It's pathetic. You either like Rugby League or you don't. There is no magic wand.

Plenty of "magicians" on the web sites saving the game whilst denouncing the wealthy people who are the ones who actually support it's continuation,............

The changes suggested are a continuation of the radical approach of 2 x10 and sorry about the rest of you.... Can't afford to give TV money to clubs who aren't gonna be on TV - and that is very very hard to argue against unless you apply bucketfulls of sentimental tears..... .

Clearly there is the issue that the Championship clubs resent their futures being decided around a table, so it appears that in SL going to 14 clubs for a season, before becoming a 2x10 competition promoting the top six of the championship, and taking all the TV money, smaller clubs have their chance to show what they can do and earn a place in the 20 club Supeleague 2023.

When this proposal of 2x10 was first rolled out, when the small clubs were being asked to vote, like Turkeys voting for Christmas it was Mark Sawyer and Kevin Nicholas at Batley and Dewsbury that led the rebellion that voted against 2x10. Interestingly both these clubs will be borderline if the proposals are accepted.

There are still people asking how New York and Ottawa will fit into the new structure, I'm hoping there is room for Timbucktoo.....



France is an interesting situation, the French clubs are guests only and it may be that traditional full member English clubs dating back to 1896 will be most upset if TO and Catalans are in the 2x10 and that they are not. Another row to look forward to.

I wondered what it was that suddenly spurred Les Catalans into serious action, and Toulouse as well - I think it would be hard to argue against the French clubs inclusion if they bring a TV deal of their own. I would guess they are working very hard on that one with TO's promotion being a key offering a French SL home game every week and two derbies.....

If they got that French TV deal a 10 club top division could see the SKY money shared between eight English SL clubs........

I'm warming to the idea of two leagues of 10 provided it is at most 3 games against each team, the crucial part is the 2nd division getting enough funding and TV coverage. The third games could be on the road if we are prepared to market them properly.

More simple things to fix that I'd like to see are the season starting at the end of March. February is freezing, people are skint from Xmas and it hardly gets the season off to a start with a bang. Id also like to see teams banned from playing at home when a TV game is on, as that reduces viewers on SKY and the TV deal. Kickoff times to be standardised, its mad that games kick off at different times on a Sunday due to something about pub closing times 30 years ago.

You are right that this is the big moment for a French TV deal, both clubs are top of their divisions, if they arent getting a deal now they never will.

I'd be tempted to take them both out of the Magic Weekend if Toulouse come up, as realistically both will only fly a small amount of fans over, and instead play that fixture in Paris or Barcelona with French league games as the support act.

On the basis that there is far less money in the new TV deal and with RL and its mass postponements likely to damage our "pull" with Sky even more, how on earth will their be funding for the 2nd tier of 10 clubs.
Also, who are you chucking out of SL ?

Mind you, with fewer and fewer people playing the game, we may only be able to sustain 10 full time pro sides in a few years time. One thing for sure is that if SL is culled down to 10, it will hasten the "retreat", it certainly wont help grow the game.

The big factor is if SKY value games between the 'top 10' more than they do showing games against say Leigh and Salford. I know that games involving Wigan and Saints draw far higher viewers but I'm not sure what the difference is a bit further down the league.

Seems rumour is the top 10 would be decided on league positions, so right now it would be Leigh, Salford, Huddersfield and Wakefield missing out. But in a years time the table could of course look different.

I think its far from ideal, but I'm struggling to think of other ideas, we can't keep having teams just plodding along crowds, interest and finances are dropping.

The inclusion of both Catalans and Toulouse in SL under their own TV deal will leave eight (icon_cool.gif places for the English.

It's not hard to see who that will be

Lenegan & Wigan
McManus & Saints
Pearson and Hull
HKR & their new chairman and Hudgell
Moran and Warrington
Caddick and Leeds
Davey and Huddersfield

These are largely the richest English club owners and biggest clubs and I would guess in an improved stadium Carter and Wakefield will make the eight.

The new SKY deal is £26 Million a year so that could be largely shared amongst the eight giving them £3,000,000 a season........

That's more than they get now and that's a good plan as it's these clubs and rich chairmen that hold the game together....the last deal was massive but the last five years saw £tens of Millions thrown away on clubs going nowhere, who didn't provide anything much to SKY.

This new deal isn't that bad as long as we stop allowing championship clubs to waste tens of £Millions........it won't "hasten the retreat" at all, it can strengthen the top of the game....

It's not about what you get it's about how you spend it......

“The inclusion of both Catalans and Toulouse in SL under their own TV deal will leave eight (icon_cool.gif places for the English.
It's not hard to see who that will be
Lenegan & Wigan
McManus & Saints
Pearson and Hull
HKR & their new chairman and Hudgell
Moran and Warrington
Caddick and Leeds
Davey and Huddersfield
These are largely the richest English club owners and biggest clubs and I would guess in an improved stadium Carter and Wakefield will make the eight.”


On that basis I’d rather Trinity didn’t make the 10. It’d be the most boring pile of cr@p imaginable.

Wakefield are one of the clubs dragging the league down, ground is in the same poor state it was when it was told 'last chance' during the licensing era, crowds are solid but never spectacular (in part due to the poor ground) they haven't made a final in how long now? We are basically handing out a £1m of TV money for you to tread water.

Its a City with no major Football team and potential is there, but how many decades do we have to wait for progress to be made?

And I'm not just throwing stones, my own club should be doing better too, we are in the 'permanently 6th place no matter much money is spent' rut and have issues with our tenancy at the stadium. Pretty much every club in SL needs to be upping their game in different ways.

I wonder if the people coming up with the all new super league format have any connection whatsoever to the clowns that brought us the 3 x 8 debacle.
You know, the "every minute matters nonsense


The drop to 10 clubs is merely to allow the big boys not to suffer a drop in TV revenue and IF there are to be 2 French clubs, relying on their own deal, they would just about hold onto the same amount of cash that they currently receive from Sky.

It's strange how a few years ago, the old first division was cut, to "drive up quality" and then SL was cut from 14 to 12 to "drive up quality" and now we have a further cut "to drive up quality" and yet, through all of these changes the quality had spiraled down.

The obvious solution seems to be to get rid of the cap and allow those that have the cash and want to spend it, to do just that.

However, there are no guarantees.

Eventually, we'll probable end up with McManus and Lennegan staring at each other across the table and blaming the other for the total demise of the sport, only to be saved by Wigan old boys Farrell and Edwards, suggesting that they become Union clubs and then the surrender will be complete. 130 years of resistance down the pan.

I agree with you that cutting the league hasn't driven up standards, the quality of play is the worst I can remember right now.

I also think there's a risk of at least one club being lured to Union eventually. Union still hasn't broken the North despite its best efforts such as sending Johnny Wilkinson to Newcastle. Grabbing St Helens, a proper Leeds or Wigan would be a big prize and would add to the Premiership which is already looking to expand.

Here’s a radical plan to improve the game. Stop fkn about with league set-ups and blindly following what the NRL do with constant rule changes.

I don’t know about getting more people interested in the game because at the moment they’re far more likely to lose the interest of those they already have.

Not sure how reducing the number to f teams makes the sport more appealing just repeat fixtures all the time. Boring. Happened in the championship a while ago and was terrible as teams repeat playing each other they are so familiar with each other they come up with tactics to negate best players and you just end up with 80 minute arm wrestles. If anything extend number bring more fans and players into the mix.

How on this earth do you deduce that Championshipnclubs wasted tens of millions?
The ' elite ' clubs have benefited for years from the money from the broadcast deal and the sport is where it is.
The ' elite ' clubs have been allowed and assisted to get richer.
It isn't, and wasn't, the fault of non - elite clubs that the great and good cannot get decent attendances for their own play- off games or the ' every minute matters ' games against st Championship clubs.
The wasted money on Elstone and Private Equity proved how wonderful it is when the elite owners are left to their own devices.
Even now only the elite are allowed reserve sides and academies.
The rich get richer and the rest can die.
From the vortex to the abyss.Well done the elite.
Be very grateful the much maligned RFL,have,in the past,got the elite owners some money to waste.So you can now blame the impoverished,the unlucky,ne'er-do-wells,for the incompetence and ineptitude of the elite clubs,and their owners who failed during the best of times.Yet you still believe they'll do the right things during the worst of times.
The jewels in the crown?
You probably believed the summer era,playing on nice pitches,in a Super League, would improve our players and we would beat the Aussies...
Yet here are your elite clubs,with their elite owners,still requiring overseas players and overseas head coaches.
Keep following the yellow brick Road...

Wakefield are doing better than Featherstone, and before Daryl Powell came along Cas were no great shakes and were relegated once and escaped relegation on points difference another time. Wheldon road is in a poor state and there's no money for improvements, meanwhile Carter is improving Belle Vue.. But the point here is for balance there has to be a "Calder" club in Superleague and without Powell's undoubted magic, Castleford are no better a bet than Wakey....

Wakey do well banking the funding and surviving. That’s what’s needs to change.

Not your best post mate, Paul Caddick the massively rich builder went to Headingley to turn his Union club into a pro RU outfit. It was a complete disaster.

The M62 is a wasteland for professional Rugby Union, just as the south, the midlands, Scotland Ireland and Wales (and Canada) are wastelands for Rugby league.

This is why we must continue to be an "M62" game.....

I know mate and you'd have a massive point arguing that Leigh in their modern ground with their highly committed wealthy owner are a better bet than Wakefield, and probably a second Hull club, and maybe even Huddersfield

.

They offer absolutely nothing to rugby league when looking at the bigger picture.

But neither do Salford, Leigh and hull kr so it’s unfair to single out Wakefield

Admins why do you keep letting this knob on here?

You could argue that I guess, fans location etc. I'm not saying I agree, but there's an argument that can be made.

But the one thing that trumps everything - they've earnt it on the field (apart from leigh technically) So perhaps they offer the most important thing of all?

Magic pays zero wages at the RFL, its a Super League property.

It also generates money for the clubs when they sell tickets to their own fans.

It's more likely to be half of that, the Sky money pays for a lot more than just to Super League clubs central distribution.

He's not arguing anything. anyone who invests, organises, watches, plays, (etc etc) Rugby League adds something to the game.