I take your point but with the various franchising criteria the club that gets relegated may not necessarily be the worst performing on the field. That I think is the point of franchising, to assess performance over a number of different criteria not just on field.

They seem to keep forgrtting that one Bill

It's a business after all

That would seem to contradict the whole franchising process. I don't believe he can do that.

If Wakefield don't build a new stadium but achieve 7 or 8 other marks out of the ten available how could they not have their license renewed? It's not a very fair process if Richard Lewis can arbitrarily decide pet criteria that must be achieved, is it?

Forgetting that I am a Trin fan and the fact that I have a large interest in the economy I would be very suprised if the emphasis would be as much on new grounds as it was last time simply due to the fact that it is not realisticaly possible to get the money in place for any new grounds

Of course not. Albert doesn't do sources, beyond his own febrile imagination - unless he's still claiming to sleep with someone from Red Hall who whispers sweet nothings to him post coitus?

Forgetting that I am a Leigh fan with the newest and best stadium available to us

I agree with you , it is totally unrealistic to expect any clubs to be able to find funding for new stadia at this time , then again it was totally unrealistic to have stadia as such an important critera anyway

There is no fair way to promote and relegate any clubs except by what happens on the pitch

Any other system like normal promotion and relegation is flawed and damages somebody , that is life , we cannot all be winners

the best solution is that when the next tv deal comes around is to get extra money and give that money to the championship, each club gets a equal amount of money each season which will make the comp stronger (hopefully full time if they get the right amount of money)and then after 2 years open promotion and relegation again and the team that gets relegated from sl will not be in a financial mess and still a strong comp.

Sorry not allowed , the Championships dont earn any SKY TV money , any money forthcoming is a ' gift ' from the RFL and the SL clubs

The Championships are a ' vibrant ' comp already , the RFL say so

IMO the championships are going to be a great competition over the next 3 years.We are seeing right from the begining that no game is a walk in the park and that any team can beat any team in these leagues.
With the threat of not being allowed to apply for superleague if you have not competed in at least 1 GF this then pushes ALL teams to perform well.
Can you imagine what the last of the three seasons would be like if say Widnes,Halifax or Leigh had not made it to the final for some reason,it would be imense pressure on the clubs.

I for one was against franchising as i feel promotion and relegation kick teams up the butt and bring with it a great Rugby League atmosphere.We are now left with what we have been dealt with and must get on with it.

IMO again, if Gatshead or Toulouse make one of the grand finals then i cant help but feel that the remaining teams do not stand a chance as this is the world of expansion and would easily overcome the question of how good your stadium is.

South Yorkshire.



Because local differences will stop it from ever happening




So you're going to go to Birmingham, magic up a benefactor, stadium, junior development programme etc. I think there is a club in the Midlands that could be ready for a shot at NL2 in around 2012. But you're still light years from an SL franchise.

thats what i think too.

just because wakey dont get a new stadium doesnt mean they wont get a license next time.

stadia arent the only criteria, nor should they be.

its a range of things they look at

As far as stadium criteria are concerned, 'League Express' reported recently that the RFL had visited all the clubs that had promised new grounds in their franchise bids to see how they were progressing. Oh, and tb please don't suggest that anyone (or thing!) might have sex with Albert - the mere thought of such a thing's quite put me off eating the nice choccie bikkie sitting on my mouse mat

Yes results are very difficult to predict at the moment

Unfortunatley the people of the towns where there are Championship clubs dont seem as enthuiastic as you

Only really Widnes are posting any sort of decent crowds

Which has been the case for years, with P&R or licenses

What gets me is that most of the clubs kicking up a fuss are from clubs that without P&R were never, ever going to get back in the top flight, not without a lot of luck and years of carefull building.

Franchising has taken out the need for luck and left just the need for careful building.

Its a complete win for any team outside the top flight to take their own fortunes into their own hands and not have to rely on one good season that culminates in one single game to decide their future.