If you lost two and had annual promotion, then you would have a championship with, say, Fax, Fev, Cas, Salford, Leigh, Sheffield, Batley all vying for promotion. It would be a vibrant Championship. It would be a hard start for them going up, but equally, let them try. Provided something is put in place to stop reckless spending to get in the top flight (half of income with regular solvency checks), and the same for all the top flight clubs, I think the game would regain some of its excitement.

Franchising is good for stability, but is it good for excitement? I don't watch rugby league because I like stable clubs. I watch it for the thrills and spills, the roller coaster. My only proviso would be that there are no sacred cows. No "you can't come up because London finished bottom. You've got to wait for Wakefield, etc)". Let the New Crusaders build and earn their spot by on the field success, which is generated by off-field.

As for the number of clubs, the top eight format isn't good enough. It is better to finish fifth than fourth, because you get to go into the crucial game with a couple of good wins behind you. The old format, where one of the top two goes through, was by far the best format.

Richard Lewis had good intentions, but the groundswell would appear to be, straight after his departure, that we want to change it.

IF there is a return to P/R and possibly a reduction to 12 teams (which has been suggested), does this put us back in the firing line again.
With the prospect of Toulouse also being included, where would this leave thie likes of Cas, Widnes, KR, Salford and ourselves (I am assuming that London are bomb proof)

Although Cas have said that there will be less emphasis on new stadia, there will be some very unhappy supporters if this scenario does happen.

A mini round a licencing to determine who faces the drop ? On current form and prospects thats my team gone!

Its a convenient opinion when your own club is on the right side of the draw bridge. Woiuld your opinion of been the same if we had been shown the trap door last season. Of course the system before 2008 was inadequate the gap between SL and CC was way too big I can only assume that 6 years of franchising will have made it worse. For me it's totally vital the game works towards some sort of [iviable[/i P & R system. The present system just alienates too many fans in the lower leagues. I causes bad feeling between fans and most importantly it takes a lot of emotion out of the game. It breaks all the rules of fair play and goes against a lot of fans values.

I think that proves the point though. Cas have been successful in recent years, just had up seasons and down seasons. The continuity that franchise brings helps a team like that. (including us in that as well).
Although I see why P&R works well, it works better in a football environment where there are far more teams and a much more successful second tear.

Someone on the thread said there weren't that many yo-yo teams, which may be true, but there are teams that have gone up tried, failed and never come back.

I'd also say that the "heartlands" and the "traditional clubs" are not the same thing. The heartlands are where the core of the support will come from and the traditional area for Rugby league, but that doesn't include any/every club that is in that area.
Oldham is a good example. Great history, massive area, but no appetite for rugby any more by the looks of it.
Equally Halifax, Rochdale even Huddersfield are finding it hard. Although I completely disagree with mergers, but as the areas change, one club will rise as the others struggle. In our area, I hope we can sustain more teams but if not we need to make sure we are the one that rises.
That is why we do need to look outside the heartlands to build new areas.
If we could actually make London or Wales a rugby league area (or smaller areas of both clearly, it would be much better than say Featherstone being successful just because of the limitation of the area.

A combination of a return to P&R, a reduction in the number of teams in SL and the addition of another expansion project would create the perfect storm; the resultant weather forecast would be cloudy, with a chance of mergers.

Cake making and egg breaking spring to mind.

The one thin that the RFL must do, it to be clear about the plans and transparent in how they wish to acheive their nirvana.

I'd be delighted with PR if it's a no strings attached version,it should be automatic PR,no SL intervention where people can claim bias,straight up and down for me,much more exciting that way.

Agree with jinjer, i know AG is a fan of licensing, but sport is for the supporters not the business owners, they are just "a necessary evil" so to speak, along with governing bodies.
In it simplest form sport is played by sportsmen for the entertainment firstly of themselves then of those spectating.

All this, just because Bradford went tits up!

Add into the mix talk of giving London Broncos some sort of ring-fencing as regards to relegation as Ian Lanaghan has suggested and the circus is complete.

Well yes and no Kinley. Sport is exactly like that.....but if you want to be paid to play your sport, you need to run it like a (good) business otherwise you end up playing on the school pitch again.