Rugby League fans?

Those left behind have an option of giving up, breaking away, moving to RU or a slow death.

A competitive team cannot be for 3 years without a guarantee of SL via promotion or expansion, ie Crusaders being guaranteed entry years earlier

Lets face it, Promotion and Relegation in a 2 up 2 down format, providing the Promoted clubs meet a minimum standard, is the only way of getting the best of clubs.

having spoken to a few people about this who i trust know what there on about.

I was led to believe that the criteria released was for a club from the championship to be guanteed to be promoted and announced in march.

then all the clubs who want to apply can do so along side the SL clubs and the best 13 bids granted licences which will be annouced around july 2011.

this might be wrong but thats how i understood it.

Championship club applications to be in by December. 'Winner' announced in March, thus making that Championship season a joke. SL applications in by April, demoted club announced in July. This making the rest of their season meaningless. Great sport we have here.....not

To be fair to the RFL, I didn't think that they could make this franchising system any more farcical than the 2009-2011 decision. I clearly underestimated them

I feel a sorry for the fans of the SL club who will be told in July that they are getting the push ,can't see there being much atmosphere at the ground after that

Theres not much atmosphere now down at the lower end of SL. No relegation to save themselves from I guess

Is it any different to Leigh knowing from July 2005 onwards (probably a lot earlier) that they would be relegated?




Very true

Not especially but that had an impact on the crowd of course, plus having 2 go down that year did not help!

The difference is of course that we got relegated based on our on field performance - the losing franchise club will not (or may not have) that "consolation"...

I am not trying to defend the franchise process but I am not sure why that season would be anymore of a joke than any other. All the clubs who did not get a franchise this time around would still use that season as an opportunity to tick a box from a performance perspective.

If the franchise winning team also happened to win the GF and the NRC then certainly that would prevent a route to tick a box. But if you view winning a trophy as meaningful in its own right then its not quite such a joke.

I assume that ticking a performance box but then failing to get a franchise means you have to tick the performance box all over again?

I might be wrong, but I don't think the RFL have stated what's going to happen after 2012-2015? (i.e. there may well be no guarantee of a Championship side 'going up')

I suppose the big differences is that Leigh was in effect a National League side playing in SL so our base support didn't suffer , equally after relegation we looked to come back up via promotion (and should have done with the squad we had).
The club thrown out of SL havn't got any hopes of that and are guarenteed 3 years in the lower division.

If its a established SL club (and lets be honest unless its Crusaders or Hull KR then every other club in SL is pretty much a established SL club) then I just don't think the club or its fans will get over the shock of it all.

Could you imagine the reaction is someone like Wakey was announced for 'demotion' in July but then went on a great run of results, finished in the top 4 and had a real rack at the playoffs?!

How red would faces at Red Hall be?!?

The sad thing is this could actually happen, then like you say how would they react to that.

Not inconcievable that the ' demoted ' club could make a Challenge Cup final next year

That's a good point as well Steve.

Very doubtful they will do that again , Widnes would have been in competition with Fax,Barrow and Batley this time , if of course the RFL hadn't sneaked in the ' extra ' criteria

Next time we will be competing with SL clubs

That is why IMO we need to be looking at 4,000 averages and becoming self sustaining if we are serious about getting into SL

And we arent going to do that unless we have a serious change of focus both on improving fan base and financing the club

AND that is how crazy this silly "transperently/experimental/ludicrously stupid daft short sighted luny idiotic and suicidal idea which has been unbelievably followed by chairirmen of "safe clubs" who thought it would relieve the pressure on them( as shown them by Fred the shred Goodwin) is.

Richard Lewis has never suceeeded in any sport he has been involved in but the real culprit in this is Gary Hetherington.

It would seem I confused somebody with this post

When I suggested a ' free jolly ' I was refering to the RFL providing the travel costs for the team and a minimum set of coaching staff

The directors pay their own way

I'm sure that still saves the clubs a fair whack.

Saves them a fair whack from an unncessary expenditure, though. Don't see any reason why our league [ineeds[/i a non-UK side in it, though that said I've already got my Euros stashed away for next year

I guess someoene received an irate phone call or three

Don't look on it as a 'perk' though its the only way the French team could play in our league as most (if not all) couldn't afford the trip.