But that's life and business.
The weak die, the strong survive.
Like I said though, no club should be dropped yet. We're all still weak in the grand scheme of British sport so we do need to watch each others backs

Yes I know, but when franchise criteria are in place and being met there's no 'deadwood' to cut out, is there?

we are probably at the very edges now, 14 maybe but we cant stretch it much further,

the problem we have is that Widnes are aiming to be ready for 2012, so are Toulouse, then Gateshead, Skolars and Sheffield around 2015, which means we have another 5 clubs looking to be ready for SL in 5 years time (the decision will be made in 2014 for the 2015 season) if all succeed in their plans and are ready when they aim to be, we are going to have a situation where we either expand to 16 in 2012 and 19 in 2015, which is probably too much too soon, we leave clubs who are ready in the championship which isnt a good idea, or we drop one or more of the teams in there



what would be the point in that? when space in the league is at a premium, why not consolidate here?



if Salford havent made movement on their stadium pretty soon, i think they will become manchester



they have a decent fan base, besides that they are no further on than wakefield, Cas or a few other clubs,

their problem is they are overshadowed by a much bigger neighbour, i think they are also at risk,

maybe so, i can see the benefits, but i agree, i prefer a conference format

this is sport and life for you

elite isnt for the little guy its for the elite

if all clubs were at or close or had route to being A licenses that would be the case,

The thing with Toulouse is they would be fishing from another pool, that's why I feel they will be ready come 2012.
Widnes/Leigh in 3 years time we should have the player pool to support another club, especially if they have their own youth structures in place (Franchise Criteria) that's my opinion anyway.
Personally I wouldn't be looking to expand further in '15, it's a bit of a way away so hard to tell. If two teams were to be promoted in '12, which I think they will then a current SL club MAY have to go by the wayside.
You mentioned consolidatino between the two Calder Valley clubs. Maybe, however come 2012 one might be in such a stronger position it could well be a takeover never mind a merger. I have a sneaky feeling Wakefield could be dropped depending on how off the field matters progress and many of their playing staff move across however if they can sustain themselves and pass the criteria, they stay, regardless of who's ready below unless that team proves they have their market.

But it's not 'franchises' for you, is it? How come the Cincinatti Bengals are still in the NFL? They've been consistently sh*t for years after all. How come the Packers are there? Relative to the rest of them, they're a very small town.

Franchising is supposed to be about raising the standard of everyone who has one to an appropriate (in this context, elite) level, then expanding that base for those who aspire to join. For an organisation to lose a franchise they should be either persistently failing to meet the required standard over an extended period or have commited such a heinous sin as to make their continued participation utterly untenable. Given that no organisation is going to willingly commit suicide in that way it should be a very rare thing indeed, wouldn't you agree?

They don't need to be A licenses though do they, because in reality it is impossible for a club outside of SL to put together a bid good enough for an A license. The best they could achieve would I guess be a "strong C".

I imagine that every existing SL club ought to be a B or strong C by 2012 and if I recall correctly clubs can only move up or down 1 grade at a time so even a B would guarantee that clubs inclusion for 6 years which sort of makes life very difficult for any potential new entrants.

so you would be more comfortable with the owners of say Castleford moving the club lock stock to say leicester?



i think eventually yeah, but right now we arent at a position where any club is meeting the eventual required standard, any of them,

some arent far away, probably only leeds and hull could say they are close, but both can and need to improve,

the rest arent close, some are very far away indeed

the minimum standard we are asking now is pretty low, and as the league is structured now, i dont believe it is possible for all the clubs to make a the standard we will ask of them, some have made very little progress towards that,

its worth remembering that in your example, there has been many changes to the make up of the the NFL mostly in moving to bigger cities