Disagree, get a steady stream of jnr's coming through, get 3000 crowds, get your stadium up to standard and show the RFL you have corporates and/or financial backers ready to support a SL club and you would be in. Should be achievable for any aspiring SL club.

How I wish you were right and we COULD trust the RFL but you can't they have the final say and move the goalposts as they wish, there is no TRANSPARENCY in RL anymore. Come on look at the FACTS our bid was turned down yet we made a small profit last year while Bradford were making loss afetr loss, yet they passed the Francjise system financial checks???
I rest my case.

Out of curiosity, how are clubs blocked from aspiring to any heights, dizzy or otherwise?

Because it is decided by faceless people with unfathomable criteria who can pick & choose who they want at the top table.

I presume you’re of the opinion that any club that attains the said requirements can achieve ‘Nirvana’.

I, on the other hand, believe certain clubs haven’t a hope in hell, until promotion & relegation is based on performance – on the field.

I think I will go along with your version DA as opposed to the cloud cuckoo one.

I was being sarcastic, i dont feel the same, but the situation is the same, Leeds are 'promoted' because of their success. We play the competitions we are in and celebrate the victories in the competitions we are in. It doesnt take anything away from Leeds success that it doesnt lead to playing in a different competition.
there is no block, it doesnt exist. The only thing stopping Leigh being the next Leeds is the fact they arent capable of doing it. If Leigh were ever in a position where they could do what Leeds have done, they would be in SL, everybody would want them in SL because they would clearly be a great addition to the league. But the fact is they arent going to be next Leeds, they dont have the infrastructure or potential to be. They dont even pretend they will, they dont say promotion will lead to 15k fans, they dont say they will have one of, if not the best youth development structure and facilities in northern hemisphere rugby. When Leigh talk about promotion they talk about bouncing round the lower levels of SL, with lower levels of support, with some journeymen and the youngsters not taken by Wigan. When Leigh have even the ambition to be the next Leeds, never mind the ability and backing, we can talk about clubs being 'blocked from those dizzy heights' but its a nonsense to do so when even they dont believe they are capable of ever getting to those dizzy heights.

I think we all agree that certain clubs havent a hope in hell of being promoted under franchising. That is a good thing, some clubs arent ready, some arent capable, promoting them on the basis of a run of form, or a bounce of a ball, has proved time and time again, disastrous for the long term stability of not only the sport as a whole but they individual clubs themselves.

These faceless people want the best clubs in SL, thats how they pick them, they pick the 14 best. Thats what we all want isnt it, the best clubs in the biggest league?

What an interesting concept of "best" these "faceless people" must have. To be fair, they do have a sense of humour.

Is it?

even knowing what has happened with Bradford, is it really that unbelievable that they were still a better bet than Halifax?

The fact of RL in this country is that we have sects.
1. Wigan, Saints, Hull, Leeds, Wire - Great stadia (Leeds is ok), 10k+ fanbase, great sponsorship/commercial income, Bradford used to be in this catagory 5 years ago.
2. Hudds, London - have the backing but struggle for fans
3. Salford, HKR, Cas, Wakey, Widnes - make up the numbers, struggle for income and will never hit 10k gates

The Latter are in the same boat as the Fev's, Leigh and Fax - so why exclude them?

because the aim is to have fewer of the third option not just to keep rotating them.

And the question isnt why exclude them, its why include them?

Depends if other clubs mind the RFL shunting £1.2m their way, or paying their player wages for 2 months on the bounce. So long as clubs like Leeds and Warrington extend the charitable hand and if the rest of SL can support a crippled bankrupt club who have not one iota of financial sense then they're welcome to it. Bradford (and Huddersfield) have done a marvellous job in cheapening Super League - long may it continue. Any current Halifax director who hasn't got a bottomless pocket must want his head testing if he still wants to take the club into SL. Wakefield, Crusaders and flagship club Bradford have shown that you can't support a competitive team in SL with buttons. No doubt other SL clubs will empty their financial bowels in the next two years.

What Smokey is saying is: why dilute a league with crap in it with even more of the same crap? Why indeed? As has been pointed out before, licensing does not pick 14 outstanding clubs immune from meltdown - it merely picks the best available 14. What Crusaders, Wakefield and Bradford have shown is that almost a quarter of clubs in SL shouldn't really be there but the rest of the field competing to also get in are just as crap or worse.

Oh Smokey, I really shouldn’t have replied to your previous post, however sometimes, I can’t help myself.

Whilst your view is valid, remember, it’s just a view.

Your judgement of the game is clouded due to your position on high, however, their may be salvation .

Let your mind drift to your 1st love, maybe 2nd – not sure, you know, L.U.F.C.

How would you feel if their promotion to the Premier League was based, on the whole, by checklists & ratified by people in suits.

Or would you rather feel the elation of your team finishing in a promotion place or win the play-offs to gain entry into the ‘Bullingdon Club’?

Bit harsh on HKR to be put in cat3. We avg 8k and with ground improvements will have opportunity to increase that, have financial backers willing to cover income shortfall and have been regular playoff team.