This was posted on the Salford Message Board by a Wire Fan :

"Salford defo staying put,Wakey defo going. Got this from a very good source and look at wakeys letting go list,And before you ask why did john kear turn down the catalan if wakey are going down.Its because he has another job in the pipeline. Salford have to stay put........and change thier name to 1 that has Manchester in it"

Forgetting the fact that he is wrong about why Kear did not go to Catalans, it does make you wonder whether our fate is already sealed. Afterall the RFL cannot be trusted to do anything with an even hand.

It's also interesting that Kear may have another job in the pipeline (Cas anyone?)

I've heard from a source close to the RFL that it's Salford that are going. This is why they are buying up players left right and centre. Next season they need to be in a good league position to hopefully overturn the RFL's plan of swapping them with Widnes. The attempt will be futile as the decision has already been made.
You heard it here 1st folks.

Let's be honest....on one knows. You never know, it might be Leeds & Saints who are dropping out!!!!!!

Of course Salford City Council will be delighted that after pumping millions into the stadium to help the Reds get a new license, the club would then go and do the dirty by changing their name to that of their city’s more illustrious neighbour, negating the reason why the council were prepared to underwrite the build of the stadium in the first place.

Id' stick this rumour in the ‘one to ignore’ pile.

No one knows anything

As has been already said, there are going to be lots of rumours doing the rounds and the best thing to do is to ignore them and wait until the true facts are released.

I agree, know one knows anything. I have said before, the RFL had to draw a line in the sand somewhere and talk tough, they can't seen to be making hollow threats any longer and ultimately not following through if certain clubs do not progress as far as they have previously promised or as far as the RFL require. That all said, if Wakey, Cas & Salford do actual pull off their new ground developments and get them substantially under way (actually building a ground, not just moving the muck around the site) then I think the RFL will have no choice but to give them all another 3 years licence and might not throw anyone out!

The RFL does have clubs like Widnes, Halifax & Leigh that have been able to build and finance their ground developments outside of the Super League and as such, not getting into Super League this time is probably not going to put them under as a business or club. This is important and I will explain why shortly. However, doing that to Wakey, Cas or Salford, if they do actually start to build new grounds, could see one of them with a half finished ground or most probably just simply going bust and taking jobs and the club with them. The RFL will not want that to happen.

While lots of people at the threatened clubs seem to be thinking that the RFL want to kick them out or that it should not be them, but one of the others, I think you are all wrong! What they DO want is all three of these clubs to have nice new grounds and therefore modern facilities to keep them in Super League, in doing so the game as a whole grows stronger and the possibility of bringing back promotion & relegation becomes possible... and they do have at least 3 if not 4 clubs with the facilities to replace any of the current teams if they don't continue to perform well on the field already and that is they key!

I think if they can pull off the new ground developments, they will give all three clubs another 3 years this time BUT of course next time what will matter will be on the field not off it and that is only good for the game!

Ignore it as it'll do no-one any good at all.

What about the Bulls

Nothing in 3 years franchise below Wakey and possibly Cas now on what they bring percentage wise their crowds are plummeting compared to others Odsal is poor the pitch is rubbish built on a speedway track. Do the RFL have the guts?

No the RFL dont have the guts.

I think that the RFL are hoping that at least one of us cas or salford don't get our grounds built so it leaves them with an easy decesion.

As a very interested observer of the whole franchise staduim debacle it was interesting to hear on Look North/ Super league show that the criteria for stadia was a minimuim capacity of 10k of which all these must be under cover.

Well what about Bradford and HKR?

There is no way that there staduims hold 10k under cover. So why is it just Cas, Wakey and Salford that appear to be under pressure??

Just a thought probably clutching at straws but thats all you can do until the concrete gets poured

Possibly cas ???? Get her ! Have a look at the table buddy

the rfl will bend the rules to make any situation fit,lets just say that wakey, cas and salford are all well on with their developments what will the rfl do?

i reckon they will just change the criteria their is no way they are going to let a expnasion club drop out then it comes down to a straight case of hkr or bradford or it should do, if they back up what they have said in past statements it has to be one of those two but will they have the courage to drop former champions of the super league or a club that has risen like a pheonix from the flames in the last 5 years,it wont happen it will still be one of wakey,salford or castleford.

If Cas, Wakey and Salford are all underway with the actual build, surely Bradford are the team to go? bad stadium, out of the top 8, naf youth development (that's getting a bit better).

Look pal not having a pop but its based partly on the past years contribution to the competition, Wakey have hit the semi final of the cup finished 5th and won the Academy League, coupled with our Community programme the only worry for us is the ground and with everything else I still think we are in front of other clubs, the problem is the Club are rubbish at marketing themselves.

Now back to the Bulls?

I like the franchise system and i dont at the same time,i feel for you lot,cas and salford.

I cant imagine going to watch my team and not knowing weather in a couple of seasons they will even be in SL for non playing reasons,how are the club supposed to plan signings/contracts etc if they dont know which division they will be in. I know this used to be the case anyway due to promotion/relegation but considering you could be playing well on the pitch this is ridiculous,im not sure if 1 team will actually get the boot...maybe the RFL have said this to give certain clubs a kick up the @rse,maybe 2 teams from the lower league will come up?? Widnes/Leigh or maybe Halifax????

Don't know why everyone raves about Widnes's chances coming up - they are poor on the pitch this year. How are they going to cope with the significantly better sides playing them. I even think Wakey could beat them at the moment!

The decision has almost certainly been made.

Who is for the chop I wouldn't have a clue.

I can only hope it's not us and somebody else.

I will cherish the Millennium weekend in Cardiff next year 'cos you never know..........

The last 3 years only.

Just leave him in that little world of his own gassy,mebbe he believes what hes saying, poor kid

Quote ="REDWHITEANDBLUE"Look pal not having a pop but its based partly on the past years contribution to the competition, Wakey have hit the semi final of the cup finished 5th and won the Academy League, coupled with our Community programme the only worry for us is the ground and with everything else I still think we are in front of other clubs, the problem is the Club are rubbish at marketing themselves. Now back to the Bulls?'" Tell me, in the contribution to the competition, what has the challenge cup got to do with Superleague ????? If you believe the only problem is the ground then jeeze, you are a shoe in, forget finances and the taxman braying down the door, yessirreee that means =#FF4000EDIT all, having no brass . And if youre not having a pop, neither am I =#FF4000Gentle reminder viewtopic.php?f=33&t=421878 =#FF4000RR

Quote ="REDWHITEANDBLUE"Look pal not having a pop but its based partly on the past years contribution to the competition, Wakey have hit the semi final of the cup finished 5th and won the Academy League, coupled with our Community programme the only worry for us is the ground and with everything else I still think we are in front of other clubs, the problem is the Club are rubbish at marketing themselves. Now back to the Bulls?'" Tell me, in the contribution to the competition, what has the challenge cup got to do with Superleague ????? If you believe the only problem is the ground then jeeze, you are a shoe in, forget finances and the taxman braying down the door, yessirreee that means =#FF4000EDIT all, having no brass . And if youre not having a pop, neither am I =#FF4000Gentle reminder viewtopic.php?f=33&t=421878 =#FF4000RR

If you read his post properly, difficult as you might find it, he is not having a go at Cas, but seeing as you want to bring them into his debate and talk about league positions just remind me when the last time Cas were above Wakey in the charts apart from the last month, I do realise though that you were not in the same competition as us for a couple of seasons

even allowing for that you would be hard pushed to remember me thinks, and fwiw I'd wait till the end of the season before coming on here making embarassing remarks like that one, you never know you might end up looking more foolish than your irritating mate HTH.

Here we go again,you lot can't help yourselves can you?

for these franchises it is about the last 3 years and if you would like to go further bac, yes we were not in the same competition but in the league above, I seem to remember the goalposts being altered to keep you in the top flight once , and you blew that too. So really, your knowledge of your own club is nothing short of pathetic.
carry on scrounging and one day someone may give you a new ground (newts permitting). I feel sorry for the real Wakefield supporters , having to defend you must be so galling, now tell us how you reportedly got that name, it must be a week or so since you told that particular fib

I think that should Salford, Wakefield and Castleford begin building their new stadiums the RFL will bottle it and reverse the decision to stick at 14 clubs.