If the championship does stay at 10 teams then we should follow the scottish football model.

Everybody plays each other home and away after that the league splits into two. With top 5 playing each other home and away again and the bottom 5 playing each other home and away.

Teams placed 1-5 cant move below 5th place and teams place 6-10 cant move above 6th place after the league has been split.

This would ensure 13 home games - I imagine the aim should be to get each division upto 12 teams to increase the home games again.

Play offs could be simple with top four from the league playing each other (1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd - 1st and 2nd getting home advantage).

You could also have play off for relegation between bottom four teams (although it probably is a bit daft)

Just out of interest does anyone know how many home games the Champ league clubs need to make it viable is it 13, 20 or somewhere inbetween.

I think that someone posted that we need at least 15 home league games with a crowd of about 3000.

Depends on what 'market' the new clubs would be coming from. If it was a second Leigh club then of course they would be competing with ourselves for fans, but the likes of Coventry wouldn't be competing with existing clubs, while I believe Bramley already have an established fan base from their pro days.


I think we're an extreme situation Tony in comparison to other clubs - would dare say both figures would be slightly lower for other clubs.

With a ten team Championship everyone could play each other 3 times for 13/14 home league games, throw in Northern Rail Cup for another couple of home games, kick the season off in the second week of January.. sorted.

Think that's the way forward - the only issue as you have noticed would be some clubs would have 13 home games and others 14. Not sure of a way around that other than making sure it's the reverse for the following season.

Scottish Soccer League did that for about 20 years. You could never guarantee getting it right for alternate seasons - owing to promotion and relegation.

We're more likely to kick off in March than January.

just testing this is working tut.

Welcome back frank!

Have you had problems Frank?

Having listened to the fans forum again, no money, no new directors, with IM leaving and I guess lots of the work he did with sports village will not be the same (certainly not have the same draw). It all doom and gloom.

It always is at Leigh yet we survive year upon year

If Crusaders are accepted then we will have 20 clubs, 9 in Yorkshire plus Gateshead and 7 in Lancs and Cumbria plus 2 in Wales and one in London, again making 10.
We could have each group playing home and away =18 matches and based on this seasons final positions the top 5 from each group playing each other and the bottom 5 playing each other, another 8 matches (these fixtures would change annually depending on the previous seasons league placing). The NRL could become a straight knockout competition and the challenge cup a nuisance. The end of season play off could remain with the top 2 in each group after the first 18 matches plus the 2 highest placed teams from the remainder after 26 matches all qualifying.
This gives 26 matches plus the NRL cup(played mid week apart from the final).

We could negotiate a TV deal of our own, keeping the league and the NRL cup seperate.
More matches and more revenue but also higher wages

John Kerr had the reet idea on Puss n Boots on sky other week two Sl Divs of 8 teams and one other div below