RayCee

I never thought I'd see the day 7,000 fans would turn up in Toronto for a club RL game. Yet it's happened often already. As for expansion to other cities, unless SL can clearly spell out what pathways are open to teams wanting to work their way up to SL, I'd say there will be no further expansion. No one is going to invest in a sport with so much uncertainty or little chance of progress. Toronto may be it for a while, so let's make the most of it.

I believe Ian Lenigan is of this opinion and stated so publicly

Years ago there were up to seven trophies/cups/titles to be won in RL. On occasion seven different clubs each won one of them in a given year. More fans got the feeling of winning a competition. Today there are just three so for clubs like Salford not winning one is understandable. I can't see the point of rebranding Salford but I also feel their support should be better, even without trophies. Teams in the EPL like Huddersfield Town aren't likely to win anything but the fans turn up in droves to support them in the hope of them staying in the EPL. Are the good folk of Salford concerned that 'their' team may be relegated from SL this year and possibly not get back anytime soon? There are some diehard fans who are, but Salford playing in the premier division of RL in England isn't exciting enough people. RL is tiny compared to soccer, so that is part of the issue. Marketing and promoting the club may be lacking too. The location of the ground isn't great but if you want to be there, you will get there. In other words, do enough people in Salford care about the team? Could a new Chinese owner turn things around? I wish the club well but....

The idea to scrap the middle 8s is based on up to four sides being promoted or relegated is too many. Most years, only one or none will make it. Toronto are the only likely side to go up but that’s by no means a given. If another side managed it, that would be amazing.

The benefit of an evened pot is it would make the Championship more even. However, that would widen the gap between the top Championship sides and lowest SL sides, making it more difficult to gain promotion. Frankly I have no idea what the best way is. However, if funding is staggered then the scenario of losing money based on how teams finish will be the situation they face. It becomes problematic when a club is spending to its limit, then suddenly has to cut back dramatically.

I agree. If he’s not good enough to play championship games, then SL will be far too much for him.

No bull? He won’t if it’s a night game.

Did she have a chip on her shoulder? Seriously, alcohol abuse is a massive problem for some and it humiliates the abuser. Pity some people don't when enough is enough.

The easy, safer option. You see it all the time in the EPL. Good local lads languishing in lower leagues while the top sides are stacked with imported players. Local kids that just need a chance and a bit of work to get them to standard. Good to see Huddersfield did just that and benefited without breaking the bank to do it.

Thanks Ant. Which begs the question, why do some feel the talent pool is too shallow to support more than 12 SL teams? There seems to be players in lower divisions who just need the opportunity and guidance to reach their true potential.

So I take it from this that players in a League 1 team were brought in and are now performing at SL standard?

I also think the Catalans got one year in SL where they were guaranteed not to be relegated. I wonder about how the support will be if they do get promoted. Crowd numbers now are in the 2,000+ bracket. Will the locals embrace their promotion and turn out in much greater numbers? Do they have the financial backing to be able to sufficiently strengthen their squad? I noticed at a French language forum, one Catalan fan was now hoping they could have a local derby team to play.

I was thinking of the WP fans getting restless about the qualifiers coming up. Two years of getting to this point and seven very important games. Exciting stuff, but maybe a little apprehension? The little critters you encountered don’t sound too nice at all.

I think that the Australian refs are of high quality but it’s a confidence role as well as a technical one. As elementary mistakes are becoming more common, I feel as already stated that two refs could be part of the issue. It seems to take some authority away from each individual official, creating indecision and the sort of mistake that Canberra were on the receiving end of.

Were the natives getting restless?