Toulouse has Stade des Minimes, which will be renovated to enable 10,000 seats.

Newcastle has use of the rugby union stadium. It is secure.

Why is London getting back to Super League such a great thing? It's not like they were a success before. Especially concerning crowds

Yes, and as I stated in another thread, it's only since Newcastle Falcons took over Thunder that they've started to achieve (and thats at Championship1 level and they're STILL by no means the best down there!)



As to Toulouse, they have use of s stadium that as yet, has NOT been renovated to a suitable standard!



You said "That is why I undertook the effort to make the historically pathbreaking analysis that I have spelled out in my original post." What exactly is historically pathbreaking about it?

And as for "analysis", you've actually done NONE, you've simply plucked out teams that aren't in the heartlands and promoted them in your minds eye to something they are NOT yet capable of!

Which 3 clubs drop out of Superleague bye the way?

Well in the eyes of our faux French friend it will be those perennial underacheivers Leeds, Saints and Wigan. The man's a fool.

Wakefield for sure, and possibly Widnes and Salford.

A few weeks ago I might have speculated on Castleford falling down. However their recent good performances, and their astute signing of future star prop Gadwin Springer, suggests that they are in Super League for the immediate future.

So the two Championship teams with strong teams, strong infrastructures and in fact pretty much everything needed to succeed and grow following promotion to SL (Leigh and Bradford) are not considered a best possible team for promotion? No, clearly we need unread expansion teams charging up the divisions, we've already seen it time and time again and Field of Dreams was wrong; if you build it, they won't come

JEAN, DO NOT BITE THE HAND 'THAT FEEDS' ! Be grateful that Catalans have been allowed in our BRITISH league, no it's not a EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE. Personally I do not see the point of Catalans being in our SL, but guess I'm used to it now.

what he said.

Toulouse has everything needed to succeed -- strong financial backing, competent administration, a huge fan catchment area, and a good physical infrastructure. Stade des Minimes is good enough as is for League 1. It will be completely renovated in time for Toulouse's promotion to the Championship, up to Super League standard. Because of its prime location opposite a metro underground station, it will easily attract many thousands of supporters from the city of Toulouse itself.

Newcastle has the stadium to be envied. It has some marvelous PNG players and a legendary PNG player turned coach (Stanley Gene). Once it conquers League 1 it will make a big splash in the Championship, and with wise recruitment (e.g. a couple more PNG stars) it can go all the way to Super League.

Bradford will be good for Super League eventually, because it has a strong fan base and is located in a city with lots of rugby league tradition, near an airport. But Super League is crying out urgently for more expansion clubs in order to widen its appeal to more sponsors, players and fans. I would make the promotion of Bradford a fourth priority after London, Toulouse and Newcastle.

Leigh offers nothing to broadening the appeal of Super League, other than the chance to see in person the uncaged animal Gareth Hock. It has an excellent Championship quality stadium, which might barely suffice for Super League. But its geographical obscurity for most English TV viewers, and its status as a [ide facto[/i suburb of Wigan, means that will not increase the financial viability of Super League and the RFL by one penny.

you clearly are one retarded foreigner ! ....

Jean - why did Toulouse fail last time they were in the Championship/ second division ?

Only a full report will suffice please.

Part time team could not compete, given away travel time interfering with players other work obligations. Also they had a terrible coach named Gilles Dumas.

Now Dumas is gone, and presumably the team that contests the League 1 will be full of full timers who don't have to drop out because of other work obligations.
If so I expect Toulouse to steamroll the opposition and win its way into the Championship in one year.

Championship quality stadium? What an absolute tool you are JC.

How many fans do Toulouse get now? What's their weekly average attendance? And why do you think that'll suddenly explode into huge numbers just because they go up a division?

Leigh's stadium is more than adequate for Super League, your disparaging comments regarding it are comical at best

Don't forget Catalan Dragons winning the Grand Final, Toddington Carney winning the Man of Steel and France winning the World Cup ......

I haven't forgotten. But all in good time squire, all in good time.

Squire seems an odd reference fir one so culturally placed...

No és així que el meu amic?

Des de quan són gent de Carcassona espera conèixer la llengua catalana, el meu amic?

Widnes are nearer to an airport than Bradford so must be a shoe in for staying in SL.

Bradford has a much bigger fan base than Widnes (2-3 times the size), which is more relevant for Super League than being close to an airport.

Their isn't that much difference between Widnes and JL Airport, Bradford and its own named airport is there?

I'm pretty sure an airport was one of the key criteria for a superleague franchise. Poor hunslet insisted they could land planes in middleton but the RFL were sceptical. Mind you they believed wakey when they promised to build an international airport on heath common.

Best possible Super League roster for 2019:


[iWigan, St. Helens, Warrington,

Leeds, Bradford, Hull FC, Hull KR, Huddersfield

Newcastle, London,

Catalans, Toulouse[/i


Granted, it will be a little less exciting not having Marwan Koukash on the radio and television, and in the newspapers every week. But since his ambition is to migrate to Australia with his family, he will have his time cut out just keeping the Gold Coast Titans afloat. He won't have time to maintain the Salford disaster.

Meanwhile Super League will have clubs each with a decent sized fan base (only Huddersfield and London marginal in this regard), a good stadium (only Bradford marginal in this regard), and the beginnings of a geographic spread.

Sun starved English fans will then have the choice of two southern French clubs to visit each year.