Format for European Super League

[blaine train]

Seeing as I don't know much about teams in Europe except for the ones in Super League, can someone please tell me the best fourteen teams to be in the competition when it's finished expanding. Out of all the teams in Division 1 and France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, what would be the most finacially viable teams. They don't have to exist. I'm talking in terms of crowds, profitability and juniors, who should be in the expanded Super League. Thanks in advance

 

[Big Bunny]

It depends on what timeframe you're talking about. Are you talking about 10 years from now or 50? Superleague has the potential to be the hub of rugby league expansion for 100's of years, not just the next 50 as per the NRL.

 

[blaine train]

I'm talking about in 2008, when they intend to add two more teams.

 

[southsman]

Find it hard to believe the Super League will be ready for more expansion by 2008.

1. Gap between the have's and have not's.
2. They still schedule games where the the top finishing 6 teams play each other more times than the bottom teams to try to even the comp up.
3. The fear of failing again like Gateshead, Paris, The last Welsh team.

I think it's great that the French are getting a team, the French League is desparate for a team with the league getting little recognition in France and little opportunity for growth.

Future expansion will likely come through the ranks like the newly administered Celtic Crusaders from South Wales. Would love to see an Irish team and another team from Europe but without alot of promotion and expansion outside the Rugby League heartland there's little to no chance. Local patronage in Ireland and Wales has seen the game grow and I really hope that one day these areas will be hotbeds of talent .

 

[hgfds]

I think it will be a real bunfight for the 2 esl franchises and more competitive than the recent nrl expansion with up to 3-4 uk teams,2 french,1 welsh battling it out,the rfl is going to be critised heavily no matter who gets in.

 

[yankeeboy]

I don't think that the best SL sides will be made of current clubs. For example, do Wakefield and Castleford both need SL teams? I think not.

Here are the 14 sides I would propose for 2008:

1. Celtic Crusaders
2. Toulouse Olympic
3. Perpinya Catalans
4. London Broncos
5. Whitehaven/Cumbria
6. Humberside (either the best of Hull FC vs Hull KR, or a United Team)
7. Bradford Bulls
8. Leeds Rhinos
9. Wigan Warriors
10. St Helens
11. Wakefield-Huddersfield-South Yorkshire
12. Salford-Leigh-Greater Manchester
13. Warrington-Widnes-Cheshire
14. Birmingham-Coventry-West Midlands

 

[hgfds]

I think toulouse + marseille for the esl ,two french clubs would grow the game throughout europe and mediteranean and would be a big boost to international league,forced mergers of uk clubs are a no no when they tried this in the original superleague it caused massive upheaval.

 

[ESL - Wire]

Why would you merge Widnes and Warrington when Widnes average crowd is over 7,000 and Wire's average crowd is over 11,000. And with Wire in the top 3 i cannot see that happening.

Both teams also have newish grounds. Stupid suggestion.

 

[yankeeboy]

11,000 is not a crowd I'd brag about. A combined Cheshire side should be able to get at least 20,000.

And you wouldn't call them "mergers." The affected teams (Widnes and Warrington, Hull FC and Kingston Rovers, Salford and Leigh, etc.) would continue to participate in lower levels as feeder clubs to the ESL franchise.

This is Widnes' only chance to continue in Super League. Warrington doesn't need to do it, but a combined Cheshire club would do much better competitively and financially.

 

[rugby13france-livrade+sav]

Sorry to say you for france you make dreams.

To have franchise you must have money !!,
. where is money in the French RL ?
. where are the patrons ?
. where are captains of industry ?

they are in soccer !!! or sometimes in union or cycling.

Where are the spectators ? where are youngs spectators in the stadium ?

We search them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
We search them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,

 

[LeagueXIII]

By merging teams you assume you get 2 strong clubs in one, but the reality is you are taking two clubs and cutting it back to one, good for the accountants but not for supporters with an emotional attachment to their club. By your theory yankeeboy Wests Tigers, St.George Illawarra and Northern Eagles should have been attracting upto 25,000. Take St.George Illawarra, today they average 13,418 with a very good team in a record season for RL average crowds, compared this to 1992 when Illawarra averaged 13,750 and St.George 10,860. So the reality is their crowds have gone from a combined 24,610 to 13,418.

 

[rugby13france-livrade+sav]

When you have
. no spectators in the stadiums,
. no more than 6.500/7.000 registered players,
. no more than 105 registered clubs,
. no more than 90 clubs in the competitions
. no funds
. no national companies as sponsors
. no international companies as sponsors
. no captains of industry
. etc. etc.

you merged what ? the dreams !


RL in France is not RL in Australia or UK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, you omit this

 

[Sun_Down]

rugby13france-livrade+sav = one very negative man

 

[Jeffles]

Yankeeboy has no idea about RL/sporting culture in the UK. People won't support mergers. Warrington-Widnes is 20 times worse than Norths-Manly. Oldham-Rochdale is a rivalry that transcends sport etc.

 

[SalfordRedsWA]

Good news = Salford aint gonna merge!

 

[Evil Homer]

Lets put a team from Scotland and Russia in too!

Expansion is good but only in small doses.All this talk of merging most of the SL clubs and adding mysterious London and Welsh teams is all well and good,but if it actually went through the competition would be a joke and thousands of fans would leave the game.Teams should have to work their way into the league,not be created out of thin air.If we start doing that again then we will not have learnt from the mistakes of the past.One team at a time every few years is the best way to do it,not getting over-zealous and creating teams out of nowhere.

 

[Forever_Queensand]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_League_(Europe)

that was the original idea when the European Super League was formed. merging clubs isnt a good idea at all. it destroys loyalty for one. Just because two clubs merge, their average crowd isnt going to be the combination of the two clubs that did the merging. A lot of people would probably stop going to games. Take the Northern Eagles for example.

will the be keeping the promotion-relegation system going? i heard somewhere that they were going to drop it.

the two extra teams that i would add would be a Welsh team and either a french one, depending on the success of Les Catalans, or a team from North England/Scotland