"Smaller competition with traditional fixture list" seems to be the line. Also confirms fixtures out 1 November, and that the first rounds will be at the same time as the other two divisions (unlike this year where it was a month later).

League Express say that all will be revealed in their issue this Monday, so I expect darkbluerover to be posting here with it on Sunday night.

Will do, how do you put pictures in?

It's easy to link to pictures using the full editor but as far as I know they have to be online somewhere first. So I generally add them as a reply to an appropriate Facebook post to get a link. Can do that Tuesday evening if there's anything worth seeing. All I was gently requesting was the headline news in case it doesn't make waves anywhere else.

Also, I've just found this 10-minute audio of Ralph Rimmer which is where the (almost mis)quotes come fromhttps://soundcloud.com/user-129831624/ralph-rimmer-on-the-future-ofrl
Have to say, the only solution I can think of that fits all the statements are that there are two more withdrawals than there are new entries, the most obvious method of which involves us and All Golds leaving with no merged club to join. But then it's interesting that Rimmer mentioned Gloucestershire several times. And looking at statements from League 1 clubs, it looks like everyone else is expecting still to be around.

Not a huge amount I'm afraid. The Ralph Rimmer discussion was repeated pretty much as we heard it- 'traditional' fixture list and no L1 Cup.
News article which was another near repeat of recent weeks TR still not heard anything and advises players to think carefully about other offers they get, and there is more news on a team from New York set to enter from 2019.

Surely this isn't going to announced on 1/11 and over shadow the fixture release. They'll have to say something soon.

The fact that Tim seems to be saying he can't recruit as he doesn't know what is happening speaks volumes.

If there is a new club emerging, in Bristol or elsewhere, they are getting hopelessly behind the eight ball if they aren't already recruiting.

The longer this drags on the more likely it seems that the end result will be a team or teams dropping out and no new team.

Thanks, DarkBlueRover - I had wondered if he might have said 14 teams in the press interview, and so gone a bit farther than at the Bradford forum.

To be honest the recent Oxford RL pieces in League Express have all been the same - I reckon they got a job lot from Tim Rumford during one phone call, to be used as needed (and Tim's been away recently).

BBC website has the New York story as well, including this gemLigue 1 to the Championship, the game's second tier, at the first attempt last season."

Perhaps the League is moving to France.

A posting has appeared on totalrl.com's forum stating players from both Oxford and All Gold's were notified the teams have ceased to exist yesterday. It also states no new team in Bristol next season.

Unconfirmed obviously but......

Came on here to post exactly the same thing (although I assumed that the original post meant players told on Thursday). Halfdan obviously gets up earlier...

Do you think the conversation went like this?
"We would like to start a new club in Bristol. In return, we will withdraw from Oxford and Cheltenham."
RFL: "We're not taking a new club this year, but we note your desire to withdraw, and accept."

No. I've heard enough whispers about what has been going on in the Bristol area to be confident that there was a genuine attempt to get a team off the ground and that the RFL were firmly in the loop.

If confirmed I suspect it will come down the the fact the key investors thought it was too risky. TBH with all the current unknowns in the economic scenario nationally / internationally I can understand that.

This weeks LE/ LW = No news.

Very odd. If the players were told late last week, an announcement in this week's RL media made sense, given the likelihood of a player letting something slip via Twitter or Facebook.

What's the betting something is sneaked out about half time in the England v Australia game......

And there we have it Nothing in 2018. www.oxfordrl.com/2017/10/blue-gold-unite-as-one/

And there we have it Nothing in 2018. www.oxfordrl.com/2017/10/blue-gold-unite-as-one/

Goodbye and thanks for the memories.

May see some of you in 2019. I think the new Bristol club is reasonably advanced in planning, I was told the name of their expected coach a couple of weeks ago,. Probably better to take time and build the base properly rather than rush for 2018.

Oddly, The League Express have decided not to mention the news at all.

Took a while but I've read it properly now. It's actually even odder than you might have thought. There is a Highlights of the Week section on page 5. In that they state that the highlight story of the week is the "merger". And despite that they have then failed to cover it anywhere!

On another note, not sure if the posts on this forum will remain. I see that there is no longer an official moderator.