I thought Crusaders started in what was then NL1 not NL2 if I am wrong I apologise. I still think Toulouse should have started there and I do not think it is right that they did not start there.

And why where they exempt from relegation last season and I know all about Championship clubs agreeing to it but I really mean having to agree.

No, Crusaders started in NL2 and were there for two years before winning promotion. Why do you think Toulouse should have been in that division? Can't you see the difference in the situation of Toulouse and South Wales? Toulouse did not 'start' there because that wasn't the start of the club, they started in the French league and have been playing there for decades. The only reason they are now in the Championship is with a view to getting a Super League place, because it is a higher standard than the French league. Having them getting relegated would have done no good to anyone. If they were a completely new club, then I would agree that they should have started in NL2.

Thanks for pointing out my error.

Still do not agree about Toulouses fast tracking.

A nice city with mostly decent people but very few if any knew they had a RL team in the English league.

OFF topic did we ever chat about RL at an airport a few years ago ? Madrid I think.

Yes , but surprisingly they had 7 , yes 7 players from the crusaders squad playing for them on sunday , including the very Welsh Anthony Blackwood , a product of ? , the Leigh academy system

I did have high hopes for the Scorpions , but already I am begining to be a little suspicious of them , if the Crusaders get the much publicised 4/5 more aussies , we could see around 60 % of the Scorpions team made up of as it were ' dual ' registered players , and yet the rest of the Championship clubs are allowed 4

Its pretty amazing that certain pro -expansionist posters are attracted to a thread on one of the numerous sites on this server............Do you need to join a mailing list or do you just need to follow the beetles once a corpse has been discovered.......

Scorpions are also allowed four. These I believe are White, Mills, Dudson and Kear who didn't play as he is currently in the first team squad. Flower, James and Blackwood signed on month-long loans, Flower and James to get some game time after injury and Blackwood because he can't get in the Crusaders first team at the moment. I believe clubs are allowed to field up to three loanees as per last season. I doubt the Crusaders are going to get 5 more Aussies either, they may sign two or three at the most. So your paranoid delusions are in this case not justified

Frank, I don't really think you could say Toulouse were fast tracked considering they were already playing in a professional league of equivalent standard to Championship 1. Also, the Championship was expanded by one team to accomodate them, so really they are not doing any harm to anyone by being there, they are simply there to test the water and improve ready for Super League. They got amongst the highest average crowds in the Championship last year IIRC. I think if they are promoted it will be as well as another Championship side, rather than instead of. Unless you were referring to their 'fast track' into Super League, which is definitely a matter of opinion. Personally though I think it will be a massive boost for the game if done properly, especially if it leads to a deal being secured with French TV. And no, I've never been to Madrid.

Yes you were , here

Where's halifax's academy, yours? Widnes have one. Halifax and Barrow have basically bought a team over the last couple of years without having an awful lot else or healthy club

As for the ' myth ' about the TV , deal , no it wasn't blown out of the water it was the truth , Championship clubs do not recieve any actual ' income ' from the TV deal , or actually from the competition sponsor unless you make the GF

Damn - beat me to it Steve!!

It's been a bit of an experiment, one that I thought was a good idea at the time but looking at it i'm not so sure. I certainly wouldnt like to see the experiment repeated again.

Regarding the whole dual reg thing I personally don't see the issue with the scorpians thing, let's be honest they're a feeder club and unlike Leigh et al who are full of SL rejects the Scorps don't have the luxury of being on a SL clubs doorstep.
They're completely welsh unlike the past Crusaders gig, only been in existence for three months so tbh, i think you're just picking an argument for the sake of it

Agreed Twitch. Since the invention of the car the fact/argument of local fans supporting their local club has been totally blown away. Fan base is based upon success not location or size of the town any more. The towns of Wigan and St. Helens have no issue getting 10000+ fans most weeks. They are nowhere near the size of Manchester or London, yet Salford and Harlequins only get gates of around 4000 on average. So the facts speak for themselves. I live in the outskirts of Wrexham now, and I'd be willing to bet if they surveyed all the soccer fans around here, on who they support, not many would say they support Wrexham, the majority follow Everton, Liverpool and Man U.

Youve just hit the nail on the head but for us you can also add to that list Bolton and the latics too.
We have to compete fr fans with all these clubs plus the SL clubs like Saints, Wire and Wigan all on our doorstep, these days not everyone can afford to watch more then one game of anything per week. Most go to the local pub and watch also.