Sport Today

So no South Wales after all!! Or for that matter Keighley, Hull or Huddersfield.

It looks like there will be no expansion and that each team will be left with the same
number of matches as this season. Will teams like Leeds and Wigan who have
already complained that they can't make ends meet with only 11 home matches per
season be able to cope financially?

The reason given for not giving South Wales a SL spot is that the RL don't want
them to be humiliated. Could this not have happened to both London and Paris
this season and in some respects has in Paris' case. If you don't give them the
chance then there is no chance of them succeeding.

Another point is who will want to back South Wales in the 1st Division or for that
matter play for them. I'm sure they would've been able to recruit better players
and spectators in the SL than they will in the 1st Division.

IMO, all this talk of expansion of SL is now off the table.

Any thoughts?

Lloyd

Paul
        ww
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Paul;

Dave

Wigan RLFC - Simply the Best

I don't usually agree with Alex Murphy but his article in the Sunday Mirror yesterday
was spot on with regard to expansion. Did anyone else see it?

Lloyd

"What message was the Rugby League trying to send when it didn't fast-track SW
into SL last week.
For me the sport shot itself in the foot.
I don't understand how anybody can think offering them a 1st Div place is any kind
of substitute for going into the elite.
For me, it was purely a question of leaving them in the 2nd or putting them in the SL.
There was no point in doing anything else.
You must wonder how serious RL is about becoming a national sport after this
decision.
What kind of pressure came down to make the RL bosses change their minds about
fast-tracking the Welsh after initially giving the go-ahead for their bid?
I get the impression that the clubs who didn't want Wales fast-tracking - and there
were some - got their way.
I feel for Mike Nicholas and Clive Griffiths who have worked so hard to get
professional RL back in Wales.
They must be gutted by the decision.
What the future holds for them I can't imagine.
It will all hinge on whether they want to fight on and try for SL with promotion like the
rest of the 1st div clubs.
Or whether their financial backer, who was allegedly ready to put up 1m as a
guarantee, will still be prepared to back them.
With top level professional Union as the option in Wales it's difficult to see him
wanting to take second best in League!
What worries me so much about this issue is that it demonstrates yet again the
lack of planning for either the short or long term.
And all the time professional Union is getting stronger. Come on League - get your act together. Or we're all at risk."

Lloyd

John Charnock

|> And all the time professional Union is getting stronger. Come on League - get  |>your act together. Or we're all at risk."

        That's a very simplistic view and one which I certainly wouldn't
        share.  He's probably right about SW and to fast-track or not to                
        fast-track but he's wrong about this.League is currently resting on
        the bedrock of Murdoch's money and seems to be managing quite well.  
        Lessons have been learned - for example you can't just use the money to
        pay your players more - but I think the money WILL (and where it's
        actually been handed over already has) benefit the game.  

        In Union it's a far more complex picture.  There is more money
        flowing in but an awful lot of it is from the pockets of people
        who either want the glory of owning a club or believe that
        Union clubs can become viable businesses a la Man U.  Given the
        continuing perception of the majority of sports fans that RU
        is a middle-class game, the cosiness of clubs, the unwillingness
        to open up tickets to internationals to anyone who isn't either
        a club member or a business person, the almost universally
        antiquated and low capacity grounds, RU in England has a mountain
        to climb before it can justify all the expense.

        League might be in danger of having its best players pinched
        but even that will stop when the sugar daddies get in touch
        with reality.  You might get 10,000 people to turn up to
        watch the Broncos but you're not going to get that many
        turning up to watch any of the London RU clubs without an
        awful lot of very hard work.  I wonder whether Mister Murphy's
        ever been south other than to go shopping up Oxford Street
        on Cup Final day?  

        This is a deep rooted thing.   A class thing in the typical
        British fashion.  Yup, there are working class southerners
        too  :-)  I was one.  Once ;-)

SJ

Still don't know how you get to sign the bottom of one of these things!!
Any clues?

Rob.