Or more than one. Could be two or three teams changing places but i doubt it.

I'd love 'Fax and Widnes to be back in SL, two of my favourite away games. I think Widnes are nailed on for a franchise, most probably at the expense of Salford/Wakey, but I wouldn't rule out Halifax. A decent ground, good fan base and a decent squad. Ditch the Harlequins, had their chance and will never get their good days back.

Thanks for Info Wilf. I didn’t realise that decisions were going to be made as earlier as that regarding licences. It makes sense though to allow the team to recruit earlier to give them enough time to be competitive from round 1. With that being the case, clubs looking to secure definite stadium plans have less time than I thought and are therefore more vulnerable to losing their licences.

I get the feeling a lot of people don’t think there will be a lot of change to the teams. However if the RFL stick to their word about how they grade teams, then there may be more changes then people think.

What do people think about Toulouse Olympique chances? The RFL are putting so much into that that club that I feel they could be the shock inclusion, just like Celtic where in the last franchise. Toulouse is a larger city than Perpignan. The inclusion of Toulouse will increase the interest of French TV: more coverage, more TV money, more sponsoring money. It will also give more credibility to the European dimension of the SL.

I think it could very well happen!

Just out of interest, how did you formulate these gradings?

Assuming the 12K capacity is achieved then you will get the extra point but the stadium must meet the standard of a premier sporting competition, which is judged on the quality and quantity of its facilities. I don't think Hull KR could get a point for that. KR will get a C again. However I think a lot of clubs will get a C. So it will be down to RFL to judge who they prefer. If two teams have the same points but one has a newer stadium and offers expansion, I think they will choose that over other criteria such as attendance etc

The criteria are as follows:

1. A stadium capacity of at least 12,000.
2. An average crowd of 10,000 or more
3. An average crowd that fills more than 40 percent of a club's stadium capacity.
4. A turnover of at least £4 million per annum.
5. Solvency, in accordance with accounting definitions of solvency, although this criterion can be satisfied if there is a written owner's guarantee of the club's debts.
6. A reasonable playing strength, which is likely to be satisfied if the club has finished the season in the top eight in each of the last three years.
7. A reasonable playing contribution to junior development, judged by the number of scholarships and performances of the club's under-21 and under-18 Academy teams in the last 3 years.
8. The stadium meeting the standard of a premier sporting competition, which is judged on the quality and quantity of it's facilities in accordance with detailed criteria.
9. Geographical position: clubs that are more than 20 miles away from any other likely Super League club will be allocated one point for this criterion.
10. Compliance with salary cap regulations. Specifically, clubs must not have incurred any breach in the last 3 years.

Work starts soon apparently on the East Stand extension, so we will be over 12k capacity. =#FF00001 point

Plus we also get a point for contribution to the competition, thats for finishing an average of 8th I believe. =#FF00001 point

So that would be 2 points added to our already C grade license, if it goes on the same criteria(which there is no guarantee it will), we could easily get a B grade license.

Personally I dont think we have anything at all to worry about!

What if you finish 12th or below this year?

We both know that aint going to happen

Not this early in the campaign we don't we won five on the bounce last season, then crash, bang, wallop



Injuries can for instance can cripple teams, I reckon after about round 12 things become clearer, I am not suggesting you will not but I am pointing out we have only played 7 games so far.

Yes thats fair enough and I realise that but we have a squad that is not going to finish so low in the table. We have started pretty slow and played some poor rugby so far, we have yet to hit some good form, hopefully this will come. If it wasn't for our no show against Wakefield in the second half, we would be sitting pretty on the same points as you guys and its been pretty poor start for us.

Does belle vue really hold 12k?

And does the solvency criteria discount recent winding up orders?

Surprisingly it does hold 12k although that's never really been tested barring the Cas relegation decider. Without fully knowing the in's and out's and how exactely they determine being 'Solvent' i couldn't say with certainty.

Im not too bothered about Widnes coming up. Would love to see a Cumbrian side in the super league. I dont think the rfl would have the bottle to throw out Harelequins because they have poor attendances. Crusaders with them moving up north will help them but is that too close to Widnes. I hope Toulouse dont get a franchise this time, because they seemed to hurry the Celtic Crusaders through and look what happened, maybe next time around. If Wakefield dont get one will Halifax replace them. With the teams under threat surely that must have an effect on the length of contracts they can offer players. Could be some bargins out there next year

Confirmation of criteria is expected late May, there could be changes There is rumoured to be some discussion about the under writing bit, which could change, because it is felt that the future of a clubs survival should not be just in the hands of one person as that frustrates developing the business.

Bookmarked just in case

Very thought-provoking post.

For me, they will bring just 1 team in with one of Quins, Salford and Wakefield to go out.

Quins and Salford seem to have their problems but have (or will have) good grounds and represent a potentially huge fanbase in 2 major cities. I'm not saying it's morally right but I think they'll hold on in there.

Wakefield have made too many promises for me. Where is the ground they promised in 1998 ?? They have a poor fanbase (both home and away), limited youth development and still no sign of a new ground (if you belive their propaganda about a ground in Stanley you are a fool !). No way can SL be sanctioned at that dump (Queersmell Stadium or whetver they call it this week) for any longer.

So it's bye bye wakey for me.

Incoming, my head says Widnes but my heart says Halifax. Both are strong traditional teams and are pulling respectable crowds in the lower division. They have both proved that they pull bigger crowds at a higher level.

Barrow are too dependent on 1 man's money and a lot of short-term signings. Not enough depth to the finance or squad although I'd like to see a Cumbrian club make it to SL one day.

You really think Salford offer more than Wakefield?

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And if it wasn't for getting 2 points against Cas, which was a joke, and if you hadn't played Leeds and Sts Academy teams you would be near the bottom of the league. if you lost Dobson you would finish bottom 4

And if it wasn't for a disgrace of a VR at Cas and two absolutely decimated sides in Leeds and Saints, you would be sat on two points at the bottom of the table !!



Or have you chosen to ignore those facts ??

Sorry Monk you beat me to it !!!



I think he just chooses the facts that he wants to see and ignores the rest !

I'm pretty sure both them sides had alot more international players on the park then we did, or do you ignore those FACTS?

Plus you want to talk about injuries, you beat Hudds and Bradford with both of them losing their best player prior to the game, FACT!

Dont know what you going mad about to be honest, you guys have the start you wanted and like I said, I'm not happy with the way we have played but we have got a decent point tally so far.