But isn't that the issue right there? Hull and Huddersfield went bang and two clubs were sacrificed for them (but we're the RFL pets still ) and at that point I was sure rules were put int to ensure that clubs were not expected to make a loss yet here we are with clubs in SL owners masking the games issues by pouring millions into clubs and them taking the losses.

Hudds would be dead in a breath again as would others. Until that situation is taken away you've no hope of rescuing the game. You could say that the much despised (by me) Ken Morrison displayed his vast business acumen by staying well and truly out of RL despite calling the club his 'beloved Bulls' the .

So Hull and Huddersfield make huge losses despite having millionaire owners. Who funds us out of curiosity and do we have huge losses?

I saw someone post that we need 3k sales a year, bullbuilder, foundation and 200k in central funding.

Is that enough to compete? Obviously if we finish higher than last year the funding is more.

As much as our owners/board get criticised a lot (at times deservedly so) I am quite glad we seem to keep our heads down and crack on rather than Chalmers bluster.

Keighley seem to he having a meltdown, even though I actually agree with them that IMG aren't the saviours.

As far as we're concerned we probably won't notice a difference whether the IMG proposals go through or not. Keeping our heads down and trying to make incremental improvements is probably all we can expect under the current ownership. Making sure the seats and terracing is cleaned up after the stock cars would be a start. Odsal was a state last weekend and taping off large swathes of dirty areas doesn't really address the issue.

Well the IMG proposals have passed. All 11 SL teams voted in favour (shocked at Cas and Wakey there). And only Fev, Batley, Barrow and Keighley voted against it in the Champ.

So the ones who have voted against it wouldn’t survive in SL anyway. Fev’s catchment area is also Wakey, Cas and Leeds. Batley and Keighley can’t really upgrade their facilities or get the crowds needed to survive. And even though Cumbria is a hotbed for talent, there never seems to be a lot of support for the three teams up there.

Everyone else like Newcastle, Halifax, York, Us, Widnes etc all have room to grow. Improve. Have the talent areas. Already have a decent stadium (probably ours is the worst of the those three). And all have potential to increase the crowds (I think we are higher that 2/3 SL teams at the moment). Even now we’d probably average 6-7k inc away support in SL.

What does surprise me is the likes of Swinton, Rochdale and Oldham voting for being in favour. As neither of these clubs will be anywhere near the mid levels of the grading system. To vote against would be in their best interests as they are yo-yo clubs really.

Votes For:

All SL Clubs (minus Catalan who have no vote)
Sheffield
York
Newcastle
Widnes
Bradford
Halifax
Swinton
London Broncos.
Doncaster
Midlands
Cornwall
Rochdale
Workington
Oldham
North Wales

Against:

Featherstone
Batley
Keighley
Barrow
Hunslet
Dewsbury

Abstained:

London Skolars
Whitehaven
West Wales

Make of that what you will.

33 in favour. 6 against. 3 abstains. Vote passes at 88%.

Fev voted against for the reason that apparently if you're a grade B club and finish top of the championship there's no guarantee you'd replace a grade B club if they finished bottom of SL. That seems totally fair enough to me. If there are B's in both places they should swap.

Aren’t they going for a 14 team SL though? According to the powerpoint IMG and RFL published everything indicated towards a 14 team SL unless that’s changed?

Apparently that reasoning is wrong. Your right in why Fev declined but apparently in October and in the IMG Proposal Meetings. It was said that if a club finished bottom of SL with a B rating and the winner of the Champ had a B rating. They would swap places.

That was from a piece Matt Shaw wrote in October and was confirmed in IMG Rugby League Council meeting. Although that is coming from Matt Shaw. I’m personally not sure on the reliability of RL Journos or whos the most informative.

Surely Fev knew what they were voting o? Or have they made a mistake like Salford and London Skolars?

I’m only going by what Matt Shaw’s piece said from last October. I’m not sure if that still applies. But even Fev are happy apparently with the vast majority of the proposal. Just not all of it. Reading now that Salford and Skolars cannot change their vote however it’s been noted in the minutes for the meeting their desire to change votes.

They also had some disquiet about the stipulation that fans must only have 10 fingers.

Fev still want a semblance of Promotion and Relegation for finishing top but that won't happen which seems counter productive. If you have a Cat B team finish bottom of SL and a Cat B team finish top of the Championship then the extra funding could help push the Championship team push on and grow. Personally think it will be pretty much a closed shop because the extra funding SL clubs are allowed should never make it possible for one of them to score lower than Champ teams off the field and you can't make up enough on it to make that much of a difference. A new system will be along shortly after though in a couple of years or so like we do.

I don't see why they should automatically swap. Kind of defeats the whole point of the grading system if they do that?
I agree that they need to be very careful with reasonings and justifications for NOT swapping them, but it definitely shouldn't just be automatic otherwise that's essentially just the system we have now.

The closed shop system doesn’t bother me. As long as the league has the capacity to expand. The NRL started off like this, now they have the New Zealand Warriors, Melbourne Storm, Gold Coast Titans and more recently the Dolphins.

I think this is what failed last time with franchising. They were looking to replace clubs and fast track in solely due to area rather than expanding.

For example. If IMG decide to go 14 teams initially. And say Toulouse, Featherstone and Widnes go up with Wakey coming down. I’d have no qualms if IMG were clear and said:

Wakey. You need to upgrade your stadium and be competitive in the Champ for two seasons. Whilst maintaining your current fanbase or at least average 3k.

Bradford. Similar.

Newcastle. You need to increase your current average and build a competitive side etc.

Then maybe two years down the line Wakey meet that and get put in as the 15th team. Year after Newcastle might be the 16th team.

For reference Gold Coast got admitted to the NRL in 2008. Not been a great side in those years but still get good crowds and no relegation means they can build.

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