I'd just love it if it was Barrow. I know Widnes feel hard done by because of they didn't get in last time and it is being judged by several different factors but I don't think Widnes have performed as well as Barrow over the last few years and to me that is what is important. There seems to be a certain arrogance about Widnes.

Richard de la Riviere tweet yesterday "licence announcement going to be more interesting than anticipated. Things happening behind scenes that could make for an explosive story"

St Judes have got promoted?

Widnes are fully aware that they're getting promoted so I almost get the impression that they';re not bothering building a team for the Championship, and why should they? Most of the players they've currently got will stay in the Championship and probably end up at Leigh, Halifax, Barrow, Wakefield*... and they'll get the better ones from Wakey, a few out of contract from other SL clubs and a few from Aus/NZ.

[size*Assuming Wakey are the relegated team.[/size

Completely agree apart from the bit in bold....why would we want the cast offs from a team we've just put fifty past?!

not too sure we arnt jumping the gun and expecting wakey to be the club tossed out.
i would toss out Crusaders after the debacle their.

in?........a lancashire club.......and as far as im aware theres only 1 geographically in lancashire............BLACKPOOL

One problem...Blackpool don't have a (pro) club!

neither did wrexham .

all it takes is a rich backer............is Owen Oyston out of jail yet?

Could we not expand the league to 15 teams? 28 games a season and scrap Millennium Magic?

As mentioned on another thread, i feel Wakefield will not go down, nobody to be relegated, one to come up making a 15 team league.
Teams get bye weeks and the Millenium Magic weekend will be Round 1 of 29 being 7 regular round matches plus the World Club Challenge.
Just a thought!

As I explained on another thread (on the VT I think but could be elsewhere due to there being many versions of this thread on the different boards) that simply wouldn't work. You can't have an extra round of fixtures with an odd number of teams. Using your idea the reigning champions would either be disadvantaged by not being able to gain points from that round or would have to be given points to compensate and so would effectively start ahead of everyone else. In a league with an odd number of teams the Magic Weekend would have to be ditched (along with the money the RFL will get from the Welsh Tourist Board for staging it) and I cannot see that being done just so that the RFL could avoid relegating a club. If the SL was to be extended (at any time) it would need to be kept at an even number of teams.

I think everyone agrees that if it's one down, one up, then the glaringly obvious choice to come up would be Widnes, which is why it probably won't be

Personally I 'd lose one of the invented clubs and be damned to the false expansion the RL is so fond of. Grass roots development please.

On that note, does anyone know if any pro clubs are affiliated or have close ties with amateur clubs outside the homelands? I'm thinking of things like helping out with equipment, training methods, conditioning and so on. The return is first pick on any promising youngster coming through. I haven't given this any deep thought particularly but it seems like a realistic idea on the surface at least. Thoughts?

15 teams?....ok...let 3 teams a week have a bye week mid season, on consecutive weekends.......like the NFL

and scrap magic weekend