He's still thinking of the 'Bribe ' to retain SL status from the last 2 years

okie dokie, i might be wrong, it happens, but my understanding was they got £700k from the RFL, and already need another £400k, not long after they begged their fans for another 500k, thats £1.6 million in not very long at all at my reconing, also mr Khan is claiming he put in £900k, some very big and scary numbers!

400k is a good figure, as it was also the original figure Wakefield quoted to had to save too.

In response, Wakefield sold Amor, smith and cocayne for 150-200k - Bradford to my knowledge have only sold Bateman for 90k (I believe)

Wakefield also released Poore and Aiton, which with the above probably represented all their high earners minus kirmond, who has openly stated he can get a much bigger contract elsewhere but has stayed, and taken a pay cut.

Bradford have released l'estrange, Langley and lulia (none of which, to my knowledge, were for cost cutting measures) but also have made much higher profile signings, carvell in particular won't be cheap.

I wish bradford the best, and don't wish financial mess on anyone, but don't be naive in thinking that to get anywhere near budget much bigger steps need to be taken. Wakefield have shown it's possible to go through it and come out the other side still positive, but this attitude of we don't need to cut from the playing staff has backfired twice so far, and can only be destined to do so again unless something drastic changes

Neville, please don't say something so utterly ridiculous. It is the over optimism that is peeving people off. You are in a small minority of dreamers who see something the rest of us Salford fans don't We see realism and 8th will be bloody brilliant. Nobody hates us, they just hate this "you've all got chips on your shoulders cos we are rich" mentality.

Personally I hope our halves gel but we have Rangi "I can't play to a set structure" Chase and whilst he may be mercurial let's hope everyone else knows what he is doing. I think our squad is stronger than is being given credit for, those lads that were kept on from last season have a full year in SL behind them and will therefore have a better understanding of the pace and Nobby's game plan and they will hopefully raise their game when playing alongside the better players we have brought in.

Remember, 8th is great and please don't hate!

What were and currently are the ones at Saints?

Were they not nearly in the mire plus without offloading Knowsley Road?

Did they not get "help" from the RFL, NOT Superleague, The RFL?

Just curious.

Yeah. We wondered where you had got to.

No help from the RFL just a very good chairman, without who we'd be in a worse state than Bradford. That's the thing, an actual good and cashed up (and willing to spend it on the club) chairman and board could turn Bradford into a top venue and contender again

The current finances are on company's house for anyone who wants to look.

The only time I can think we received "aid" from the rfl would of been around the mid 90s (96?) when we were last in trouble. I don't know because I was 6 at the time...

Saints could of continued at Knowsley road, but McManus was tired of subsidising it (as, as with all charimen at all clubs, he can make that call) and with the foresight that he won't be around forever, built the stadium with the aim of turning a profitable club - something that we are still on target for according to those in the know.

Many on the saints board argue we sacrificed on field success during the year of the stadium, and working towards a profitable club, and perhaps if Bradford had spent the last year with that mantra, with no relegation, Bradford wouldnt be in this position now

Salford 1970.
I think you should read the whole thread. I have never used the word "hate". I said a "little anti Salford stuff."If my view on 6th place is "utterly ridiculous" I don't know what your view would be on Adrian Morley's statement in the League Express on 30-12-13 I quote; "Marwan wants the top four, and I don't think that's out of the question or unrealistic" I am happy to be a dreamer,but I think 6th place is up for grabs.

I've scanned the basic details of the league restructure proposals but still have a query... How do the RFL plan to give teams a chance to compete for the title? Very simple question that people will probably think I'm stupid for asking, but think about it...

At present there are probably only 4/5 teams that can realistically win SL. They then get all the best players and tend to generate the most money. Fair play to those clubs, I can't fault them.

What about the other teams? Specifically those in the bottom 3 or 4 of the league. What I mean by that is - with relegation always a threat (if it's brought back in) how will they grow?

I can't see us progressing as a sport with P&R. I'm not against it, but I don't see what it achieves for the health of the game. What has changed since we scrapped it in favour of licensing? Serious question. It just strikes me as going back to having teams "yo-yo'ing" up and down between SL and the Championship and a pool of players just switching from the team that goes down to the team that comes up.

Are the RFL or SLE aiming to introduce parachute payments? That is the only way to continue encouraging teams across the league to continue developing players... otherwise we're just going back to journeymen filling squad places through fear of relegation and ruin.

Have we lost sight of why Licensing was brought in in the first place? Yes, it has failed to stop the issues at some clubs (mainly financially) but P&R isn't going to solve it either - in fact, I'd say it'll probably be worse.

Sky money will be split still - but this needs to go all through the game - not just to the SL end where that gulf will continue to grow. Be interesting to see if SL clubs at the top of the game agree to a reduction in funding to improve the quality of rugby league (not just SL) in England.

As for the thread topic.... I'd have to say London and Bradford for the bottom two.

Ah look here's another of the 6 fingered brigade!!

The new structure does NOT mean AUTOMATIC promotion and relegation is back. That is the beauty of the new structure. It avoids the old yo-yo syndrome in that it could be years before a team is actually promoted to/relegated from SL. This is how it will work:-

Forthcoming 2014 season = bottom 2 in SL relegated at end of the season.

2015 season onwards = "SL1" - 12 teams and "SL2" - 12 teams
(the 12 in SL2 for the 2015 season will be the bottom 2 in SL that are relegated at the end of the forthcoming 2014 season plus the teams ending in the top 10 of the Championship at the end of the forthcoming 2014 season.)

Each season from 2015 onwards, the 12's play 23 matches. (Every team home & away and a Magic weekend match). Then, after the 23 games, the 24 teams are split into 3 groups of 8. The 8's play the other 7 teams once = 7 more matches.

The middle eight of the three lots of 8 is where the POTENTIAL for promotion comes in. The four teams ending in the top four places of the middle 8 re-join the top 8 to make up the 12 in SL1 for the following season. Thus, there is the POTENTIAL for promotion to SL1 - but promotion is NOT automatic (in that the four teams that end up top of the middle 8 may well be the same 4 that were in SL1 for the initial 23 games).

All this will be made very clear by the RFL in mid-January 2014 when the associated split of the distribution of SKY money relating to this new 2x12 - 3x8 structure is finally agreed by the clubs.

To answer your question about how the SL title is decided. The 4 teams finishing the season at the top of the top 8 will play off; 1v4, 2v3. The two winners meet in the Grand Final.

Q. What has changed since the potential for promotion was taken away by 'licensing'?
A Crowds outside SL have almost halved.
SL clubs' supporters are bored with playing the same old teams at the same old grounds time after time.

Well you have successfully made a sales pitch for a system you think will benefit your club. You have at no stage addressed any of his concerns. I assume the reason for that is because your preferred system can’t address any of his concerns.

No. I think this will be a fantastic long term structure for the game as a whole in this country.

The proposed framework for the split of sky money associated with the new 2x12; 3x8 structure and soon to be put to the clubs will be more equitable than the current split, better benefitting the top 12 clubs AND those below as well. Although it won't be explicit, there'll be effective provision for what have been called parachute payments. It will be pretty ingenious, albeit simple. You'll see.