Wildcats for the drop in '06

[obelix]

We can't just kick out lots of SL teams to be replaced with various clubs based on location.The above post in not as stupid as lots I've seen suggesting amatuer clubs and clubs that don't exist should be put in

Hang on... I'm not saying that's what should happen. I'm a Widnes fan and if you look at the logic applied to the line up I suggested it's difficult to find room for us. The reason I gave those names is because that's what Richard Lewis said could happen when he gave the interview on Boots n' all. Simple as. He explicitly stated that he would like a second London team in SL, and hinted that a second French franchise was a real possibility - and you only need to look at Toulouse to see that they're gearing up for it. He also said Cas were, in his view, a Super League club. These are the facts as portrayed in the interview and suggest that such applications - the main proven merit of which will be geographic location, the rest theoretical - will be favourably looked on. The only inference I've made is that if you've got Cas then they may not see that it is worthwhile to include Wakefield when there are teams in areas where they can draw from a pool of talent untapped by other teams - again, this is just applying the expansionist logic used by Lewis.

The least certain for 2009 - Celtic Crusaders - I stated were the least certain. What they've got going for them, as I understand it, is a chairman who has been riled by the RFU for sh!tting on his Celtic League Rugby Union franchise and a fair few quid behind him.

Don't forget old Huddersfield in the mix ;-)

Bugger... considering me and my better half have said that we'll watch Hudds next season on occasions their home fixtures don't clash with Widnes's, that's a hell of an oversight . They're certainly making a huge effort to market the game to kids. I remember one game last year on TV - I think they were at Salford - and the bulk of the Hudds fans who travelled seemed to be in their young teens. Great stuff!

 

[terracesider]

Huddersfield are not in the mix any more. We've been there and have managed to drag ourselves out of it.

Obelix, I don't disgree with you but I'm not sure how much weight Lewis' views will carry when the crunch comes. He's only an employee and I would bet that the real power brokers - Lindsay, Caisley et al - will decide what happens based on what they think should be done. There's some very big egos about in the RFL. It could be fun to watch.

 

[obelix]

Huddersfield are not in the mix any more. We've been there and have managed to drag ourselves out of it.

Obelix, I don't disgree with you but I'm not sure how much weight Lewis' views will carry when the crunch comes. He's only an employee and I would bet that the real power brokers - Lindsay, Caisley et al - will decide what happens based on what they think should be done. There's some very big egos about in the RFL. It could be fun to watch.

Ah... I took "in the mix" here to mean "in the mix for the SL franchises" not "in the relegation mix".

Take your point about Lewis just being an employee but the reason I've focussed on his words is that I believe he already has the backing of the key players and this is why he's gone public. He's well respected outside the sport and I assume with the Board of the RFL too. If the egos didn't want him there he wouldn't be there by now...

The alternative view - and I wouldn't discount this but don't believe it to be the case - is that he's made his views public early to set the tone of the debate, which is one where geography and franchising seem to sit hand in hand. The reason for this could be because the key players are dead set against it... in which case it could get very interesting (the words "back me or sack me" spring to mind).

 

[terracesider]

Yes, either of those two views are possible Obelisk.

In fact, I'm not really sure know how to read it, but over the last year or so, in a number of interviews Lindsay seems to have been re-writing history and distancing himself from franchising.

Chagning the subject slightly, Lewsi is obviously such a high cailbre performer that it must be questionable how long the RFL can hang on to him.

 

[obelix]

It would be interesting to know what his personal ambitions are. As a former tennis player, and after leaving the Lawn Tennis Association "by mutual consent" following the failure to produce international success in the Davis Cup, you've got to think that a return to what must be his first sporting interest looks unlikely. It wouldn't be unreasonable to suppose that a key role in the 2012 olympics would be a carrot for any non-partisan sports executive - but although I rate him, it depends what they're looking for I suppose.

You could argue that the lack of international success is his major weakness during his time at the RFL, though he is clearly not pushing this aspect of the agenda too far with the SL chairs at the minute. Maybe the preparation time GB get or don't get for the 2006 TriNations will offer some insight as to how the internal power politics are going.

 

[terracesider]

I don't think it's fair to blame Lewis for the GB shambles in any way whatsoever. So far, he's has been very impressive, even more so given that he's obviously operating under all manner of restaints from the egos. (I like that phrase obelix so I've borrowed it, thanks :lol