Actually 3 new stands since 1998 and also an old one converted to all seater.

I don't. Halifax should be nowhere near SL.

Neither should about 4 SL clubs.

I agree

Some people think it's OK. SL club Huddersfield played there last year. Castleford even borrowed our kit because of their SL professionalism.

The kit directive Cas had showed that Cas were supposed to wear white and they didn't receive the updated list (nor did the RFL website for that matter until a week later).



I'd say 2 at most, 1 if Bradford don't end up in admin.

So Cas is a given - whos is the other team?

Actually - it's not that they shouldn't be SL - they should - [icurrently. [/i

What i mean is that there's about 4 clubs that aren't really "super" and are just making up the numbers. There isn't a club in the Champonship who can better them either so it's as you are for the forseeable future.

Well using that condition, there's probably 10 teams not good enough for the league!

Yeah - bit vague, soz.

It may seem lame but i think another 10 years of franchising will really paint a true picture of its success or failure. In the meantime Championship clubs should concentrate on their own lot and try and improve the fan base. The league is certainly competitive.

We can't still be using an honest mistake like taking the wrong kit as a stick to beat Cas with are we? Hardly deliberately breaking the salary cap!

Do you think that none of those clubs has the potential to have those things?

That is true

Which brings us back to option 1 , the Championship clubs need to massively increase their marketing and community work localy to build the clubs local support, they have neither the staff, money or expertise to do this, that is where the RFL should be spending heavily to help the clubs, combined with realistic marketing to improve the competitions themselves , rhather than the rubbish ideas we have so far seen

I agree that there isn't a championship club (at the moment) that would be anywhere near good enough to be in "any sort of superleague". But that's the point, the gap between SL and "the rest" is too big. Make no bones about it, the saviour of the "elite" clubs was Sky money, without it RL was heading for trouble. Even so, there are clubs that are still in the brown stuff because they don't have what it takes to compete at the elite level. An SL2 with funding would allow them to compete at a level higher than the championship and make the jump to the elite level more attainable.

If they were just dropped into the existing championship, then I agree that eventually their standard would drop rather than raising that of the rest. But that is not what I have proposed. My scenario shows a funded SL2 who would be able to retain some players on a full time basis and be able to market themselves more effectively and raise the quality of the on field product.


If you read my post you will see that I admitted this was the difficult bit. But then Sky were sold on the original concept of SL because uncle Mo found someone with vision to write the proposal. Remember, the concept of a European superleague playing in the summer was unproven and sky were taking something of a gamble. It would again require a good negotiator and someone who could express a vision of an improved product that could gain audience and sell more sky boxes.


Under the current system we would wait for ever to see 20 full time clubs of SL quality.
You talk about "potential to improve". The only potential that some of the current SL clubs have is the potential to buy players through the cheque book of a sugar daddy. Not exactly long term security. Even then , some can't muster a half decent crowd.


I believe I said "exemption is not a new idea" not "exemption of a promoted club is not a new idea". It was a tongue in cheek comment made because the pro franchise lobby seem to think the 3 year format is somehow aimed at protecting newly promoted sides. If this was the case, then no one would object to exemption to protect a promoted side. As I said earlier, the real purpose of franchises is to make existing SL clubs stronger.

Incidentally, you seem to imply that "dropping" sides to a lower division is a "no go" so what happened at the start of SL?

You talk of ideas being "stupid" but I seem to recall many saying the same of summer rugby and the "European" Superleague.

Personally, I want the [iwhole[/i game to improve not just SL. I would like to see the intensity of the [ireal[/i elite to improve to match the Aussies and as things are at the moment that will not happen any time soon. I want to see British talent and true Aussie stars in our elite and our lower divisions to prosper.

I'm quite prepared to accept that you, or anyone else disagrees, but that's what a forum is for, isn't it?

no club in the championship will come up and compete, also none of you will bring a huge fan base so what is the benifit in it for the long term for superleague?

going of this widnes game id chuck them out of superleague aswell as another team and close shop all together no applying for licences and make the championship a mix between the u20's and feeder clubs to bring up youth.

Why stop there?

Chuck out all the crap teams in super league like Widnes, Cas, Wakey, London, Salford, Bradford and both Hull clubs. I'd also get rid of the clubs who'll never have a hope or prayer of winning SL or competing consistently so chuck out Shuddersfield and Catalan (neither have a huge fan base either and don't travel to away games) as well and then lock the door completely. Oh, and kick out Warrington as well if their sugar daddy ever gets bored and withdraws his financial support because that sugar daddy is the only reason they are currently competing otherwise they'd be crap as well.

Then we can have just Wigan, Saints and Leeds playing each other 13 times during the regular season with a 3 team play-off system where in week 1, 1 gets a week off while 2 plays 3 at home for the right to play 1 in week 2, then in week 2, 1 plays the winner of 2 and 3 with the loser in week 1 getting a week off and another bite of the cherry while the winner in week 2 progresses through to the preliminary final and gets another week off while the loser in week 1 who got a week off in week 2 gets to play the loser in week 2 in week 3 where the winner meets the winner of week 2 who got a week off in week 3 in the preliminary final. The loser in week 3 is then eliminated and the winners of week 2 and week 3 play each other in the preliminary final to determine who gets the favoured dressing room at Old Trafford before they meet again a week later in the grand final.

The one's chucked out can all become feeder clubs for Wigan, Saints and Leeds.

Sorted.

why go over the top? you was going so well when you said chuck out cas, wakey and london (they would be the other team i mentioned).

no team is ready to come up and superleague is struggling carrying dead weight. in 3 years time each team should have there house in order and become more competitive in the long run. it works very well over in aus and it would work very well here. there is to much sentiment in the game over here i know every club has alot of history and its sad to see them go but they really dont offer nothing right now and i cant see them offering anything in 3 years time. soon as one club is a self sustainable club, has over 6k fans and has a full acedemy then they should be allowed in superleague but there isn't so why let them in?

Pedant mode on - If "they really don't offer nothing" then they must offer something - Pedant mode off

PMSL

So you are agreeing with Swiftcorn that SL should be made up of three clubs then.

nope never once said that either. i said superleague is already carrying dead weight and doesn't need any more. two teams to go down the rest can be used as feeder teams.

Where would the addtional money come from to support these feeder teams?

don't they already get funded by the rfl and other various sports organisations? also they could pair up with a superleague team.

I vote my team Halifax "pair up" with the Bradford Bulls. We'll be well looked after by a club that has so much disposable income available after funding their super league outfit.

And both clubs would benefit from the increase in crowds Halifax would get from being a feeder club.

Oh, hang on.....

Where would SL teams get the money from? Apart from 4 or 5 clubs they are just as skint if not more so than the CC clubs you want to become their feeder clubs.