Irrelevent because they wern't in compitition with Widnes.

Brilliant post from the author of the thread.

Can anyone give me 3 good reasons for the franchise system please??

i) its a "process" so no-one is responsible for the decisions.
ii) employ KPMG - so they can be blamed if a duff club gets into SL and screws up
iii) do it under strict confidentiality to alienate the fan base and undermine your own credibility.


oh, I guess that was only 2 out of 3 then.


addendum - The next time I hear someone at the RFL say "Balanced Scorecard", I will scream.

1) The gap between a full time and a part time club is massive, around 500% larger. The obligations on a SL club are far higher. It's not sustainable for clubs to business plan on a rolling 1 year basis, and its not realistic to expect clus to invest in facilities if a new standoff might keep them in the division by winning a couple of matches for them.

2) The obligations on SL clubs include facilities, administrative teams, and youth development. Clubs can only commit to the longer-term investment in these fundamentals if they know they have a 3 year cycle to plan.

3) Very few of the next tier of clubs would be capable of living up to the standards of SL in terms of infrastructure or stadia. The licence criteria sets a clear benchmark for long term planning, rather than relying on throwing up some temporary stands and hiring administrators for 9 months then sacking them when you get relegated (like we did).

-

I am not saying I agree with the system, but that's why its there. It is very well thought out, very logical, and I know the peeople at the RFL who implemented it did so because they saw it as the best way to bring stability and investment into the game. Again, I'm not saying I agree with that, either... but it will amaze many forumites to hear that the RFL is run by talented people who's ONLY desire is to see the game flourish. How we do that... that's a matter of opinion. But the integrity of those in the Red Hall boardroom is nailed-on fact.

Joe if you had seen some of the stuff I have over the last few days you would change your mind re the last statement (nailed on fact).

The reason for the difference in the leagues is because SL and it's expansion program has been the b all and end all and stuff the rest. Thats why there is a massive difference, if the RFL had built heartland clubs up first we would not be in this ridiculous situation. No other sport has treated its lower leagues like the RFL has. It's all right Joe you keepm banging on about how they have had vision and how it is happening down the south west but it is up here where there is the biggest fan base for this game and it is clubs like ours and Haven and Barrow that should be getting more help. Why does the RFL not pay KPMG and the others to help clubs with business plans so they could keep there heads above water. No they are paying these people to weed teams out of their little clique. I don't have a clue where to start myself but watching the gap grow ever bigger is making me sick. I say stuff expansion at all costs. I say just stuff expasion untill the heartlands are in order.

You do not need franchising to achieve anything other than the status quo.

With P & R the promoted club could be given a 2/3 season exemption from relegation and that would stop most clubs games from being treated as glorified friendlies.

Under the present system our game is on a one way spiral and I think we all know in which way that spiral is pointed. Maybe direction would be a better noun than spiral.

Featherstone now top of the Championship and their home attendances are very poor I wonder why.

1. nonsense no new grounds because of franchise,tesco are building saints a ground just to get a massive store in st helens nothing to do with rl,salford have been building there new ground since the ark was started


2were is this 3 year plan when super league clubs keep going burst,so thats another bubble burst

3 the so called lower tier clubs can compete,a third of the clubs in super league testify to that fact as they are still in


The bottom line is franchise was invented to save 3 clubs,the french one the never ending london failure project and the wonderful welsh farce and seeing as the welsh one as gone boobs up I think that proves that for 3 years they stopped barrow,halifax and featherstone from being promoted and who knows what if barrow were let up when barking mad des was on a roll who knows what players he could have bank rolled for them.

I work with pie numpties and believe it or not half who watch wigan had no idea what this franchise thing was mainly because it does not effect them and to be honest apart from 4 teams at the bottom of super league and 4 in national leagues no one cares

As someone posted feath top of table 1000 fans,why,because whats the point if you can't go up.

Please no one come on and spout lets be the the best at second best when our society is built on becoming the best there is not a tiddler splashing in a puddle

Franchise rip

Mark Bryant the Crusaders player has some interesting views on the last couple of years at that club...

I have no doubt whatsoever that if we went into SL next year, franchise or otherwise we would be bust within a year. We simply do not have the structure or fanbase to support it. Yet. One day, a 3 year license would help and is the right way to go for sustainability. There, I said it.

What I cannot accept though is the constant moving of the goalposts, lack of tranparency, and blithering lies bull5hit and contradictions coming out of the mouths of Lewis and Wood. Todays example...Halifax do not have the support of a wealthy sole benefactor and rely on a group of individuals (Micheal Steels words on Sky Sports News, not mine). 3 years ago, Leigh were 'too reliant upon single investor involvement'.

If they told me the score from tonights Fev game I'd wait until reading the paper before believing them. The pair of them would make great politicians.

Well if it is a nailed on fact Joe , they do a pretty crap job of showing it

What is worrying is that I am no longer surprised how much of a mess they can make of things

How can anyone or any body of people allow one of it's member clubs to go on breaking the law of the country for three years knowing full well that it was, integrity? they can't spell it.

They still need clubs like Leigh and Fax hovering about just under the radar as they need to keep giving them a bit of hope by feeding them false promises.
The reason being if they allowed such as our clubs go to the wall who the devil is going to produce all the decent players for Super League , they certainly won`t be flooding out of London will they?

The 'conversion rate' of kids to professionals in London is very high... There just aren't enough kids playing to notice. It's changing but it's a long process. That said, moving the London club all over the place hasn't helped. That's what haopens when you let chairmen/women run clubs, instead of the RFL