well said,mon ami

Really? What evidence is there to suggest expansion hasn't worked in the Rugby League Conference?

Indeed... from 12 teams in 1997 to the list below 13 years later - what a failure

[uRLC National[/u
Bramley Buffaloes
Carlisle
Dewsbury Celtic
Featherstone Lions
Hemel Stags
Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
Kippax Knights
Liverpool Buccaneers
Nottingham Outlaws
Warrington Wizards

[uMidlands Premier[/u
Birmingham Bulldogs
Gloucestershire Warriors
Leicester Storm
Coventry Bears
Derby City
Bristol Sonics

[uYorkshire Premier [/u
East Leeds
Haworth Park
Milford Marlins
Moorend Thorne
Rotherham Giants
Scarborough Pirates
York Lokomotive

[uNorth West Premier[/u
Lymm
New Broughton Rangers
Runcorn
Widnes Saints
Wigan Riversiders

[uWales Premier[/u
Blackwood Bulldogs
Bridgend Blue Bulls
Cardiff Demons
CPC Bears
Newport Titans
Valley Cougars

[uPremier South[/u
Eastern Rhinos
Hainault Bulldogs
Hammersmith Hill Hoists
London Skolars
Portsmouth Navy Seahawks
South London Storm
St Albans Centurions
West London Sharks

[uWomens South[/u
Northampton Demons Ladies
Nottingham Outlaws
Coventry Bears
West London Sharks Women

[uWomens East[/u
Keighley Cats
Whinmoor
Leeds Akkies
Brighouse Ladies
Stanningley Ladies
Guisley

[uWomens West[/u
Warrington
Wigan Ladies
Halton
Chorley Panthers

[uMidlands Regional[/u
Birmingham Bulldogs 'A'
Coventry Bears 'A'
Leamington Royals
North East Worcestershire Ravens
Nottingham Outlaws 'A'
Telford Raiders

[uYorkshire Regional[/u
Barnsley Broncos
Bradford Victoria Rangers
Leeds Akkies
Lincoln City Knights
Parkside Hawks
Shorpe Barbarians
Wetherby Bulldogs
Shaw Cross Sharks

[uNorth West Regional[/u
Crewe & Nantwich Steamers
Chester Gladiators
Wigan Riversiders 'A'
Mancunians RL
Blackpool Sea Eagles

[uWales Regional[/u
Amman Valley Rhinos
Merthyr Wildcats
Neath Port Talbot Steelers
Dinefwr Sharks
Torfaen Tigers
West Wales Wild Boars

[uSouth West Regional[/u
South Dorset Giants
Plymouth Titans
East Devon Eagles
Devon Sharks
Exeter Centurions
Somerset Vikings
North Devon Raiders
South Somerset Warriors

[uSouth East Regional[/u
Sussex Merlins
Oxford Cavaliers
Swindon St George
Greenwich Admirals
South London Storm 'A'
Elmbridge Eagles
Guildford Giants
Southampton Spitfires

[uEast Regional[/u
Bury Titans
St Albans Centurions 'A'
Bedford Tigers
Northampton Demons
Norwich City Saxons
St Ives Roosters

[uNorth East Regional[/u
Northallerton Stallions
Cramlington Rockets
Sunderland Nissan
Newcastle Storm
Jarrow Vikings
Peterlee Pumas
Durham Demons
Wallsend Eagles
Whitley Bay Barbarians
Winlaton Warriors

[uScotland Regional[/u
Ayrshire
Kirkcaldy
Easterhouse Panthers
Carluke Tigers
Edinburgh Eagles
Fife Lions
Falkirk
Moray Eels

A slightly out of date list, but a point well made.

is if they are funded independantly to any other club , the only way this can be done without causing massive upset to clubs/fans and the sport in general is if it is done through the RFL , this applies to both clubs at Championship level and SL

RL lacks credibility? Even in comparison to;

FIFA
Italian soccerball
Soccerball hooliganism
Wayne Rooney
Snooker - John Higgins
Pakistani cricket team
Blood and machanical doping in cycling
Golf - Tiger Woods
South African Atheletics - Caster Semenya

Add to that list the RFU disciplinary board, former Harlequins RU coach Dean Richards, current player Tom Williams and recent revelations that one of Spain's all time top athletes is [ireportedly[/i heavily involved in a doping scandal. ([url=http://www.singaporeathletics.com/world-news/marta-dominguezMarta Dominguez[/url).

But yeah, RL lacks credibility because it wants to replace one of its long-time underperforming clubs with a better performing club

which clubs are you talking about ?.

the difference in crowds between the expansion club Crusaders, and heartland (dont make me laugh) club Catalans prior to bringing them into SL was about 300,

We spent 100 years trying a bottom up approach it failed miserably, after ten years of trying it the other way with at least one successful pro club, and lots of success in the amateur scene at another, we have some fools wanting to go back to a system we know doesnt work. Its crazy

Crusaders didnt work initially, we know its been a bumpy ride but look at RL in Wales now compared to 5 years ago.. you're telling me that isnt progress?
We've fallen rolled and with a stroke of luck reached somewhere, im just not sure how we should have got there in the first place. One could argue 3 more years in the Chp would have done them good, im not sure that was the right call.
The only thing we've learnt for definate over the SL expansion era, for me, would be to say, like Catalans you're in at *insert date* no matter what; spend the next 2/3 years preparing.

That is the BIG thing.

After this set of franchises. Any Club at any time can bid for a place, if they are accepted they have three years to prepare in the lower leagues, then you are in.

Clubs in there are constantly assessed and if they are continually failling they are dropped.

Yes.

I was wondering that as well!!!

Please explain what the top-down and bottom-up approaches are, because surely what you've written is a contradiction! If you have lots of successful amateur clubs that have recently been formed in the RLC then the bottom-up approach within the last 13 years [ihas[/i worked. Money has been poured in at the roots of the game and the stem and leaves are starting to open and spread out, so to speak.

in about 90 years, one club has grown from amatuer to semi-pro, one. Skolars.

Since the we put a SL team in London, look at the massive growth of the amateur game there.

The RLC is a very good thing, but it isnt spreading the game as far and as fast as putting teams in London and Wales have done.

Bottom up is building from the bottom, as it sounds, taking a place where there is no amateur game, growing one, then once the game in that area becomes strong enough a semi-pro team or two, once they are strong enough a full pro team. This has never happened, not once, in the entire history of RL.

Top down would go the other, use a club like quins or Crusaders to give visibility to the game, get lots of people interested and help set up an amateur game which will grow stronger, faster.

A visible presence that shows the pair of them lurching from crisis to crisis etc etc etc. That really makes people think the game is worthwhile....good for a laugh for the kick and clap brigade maybe

the kick and clap brigade arent important.

The improvements in the amateur game in london and wales which co-incide with the work done with Quins (in all their forms) and Crusaders has unarguable.

There's a strong amateur game in Cumbria isn't there? No SL clubs there.

there has been though.

which was pretty disasterous if my memory serves me correctly ?

Cumbria has every right to expect SL repesentation as much as Wales,London & France IMO

When was this announced? I cant remember seeing the press release?

I'm not talking about any clubs in particular. I'm talking about what the RFL are trying to do. Replace long time under-performing clubs with better run clubs with more potential.

So you are suggesting that we kick teams out of Super League who are there on merit and replace them with ones who have the potential to be there on merit in the future?

if it were about merit then SL would look a whole lot different than it does now.
London, Paris, Gateshull, Crusaders, Catalans....all given places in the comp before licencing was even thought of...the success of these teams is variable.....but the fact remains that they were all fastracked into SL.
I feel for the team that gets ejected....but repeat that all the Chairmen agreed to this system.....and nobody else but each individual club is responsible for their failings.
The Club I support have failed to attract fans...even though they were told this was the No1 priority by the RFL.....Cas, Wakey, Salford were all warned about stadiums.....they have nobody to blame if they are the team ejected for not addressing the warnings issued by the RFL......

As for the OP......of course the game is a credible sport. Just because you disagree with the governing body doesn't make league any more of a credible sport......