If the French are serious about challenging at international level with NZ, AUS and Eng then they would have appointed a damned sight better qualified coach.

Bobby was a great player but has only coached Rochdale - hardly making him International coach material - especially with the suggested applicants.

OK, What the the quaility of the GB Squad. How many young quailty players come through the ranks of est English teams? But lets just kick them out so we can develop the game in Europe?
Shouldnt a competive sport be more important than SKY sports?

i think celtics position after 3 years will have some bearing on their decision. if theyre still picking up no points and attendances have dropped the whole expansion club thing will seem a lot less of a dream.

i really do hope they bring back promotion/relegation though, surely you all agree that without it both leagues attendances suffer, as well as outsider interest in the game.

Ideally with the way things are going by the 3rd set of franchises the SL will look like this:

Leeds
Harequins
St Helens
Wigan
Castleford/Wakefield (Depending on facilities/ average table finishes)
Sheffield
Gateshead
A Midlands team, possibly Nottingham
Edinburgh
Celtic
Tolouse
Catalan
Warrington
Huddersfield

RL in France will be preparing to add Catalan/Tolouse back to their improved, better marketted competition in 3 years time.

Bradford will have fallen behind Leeds/Wakey/Cas/Huddersfield and will drop out due to amount of West Yorks teams.

Leigh/Fev/Fax will miss out due to similar scenario's to Bradford.

Not saying this will happen but it would benefit the game no end.

hang on a second, you seriously think that one of the most sucessful teams of the lat 10 years be dumped out of SL while clubs like celtic are in? thats absurd

Not really Bradford are on the edge of the abyss. The falling attendances may push them into bankruptcy

My Ideal SL

Leeds
Wakefield
Bradford
Castleford
Huddersfield
Halifax
Hull FC
Hull Kr
Warrington
Widnes
Wigan
St Helens
Salford
Celtic

But thats just me...not fair is it that we can just leave a team out like Catalan?
Thats why relagation and promotion MUST be brought back

If Bradford's decline continues at the same rate it is now a 3 year stint atleast in Champ 1 will benefit them no end in the long term.

yes theyre having a difficult time of it at the moment, but as soon as they start winning again (which will happen at some point) people wont be talking of their bankruptsy

bradfords a massive league distict, im sure something would be sorted out before their bankruptsy

That's because they had a TV broadcaster ready to put £ millions into the game on the basis of a structure that included not just a London team, but also Paris and Manchester ones. London was essential to getting those millions, but not sufficient as shown by the fact the deal was renegotiated to a lower amount part way through the 5-year term. That happened because the RFL delivered less than they were supposed to in terms of clubs and where they were located.

At the start of SL, the RFL listened too much to the traditionalists and didn't forge ahead enough and that cost them millions of pounds in reduced TV rights. If they had forged ahead in a more expansionist mode the TV rights would be worth more today. Even today the SL is a lot less 'super' than in the original plans.

i think toulouse and widnes in any near future expansion. then no expansion for a while to let the comp stabilise, 5-6 years?

after that i think the RFL needs to focus on one particular geographic area in england at a time and improve the game their in terms of participation and interest. perhaps starting a bit closer to the heartlands, e.g South Yorkshire, Manchester, North East and then on to London, Midlands. The RFL should also put a lot of effort into the Celtic nations but not all at the same time with the aim of getting a club from each into championship/Champ. 1 for development with the eventual aim of a SL franchise.

what an exciting 5-6 years that would be for followers of otherwise relegation threatened clubs

Yeah I know this...my point is just, what is the point of having a competitive sport, if its not competitive and rules are made up as we go along

1. Why didn't you go support your team Quins on Sunday?
2. Wht was your old character Albert Rosenfeld banned?
3. What's the Golf Forum story all about?

I reckon that Toulose and Widnes are the obvious choices and will probably get in next time around with a Scottish team being shoed in, in 2015.

However, I think the RFL should be looking at the Midlands for a SL team also. There are no succesful soccer teams down there to compete with (unlike the NW) and I reckon that they are crying out for top flight sport. Also, it would be close enough for most teams to travel from and to (2 hours or so), thus negating an overnight stay and disruption to the team. IMO, it would also make it impossible for the National Press to regionalise and marginalise our game thus giving the sport the coverage it deserves.

Thoughts?

13 of 14 teams in 2 counties?? Do you want the TV rights to bring in less money???

Would think surrent 14 + Widnes and Toulouse, possibly Sheffield on the 3rd coming. Making a league with 17 teams and if another French team is strong enough 18. Think RL should be pushed in France more than anywhere is the UK.

So your saying TV rights is more important than the competitive nature of the game?

Of the realistic potential options for the next franchise round, I think this is the one most likely to maximize the value of the TV contract:

Leeds
Bradford
Wigan
St Helens
Harlequins
Hull
Warrington
Huddersfield
Catalans
Celtic
Widnes
Sheffield
Newcastle
Toulouse

I also agree, but in a French league

A french league isn't viable just yet, hopefully one day it will be.

But why should a traditional team like Cas or Wakie suffer so that day can come?

The TV rights are crucial to the game's commercial foundation. Other pro sports get a bigger share of their revenue from TV rights than RL does, they get more money from from those rights and consequently their clubs have more £ to spend than RL clubs do.

Bringing in the £ to fend off competition for players from RU depends on the TV rights, the TV rights and...... the TV rights. With a more even distribution of revenue and a strict salary cap, the competive nature of the game won't be at issue since the clubs will be on a more even financial footing.

Do Championship soccer clubs suffer by not being in the Premership, when their sport is the most popular in the country and gets big crowds watching both live and on TV? If RL were much bigger and more popular, Castleford and Wakefield would no more suffer than those soccer clubs.

Still undecided on Sheffield, the city is just football mad, and I think ventures such as Newcaslte wouldn't work, London won't work with all those Football clubs around, Scotland is much more promising, but as there isn't any decent foundations there currently I don't see where a club can spring from.

TBH Clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire should be pushed as much as ever, I don't think spreading RL to places where it will fail, or has already failed, is the answer, the RFL shouldn't impose RL on places where there is no interest or demand, unlike Catalans where there was proven demand, and the results followed.

I'm undecided on Celtic, they need more time before we can judge them, Quins I don't think have progressed much at all, and I don't know what the RFL can do to push RL in the capital, because it has been far from success, and at times on the brink of failure. Other than Cumbria, I don't see where else the game can be expanded to in England right now.