a good point about the middle eight next season. If DR continues, then we could indeed potentially have "paired" teams playing in the same league!

Like you say, Bastian was brought in to build a team for SL over the next few years, but a change in the league structure meant that this is a very important year and top 2 is a must,so time the time is not available anymore.
I believe Bastian could of built something good at fev with time.

Anyone know how long our media blackout is planned for?

3 to 4 weeks I think