says MP Andy Burnham www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/ma ... um=twitter

says MP Andy Burnham www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/ma ... um=twitter

He should stick to trying to save the NHS. He's clearly out of his depth on this one.

Yes TB, because having the wherewithall to thrash out a workable policy for the massive organisaton that is the NHS is nothing compared to the problems of the monolith that is Rugby League.

It's interesting where this ' infamous ' it caused Leigh ' serious financial problems ' being in SL comes from , the club essentially broke even in the 2005 season , posting a single figure thousand profit

But interesting article either way , I can unhappily accept a Franchise system , as long as the sports governing body actually do get off their harrises and do something realistic and positive to build the lower tiers , rather than the pathetic attempts we have so far witnessed

The only way you could claim the system a success is if both sides of the ' divide ' are growing , at the moment the only bit achieving that is the elite 40/50 % of the top tier , the rest including almost half of SL is dying a slow death

I'm happy with a franchise system also - but a proper one - not a sham one that ignores the fact that 3 of it's members have gone bust but carries on regardless and has KPMG sleep walking past the apllications like it's pretended to read them.

he is speaking as a baised leigh fan. you should ask a widnes fan at the end of the year if they are happy there is no relegation. i'm glad that there isn't any more yo-yo teams going up and down and basically just swapping their older aussie players. it isn't the RFL's fault if some clubs don't grab the stability with two hands.

You have obviously put a lot of thought into this subject , maybe you could tell us of your opinions on how the clubs currently not playing for anything [ ie half of SL , and the whole of this seasons Championship ] can enthuse their supporters , both walk up and corporate ?

maybe you have just hit the nail on the head, why should a very very very tiny chance of getting to the grand final make you have less pride in your team? if you have bandwagon fans then i feel sorry for you. as it is i love watching rugby league as do a lot of fans so why would promotion have any effect on that. also did you have a massive attendence when you got promotion? as it stands teams now in super league have the stability of knowing if they take a chance with young ones they can develop them and not flirt with relegation.

NRL have stuck with the franchise system and it has worked they have built up rugby league in aus and are about to broker a tv deal which we could only dream of.

Are you for real ?

So essentially you have no idea how to make the Lower tiers attractive enough to bring in fans and sponsors , just admit it

Have the Aussies ever had P and R ? , is it part of their sporting culture ?

When Hull Kingston Rovers came up in 2007 did they Yo yo straight down. The recent history of Super League being a closed shop and the shambles keeping Shuddersfield in as they propped the league up for years gives no merit to your argument.

You're trying to compare apples with wardrobes. The ONLY similarity between the two comps is the oddly shaped ball that its players throw about. RL is the premier sport in Australia. Over here it's a minority northern sport trying to survive in it's own small back yard. Copying the Aussies is like trying to build a luxury yatch out of redundant advertising boards.

well what else are these teams moani

honest anserw no (just like every other fan on here) i dont i am not a marketing genius and if i was i guess i would be working at the rfl. but did having promotion and relegation help it previously NO it didnt.

wasn't the reason behind the sydney team mergers apart of their franchise system?

are you seriously suggesting that huddersfield should be playing in the championship? please tell me you got the wrong or i have misunderstood.

ok one team out of home many relegations managed to stay up and stay mid table?

Dont the championships play for the exactly the same thing as those in SL? a trophy and some prize money?

So basically , ' stuff them ' , they are nothing more than worthless crap teams in little villages , ? Yes

Yes it was , and a whole load of support it cost the game over there as well

So tell me ,are the bottom 4/5 clubs currently in SL ' thriving ' ?