No Harm or offence taken for I am I Wire fan.

I do agree that there figures maybe a bit favorable but i'd much rather see a club with a 6k+ attendance bolstered by cheap / free tickets, than 3k paying full price. Salford and Quins attendances have been nothing short of pathetic so far this year and they've had more time than Crusaders to create a fan base. I for one was against Crusaders inclusion into the league over Widnes last year, but have been impressed with how they've developed so far this year taking into account the move to Wrexham, I just hope they can keep it up.

We were 4th in the league so deserving of our place. If however this had come in for 2003, and it was the teams struggling in 2002 who faced the chop, then I would have accepted us getting the boot then because we were not really making a good case for ourselves.

However the rider here is that my view on Catalans, is different from my view on other "expansion" ideas, which I generally view as a waste of time, ie Paris St Germain, Gateshead, Celtic Crusaders. Catalans, or Toulouse are a different kettle of fish as they already have an established rugby league history and more to the point, they have good infrastructure financial backing from the local business community.



Yes it is not strictly sporting, however what is fair in sporting terms, is not always the best option for the good of the game, eg Widnes spent money they didn't have in the late eighties chasing on field success, which they achieved, and were rightly acknowledged in the history of RL for it, but then when they went bust they risked the whole future of there being a RL club in Widnes. Wigan nearly suffered a similar fate. A franchising system which forces clubs to be run properly will be better for the future of the game, it will be interesting to see what happens in football, the purest version of a sporting meritocracy, they never have any kind of franchising its a case of winner takes all on merit, but are their clubs financially viable or is there trouble behind the scenes...we keep hearing that Arsenal are constrained for cash because of their stadium, Liverpool are constrained for cash, Man United are in masses of debt, Pompey are in administration....doesn't seem healthy for me, that sport needs to put some tough rules in place.

If Warrington were the team who suffered like Widnes did then my anger would not be directed against the games' administrators, but the Warrington board who had let us get into the state we did. I don't quite buy this idea that Widnes were sacrificed by the games' administrators....Castleford went down the year before Widnes did, and went down again the year after....and they have come up and done ok. Salford went down a couple of years before Widnes did, and went down a couple of years after Widnes did, and they came back up twice as well. If Widnes had been well managed and well run they would have got back into SL through the promotion route and in all honesty they would have beaten off Celtic for that franchise application in 2008, had they not seriously messed up their finances the year before. The RFL didn't make Widnes manage itself badly.



I think they are a waste of time, especially Crusaders. Harlequins have had one thing going for them which is that during the years they have been in SL they have generally been quite well managed on the field, ie they haven't been constant relegation fodder, often they've been playoff contenders and they've had some very good overseas signings. If Widnes had been like that, then they wouldn't have been "sacrificed" by the RFL in 2005, they were sacrificed because they were crap.

My view on SL is that there are too many teams and I would cut some away, starting with chopping those two and if they aren't financially viable as well, Wakefield with it. Salford have got some potential depending on the stadium but if that turns out to be a white elephant then I'd have them on notice as well. A 10-12 team league would be best IMO. If Toulouse have got the cash to be viable then I'd certainly make space for them.

I agree with a lot of your posts but I just can't agree with the last portion of that.
I'd be tempted to move the Quins franchise out of the 25 or even further south, but I honestly think we need a southern franchise or two.
A ten team league would be disastrous, a complete step backwards.

I agree with a lot of the post also. People cite Catalan as an expansion when, in reality, it is an amalgamation of an existing hot bed of pro RL into another one.

We need to face facts the RL, despite the meritous efforts of many individuals, has singularily failed in achieving anything like producing a satellite team worthy of inclusion in top flight GB rugby league. This is because there is not the will of consumers in these areas to attend in any sustainable number. We need to put RL into perspective. One sobering thought is that Old Trafford regularily attracts more people than the entire programme of SL matches (maybe even all RL matches) put together.

It's a regional sport, a fantastic one which we all love, but regional all the same. I, for one, don't understand what the clamour for national expansion is really all about.

Same applies for every sport in the UK when compared to the queens of wendyball, a passtime that absorbs 90% of the money, attention and media coverage available, to the detriment of real sport.

Sort of agree with your sentiment as I can tell you love your RL, but we need to face it we are in a small minority. Always have been.