Ok here is the 1st paragraph from Gareth Walkers report on page 3 of the League Express this morning.

Rugby Football League chief executive Nigel Wood has confirmed that the RFL will again guarantee a licence for a Championship club from 2015

He also states, "we're not looking to pull the drawbridge up in any shape or form"

..and here's another bit that might make you smile a bit - A lot of clubs are making progress off the field and with their facilities, and you look at places like Leigh and Halifax, and they are playing at facilities that three and five years ago were not finished, or in some cases not even contemplated.

God forbid !!!!

Is this "the LSV didn't exist at the time" reiterated again

Told you it would make you smile

Well that is a big surprise, and a very pleasant one too. If we can keep it up on the pitch and get more fans in, keep bringing through Leyther after Leyther like we are at the minute then we could have a real shot at SL in 3 years time.

Thats the positve way of looking at it nozzy.

The negative way of looking at is..The rfl are going financially back to the hilt the club that comes down to make sure that one club wll meet the criteria set out.

As a club we need to try and avoid being cynical about the RFL's motives if we are to have any Super League ambitions, and look at what we need to do to submit as strong an application as possible.

No , we need to become the best Club in the Championships , the aim should be to double our current average attendances , hopefully starting on thursday

I do try not to be cynical but its bloody hard not to be.

SC exemptions - parachute payments,rule changing at the last minute, the debacle that is wrexham.The list is endless.

Agreed, we have a nice shiny stadium and a great team rammed with local talent. We all now how much the RFL love to hear the words 'new modern stadium' and 'local talent'.

We have a very dedicated backer who works wonders for our club and a respectable fan base. All these are great points to start to build an application on.

After a few years of being below par our team is now looking very strong and stable. We need to use this to gain more fans, and hopefully some trophies!

If we can improve our fan base (massively difficult, I know but we have to keep on trying and trying!) and have some success on the pitch over the next 3 years then we will have a great case. We have the stadium and the local talent, the only thing holding us back is the fanbase and team on the pitch. These two are linked together and the team seems to be on the up, we need to make sure (somehow!) that the fanbase matches it. If we can do this then we will be a stronger club all around, SL or no SL.

It won't be easy but it its not impossible either. There is a lot of positivity around the club at the moment so lets build on it and, more importantly, lets enjoy it!

I'd disagree , if you do start to link the two , thats when things start going wrong , you cannot control what happens on the pitch results wise , you can attempt to play attractive attacking RL , but you have to grow the fan base irrespective of what happens on the pitch

Step back , ask yourself why do you go ? , why did you start going ? , what was different then to now ? , what do you need to do to get back whatever it was that brought you there in the first place ? , will that attract other people who have been before , but dont anymore ? , will that attract people who have never been before ?

Then sit down and find a way , different people want different things , find a way of providing those different ' experiences ' within the same stadium

A 4,000 average in the LSV , with a playing ' tick ' will get Leigh Centurions into SL eventually

With the reorganisation of the Championships around the corner, wouldn't it be an ideal chance for the RFL to apply some ConDem austerity measures and save themselves some money by sending the French home, must be costly all these air fares etc. for Catalans and Toulouse. Wakey would then be safe and no one would come down. Savings for the RFL would be huge AND they wouldn't have to give out a parachute payment either

What and deprive the RFL 'bods' their jollies, heaven forbid

I'm not saying that an improved team will automatically mean an increased fan base, it will take hard work to improve the fanbase even with success (and even more hardwork without success). And even if crowds do grow, success won't stay forever, but we need to make sure these new-found fans DO stay. So fans and success aren't completely linked.

But they are linked to some degree in that it will be easier to increase our support with a better team and better results on the pitch. If we want to increase our support (and we do!) then it will be easier to do when we are playing well. And even though we can't always control our results or success, we can (to a degree at least) control the entertainment of the rugby being played. Under Millward we are playing much more attractive stuff then we have seen from a Leigh side in years, this will help keep people coming back but we need to get them there in the 1st place.

I don't know how to get our fanbase to increase, but hopefully somebody at the club does and any schemes or offers we come up with will be better recieved if we are playing well and getting the results. Keeping them coming back when the team isn't performing will be even more difficult and I don't know how that could be achieved, but for now our main concern has to be getting new fans in the 1st place! A good team will help with this!!

The cheapest scheme has to for the fans to start spreading the word, which looking around on here and other websites people have started to do. Doing that in tandem with anything the club can come up with should eventually bear fruit

are you insinuating the RFL bods actually [uenjoy[/u their beanos in the south of France ?

it's a tough job and someone has to do it !!!



anyway,back to the south facing terrace with this rather delightful glass of 2007 Corbiéres.............

hic !

But the trouble with France is that there are too many French there.

Sorry sanjunien, my post was not intended to offend. I was looking at the issue with my common sense head on, but we all know that isn't something the RFL are too strong on. Surely the French game would benefit from having both sides back

Derek, one of our esteemed programme correspondents is suggesting just that in Thursday's programme - i.e. now could be the time to send Catalans and Toulouse back, into the improving Elite Championship in France. Partly because of what the French adventure is costing the RFL, and partly because those two teams could do more for the cause of French RL, by playing in the French league, rather than 'ours'.

I'd suggest that we also have to work 'hand-in-hand' with the RFL, to make sure we can move with the goalposts. That's what Steve O'Connor says Widnes have done. (although he didn't actually mention the goalposts bit!

)

Fancy wanting a strong french league instead of a ESL, Bloody flatcapper.

unfortunately there's too many bloody english here also - they're completely ruining the country coming over and claiming benfits etc and draining the resources.
Wish they would all go back to blighty and leave france for the french to enjoy again.
Most of them are a pain in the derriére...

no offence taken mate,on the contrary what you say makes sense but the RFL seems to have embraced this great 'expansionist' vision which they intend continuing with.
Maybe Catalans & TO back in a re-vamped LER would be a good thing for french RL ?
I don't know to be honest but all I can say is that Catalans have a strong SL fanbase even when the team is down the wrong end of the league.
TO is a different case IMO and probably would enhance the LER and ultimately end up being a 'feeder' league for the Catalans and consequently,the french national team.

Quite a funny post that is when you consider all the whinging that goes on over here about jonny foreigner.

jonny's English isn't he.