You should maybe see a psychiatrist about that inferiority complex of yours.

You really do not have a clue do you? The RFL cannot win because they are a bunch of incompetent fools who simply make things up as they go along.

You`re at it again ..........sshhh.

What? No, it was an excellent idea in principle, but the way it was implemented and the format was stupid and was never going to be successful. Ideally it would be played as a one-off match in October the week after the Championship GF. If they wanted to expand it, they could include the NRC winners and French Cup winners and make it into a knockout tournament. That way, all teams would be 'in-season' and we could promote a meaningful competition, rather than what we had this time which was a bunch of virtual friendly matches that nobody took seriously.

Until the two seasons are aligned, it's never likely to come off as it will always be a mid-season distraction for one side and a delay to end-of-season holidays for the other.

Read my earlier post

Its still a stupid idea, we already have a European competition, anything below that is just a sham, the maximum involvement should be the GF winners and the NRC winners in a double header as reward for winning the relative comps

That's pretty much what I said?

Super League isn't a European competition, it's the top tier of British RL and happens to include a French side currently. Equally, this wasn't a cup to determine the 'Champions of Europe', it was the Anglo-French Challenge between the top sides in the Championship and the LER. If people thought it was being billed as a European Championship or whatever then they were wrong, I can't blame them because the media coverage and information about this competition has been so minimal but that doesn't mean a challenge match played between the respective champions in October couldn't be successful.

You're boring me now so I'm just going to ignore your desperations.

Anyway, back to the subject. The sheer difficulty of trying to locate the schedule and now the results of this competition explains a lot. The format is also very unattractive and has basically resulted in 4 friendlies (as the actual Euro Championship match isn't even between the top sides in each comp).

There is a potential concept here. As a potential television viewer, I'd rather watch the top side in France vs the top side in England than a mid-table Championship clash. There will be many others like me (as will there be others not like me).
But the person that has organised this has done an absolutely shocking job to the point where it could kill off the idea altogether. There needs to be a perceived value to the competition for clubs, and fans (not only of the clubs but casual viewers also), and this format has failed massively on all fronts. Even if it was attractive, no-one would know it was on!

Lessons to be learned. But lessons you feel an adequate person would already know unfortunately, so I can understand the frustrations here.

Successful as in how? , other than as a boozy weekend in France or the north of England, it would never be more than that, and it is European Super League

No matter how you run this it would fail, the Championship doesnt need or want a European profile as long as there is a higher tier it would be looked upon as a sham, people are not stupid enough to be fooled into thinking this is the pinnacle of a sport in the same way the Champions league or Heineken cup is

It is a daft idea

There is absolutely no logic to this.

It's akin to saying "we already have a British competition, anything below that is just a sham." If you really believe that, then every competition in every sport that isn't the top level is a sham. Yet they are everywhere.

The only thing daft is the logic behind your opinion.

It's not been sold as a Champions League or a Heineken Cup. Nobody is being fooled into anything. Only the people who moan about anything are moaning that the concept is of no value to anyone. There are many fans of lower league clubs that can see a value (some even in this thread). Just not in the current format.

Dear tedious little boy, if you`re going to state that you`re going to ignore please do so. You ended up just writing what the majority of Championship fans had already stated.
We all knew it was a poor format and pi ss poor timing but you decided to protect one of your VT experts.

But there is no format that will fit into the seasons, the lack of money both the English and French clubs have and the disruption it causes to each countries competitions, if we had full time squads, an excess of spare cash, played at the same time of the year, then fine, but we dont, so it will cost money to run, money that will never be made back, and money that could be spent better elsewhere

I don't like the word "never". It's defeatist. Everything is either not needed, will never achieve anything, is pointless, a sham. What's the bloody point in doing anything in this sport?!

You really dont get it, its lower tier sport, it doesnt need an International angle to it, it needs local marketing to the local populations of the clubs in it, it doesnt need live TV exposure, a well done highlights show would suit it better and could then present the sport at that level better than low attended midweek games

The RFL seem to have this fixation with treating the Championships the same as SL, when a completely different approach is needed, I'd suggest 95 % of Championship fans come from within 3/4 miles of their clubs location, that is where the clubs need help in building their support bases, similarily with sponsorship, most Championship sponsorship is based on support/love of the club/town than any actual financial returns

Yes a few years ago there was a clamour for TV coverage, when in fact what was really being requested was a paying TV deal, as soon as it became apparent that the Championships are not considered valuable enough to bring in a money for TV coverage, live coverage should have been dropped

The gap between the Championships and a franchised SL is now too big to be bridged , so its time for the Championships to be treated differently to SL , but it would seem the RFL are one trick ponies, and not very good ones at that

Once a new RFL Chairman is appointed the 1 st thing they should do is source and appoint a Championship ' Director ' with the specific job of building the competition and the clubs in them, he should have at his disposal a budget, seperate from any other influences

Good post that sir.

It aint a bad idea it just seems very rushed in the planning. Maybe it should have been all played in France?

Its outside the French season and in the middle of ours. On Thursday Leigh have a top of the table clash with Sheffield, in the coming weeks we have a NRC quarter v Batley and play another top of the table clash with Fev.
Knowing the French would be poor Leigh took 3 players from East/Miners, brought back our two Academy DC's from Wigan and Widnes, brought in Greg Burke from Wigan Academy and gave the fringe players a run out.
It was still 40-0 after 60 mins.
The concept has a chance with a Championship GF in August followed by an Anglo French Comp in September.

The RFL told the clubs about the games in November. They didnt know who they were playing, but knew the dates or proposed dates.

I notice the case for the defence has been dropped

, hopefully any further forays into international semi pro club competition will be simpler, better thought out and properly implemented, or better still just forgotten

Perhaps, if the RFL decide to repeat it next year, the French should be playing against CC1 or perhaps even the Conference League.


OK, perhaps that is a little out of order but I honestly fail to see what purpose it serves.

Can anybody find an attendance figure from the Carcassonne V Sheffield game?

Given out as 3,250 , however it was free entry through open gates, one of your fellow Sheffield fans who attended suggested around 1,500 was a more realistic number

Good to see coverage of this ' event ' on B and A