Delighted Crusaders have gone, they should never have been given a licence in the first place. One home match with no atmosphere gone, to be replaced by a lively encounter with Widnes. GREAT! Hopefully, that other complete waste of time, known currently as Harlequins will get the boot or fold next time. Come on Leigh / Fax etc.

It's amazing how arrogant fans become when your club has a new stadium in the works. Cas might not have the best stadium however building will commence once PP has been secured for Wheldon Road.

Also it's not all about the facilities, Cas have given more to SL over the last 3 years than Salford. A better youth setup, league positions and currently a cup run.

Anyone else see the irony?

An embarrassing day for the game which appears to be stumbling from one disaster to another. The whole Franchise concept is flawed and has been from day one. The press release from Crusaders today could easily have been read out three years ago when they got in. They should never have been allowed in initially.
As it is Widnes have now got in despite having been in administration themselves. There admission now though again exposes the sham of the franchise system. Surely the best 14 franchises should be selected and yet Widnes were picked months ago without full assessments of their competitors i.e the current SL clubs one of whom was going to be dumped regardless of whether their application was better or not than Widnes'. Having said that it is good to see one of the traditional clubs in the top flight. Perhaps the Rugby League will finally start to see the light in their expansionist policy. It will never work.
The concept of minumum criteria is a good one but should be applied differently, i.e as in semi pro football. There is promotion and relegation but you can only go up if you meet the criteria. If this was introduced clubs would still have to work to get their house in order but at least would have the realistic chnace of getting in the top flight. To further aid this I would reverse the Championship season so that the league is completed before the Northern Rail Cup giving the promoted club time, as in Widnes this year, to start recruiting and preparing. With the cup at the end of the season clubs would still have something to look forward too even if their league season was floundering.
As for Super League and the game in general it needs to look at itself. Although the Sky money has kept the game alive it has also started to kill it. The game itself receives increasingly less national newspaper coverage and does not merit mention on news bulletins outside the region. Even the local press (i.e MEN) gives poor coverage considering how many teams are in the area. The only true National coverage is on BBC with the Challenge Cup but even then the station gave no mention in it's news bulletins at weekend of the games it had covered. The draw itself is sometimes shown but the next round could be on radio or confined to BBC North (Yorkshire), BBC North West don't show it.
The whole SL concept is also killing the game in other areas as traditional clubs flounder. Pre Super League the likes of Oldham, Halifax and Featherstone to name but a few used to bring as many to the Willows as thye now get for their home gates. Outside of the RL press it is almost impossible to find the scores of games outside SL.
The game itself is not the product it was. Too fast for it's own good to suit the big boys to the point anything goes. The number of forward passes now is a joke. The game needs tightening up. I suggest linesmen earn their money and should police the 10 yards/offsides and forward passes leaving the ref to focus solely on the ruck etc. And, how about saying the ball must go backwards, not even flat. That would level things out a bit and increase skill levels in terms of pass timing, run timings etc.
My final beef is the structure of the season. Summer rugby was brought in to encourage families to come down and spend the day at the game. Everyone plays Friday night nearly. I would advocate all games are played Sundays except the tv games. (On this topic there should be a limit like football on the number of times a club can be shown say upto round 20 to even exposure and fairness re video refs etc). I would start the season the first Sunday in March and end later, the weather is better in October, early November than Jan/Feb. The Challenge Cup is crammed into a few weeks and should be spread more evenly throughout the season. Thought needs to be given to the length of the season. Take the play offs out of the equation and some teams have five/six months with no game. Look at Salford, taking it from the beginning of July when the last home game was played upto the start of next season in mid Feb they will have just 3 home games. Hardly good for the finances, I think there is still room for a further competition even if say it was only open to non play off teams or some play off teams got a bye.
Rant almost over but there is so much wrong with the game I have followed since my Dad took me down to the Willows for the 1st time in 1973 to see the legendary side of Watkins, Fieldling etc. This season has been a tough one for us all at the Willows but even putting that aside I can say I have had less enthusiasm and interest in the game this season than at anytime in the last 38 years.

Well said that man Stadge.

Wales and London will never work. The loss of promotion and relegation has taken more out of the game than the franchise system will ever put in. Although I'm glad to see Widnes back in, I can never agree that the decision of a committee to gain them their promotion is better than achieving it on the pitch.

As things stand this season, Crusaders are bottom and should have been relegated and the winners of the NL Grand Final (Probably Leigh or Halifax) should have got their place in SL. Instead Widnes have been 'chosen' and all the remaining clubs outside of SL have to wait another three years to get their chance. IT'S NOT ON!

If Cas and Wakey get their new stadia, Salford and Widnes are competitive, London and Catalans stay afloat, what happens in three years time, particularly if Halifax, Leigh and maybe two or three other NL clubs have achieved the necessary criteria? One place for five or six teams and the losers ANOTHER three years to wait. It's MADNESS.

It should be a game of the people, why can't there be a referendum of season ticket holders to vote for Promotion/relegation or a franchise system. Because, as in most things the 'people in charge' think they know best.

Keep the Red Flag flying!

Unfortunately SKY run SL.
They wanted a franchise system and they have got it.
If they could just have Wigan,Saints,Leeds Saint Helens,Hull and now Warrington in a league they would be very happy.
After all that is all they ever show.
We are caught between the devil and the blue sea here, take away SKY money and we are fooked, with it we are also fooked.
Until the game is given more exposure on terrestial TV and SKY have some challenge to their monopoly then nothing will change and the RFL will continue to be dictated to by News Corp and their cronies.

Epic post by stadge sky rule the roost

On a personal note with my Welsh heritage it's a sad day, Wales for me is ripe to have a sucessfull rugby league team. It just remains to be seen who can find the right formula.
I for one hope that the scorpians benefit from this shambles and progress slowly to become a SL franchise.

What I find bewildering is that this was meant to be a process that has been ongoing by a panal of independant evaluers.

I would suggest that if they have looked at the books and set up at the Crusaders and didn't spot that they were in financial difficulties then they are either innept or corrupt. The fact that the board (or owners) of the CC pulled their application is shaefull as it should never have got to that stage.

What would have happened if they hadn't? would we now be in the position that Wakefield would have been kicked out and CC went bump at some point in the next 3 years?.

The only potential saving grace for the RFL and it's supossed panel of indepenant judges is that they were going to bin CC anyway and they fell on thier swords rather than being given the Spanish Archer.

Shame for Crusaders but illogical they should have been in SL when they moved to Wrexham.
Wakefield so lucky but will be interested to know why the Halifax bid failed,unless I've missed a post on that.
Despite the long and well thought-out posts about the flaws in the license system,it has led to higher standards; the Sky money has led to full time professionals throughout the top league and to Salford moving to a new stadium.
On balance,it has been exceptionally good news.
Surely you remember when Rugby League was rarely on TV,now we have wall to wall coverage and magazine programmes

Rugby League on TV, not really, the super league show is harder to find than Lord Lucan, it needs a set time and also who is watching TV at 4.00 in the morning?
Another bugbear I have when I find it is the final "enjoy your Rugby League" parting shot, the same every week, they don't do it on MOTD, it makes the programme look so old fashioned and dated, we don't need a catch phrase that for the 70's, we need to project a dynamic modern game and the BBC fail to do this. Sack the presenters and get people in who are conversant with the modern game to anchor the programme, it currently gives rugby league a whippets and woodbines image.

Correct but only as regards the BBC.
That was my entire point !
That's how they are and that's how they were.
Thank goodness for Sky.

not sure those two clowns Eddie The Wire and Stevo present a much better image though!!!!

[iIt appears the owner of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats was confident his club were going to be given the nod despite the Crusaders chucking in the towel.

If that was the case then I can't wondering which club the RFL were going to kick out before they knew what was happening over in Wales.

But anyway sod it the Salford City Reds are all that matters in my book and at least now we can move to Barton full of hope of whats to come over the next three years in the top flight.

[/i

I bet Norman Owen was really p155ed off that Crusaders chucked in the towel.

Definitely. Sky just put up the beans these days. The RFL and Super League clubs act off their own backs.