Forgetting that I am a Leigh fan with the newest and best stadium available to us



I agree with you , it is totally unrealistic to expect any clubs to be able to find funding for new stadia at this time , then again it was totally unrealistic to have stadia as such an important critera anyway



There is no fair way to promote and relegate any clubs except by what happens on the pitch



Any other system like normal promotion and relegation is flawed and damages somebody , that is life , we cannot all be winners

the best solution is that when the next tv deal comes around is to get extra money and give that money to the championship, each club gets a equal amount of money each season which will make the comp stronger (hopefully full time if they get the right amount of money)and then after 2 years open promotion and relegation again and the team that gets relegated from sl will not be in a financial mess and still a strong comp.

Sorry not allowed , the Championships dont earn any SKY TV money , any money forthcoming is a ' gift ' from the RFL and the SL clubs



The Championships are a ' vibrant ' comp already , the RFL say so

IMO the championships are going to be a great competition over the next 3 years.We are seeing right from the begining that no game is a walk in the park and that any team can beat any team in these leagues.

With the threat of not being allowed to apply for superleague if you have not competed in at least 1 GF this then pushes ALL teams to perform well.

Can you imagine what the last of the three seasons would be like if say Widnes,Halifax or Leigh had not made it to the final for some reason,it would be imense pressure on the clubs.



I for one was against franchising as i feel promotion and relegation kick teams up the butt and bring with it a great Rugby League atmosphere.We are now left with what we have been dealt with and must get on with it.



IMO again, if Gatshead or Toulouse make one of the grand finals then i cant help but feel that the remaining teams do not stand a chance as this is the world of expansion and would easily overcome the question of how good your stadium is.

South Yorkshire.







Because local differences will stop it from ever happening









So you're going to go to Birmingham, magic up a benefactor, stadium, junior development programme etc. I think there is a club in the Midlands that could be ready for a shot at NL2 in around 2012. But you're still light years from an SL franchise.

thats what i think too.



just because wakey dont get a new stadium doesnt mean they wont get a license next time.



stadia arent the only criteria, nor should they be.



its a range of things they look at

As far as stadium criteria are concerned, 'League Express' reported recently that the RFL had visited all the clubs that had promised new grounds in their franchise bids to see how they were progressing. Oh, and tb please don't suggest that anyone (or thing!) might have sex with Albert - the mere thought of such a thing's quite put me off eating the nice choccie bikkie sitting on my mouse mat

Yes results are very difficult to predict at the moment



Unfortunatley the people of the towns where there are Championship clubs dont seem as enthuiastic as you



Only really Widnes are posting any sort of decent crowds

Which has been the case for years, with P&R or licenses

What gets me is that most of the clubs kicking up a fuss are from clubs that without P&R were never, ever going to get back in the top flight, not without a lot of luck and years of carefull building.



Franchising has taken out the need for luck and left just the need for careful building.



Its a complete win for any team outside the top flight to take their own fortunes into their own hands and not have to rely on one good season that culminates in one single game to decide their future.

south yorks my apologies not being from up there i was just glancing at a map.



as for birmingham the joy of a franchise is that it can be moved. so essentially you set up in birmingham at say a football ground. hire in a SL squad, mainly aussie to start i guess then this will attract the acadmeny players. players will switch codes. benefactor there is always someone willing to put money into sport.



franchise work from the top down. you put in the SL team and the rest will follow.



as we all know the whole franchise system is a crock anyway.

Which is why we're not using a franchise system, but a system of three year licenses granted to clubs which have already proved themselves on and off the field in either the Championship or SL.