It's circa 20 years ago since they were any good, they play in a decrepit ground where the pitch does not meet regulations, have bumbled along in the lower leagues for 10 years or so. They offer nothing to IMG any more than a Halifax or Featherstone, and certainley not a team who sits joint second in SL or a team who featured in the challenge cup final last year. Trinity in their current plight offer more.

If they get in then frankly I don't care about being in the top league.

Quote ="Khlav Kalash"He does make me laugh https://twitter.com/TheGameCaller/statu ... 0459201536'" The narrative theses past couple of years has been “ Super League needs Bradford “ and it now seems to be getting louder by the day. I’ve always thought that the IMG system has been deliberately manipulated to suit certain clubs, currently outside SL,and if those clubs are admitted in favour of current SL clubs, then the game will eventually be in serious trouble, just my opinion of course.

Quote ="Khlav Kalash"He does make me laugh https://twitter.com/TheGameCaller/statu ... 0459201536'" The narrative theses past couple of years has been “ Super League needs Bradford “ and it now seems to be getting louder by the day. I’ve always thought that the IMG system has been deliberately manipulated to suit certain clubs, currently outside SL,and if those clubs are admitted in favour of current SL clubs, then the game will eventually be in serious trouble, just my opinion of course.

Bingo ! we have a winner !

As soon as we move to a box ticking exercise, rather than on field performance, the whole system is open to abuse (just as it was previously) and ultimately, will any change to the clubs in the top flight actually attract a higher level of sponsorship ? NO

We will benifit under new owner i believe..
but if the winner of the grand final has less points then say for eg ourselves ?then in theory we go up .
not sure what effect a few thousand fans and a linch mob would have to IMG.
and indeed the bad publicity

We should do ok with the IMG score, should be top 12.

Up the Trin

It's quite eye-opening looking at the reported attendances at Bradford and then looking at the photographic/video evidence available.

Lots of pages from IMG criteria, happy reading It’s produced to baffle and confuse the average RL supporters, I haven’t a clue how to make sense of this waffle e.leeds-live.co.uk/_act/link.php ... d=12645911

Lots of pages from IMG criteria, happy reading It’s produced to baffle and confuse the average RL supporters, I haven’t a clue how to make sense of this waffle e.leeds-live.co.uk/_act/link.php ... d=12645911

They lose more points than they gain, when the score for % of capacity is calculated and their 3 year finishing position is poor.

Bradford are no where near SL.

To be fair Odsal would swallow up a 3k crowd.

Bradford will struggle to get a Grade B.

Guys calm down. Gledhills knows exactly what he's doing with that tweet and everyone gives him what he wants by responding and getting angry to him.

We're a B grade just like everyone else apart from Wigan Leeds Saints. The liklihood is Toulouse will be the 12th team IMHO Especially if they go up.

If the RFL/IMG/SL or whoever really wants us in SL they would have done it years a go. We've had years of "they won't relegate Bradford" " they'll parachute Bradford in SL" and it's never happened.

Exactly, taking anything Gledhill says (or tweets) seriously is laughable.
He has zero credibility.

I almost agree with you.
However, IMG will have taken a decent "wedge" to come up with something new and if the net result is Toulouse being promoted in place of Fev (or whoever else), it really hasn't been a worthwhile exercise.
As for putting Bradford back in "years ago", I'm sure that if it was worthwhile, they would have but, Bradford haven't been stable enough to put anywhere and it would have been akin to dropping a grenade into the the comp and just waiting for another big bang.
You've had Nigel Wood as Chairman for the last 3 years and he has both ambition and a book full of contacts to help their "re-birth" and as a club, Bradford are al least competitive in The Championship.

I've said all along this criteria can be manipulated to get the teams they want in top 12

It's not the teams "they want in". It's the teams "capable of getting in"
I think Bradford are a long way off but if they can turn it around to get a license then they deserve it

I never understood why they chose Bulls for a moniker, until I used their toilets. It is just like a cattle shed.

Odsal is possibly the worst ground in Rugby League.

Do you think that anything so far could be described as "reimagining the sport" ?
On the plus side, clubs are having to get their houses in order and show that they are making progress towards the new criteria but, ultimately, there looks like being very little change.
Yes, we could see someone like York or Newcastle getting the nod but, their "on field" performance doesn't merit their inclusion but, we could also see a club like Fev or maybe Trinity or Cas missing out and none of this will do much to elevate the sport in the eyes of the media.
Including Toulouse could give RL a wider appeal but, this would also consign a "heartland" club to the "wilderness".
Yes, they would have the opportunity to try and gain "grade A" status but, what will this actually achieve and where is the 5 /10 / 20 year plan ?

Just seen this on Total RL. It appears clubs can also be deducted grading points, and receive fines. https://www.totalrl.com/the-eight-ways- ... -gradings/

Just seen this on Total RL. It appears clubs can also be deducted grading points, and receive fines. https://www.totalrl.com/the-eight-ways- ... -gradings/

Quote ="Dunkirk Spirit"Just seen this on Total RL. It appears clubs can also be deducted grading points, and receive fines. https://www.totalrl.com/the-eight-ways- ... -gradings/'" This is the first time I have seen any relevant detail about the grading system… and it looks promising… I am still concerned about how the sub criteria for points scoring will be articulated and managed… who the authority will be for employing and training and managing of assessors, and how the whole matter will be managed (with clarity) to ensure objectivity. Personally I don’t think the sport will take to this approach… in the medium to long term, but there are good signs here!

Quote ="Dunkirk Spirit"Just seen this on Total RL. It appears clubs can also be deducted grading points, and receive fines. https://www.totalrl.com/the-eight-ways- ... -gradings/'" This is the first time I have seen any relevant detail about the grading system… and it looks promising… I am still concerned about how the sub criteria for points scoring will be articulated and managed… who the authority will be for employing and training and managing of assessors, and how the whole matter will be managed (with clarity) to ensure objectivity. Personally I don’t think the sport will take to this approach… in the medium to long term, but there are good signs here!

Just to expand the subject of scoring categories.
Aaron Bower has written an article about the catchment area process and scoring - it's at thirteenrugby.com but behind a paywall.

He explains that the catchment area population for each club is reached by dividing the Local Authority District population for each club and dividing it by the number of SL/Championship clubs in that area.

So the Office for National Satistics figure for the Wakefield area according to Bower is 353,300 which, dividing by 3, means Wakefield, Castleford and Featherstone will all have a "population score" of 117,767.

Bradford meanwhile have an ONS figure of 546,400 and as they share the District with Keighley that has to be divided by 2, meaning Bradford (and Keighley) have a "population score" of 273,200.

Now to the interesting bit. Every club will score either 1.5 points, 1 point or 0.5 points for this sector.
And the threshold to score 1.5 points has been set at 260,000, with the threshold for 1 point set at 130,000. So Bradford will edge into the maximum 1.5 points, and Wakefield, Cas and Fev get the minimum 0.5 points.

Putting my tin helmet on here, but I'd be very interested to know how they reached those seemingly-arbitrary figures of 260,000 and 130,000. Why not 300,000 and 150,000, or 200,000 and 100,000? I hope the management at Wakefield, Castleford and Featherstone are talking to each other about this.

Have to say one whole point lost for that potentially (and something not in the clubs control to change) is quite a penalty if it proves to be that the clubs will be weighted against each other.

If they are judged against other clubs might be unfair on some level. If it’s against criteria then it’s a bit harsh too on something that can’t be influenced by clubs but means they could have to score higher in other areas to make up an A license. Again probably not fair either. Perhaps the points allocated for this section should be significantly less.

JM explained this.
It isn't divided into 3. We get the Wakefield part and they get the area identified as Cas and Fev. So we have the major share.
We should have full points in this.

From the document https://www.rugby-league.com/uploads/do ... %20Version).pdf it looks fairly clear? • Catchment Area is defined as the population of the Local Authority District where the club’s stadium is located divided by the total number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 clubs in the same area. • The population data is based on the latest census (2021) and ONS Boundaries for Local Authority Districts. METHODOLOGY Catchment Data: 1. Find club stadium postcode and what Local Authority Area it is in 2. Download this file from the ONS website Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) 3. Find Local Authority Population

From the document https://www.rugby-league.com/uploads/do ... %20Version).pdf it looks fairly clear? • Catchment Area is defined as the population of the Local Authority District where the club’s stadium is located divided by the total number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 clubs in the same area. • The population data is based on the latest census (2021) and ONS Boundaries for Local Authority Districts. METHODOLOGY Catchment Data: 1. Find club stadium postcode and what Local Authority Area it is in 2. Download this file from the ONS website Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) 3. Find Local Authority Population

Hmm. Are you saying that what he said is right, and what was published yesterday in the Final version of Gradings Document yesterday on the RFL's official website is wrong?

I'm not saying that. JM updated on the back of his meeting with IMG so I've no reason to disbelieve him.

However, I'm not sure which bit you refer to so please hold the line caller while I check.