1). I believe that Gateshead and TO have a slightly increased overseas allowance, but that it will be evened out next year. I can see what you're saying and I think that in the cases mentioned (especially TO) I would agree with the feelings of the other fans.

2). NL1, now the Championship, has always had a problem with marketing itself - it was always viewed as the training ground for SL, or the "almost in" SL. This is the fans' view though, which does need remedying. IF fans view TO being added as making the comp a biased training ground, as opposed to seeing it as adding value to the competition, then it is very difficult to find a way of packaging it as a viable stand alone competiton.

3). I expect that youth development will count double in the next franchising round.

Yes they have been ' expanding ' since 1879

Yes they were allowed an extra 4 players because they had already signed them apparently , this was back in September

And yet they were announcing new players a couple of weeks ago , how strange ?

They had to do this because they only had financial records going back 7 months. A unique position, thus a unique necessity to Widnes’ bid that pretty much guaranteed they would not go pop within the 3 year period of the licence. It was, in no way, an indictment on the business plan on the business plan put forward by the club.



Of course they have, but you’d have to have faith in the robustness of the licence criteria and the emphasis placed on expansion, an area they denied as being important before it started. Imo CC could not have gained a licence without their bid being judged almost solely on expansion; going by their own criteria and rules. They have the infrastructure and support base of an NL2 club.


Because there is no clear benefit to the Championship clubs having Toulouse in their league, except for a free junket for their respective officials. Gateshead don’t have the kind of backer CC have, neither do the other clubs you mentioned. This would make the survival of clubs, with shallow attendance figures and a poor infrastructure, almost solely dependent on the TV money. If CC didn’t have Leighton Samuel, they wouldn’t have got a licence either. I think Toulouse already have a decent infrastructure, with access to modern stadia and players from the French Elite, in an area that, as you say, has been playing the game for as long as Castleford. The RFL now have a direct route to bring in Toulouse to ESL, via the Championship, without having to break any promises about promoting a Championship club. They’ll be able to justify the ESL tag, start to cast off the cloth cap, northern image and have a massive French derby, which may generate even more money for the two French clubs and possibly more interest in the South of France. Why would an organisation, with an expansionist agenda, which sees little future for “small northern clubs” promote a “small northern club” and leave even more “small northern clubs” in SL, when they can leave all the “small northern clubs” in the Championship leagues and even get rid of another one from SL to join them?


Because they simply don’t have to worry about that now. I think that going to 15 will be a last resort, and would only happen if there was absolutely no way there was a current SL club to relegate. The RFL can’t be too sure how things will be, with regards to future TV deals, how competitive a 14 club SL will be, never mind 15 or 16. This way they will only have to promote one club, at most – the one they actually want. The other factor, as V4E has pointed out, will be the testing ground factor the Championship will offer the RFL to assess Toulouse by. It would also help produce a stronger, tested squad that would be able to draw from the federation pool, which includes English players. Just the same as Les Catalans.



I disagree. I think it will cost one hell of a lot of cash and, once Toulouse are in SL, it will not happen again.


Well that’s very nice for TO, I’m sure, but this is a largely semi-pro league. Therefore some clubs may not be able to field a full side and some players may no longer regard playing in the Championship worth their while, particularly these days with employers strapped for cash and labour cut to the bone.


I’ve read many of your turgid posts which seem nothing more than freeform psychosis. They switch this way and that, with double standards applied wherever I look. I’ll leave it at that, Smokey.



My point exactly. The RFL told Steve O’Connor that wouldn’t be a problem as long as he had a good business plan and put financial guarantees in place. Therefore, if you look at what you have written there, why accept a bid from such a club, without first telling the club they’ll be wasting £20,000 because they have no chance because they only have 7 months trading, and then accept a bid having told the club only having 7 months trading wasn’t a problem, and then reject that bid because they only have 7 months trading behind them?

That makes no sense to me at all - in fact it’s totally potty and dishonest.


Some of that is true, but most is just your opinion. There’s nothing wrong with that, but my opinion is different. You have also skirted around an awful lot of other pros and cons that would shed a very different light on the situation.

I only used the way I thought Widnes were treated, at the start of my last post, in order to point out part of the reason I do not trust the RFL. My main point was to address the theme of this thread. That involved trying to assess why I think Toulouse have been placed in the Championship, and thus, what the future holds for them. I was not intending, and do not intend under any circumstance, to go over the same old crap again I accept that the clubs the RFL want in SL are the clubs they will get and that’s probably how it will pan out next time too.


If the RFL are in a position to promote two teams in 2011, then Widnes will have a very good chance. I’m not ruling it out, but regard it as unlikely. I think SL will remain at 14, with Wakey dropping and Toulouse stepping in. I fully understand why the RFL would find this attractive. I don’t fully agree with all their logic, but I understand it.

No the offer to Toulouse was made after the NL clubs had been promised one of them would get a guaranteed place in 2012

10 Side once , 1 Side 10 times

They havent sold anything for any money , not even the Catalans have done that

So what would your opinion been had Celtic not been able to raise a decent side against Leeds this week because of thier poor administration , which looks like it needed RFL intervention to sort out , maybe the top tier of RL isn't for them

He hasn't complained that expansion was put ahead of heartland clubs , he has complained that the RFL dont have the balls to admit it

they had to do this because their business plan clearly didnt have the necessary evidence behind it that others did, and clearly couldnt prove it was sustainable




thats your opinion, and your welcome to it, but you cant pretend it is based in fact or has anything like conclusive evidence behind it!
Celtic may have the support base of an NL2 club ( they dont their attendance was comparable to most) but they clearly dont have the infrastructure of one, if there is one thing you cant fault them for its their infrastructure




what a strange argument, there is do clear benefit to having dewsbury in the championship!

and im not sure what this has to do with what i said, which was why the need for the conspiracy of offering a place to the NL1 clubs and bringing toulouse in to take that when there are other expansion clubs to promote from the championship? if the RFL are going to promote Toulouse they can promote them from the Elite, and promote Gateshead/sheffield/london/whoever and still make good on their promise!


how many english players do Les Catalans have? that isnt the point in putting Toulouse or Les Catalans in. When/if promoted i dont think we will see any british players playing for toulouse, so they arent taking from the british player pool! 16 teams would give us a league structure which matches the NRL allowing use to have the seasons co-incide



we have already been told it will happen with Ireland pretty soon, it wont be much cheaper to fly to dublin than to Toulouse, so it will happen again, how much do expect it to cost for 11 teams to fly over to toulouse and play? a fair few amateur teams fly over to france or the french fly here, its not a massive issue



then the second tier of RL isnt the place for them, if they arent committed enough to fly to the south of france for a couple of days once a season, then they arent committed enough to play at this level, theres plenty of clubs in Championship 1 who they could play for.




or, they had the opportunty to prove that they had put these structures in place, and prove they would work, they failed to do this. going bust obviously made it harder, it didnt make it impossible. And again, had the RFL pre-judged Widnes application before seeing it, that would in itself be used by the Widnes fans to pretend they were persecuted


and i am showing you this distrust is misplaced


well then why distrust it if you understand why it is being done?

no, the french federation have sold the SL rights, and the rights to 5( I think, it may 4) Toulouse games for about $400k



5.30419921875:5