..back for 2021?

Bradford Bulls Chairman (I think) said at a fans meeting, attended by Ralph Rimmer tonight:
“We believe that from 2021 a new Super League structure and licensing format in any event will be in place"

Used to love the Grade A license chat, good luck to James Rule getting that at Widnes

2021?

We've got time to burn through a couple more innovative new formats before then, I reckon.

Times changing again, a few snippets of info from this meeting. RFL moving away from Red Hall, possibly to Bradford.

The concept of franchising was odd IMO but ended up being massively compromised by the (mainly understandable) self interest of club chairmen. No successful format template is there?

Surely licensing wont work when youve got Toulouse, Leigh, Toronto, Potentially Bradford, London then maybe a US team trying to get in? Put licensing in place and they cant all get in unless it means that existing SL teams be sacrificed (Wakey, Widnes, Salford) - actually it could work

Finally putting the office block at Odsal to good use then and make money selling Redhall.

Expand the competition to 18 franchises

Don't forget Montreal, and Eric Perez is after getting 2 clubs in the USA also.

I heard (posted on Bradford's board) locally some time ago that the "plan" was to sell Red Hall, redevelop Odsal and build a new stadium on Richard Dunn site. Sounded unlikely but some elements of it might be true.

licencing is fine but they need to enforce action against those that ignore the conditions

If the Allams boot us out, can the RFL relocate to the real heart of Rugby League and redevelop Costello.

Change the habit of a lifetime. Wakey were threatened for 10 years with expulsion for a crap ground, whilst other clubs weren’t allowed promotion because there ground wasn’t for for purpose.

The Allams can't boot us out, that's a fact. Many covenants on the ground and it's funding, it's a public asset and, ultimately, the Council are our landlords, which means the people of Hull are actually our landlords.

And Costello has never been "the heart of Rugby League"

I'm not really sure I want licensing back.

What did we have it for, 6 seasons (2009-2014)? I found those seasons to be pretty boring, particularly as a Hull fan because we were crap, but also as a whole. Mediocre clubs would be rewarded with a playoff spot.

The current structure is exciting no matter where your side are battling it out. We have the battle to make the top8 in July, then the battle for the playoffs and the Middle 8 battle, culminating in playoffs/GF and the MPG.

The new structure has seen a rejuvenated Championship. Would Toulouse have re-joined, and Toronto joined in their pathway to SL was shut? Would we see the investment at Leigh, London & Rovers last year if they knew they couldn't make SL? For ambitious clubs, the pathway is there for them, and the cream will rise to the top.

Licensing did have it's plus point in that youth was given more of an opportunity 9usually when all hope of a playoff spot was gone), but I think this can be mitigated somewhat via reserve sides.

Maybe something in the middle? Expand to 14 sides = 27 league games, top6 playoff, bottom 2/Champ top2 playoff, but promoted clubs also have to satisfy specific criteria before being granted a place? We all have our own ideas on the structure, it's not a simple one to fix.

Do one. It was tongue in cheek.

"Do one"?

it will work if you increase the size of the league to 16 teams each playing each other home and away, then there's more room for both new and heartland teams and teams won't be playing each other so many times in a season

are there enough players of the right standard though?

If licensing is put through one of the criteria to meet should be that any club has to have a fully functioning academy set up.

It should also be compulsory for all clubs to have a genuine reserve team to play in a structured league alongside the SL fixtures for young players on the fringe to get regular games alongside players that do not make the 17 each week. The farce of the U23's where some clubs participated and others didnt and some of the ones that did couldn't be d to feild a team at times was just a total joke.

Unless the game as a whole start to invest in the young players and improve the way they come through to senior level the game will never expand.

I think the licensing scheme was done to death, previously. League sealed off and 14 clubs sharing the tv cash led to the big 4, with other teams finding it hard to fund the catch up. An open system with salary cap and promotion/ relegation, has led to super League becoming far more competitive. If the RFL revert back to franchising, would the league become a 16 team competition, with the existing 12 plus Toulouse, Toronto and the top 2 in the Championship. I’d definitely miss relegation, it was my favourite part of 2016 season, second only to Wembley.

Are you my newest bestest friend that I don’t really need?

Very odd thing to say...

James Rule is a better CEO than Clarkey could ever dream about, given the type of owners he was having to work for and covering their s/making decisions based on direct instruction from the owners and covering/sorting out the other wrong uns in the club he did a fantastic job.
All too easy for you overlook the positives he brought to the club and the he had to take for others misdemeanors/ineptitude.

Licensing should be a good thing, however it should not remove promotion and relegation on a yearly basis, in any case bradford should be nowhere near, i'd rather Halifax or London be given a gig at the top table.

I miss James Rule and his A licence chatter.
And his announcing of new signings as soon as our season finished. Usually about April.

He was a complete 4rse and oversaw a number of unacceptable happenings at the club. He was a decent front man and marketer but way out of his depth as CEO

And banned from the game for a while......