As if life isn't hard enough in the lower leagues the RFL Fixture planners seem to be doing their best to send clubs to financial ruin by having a stop start season with massive gaps in it at the time of year most suited to open rugby and decent crowds. What a joke, many clubs having 3 weeks without a game and Blckpool having a full 5 weeks without a game. It's laughable. The season kicks off far too early and then has 2 months of next to no fixtures, the RFL are an utter joke!

Today was our last home game for a month

it gives you a month to turn things around.

3 months of the season to go and we only have 3 home games left.

Part of the reason Doncaster have found themselves in so much trouble is because they have 3 consecutive blank weekends where no monies are coming in.
Batley have a trip to Tolouse in between two blank weekends which isn't going to help their finances.
Why the RFL decided their would be a 3 month gap between rounds of the Northern Rail cup then we'd have 2 rounds in 3 week is ludicrous as is their decision to have an odd amout of teams in the league.
The lower leagues fixture list is becoming more and more farcical eac season

The fixture list is helping kill lower league teams off, as if things arn't hard enough the massive gaps and a stop start season don't let any momentum build up for teams and fans can't get in a regular habit of going to games.

Play better,, simples.

If they had played better they would have a game next week

The RFL consulted me over the fixtures in pre season. We are only doing what’s best for the game!

The fixtures are always rubbish. In Super League last season 10 of our 27 matches were against the eventual top 3! Also the year we stayed up in 2006 there were plenty of reasons why we lost 15 of our opening 17 league games but it didn't help that only 6 games came at home. We ended up with 8 home games in our last 12 fixtures and that was massive in our survival. Oh and the fact we blatantly cheated.

The problem for Championship 1 is that the season is 18 rounds, whereas the Championship season is 22 rounds (albeit two are byes), so with planning round the Championship for the NRC and the Challenge Cup (both of which Championship clubs tend to get further in anyway), with the NRC games being reduced to suit the Championship clubs, it explains why the Championship 1 has so many weeks off. More teams would be the ideal solution, but other than reducing the Championship to 10, I'm not sure where they'd get them from, although combined with more NRC fixtures that could work, though maybe they should just play each other thrice or something

There needs to be 12 teams in the Championship next season and possibly a new team in Championship 1.

Yes the small number of teams in both The Championship and Championship 1 makes it very hard to make a club viable. Can't see any new clubs coming on board next season though. Hemel maybe in the medium term, possibly Bramley. Who else?? Carlisle??

:3potl25n
The [url=http://www.scotlandrl.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117:scotland-rugby-league-set-for-great-leap-forward&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=57:3potl25nScottish RL[/url

If Magic weekend stays there, they will probably be the under card for day 1
Edniburgh Eagles for 2015?

Cornish Cambourne Pirates. Or something. I kid you not.

That is close on a year old mate, they are no further forward.

'Tis true.

They're scheduled for 5th July, 9th August and 6th September !

Who needs cashflow hey ?

True its nearly a year old. I was hoping that during the last year that they were quietly getting on working with the RL to perfect a bid.

I noticed that your location states on the set of Gregorys Girl. Do you have any recommendations on Scottish Conference teams? I've enjoyed watching Telford Raiders down in the English Midlands.

I also saw the web page discussion a South West Team in either Bristol; Exeter or Cornwall (oddly Plymouth wasn't mentioned). Obviously travel would be a factor for semi-pro Championship 1 but I seem to remember Aspatria having to play Redruth in the RU prior to open professionalism so it clearly can be done.

Also Bowes posted about the Irish RL looking to join the Championship.

I wish Coventry could find the funding to make the step up. The Butts Arena would make a great NL1 ground.

Bottom line is the current situation for Championship clubs [ both leagues is far from ideal , clubs cannot survive on 12 home games a season

They could but it would mean a whole different set up and financial plan.

The trouble is sourcing the income and ensuring it is a steady stream rather than erratic which of course is not easy but not impossible.

And no I'm not going to explain how to do it for 2 main reason!

1) Nobody will pay me for the ideas







2) Same as 1

It would be interesting to see the clubs in SL only having 12 games a year to survive on

So really it's add some new clubs ( which dosen't look likely) or merge the Championship into one division.