The same place that the myth of the Championship "moaning" is influencing either the RFL or SL.

As an aside I have noticed that someone said this on the first pageAnd because of complaints that the top 8 is too easy to qualify for and not competitive enough to stretch the big clubs, that because it so easy for them to qualify it becomes a procession, we are going to split the league using the er………….Top 8.

And because of complaints that teams at the bottom of SL aren’t good enough, we are going to take the 4 worst, put them with 4 sides from a lower league and try and sell an entire league of those games.
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Sensible enough and if they'd done it from day 1 like that and maybe if it'd been an unfashionable club with no recent major trophies in the cabinet, rather than Bradford, it could have worked out. But they didn't and I think the licensing 'brand' is too badly contaminated for a reboot. 'Picking' on a team for failing to develop their stadium or not having good enough revenue forecasts looks laughable when you've given newcos licences. It very possibly was the execution rather than the concept that was at fault, but it is unrealistic to expect people to forget what has happened or for them to have any trust in it going forward.
So either we try to turn the cliff-edge between SL and the Championship into more of a gentle slope (it is the fear/fact that relegation almost equals death that causes the irresponsibility, to a large extent), or we guarantee SL clubs their place and cut away the, frankly tiresome, BS that takes attention away from the sport itself. Because licensing as a process is very boring and it serves no real purpose now. The punishment for having a stadium is having a stadium, for not having much money it is being skint, for not developing juniors it is having little squad depth... putting structures to scare the poor into trying to be richer - if only it were that simple. It isn't that clubs can't see the benefits.
Kick out those that can't cut it - in an ideal world fair enough, but how many'd be left. 2 or 3 that are roughly self-sustaining? another 2 or 3 with really rich backers?

The issue with 'franchising/licensing and some fans attitude towards it is simply one of communication. Its an easy enough one to overcome.

For me, the huge problem with the system as it is now is that it's a closed shop. Whether the current debate is a case of the tail wagging the dog or not there has to be a pathway for Champ, Champ 1 and new clubs to establish themselves and progress to the appropriate level in the league structure. I like the sound of Option 3 because it provides that pathway in a straightforward manner and without any "cliffs" - if a club makes it to the top 8 one season but can't hack it, it's no big deal to play in the next tier and slowly build up to a position of being able to challenge the top clubs again. Some clubs will do it, some won't - that's the way of professional sport - but all clubs have to have the chance otherwise there's nothing to play for and RL at lower levels (which are vital for the game) will largely disappear (or at least not progress as seems to be the case now).
The main concern is the sharing out of limited money. Easy - establish minimum standards by distributing it according to a formula that takes in to account;
1- league position
2 - average home attendance
3 - youth and player development
4 - community work
A nice new stadium isn't the be all and end all. If Cas can get 10000+ at WR irrespective of the state of the bogs that's what matters. Fans will vote with their feet - clubs will have to do whatever is needed or they won't get the cash and they will sink to lower, more appropriate level.

Thats all in your opinion Smokey. At present SL is a 14 team comp. Ask any fan of the british game if Cas Tigers are one of the best 13 clubs in England and worthy of a place in the elite - most will say yes they are. We are in SL on merit - the same as Salford and Widnes and Wakey.

Widnes CEO urges RFL to stick with current structure :- www.loverugbyleague.com/news_119 ... cture.html We now know how Widnes and Warrington will vote.

Widnes CEO urges RFL to stick with current structure :- www.loverugbyleague.com/news_119 ... cture.html We now know how Widnes and Warrington will vote.

Clubs whose only aim is to not quite be the worst club in SL shouldn’t be in SL, structuring the game so that these clubs can be in SL holds back the game.
How much merit really is there in Cas being one of the best 13 pro clubs in Britain when there are only 13 pro clubs in Britain? Right now there is as much merit in Cas’ place in SL as there is in being the worlds tallest dwarf.

Can the clubs vote for the current structure to remain the same or are the 3 option mentioned the only options being considered?

Gary Hetherington indicated that was the case in an interview, I saw, yep.

If they do though, it needs an end to this 3 year cycle of assessments nonsense and a separate system needs to be put in place for the semi-pro game. Like the NRL with the NSW and Queensland competitions, perhaps.

Talking of dwarfs, you are living in a fantasy world Smokey.
Of course Cas should be in the top flight as they were given a 3 year licence and are there on merit.
Yes, they are having difficulties at the moment but, they will overcome their problems at some point.

I love the fact that many people want to cut the "poorer" teams from the league but the reality is, no matter how many clubs compete in the top division, be it 10, 12, 14 or even 16, there will still be teams who cant realistically win the comp, just as there is in EVERY other pro sport in the world.
In RL, we keep searching for a magic formula that will solve everything and just as Cas may not become champions, this ain't going to happen !
Stability and a strategy to move the game forward is what are needed.

Spot on

Smokey, you mention the 4 different GF winners since 2008 I think. How many different GF winners have their been since say 1998. If you look at it that way is there any diference?

Why would 1998-2008 be relevant, given it was under a completely different structure?

Dwarves are real people!

Which of their problems and how are they to overcome them? And by overcome them do we mean not lurching from crisis to disaster? Or do we mean just being stable? Or do we mean being an actual Super League club capable of competing with any other both on and off the field?

Clubs which aren’t going for success aren’t moving the game forward they are holding it back. And I don’t agree that in every sport there are teams who can never win the comp even in our league it needn’t be so. Leeds, Wigan, Wire, St’s, Bradford have all finished top of SL and got to a GF, Hull have got to a GF, Les Catalans and Hudds are certainly capable of it. Salford have the money now to compete and will be there soon. That’s 9 of our 14 clubs.

There will in any one season be clubs who cannot win the comp. But that isn’t what we are talking about. We are talking about a club which, in perpetuity, hasn’t gone a plan to take them from where they are today to a place where they can win the comp. That isn’t good enough.

I don’t doubt Wakefield are planning on the move to Newmarket being a catalyst for them in their move from where they were (bust, struggling, simply aiming to not to be bottom) to where they are right now (aiming for regular play-off appearances) to where they need to be (sustainable, aiming for silverware).

I have no problem whatsoever with a club, any club doing this. Whether it be London, Wakefield, Widnes, Cas, Fev, whoever, its what they should be doing and what franchising allows them to do. But instead what we have is a situation where we seem to be trying to do whatever we can to make sure the clubs who are protected aren’t the ones trying to push themselves and the game to the next level, but the ones which have reached their peak and just want to hold on as long as they can, damaging the game to do that if needs be.

I agree strategy and stability are the way forward and I have no problem with that. But what good is strategy and stability to Cas if they are NEVER going to compete? We can be as strategic and as stable as we want but it wont make the slightest difference if Cas aren’t going to grow to an SL level.

What more obvious indicator could you want that a club is operating at a level too high for itself than the acceptance that they will never grow enough to challenge in at that level?