Super League scares me. Yes, i'd love for my club to be in there. I'd love to be watching my team battle against the likes of Saints, Bradford and Leeds again. I'd want us to be competitive though. I wouldn't want to go through what Salford did last year and certainly not Celtic. I wouldn't want to relive another 2003.
I would want for my club to be as competitive as Hull KR. But at what cost? Debts of £3m? No thanks, not for the long term anyway. I crave SL for Halifax but alas i don't think we have the finances for it. We don't have the finances for a top six push and neither it seems do many other current SL clubs. Scary stuff no?

An inch off the waist, an inch on the brain.

you really are a massive twerp if you think the Leigh area has not produced many great players in the last 100 years.

I'm all for adding French teams to SL but what I would like to know is, what is the RFL's and/or FFRL's long term goals? To have a fully proffessional French SL? Surely that must be an end-goal for both governing bodies.

However, at the bare minimum I'd say that it's at least a decade off a competitive, well financially backed French league.

As for Toulouse in the SL, Yes. But only if they have met the criteria ie. reaching/winning a Grand Final and/or reaching/winning the NRC. If the RFL want to keep any dignity, they'll stand by their own guidelines.

They dont compete in the NRC , and since when have the RFL followed any guidelines , if they want Toulouse in SL , fine put them in

wow

i was expecting a moat with a drawnridge

im happy where leigh are as well.

going through recent leigh teams i can see future GB stars hanging from the rafters of the LSV.

if the RFL want any dignity from some people on here theyll just eliminate all expansion teams and stick to clubs within 1 mile of the M62

I would not necessarily disagree with that. However, you are missing a couple of important points:

1) I was responding to your original point that the new French club would produce junior talent in a space of 10 years which was 1/10 of the time (100 years!) that Leigh has taken. So to then go back and talk about the last maybe 5 or even 10 years is a bit ridiculous.

2) You are not looking at the very strong amateur set up in the town of Leigh which has fielded many current and past SL players, and internationals. Because of economics many of these players went elsewhere to earn their money (understandably) but if this was different, we would comfortably have a production line of good talent. We have just signed 3 very good younger players from Easts and Miners, and we will see where these guys end up.

In any event, as the strength in depth of the French international team is so weak, it would be very hard to judge the comparative success of junior development between, say, Leigh or any other English team for that matter.. and Stade Francais. SF may produce 6 French internationals, none of whom might get close to the GB team.

I would suggest an 18 team ESL with 4 or 5 French teams in it would be the long term goal. Get a TV deal like the NZ one for the NRL where a French TV company pays a decent whack for screening rights. Very much doubt we will ever see the French game strong enough now to have a 12 team fully pro league.
4 French teams, 2 Welsh teams and 12 English Teams would be a good 50 year goal for SL.

You think starbug is in cas? try to pay attention, confused trolls arent as interesting.

There are plenty of computers in cas thanks, many thousands in fact, though it doesnt shock me that something so obvious would suprise you.

You really didnt think that a town in western europe had electricity? the austrlian education system must really be failing.

for your reply which was amusing

its also good to see you thinking of responding to me at 2 am in the morning.

me id be going for a tea or warm milk to sleep, or if during the weekend stronger substances to party

but hey, its good to see you thinking of me mate.

yeah i agree, leighs only purpose in life should be the following :

1. not going broke
2. producing players for wigan
3. being responsible for the abolition of P&R via their sole season in SL.

...................not to mention that the UK software company involved in the production of the various SL video games (including the new one out in 2010) is based in Cas.

Will any of the lower clubs ever have the finance needed?

50 years is a very long time, I would hope we could have more than that in 50 years time.

Probably not , without a ' definate ' path to SL no Championship club will pull in the neccessary investment , and with the RFL's lack of idea,s on how else to build the clubs outside SL they will never build the fan bases to make the revenue

Will any of the SL have the finance needed? Judging by the latest financial results of a club that finished fourth - it would seem not.

It's still too early to judge yet but i wonder how many clubs (SL & non-SL) will go into administration during the next ten years.

Probably a few unfortunately

But things arent as bad as they are being made out. Wigan, Leeds, Hull, Warrington, Bradford are safe and sustainable. Les Catalans seem to be absolutely fine. Huddersfield have the backing they need. Saints seem to be very close to having a stadium sorted which will safeguard their future.

which is 8 of 14 who are absolutly fine which isnt a terrible ratio.

plus Wakefield are moving quickly with their new plan and it looks very encouraging.

the 2 expansion sides clearly need to improve their situation but that is always going to a longer term thing,

Which in a league of 14 only leaves us three who look unsafe and none of that looks close to being immediate

Swinton in a one team league then!!!











Geography not your strong point

10 years for South Wales to make it to SL. 10 years for Paris/TO to make it to SL or to stabalise if they both get there at the same time. It would be a brave RFL to introduce all three in 10 years, following the teething problems in Wrexam, so I would expect the three to take 15-20 years minimum. Then we need to find two more french teams, can't introduce them both at the same time and will need about 10 years each. So 40 years is a minimum for the 4 extra french clubs and 2 welsh sides. If any club fails to stay afloat add another 10 years to get it right.

Is it your view that the game has "made it" in London? Would be interesting to know where this region fits into your suppositions above [iby comparison[/i.

At who's expense? Barrow (a shoe in for SL 2012 IMO), Widnes?

The RFL set these guidelines/standards for the clubs to meet, thus creating them eligible for a SL licence. Toulouse haven't yet met any of them. If they get granted a licence ahead of clubs who have met the criteria then IMO it's a disgrace. The same goes for Stade Francais, they aren't even in the NL yet and they're on about a SL 2012 licence?

You're a bit wet behind the ears lad.