Super Salford or licence lunacy?

The RFL have spoken. The three-year licences issued this morning will have delighted some and demoralised others. Into the engage Super League come Celtic Crusaders and Salford City Reds, while the other 12 existing clubs can also breathe a sigh of relief (although their inclusion hardly comes as a shock).

But it's the likes of Widnes, Leigh and Halifax who will be fighting for scraps after missing out on a place at rugby league's top table.

Did these sides deserve their fate? Would Toulouse or Featherstone have provided greater entertainment and money-making opportunities? Have the RFL got it right? Let off steam below.

Comments

[Peter...]

To Griffo: OK, matey. Ta for replying and on reflection my previous message to you treated you unfairly. I apologise for that.
I thought this earlier after sending it, on rereading your own post to which I first responded - but thought it best to await a reply from you before putting things right.
This is my opportunity and I genuinely mean what I say. It's obvious we share opinions that matter on those important things currently, in the past, and for the future of RL. Cheers. Be lucky.

[Griffo]

Peter - im not a widnes fan ive made that clear in this blog earlier and im with you on the RFL's ability to mess anything up- they should be called Cock ups are us - this week imho theyve surpassed themselves.

but unless theres a palace revolution then Lewis and co will just carry on ignoring informed opinion and i do fear for the clubs like Widnes and Halifax. The RFL dont care about the heartlands enough despite what they say- they have an agenda and Widnes arent on it- sorry im not being smug honestly.

and i follow the sport and choose a different match each week to go to

[MACKY]

Very disappointing for Widnes. You would expect a business to consolidate the successful areas and build on that. Widnes offer heritage, financial backing and a level of support which surpasses many in the SL. The RL should have included the strongest teams and once it was a healthy attractive competition, then look to expand.
At the moment it looks purely speculative and unjust. Not an image to take forward really!

Paul- Do you stop at xenophobia and stereotyping or are you happy to discriminate across the board?!

[Bobm]

The RFL identified expansion as an aim two years ago (thinks?)...for this reason alone Celtic or Toulouse were to be favoured. However since the first RL international involved Wales playing NZ it's perfectly reasonable to want the country represented in SLE....the E becoming more and more relevant.
Salford's inclusion is undermined by their partner developer entering receivership 48 hours after the main announcement...maybe all is not over for Widnes in 2009?

[Peter...]

To Griffo: If Toulouse were "close" as you put it, it would only be because the already daft points system for franchises had been interpreted and then reinterpreted, to suit pre-determined ends cobbled together behind the bumping curtains long ago. Don't pretend this has some credibility as a default position to heap sanctimony on the clubs you do. It was a farce to begin with and has now only concretised even more (though you'd not believe it possible from past experience of the RFL) Rugby League's reputation as a laughing stock.
I don't know who you follow but don't rely on smugness to see you through. It isn't inevitable but it's quite possible somewhere down the line from the multi-precedents the RFL has now accumulated, your team might well "disappear" without the kind sentiments you provide for the clubs you mention.
Then again, you disappearing alongside this might not be a bad thing for whatever's left of RL at the time. Giving what remains, alongside proper clubs like Widnes, Leigh and Halifax, at least a starting base to give our game back its self-respect, but more importantly its soul.

[Phil]

I'm more concerned with Salford being in than any other issue; the club has a long history of non-achievement, has always been a "yo-yo" club and simply can't get a decent home crowd.
Widnes/Stobart Vikings are a new club with no financial history.
Looking forward to watching and visiting the Celtics; they've performed brilliantly in all areas in only 3 seasons.
Toulouse in 3 years!

[Griffo]

David your half right about the RFL should have just had a process for 2 teams outside the existing 12 -

People seem to think that Celtic were the problem neither were Salford - Widnes fans should be indignant that Both Cas and Wakey were the ones who got in- both way short of whats required and unlikely to get there.

Toulouse arent ready but the fact that they were close at all tells the Leigh's Widnes's and Halifax's of this world that franchising is not for them- and to make the best of life in NL1 or do what some in the RFL would really like and just disappear completely.

But please dont use disparaging terms like flatcappers or xenophobes - well below the standard required - people are invited on this forum by the blogger to let off steam - so let them

[mike hunt]

London Louis get stuffed!
You simply can not compare the 70's to the present day, Are you really richard lewis in disguise justifiying your salary?

[David]

Now there's a suggestion that a French club should be allowed into NL1. What's going on??? How do the RFL expect the likes of Batley, Dewsbury, Sheffield to afford the cost of travelling to play away games. No disrespect to them but their finances won't stand it. And how many fans do the expect the French club will bring over here? It worked with Catalans because they had pots of SL money bt it won't work in NL1 and will cost many clubs dearly. To the RFL - next time you are thinking of a bright idea....don't!

[Robbo]

Excellent decision for RL. The fact that only bias supporters of Widnes and xenophibic flatcaps are complaining to me suggests they got it right. Those that like to label the RFL as incompetent etc should realise that only a well-run organisation would be able to expand its top-flight competition by 15% all in one go having already spread its geographical reach (France) only three years previous. The RFL has done pretty much everything right since Lewis has taken the reins. Catalans have been a triumph, franchising is a master stroke and the choice of one expansion club and one heartland club with huge potential is just what was needed. I was desperate to see Toulouse get in but I am willing to accept this decision. The only thing the RFL did wrong was to pretend the process was going to look at all 19 applications equally and pick the best 14. They were only ever going to include the existing 12 and add one expansion club and one heartland club. They should have just said that from the start and made the decision based on what they believed was the best thing for RL. That's what they've done in the end and I applaud it.

[Peter...]

To London Louis: You say you understand some of the Northern bitterness. To get in touch with reality you need to understand it all. But before you do understand this first and foremost: It has much less to do with "Northernness" than you, those fans of certain clubs well-fed and clothed since SL began, and a scattering of mealy-mouthed journalists and other media (local radio up here in particular) conveniently like to think.
Yes, it IS our game, not some ruling body's plaything. But that has instilled RL with a unique sense of self and pride - as a game over 113 years, and represented throughout generations of communities and support. This evolved into an also unique sense of fairness across a family of supporters who, though the sport had its ups 'n' downs, recognized the instrinsic worth of it - were proud of being able to flourish it at other sports.
This has little to do with being parochial-minded yet is a consequence of it. But in essence it is about a kind of PEOPLE passing a brilliant heritage down the generations. No matter what tribal affiliations or upheavals, a bottom-line of togetherness remained intact. Now it is not about tribal loyalty to any club. Though hate for a rival's club always existed for a tiny minority, this now is the prevalent attitude, through the injustices, isolation, maltreatment and disrespect shown over a full 13 years to the majority who follow RL and its clubs. You think this would go unnoticed by decent RL folk? Do you even think it should have been? You know what? With folk like you I'm not sure.
But we did notice how our fantastic game and its honourable structure have been under attack. We know who by, but more importantly are fully aware of the dismissive mindset of righteousness accompanying them.
Know all these things, LondonLouis, before spouting sanctimony about clubs outside of SL having a straight line to go down for 3 years, supposedly in preparation for further licence bids. How condescending can it be to say to these clubs stuff like that after the contorsions Lewis & Co. have had to perform with supposedly set-in-stone licence rules in order to include you-know-who, and then make a pathetic defence of their decisions last Tuesday. From stipulated criteria highly questionable before then and now a laughing stock.
You've no idea how flawed this whole notion of "expansion" is in the circumstances of the past 13 years if you continue to insist all's bright 'n' breezy for the future. SL from its beginnings has made a mockery of this yes, noble, aspiration. Yet cannot admit it because they simply cannot. It isn't within the psychology of the RFL's, the little brokers of deals clubwise or SL's administrators to do so. Man-for-every-man they're not big enough, so on we go.
And no tosh about gates from whenever as compared to now and in the previous 13 years. I can point to heydays where attendances wiped the floor with any year of SL's. Times when grounds were mostly truly crap. SL can point to nothing "special" about its crowd figures whichever way they interpret them, even with the very era you highlight. Learn something.

[Ian Law]

Disappointed Toulouse and Widnes are not in and Castleford are. The south of France is Rugby League country. Castleford's population is 37,000. Toulouse's population is one million. The potential is there. The RFL have missed a trick.

[lee churchman]

Good choice by the RFL. 1 heartland team, 1 expansion team.
well done to the RFL.

[expansionist]

We are thinking of starting a new rugby union club in the heartland of rugby league. We have already viewed wilderspool stadium and hilton park stadium wich are both available venues. I am prepared to entice fans from the 13 a side game.Although these fans have been raised on rugby league I am certain they will flock to see our superior game. We feel confident within two years we will be accepted into the heineken league

[Griffo]

London Louis- i am an expansionist and happy that a presence in The capital has remained also the decision For CC is fine with me. but as For Lewis and co earning their salaries stop right there.

Poor management has blighted this sport for generations and this week someone should be looking seriously at the governing body's performance because it falls short in many areas

The clear failure to commit to applicants a set of guidelines that would be applied irrespective of who you were was nothing short of scandalous - Different interpretations of criteria for different clubs and there own words in their silly post decision synopsis give them away on that and shows up that a pre-ordained decision was already made

i am not a Widnes fan and actually live in Yorkshire but they are the worst losers . its inconceivable that their application was inferior to a number of existing SL clubs - its clear that despite Widnes's public utterances that theyd been assured the "administration" period wouldnt count against them it has and it does the RFL no credit at all given the vikings current financial situation - which comfortably outstrips many SL clubs - and Steve O'Connor isnt a here today gone tomorrow type of individual- he's a very succesful businessman putting time,committment and cold hard cash into a sport crying out for this type and calibre of investment

The RFL have lost a lot of credibility this week - sadly the Newspapers are too timid to take them to task - So Cmon Chris never mind me letting off steam i dont matter- you and your colleagues face up to them for once and tell them the truth in public about THEIR shocking performance -

youve nothing to lose and plenty to gain

[Mike M]

How can a game so threatened by other sports let itself get into the situation of blood-letting on it's own doorstep. Well done the RFL for taking self-hurt to an altogether higher level. To all those followers of the disappointed clubs why don't you apply to the RFU....
Rugby League was an honest game based on merit derived from the playing field....now it has let itself become debased and corrupt...I use the term wisely.

[Peter...]

To Toffee-brained: Stop living on past glories? When you have a club asking for its sometimes glittering RL history over a generation to be taken into positive consideration in applying to enter SL, being accused by the RFL licence panel of "hypocrisy", because in its immediate history it entered the briefest of periods in administration and asked for that to be put into context to that glorious past, is twisted thinking
To try to say the achievements of a club over at least decades of hard work, nurturing of talent, contribution to the community it represents and many other morally worthwhile things, as effectively undermined by this brief spell of insecurity is, quite frankly, monstrous. As if these achievements aren't worth a carrot because of that? Are they mad?
Trying to use this kind of irrationality as a justification of not only the accusation of hypocrisy on Widnes's part, but to exclude the club from SL, tells you everything you need to know about RL's ruling body. If it doesn't, it should.
History does count, it is impossible not to consider it. It embodies what a club has been and is - otherwise there is no point in any club ever existing.
If you want to discount history, fine. Whoever you support's history starts and ends at the same time, then. Now. But we who support Widnes and all (the vast majority, anyway) who follow other clubs will continue to be proud of our heritage. It is human nature.
Laughable it is, mind, for the RFL to not only disbar a club from SL on an insane premise, but to accuse anyone anywhere of something they reek of now after 13 whole years of honing it into the finest of dark arts. Blimey.

[LondonLouis]

I understand some of the Northern bitterness, but I've actually been quite impressed with this whole operation. The way the various clubs have been graded makes sense, and the "C" group are on notice that their survival next time is not guaranteed should they screw up badly. There's absolutely no disgrace in putting together a competition which Sky finds attractive. You only have to look at the way that crowd figures in the National Leagues seem to have gone up, now that Sky has started covering them on Thursday nights.

Widnes and the others have a clear goal now. There's a guaranteed National League 1 place in the next expansion, so Widnes, Leigh and whomever have three years in which to show that they can deliver performance across all the various boxes. I also like the way that the French are being brought into the National Leagues. From a London perspective (I get to the Skolars every so often), it will add variety to the diet of Northern clubs.

To all those who argue that the game should remain a purely Northern affair, I would ask you to think back to the 1970s, when average gates in the then first division were probably around 4000 and the game was dying on its feet. The history of Fulham, Gateshead, Paris St Germain has been mixed, but the Catalans have worked, and the Crusaders are building on a much healthier set of foundations than previous Welsh attempts to establish RL down there on a permanent basis.

For me, Richard Lewis and his team have more than earned their salaries.

Exciting times ahead.

[Peter...]

To Rachel - Fair? You equate the term "fair" with the RFL?
To accept the points system as fair to all is more madness. Try this: You get a point (wow) for having the facilities and a point for potential catchment of support. How can something in existence be worth only parity with something still theoretical?
Better still is that the worth of something no-one denies is important was further diminished by the leeway we just know was given to certain applications for SL membership, by the mere promise (some jazzed-up plans) of quality facilities in the future. I mean to say, decent grounds etc were original stipulations 13 years ago weren't they?
What is actually the case here is the RFL once more duping people like you into believing this brand spanking new way of doing things is "fair". It isn't, as stated by Mr Rowley of Leigh in blunt terms only. You only have to scratch a little at the surface of this claim by the RFL to see how right he is in more detailed form.
And even if this daft licensing system was "fair" to all, it would only be a case of the RFL finally getting anywhere near true fairness to all in RL, after umpteen failed attempts to dupe us all with other systems and the usual platitudes. THEIR systems.
Pressure from the majority of genuine RL followers brought about new formulae over the whole 13 years of SL. Yet still they try to deceive with more machinations.
Why? Because the mindset of elitism does that. It plays semantics with objectors who point out the realities beneath the attempts at flim-flam. It treats those who matter most with contempt.

[willy stroker]

As a Widnes fan I am upset, but maybe there is hope 3 years down the road, when the Celtics fail to provide the game with any fans infrastructure, or playing depth.
RFL you should be ashamed we all hate you here in Widnes

[Mike hunt]

Hear hear all you widnes and leigh guys as I said expansion doesn't work but the RFL with their overpaid executives that frankly couldn't change a light bulb between them, plough on with the mistaken idea it will work shame on you RFL Gutless as ever and lewis go back to your tennis! If they will have you, If they won't try table tennis and take Wood with you.

[Jim.M]

How on earth can Salford be allowed back into super league? They have not performed for the best part of 40yrs; sometimes promising to but for ever falling flat on their faces. Not a good decision to bring back in a team that clearly not hack it in the top flight.

I expected a more in-depth analysis than that by your correspondent as to why Celtic Crusaders and Salford Whatever are in, and others aren't. There is a inherent hypocrisy in the whole idea of an elite league. From its very inception 13 years ago the mindset which now prevails and is now probably irreversible treats the majority of RL fans with contempt.
In reference to my club, Widnes (a proper RL club with a famous and worthy history, including in a relevant contemporary sense), it is only being in administration last year that stopped us? With a completely different and reliable hierarchy at the club now in place, crowds averaging 4,500+ in NL1, a previous SL average of 7,500+, a top-class ground and genuine support towards 10,000, never mind "catchment", it is only the troubles last year that kept us out?
After all the cheating by Wigan with salary cap offences: the bankruptcy then arm-twisting rescue of Harlequins who last weekend a gate of only 2,200 for a home SL match: the accommodation of a French club with a no-relegation guarantee: the initial inclusion, then non-relegation of Huddersfield likely agreed from some old pal's act before the justified outcry could not be ignored: the shambles of at least several clubs not having the updated facilities since SL's inception: the pitiful crowd figures of some in comparison to Widnes. All of this also occurring mostly in recent times, where weak leadership (read favouritism) from a pathetic RFL throughout SL's existence and up to and including the present, not to mention all the conniving to reinterpret self-made rules and laws - and you are saying Widnes Vikings fell down for being in administration last year? You couldn't make this up.
Secondly, the degrading sight yesterday of Richard Lewis, a bloke from tennis, turning an attempt at grandstanding into a cringeworthy stunt with his announcement of SL licences, while an already riven RL family had to share elation from Salford and Wales at the expense of the misery and utter disbelief of Widnes supporters - all this too, on Sky Sports News. How awful is that? What do we look like to other sports? It doesn't bear thinking about.
Yet to top even that off we had Richard Lewis and his unfortunately pained expression, giving justification for barmy decisions taken without any sense of proportion from a total lack of perception of what most fans out here really think. And absolutely no knowledge of the uniqueness of Rugby League's culture which made the game special and gave it self-respect. He might as well have spat on that.
The reportage here and elsewhere of yesterday's farce concludes 13 years of the RFL's macabre dance in the assisted suicide of RL's very soul.
Rugby League's soul is now dead.

Peter... Widnes.

[Graham]

Well said Allan Rowley. The only man to have the guts to speak the truth. RFL set criteria and then don't abide by their own rules. The RFL are shameless and are the puppets to SKY TV. Leigh Centurions have done everything correctly and had 1 of the most professional bids and went about everything quietly and professionally. We are solvent, have an excellent youth development and a fantastic new Sports Village that is ready...unlike all of these new stadiums that are now being promised. Don't you know we are at the start of a recession...builders are being layed off and it will get worse. Your promised stadiums won't get built. SL is now a closed shop. The next 2 licenses will be Toulouse and Edinburgh. NL clubs should not allow Toulouse to be fast tracked into the NL competition. If only NL clubs could break away somehow instead of believing the false promises from RFL again and again and again. Rugby League RIP born 1895 died 2008.

[Graham]

Well said Allan Rowley. The only man to have the guts to speak the truth. RFL set criteria and then don't abide by their own rules. The RFL are shameless and are the puppets to SKY TV. Leigh Centurions have done everything correctly and had 1 of the most professional bids and went about everything quietly and professionally. We are solvent, have an excellent youth development and a fantastic new Sports Village that is ready...unlike all of these new stadiums that are now being promised. Don't you know we are at the start of a recession...builders are being layed off and it will get worse. Your promised stadiums won't get built. SL is now a closed shop. The next 2 licenses will be Toulouse and Edinburgh. NL clubs should not allow Toulouse to be fast tracked into the NL competition. If only NL clubs could break away somehow instead of believing the false promises from RFL again and again and again. Rugby League RIP born 1895 died 2008.