What do you really think?

While I agree to some extent, Ive said it a million times, you're just small town clubs. If you're not big enough to compete with the big boys, you're not big enough to compete with the big lot. If you cant afford it, dont do it. You'll have more games next year than 8 dont worry, in the meantime stop moaning at the RFL for every failing your poxy club has. It's not their fault you're just a poxy town surrounded by much bigger ones and THAT, fundamentally is your problem.

Indeed. Small towns like Sheffield, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Toulouse etc will never be able to compete with such teeming metropolises as Castleford, Wrexham, Wakefield or St. Helens.

But sheffield, toulouse, london or newcastle arent moaning.
Its clubs like Leigh, Wakefield, Halifax, Barrow or featherstone who once had great teams in the area thinking they have a divine right to be up there. The same could be said for Britain in general when in reality we're a small island in comparison to the world. British culture eh

Who is mentioning ' competing with the big boys ' ? , its about surviving as semi pro clubs in the Championship

No mention of SL in this thread , just having a competition than can pay there way , and if you'd actually read what is in front of you , my concern is also for the Championship 1 clubs that find themselves not knowing what they are playing for , nothing to do with SL

You really are showing your age now sonny , this game isn't just about Warrington finally winng a cup or two after decades of failure , who are only where they are thanks to Tesco's and a rich bloke , you were for 30 odd years , dont forget it

Only way to lift the profile of the lower leagues is to bring back promotion and relegation. For this system to be more effective we need to close the quality gap from SL to the Championship. Of course we know all this comes down to money. My suggestions would be after this next set of franchises we drop down to a 10 team SL with the 4 teams Sky money shared amongst 10 Championship teams. Maybe a remarketing as SL 2 or something along them lines. Annual Promotion and relegation (providing the promoted team meets a set of minimum standards). To keep the competitive flow of the 2 leagues we could have 2 up and 2 down if all teams meet the criteria.

In reality SL is a lob sided competition too many teams just are not spending up to the full cap to give us a competitive enough league. This system will give a fluid transition between both tiers of the game and rightly keep the pyramid structure in the game alive.

No its about clubs like Swinton,Whitehaven,Workington,Keighley,Oldham,Skolars,Skorpions,Gateshead,Rochdale having the RFL actually consider their problems for a change

This thread has nothing to do with SL , its just YOU who thinks because I posted it , it must have

Dwindling my ar[is[/ie, the last couple of gates have hit over 4,000.

It isn't just about the SL issue though DH , the clubs in both divisions of the Championship need some stability , yes promotion to SL would be great , but if it cant happen , it cant happen , fair enough , so lets try and actually do something positive to help the clubs in the Championship[size=150S[/size , all of them , Instead we have uncertaintity all the time , every new club that comes along is touted as heading for SL from the start , well that helps the Championship clubs no end doesn't it

" We're only here till we get pushed up to SL because this league isn't worth a crap " , seems to be all we see . even the Crusaders fans on their board aeem to be saying this now ," Not much point having a club in the Championship , who wants to watch us play Batley Barrow and Featherstone , I'd rather go and watch SL at W1g4n or Saints "

Good attitude from them I see

Yes they have , but that is a reaction to your impending promotion , generally they have dropped of slightly over the last few years , but either way , you haven't ' built them up ' , as our Warrington friend suggested , have you ? , not a pop at Widnes , you have done well to retain the support you have and that alone entitiles you to take your rightful place in SL next year

To start with the trickle down of money will be a massive boost for the clubs plus the increased chances of inward investment. That dream of playing in the top tier is at the core of a lot of Championship fans view of the game. Basically a Championship league for clubs with SL ambitions and a Championship 1 for team that are content for the time been as a solid Championship club. I can't think of a more better structure for the game to move forward. Everyone would know where they stood this way. Proper fair system with transparency would put a lot of confidence and hope back into the game (especially in the Championship) and is lot better than the joke set up we have now. One thing I do know is the status quo isn't working as it should be, not by a long way.

No Starbug you missed my point. Spend less.
If you cant afford it, don't spend it, period. If EVERYONE cant afford it, lower the salary cap. Id love to see money from the top filtering down but that isnt going to happen.
Go back to one big division with the lower clubs joining a revised semi pro conference with strict match payments paid. One division of say about 14 with a salary cap of £200,000. IF your budget dictates, based on earnings you may spend up to £300,000. Okay the gap between the Chp and SL will increase but this isnt about them, it's about saving the semi pro comp right?

Of course it is a struggle at these clubs but if you look around Dewsbury and Batley you don’t see much in publicity by these two clubs to pull the punters in. There as skolars try all kind of opportunities in spreading the word.

And for people to say that there is nothing to play for in the championships of course there is. There is ambition of winning the thing or trying to avoid relegation. Which then gives you the chance to play at a higher level.

Already other sports have taken on the franchising system in a similar fashion

Your back in the good books.

Why , my opinion on Widnes hasn't changed in years , only some Widnes fans perception of it has

To suggest that Warrington's resurgence as a force is down solely to Tescos and Simon Moran demonstrates how clueless you really are.

Either way , they haven't been a ' power ' in the game for decades , and to then have a snotty nosed fan of theirs coming all ' high and mighty ' on here without even having the respect to read and understand the threads he is replying to , gets the response I supplied

Warrington have been extremely lucky to get where they currently are , yes they are now making excellent strides and will see a lot of success because of that , but dont pretend they haven't been fortunate

I have no wish to get in a ' spat ' about Warrington , this thread is nothing to do with them or any SL club , so I wont comment further on them

You're still dodging the point though.
If clubs havent got the money, spend less on wages. Oh look, problem solved. If there were only 9 teams I imagine there'll be certain 3 fixture teams too but I think the Chp will be revised at the end of the current season.

Dids

Clubs in the Championship don't know if there is relegation or not this season, that is Starbugs point! There is no relegation in Champ 1. The "chance" to play at a higher level - whooppity do, that did Fax a lot of good didn't it?!

Can you name me a mainstream sport in the UK that has successfully adopted franchising? If its not football, cricket or rugby union don't bother replying.

Its about promotion between the semi and pro ranks for a start.

Unfortunately how can anyone know when the RFl dont know what money ora teams are available to them. It isnt an ideal situation but its one that they're faced with. Are Cru going to field a side? Can any of the conference applicants actually make the step up? Will there be a TV deal?

Given the bleatings about Halifax not getting in SL surely they alone will drive the competition forward to new heights?

Trouble is, when an issue like this comes up, many halfd scummy fans up sticks and switch teams to top super league clubs. I know I know, they're cowards and worthless, but what can you do?

Basketball has franchising.

Ice Hockey has franchising.

Rugby Union has franchising.

In soccer ....

The Irish League has franchising.

The Welsh Premier League has franchising.

The Scottish Leagues have franchising.

The Football League has franchising.


OK, the precise requirements vary, but they all have to meet certain criteria.

What relevance does a TV deal make ?

They should know by now if any conference club can/want to move up

That is the point , it should all be sorted , or are we to have more decisions made hours before the supposed ' deadline

No it's not ' ideal ' is it , is absolutley bloody ridiculous