Is it just me, or, does anyone else think the RFL are going to offer a SL lifeline to the London franchise?

There’s London going into admin, Wakey selling off the crown jewels, Bradford chopping & changing the money men.

Then there’s the alleged changes to the quota structures & all with a backdrop of certain clubs posturing over Red Halls ineptitude.

I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but I feel something is going down .

Ah yes... the classic 'you're a troll' comment from someone who can't provide an answer to a question.

It was actually a genuine enquiry on my behalf. You are well known for your outspoken (and usually incorrect) views on all things 'London' and I was curious to know exactly what your club has brought to the world of Super League since 1996. I freely admit to not knowing the ins and outs of that particular franchise but I'm genuinely struggling to think of any positives.

The RFL [ihave[/i to pull out all the stops to help the Broncos management. The club has existed on the back of a lot of investment and simple hard work and dedication for thirty odd years and it would be criminal not to help out now. Even to those who take a very self-interested point of view, it should be pretty obvious that all kinds of invective will be [rightly]thrown in our direction if the club is just allowed to die.

Save the club and sort out the rest later.

the only thing more boring than trolling is this -level of trolling.

I happen to think we need them. Time will give the younger players in the capital a route to top level rugby league.

Also as and when the economy picks up they might prove a better investment bet so keep them in, if possible.

Then again I am from the South.

It had though, the investor that was lined up wanted assurances over the P&R changes muted for next season, only to be expected when taking over a club with no players.

I have seen on numerous occasions where the RFL have been involved in major gaffs, whether not having water tight contingencies regarding rule breaking to the more recent inability to find a sponsor, but surely, like the rest of us, they’ve seen this coming.

Now, the guy at Barnet has expressed an interest, but with provisions. Presumably he wants a debt free club but more importantly I would have thought he’d be wanting a period of stability in S.L, with the added caveat of unlimited overseas players to make the team competitive.

The furore from certain clubs would be deafening & the schism would become greater still.

I just wouldn’t be surprised if the SL clubs just gave a big V to the championship clubs & pulled up the drawbridge.

As a Broncos fan I think unless there are new owners and an entirely new management structure we should be told to go jump. We've had enough chances to make a go of it.

I should qualify my earlier statement. I think the RFL plan was to hope something would turn up [iwhich wouldn't require them to do anything different[/i, and it hasn't.

Aye that's about right.

That's why it has to be a strategic decision. Only fools and the self-interested pretend that London's circumstances are the same as a standard M62 club. For London to succeed (as opposed to survive or limp along), then those unique circumstances require a unique approach. Without such an approach, then they will fail.

I don't think you should assume that the RFL [idid [/isee this coming, however incredible that may seem. One of the reasons why Richard Lewis was so valuable to the game is that he was capable of taking a longer view - when he was still interested in his early years - and his lack of connections with any particular club or section within the game meant that he was able and willing to face down the self-interested, and to put in place systems and structures which benefitted the game in the long-term, as opposed individual clubs in the short-term. Once he became detached, and you had a more traditional local RL-club chairman type guy in Nigel Wood, we saw the retreat from such an approach in favour of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along short-termism. That self-interested short-termism has now fully infested the game and can be seen behind the walk-outs, splits, abandonment of the licensing structure (which theoretically forced clubs to think long-term), bizarre league structures designed to appease less successful clubs, and the failure to deliver both sponsorship and decent TV deals.

To a certain extent, this World Cup is papering over the cracks. This is the traditional RL-on-the-field saving RL-off-the-field relationship. However, this season has been chaotic at the level of the national game. I can't work out whether it's incompetence or complacency, but it's probably both.

I'm for the thinking that this announcement is for the good of the Barnet owner who without the debts will now be willing to take over the club.

Given what's happened and the benefit to the game as a whole in retaining a presence in the capital city, I would be happy for it to be announced this week that London would be granted exemption from:-

- the salary cap regulations. i.e. they can spend what they like and

- the limit on overseas players. i.e. they can sign as many as they like

What should not happen is that they get any any more central money or get exemption from relegation.

didnt you tell us investors would be falling over themselves to get involved with the exciting 12x12 3x8 structure?

Seems the opposite is the case