And if they hadn't had the ground move, which is nearly always a crowd booster (e.g. Hull).

We obviously view these boards through different spectacles. What I see and find strange is that Quins rely heavily on financial input from the owner and this is seen s a bad thing and a reason to kick them out. Other clubs make losses or rely heavily on financial support from directors, cash injections from rich owners (Leigh, Widnes, Warrington, etc etd) and this is seen as OK.


Very strange.

Clearly keeping your eyes shut then! Theme on here was how great it was to have Hughes keeping Quins afloat yet how Widnes would be nothing without O'Connor and shouldn't be allowed in SL. Whichever spin or numbers you want to put on it Widnes made a profit this year! 90% of clubs are running at a loss so in terms if relying on financial backers should you look elsewhere? At least he's a reliable backer who has set the business up rather than just covered losses! The finances of other clubs have been questioned on here as well as Quins so you can't just take it as an attack on them! But you have to say franchises are part based on business plan and any club (especially in SKY's SL) with a 6million loss covered or not clearly isn't doing something right!

In how many years will it not matter what happens on the pitch as to what league you are in?

Prawn sandwich anyone?

Already!

The bottom three sides this year and bottom two last year are pretty much all guranteed a franchise next time around... say's it all to me really!

Find me five suitable replacements for them and you might have a point.

No read my post again , I said the RFL were critical of Leigh's reliance on director input , I wonder are they as critical of Quins reliance which is around tenfold that of leigh's ?

I'm not saying they should all go.

The question was 'When does on field cease to matter?' And their is the answer, if the bottom sides in SL are the one's arguabbly least at threat of losing their franchise then surely on filed is off the agenda in that sense?

Except that on field performance is one of the published criteria against which franchise bids are judged, both for clubs currently within SL and those wanting to join.

You seem to want some clubs to be judged solely on their attendances/balance sheet, and others solely on their on field performance. In other words, you want to apply some sort of arbitary system of your own making yet criticise the RFL for - in your opinion - doing exactly that themselves?

When / where have I done that?

All I say is judge all clubs fairly? Where on earth have I said judge x on this and y on that? All sides have their pro's and cons! Some are on the pitch, some are off the pitch and some sides have both and those should be the most at risk.. but are they?

Are you actually reading what I am putting post to post or simply asking a question and then switching when that question is answered?

Then the answer is 'never'. It matters for all licence applicants. hth

I reckon im the only wakefield fan that wants out of super league.....Im bored of the same thing every season. 13 years and weve had 2 playoff spots and a semi in the challenge cup. The club still doesnt seem to be ran properly and we cant keep hold of quality players. Id rather just give up. I miss playing the other teams and going to proper rugby ground with local fans. I sound like a right old fart and im only 28......

True, I guess but only now to a small extent. As the original poster is pointing at Cas have had two good seasons on the pitch yet find themselves one of the most at risk. Also you can't use it as a stick to beat Widnes application with but also ignore it too divert away from sY Quins & Salford's bids. If applied it has to be done fairly.

Simple fact is, J20, all the clubs are judged fairly.

The fact you dont think they are is utterly irrellevant.

Judges fairly then who goes and who stays up? I guess it was all judged fairly last time as well (& I exclude Widnes from those sides).

Yes, it was judged fairly last time as the criteria for entry (and remaining) into SL are pretty well publiscised and approved by the RFL member clubs.

Last time the club getting promotion had to win the Championship Final. The team that won that game, got promoted. Isnt that what you want?

All things being even the ideal way is as TB has said, that there is actually no limit on the places in SL, but if you are good enough to make the grade, then you get in.

As it stands at the moment there are probably only 14-15 clubs that can make the cut, maybe less.

But to descide that the whole package must be taken into account, i.e. what advantage do the individual clubs bring to the game and like it or not the likes of Crusaders, Quins, Catalans and even Tolouse add more to the game than some other "heartland" clubs do [iat this point in time[/i

Well as two teams went up and that was decided months before the final...what?

Ah but do they BRING more or just POTENTIALLY bring more? There is a huge difference there!

Couple of things. To be fair Catalans have had one absolute stinker of a year and I doubt they'll be that bad again. Maybe if they said the bottom 3 over a period of 3 years would be eligible for the drop that could be fairer as I doubt Catalans for example will be there again.

Starbug, that crowd figure for 2002 was a year we were almost relegated! It was that bad I almost threw my season ticket in the Mersey. The most boring brand of Rugby I have ever witnessed.

I think the closest expansion club to relegation would be the Crusaders. In their favour, although their first team isn't choc full of Welshmen the recent demolishment of Scotland would suggest they're moving in the right direction. In '07 Wales struggled against the local nations and then were soundly beaten by Lebanon, that won't be the case now. The real test comes up against France but you can see that players in a full time environment has its benefits. France are definately stronger now than say ten years ago.

So that tells us that your attendances are similar to Widnes's when you are both in SL playing poorly , which would lead to the possibility of Widnes matching your crowds when successful in SL

I never said it wouldn't, I was just highlighting that the 2002 figure was in fact a 'relegation fodder' season if you like.
Personally I think Widnes could average 8-9000 easily but at Wire we're limited by the ground.

How many times have you sold out the HJ in the last 3/4 years ?

Quite a few but its a case of the south stand is nearly always full. People then wont pay 25 quid to sit with the prawn sandwich brigade if that makes sense. Many people if they cant get down by the monday or tuesday for tickets simply dont bother trying

How many times , 5 , 10 ? , if your fans really wanted to attend , then paying the extra wouldn't be a problem , Warringtons stadium is easily big enough for the next ten years at least , just as virtually all SL stadiums are are , with the possible exception of HKR's

So Mr Rimmer is to be the ' Bad guy ' who will have to oversee the ' demotion ' of a SL club without that club finishing bottom of the competition it is playing in , has he been brought in to deflect blame from messrs Lewis and Wood , Mr Lewis was very uncomfortable last time when interviewed on BBC Manchester by Gordon Burns , no doubt next time he wont be in the ' firing line '

I wonder how much they are paying him to take the ' flak ' , to spare their blushes , too much I would guess

Would that be the interview were he said Leighs new ground not taken into account as 'Leigh haven't played their yet' ?

be interesting to see his take on other clubs 'new grounds' then!