Was interviewed at half time on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra.

Two key points made.

He said that one current Super League side will definetly be relegated in the next licence applications with a National League side being promoted.

He also said he will be lobbying to keep the Challenge Cup on Free to Air. Basically it will stay on free to air unless no free to air broadcaster bids by the sound of it. In my view if no free to air broadcaster bids they may as well pack it in! The current BBC contract lasts for two more years anyway.

Very big point that first one. A few sides will be sweating on that and perhaps hoping Crusaders fail miserably next year to save their own skins!

Wow! Really can't see Crusaders being sent back to the Championship unless they implode financially. My money would be on Wakefield or Salford, but I think it may well be Wakefield for a number of reasons.

Widnes to replace Salford i reckon.

Could be Wakey given the number of Yorkshire teams already in Super League, seems likely to be between Wakey and Salford.

Might depend of results on the field but Salford's ground in my view is one of the better (non modern) grounds in the league.

Salford will be kept in as they are in a massive conurbation. Also if they don't go into the new stadium then Sale Sharks will handing that conurbation over to Union.
Wakefied down, Widnes to be promoted and maybe go to 15 with another French club entering SL. Both Widnes and either Toulouse or Paris could average 10k per home game.
Could any other National League club do that?

When have Widnes ever come remotely close to 10K a game?

Couldn't even manage 10k when they were in Super League IIRC.

How can he make such a judgement without first seeing the applications?Unless of course the process is pointless and he has already decided beforehand who will be in/out.

9,500 versus Saints and quite a few games have hit 8,000 and over.

We could with a bit of luck hit 10,000 gates, we can already get 4,000 in a division we have been in a number of years.

There's a number of clubs in SL who dont make the 10.000 mark.
wakefied....salford...celtic crusaders....HKR.....warrington though they are not far off...bradford have slipped under 10,000...catalans. And my club castleford. Widnes would be the team for me to be promoted.

That just proves my point, Widnes cant even get a 10K crowd never mind a 10K average. The last time Widnes where in Super League there were plenty of crowds around 5K too.

Surely not? Not the RFL?

Is that the benchmark then,a 10 000 avearage crowd?Would make for a small SL.

That isnt the question though, do we have the potential to get that? yes we do with a bit of luck and some hard work.


I see your a Salford fan, that explains the feeling threatened posts.

as things stand I think its Widnes or Toulouse to replace Wakefield to be honest

but obviously there's still a long time to go before the decision is made

I have no problems with that, even though we must be the favourites not to get another franchise. Wakefield and others have had long enough to get out of date and dilapidated grounds up to a decent standard.

Toulouse will be in 2012,i will bet my mortgage on them being in.Then it will be Leigh or WIdnes and Salford and Wakefield going out.

I think your clutching at straws with leigh, unless they win some silverware next season

None of really knows the state of play with new grounds so none of us can make any kind of informed prediction.

Wakefield have an application for full planning permission being submitted within days and are reliably reported as having the funding in place for when they get it granted.
If that proves to be accurate then I can't see them being replaced.

Salford - I don't know
Cas - I don't know

I won't speculate about their demise on hearsay alone.

Bradford arn't ecactly safe and neither am I convinced that the Crusaders will be viable in two years time. But who really knows enough to make any kind of meaningull prediction.

agreed, but RFL to go to 16 teams with toulose.

a SL with widnes, toulose and Paris in and Wakey out would be very good

widnes can get to 10,000 no problems in a few years in SL

why Toulouse? They were regularly battered last season, moderate crowds, didn't make the required finals and don't look like getting in any next season. Or maybe you lot on here are finally admitting that licensing is one MASSIVE con. I'd hate to be a wakey fan on here with you lot discussing the probable demise of a club with such abandon whilst supporting the most damaging decision to ever affect our game

With BBC Sport heading for Salford, I suspect that they'll bust a gut to try to keep Salford in SL. IF Salford and Wakey are building by the time bids have to go in in 2011, then things could be very interesting. Another thought is that Richard Lewis knows that a current member of SL is either going to implode or won't be applying (bear in mind that the RFL will be privy to information that isn't available to the public).

I'd agree with that, plus Manchester's a big area the RFL will be keen to try and exploit. It's still sad how we're discussing who may get the chop because of stadia and location though.

Three French teams - never in a month of Dimanches!!!

Toulouse, maybe. Can't see them ever gambling with a Paris based team again - or at least not for a long long time - and especially at the disdvantage of much more lucrative and deserving cases (and I know, it's not always about "deserving" cases either, you only have to consider some of the teams in the lower divisions, Cumbria etc to accept that)