Terry Mullaney

Just making the point that Wakey and Bradford are victims of their own pricing folly and could now suffer the consequences of it under the restructuring. I've actually no idea whether Donny could make it as a SL club or not. If we've only enough fans for seven or eight competitive SL clubs then perhaps the RFL might have discovered a way to attract more interest. Shall we wait and see?

Wakefield's were as low as £125 a couple of seasons ago which was a good bit cheaper than Fev's

We only have relegation this season Parky. The effect, or not, on attendances won't be truly evident until 2015, although I do expect Rovers attendances to increase considerably yet again this year

I don't go for excuses Parky, gets you nowhere. Licensing failed spectacularly as the 'dinosaurs' predicted and if the new 2015 system fails as the 'nouveau dinosaurs' predict then I'd expect the RFL to try something else.

As I said though Griff, let's give it a chance.

Well I asked because I didn't know the answer but I've been in crowds as low as 3000 -7000 at Headingley so it hasn't always been rosey has it? In fact if they were almost relegated one year but for Fev beating Oldham. I also remember The iconic Odsal when little more than 300 were in attendance for a first team game. Times and fortunes change.Let's see what Wakey's crowds are this season now that they aren't doing half price season tickets, forged season tickets and freebies. They've already said the 5300 stadium capacity will be adequate for the first few home games. Using Rovers' cup tie crowds to assess their league potential is ludicrous when even the big guns can't pull them in for such games. Why should Rovers in SL be deemed to only have the potential to attract a few hundred more than they did 20 ago for top flight rugby when the overall trend since SL evolved suggests much greater? Seems a flawed argument to my mind. We're back to P&R with a system which the RFL believe will capture the imagination of RL lovers old and new. Let's give it a chance, you might just be surprised at the outcome.

So what were Leeds averaging at this particular time Parky? It's nearly 20 years since Rovers were in the top flight. How does it have any relevance to what might happen should Rovers join SL sometime in the future or even take the ascendancy in the WMDC area?

I'd have thought they'd start a completely new system as they mean to go on Griff ie league placings. That's entirely what the new structure is based upon.

Well, in a way, but you can't get any higher than the pinnacle of your chosen sport..

I'd say it will be just as meaningful this year as any other Griff with a trophy and cash prize and sod all else.

Attendances did look very good last season for the Wildcats so it's worrying then that apparently they've only sold 2000 season tickets this time against over 4000 last pre season According to some reports on their forum there were lots of free tickets circulating last season as well as some forged season tickets. On top of that season tickets were very cheap, up to half price of normal match day admission prices if bought early enough. The new chairman, who seems to be doing a great job at sorting out the debts, is by the looks of things seeking to apply a more realistic pricing structure as well as cutting down the freebies and abuse. It will be interesting to see how their gates hold up during the coming season. Hopefully those people who benefitted from the good deals previously will have enjoyed it enough to stick with the club.

Keep pipping our lot Parky? They pipped us once in a GF after we had hammered them the year before and we pipped the Eagles for the League leader's trophy last season to make it four in a row. As far as money spent is concerned, well it's not just about on the field is it? There's one or two SL clubs casting an envious eye on the present and future facilities at Post Office Rd.Mark Aston's a shrewd operator though, that's for sure. Close the damned thread now.

Not with you on that one Jon. How will it be any different to what it is now? There's a clear pathway to the top for all if they run their clubs properly and without the need for over spending. Sheffield are a shining example of how to run a club successfully on very limited financial resources.

Absolutely right, Rovers were a shoe in but now they'll have to re-focus on something quite different with perhaps less certainty of the outcome. Nevertheless it will be fascinating to see the intensity of the game as a whole escalate. Really looking forward to it all starting and, regardless of whether Fev get to SL or not, it's going to be fantastic for RL fans at all levels and just what we needed to carry on the momentum from the World Cup.

No Griff, they preferred the other option and voted accordingly but lost. Doesn't mean they couldn't see anything good in the plan which went through.

Parky, has it ever crossed your mind that the said chairmen may well have preferred the alternative but are flexible enough and open minded enough to see the merits of the adopted plan and be happy to give it their full support?

Try this then from Adam Pearson'What I think we will see is a higher standard of rugby league, more high intensity games and a stronger competition. 'The fans will get more value for money with more games and games that have more meaning throughout the year and that are better quality. 'The competition needed shaking up as there were too many mismatches. We needed to go down to 12 teams with promotion and relegation. The new system has been voted in and we welcome it now and get on with the job of making sure we are in that top eight each and every year.' Ian Lenagan 'I think it's definitely progress. I come out of the talks with a positive view' Marwan Koukash 'Lets make it work' Pleasing to read such positivity from top high profile SL chairmen.

Have it your own way Parky, I've explained myself once. I've agreed with you the success of the World Cup is the main reason for Sky now having competition which you choose to ignore, I've pointed out that the pinnacle of the new system is the Old Trafford GF, not a 2nd tier play off and provided you with evidence from Nigel Wood via Martyn Sadler' column that potential broadcasters do fancy the RFL's system. It's obvious that you're pretty reluctant to take on board what I'm actually saying so I'll waste no more time going round in circles.

I didn't say it was THE factor stimulating more than one broadcaster I said it may be a case of the potential broadcasters seeing the merits of this system and being willing to pay handsomely for it. And it isn't just about 2nd tier club rugby, the last time I looked, there was still a SL GF to aim for at Old Trafford as normal It goes without saying that the World Cup has had a massively positive impact and will obviously be the main reason that Sky might have some competition at last. Here's a quote from Martyn Sadler who says Nigel Wood had revealed the following... 'preliminary discussions suggested that there could be a very significant uplift in the amount of money paid under a new contract, with competition driving the price up considerably. And the broadcasters had expressed a liking for the proposals being put forward by the RFL' I find it surprising that you, but maybe not so much Martyn Sadler, could actually believe that Sky and BT Vision won't have looked into the detail of the RFL's proposals before declaring their approval.

Yes, that won't be peanuts Keith

Only if they get the majority vote which they didn't get the other day. And I don't think for a minute that those who voted for it are going to strangle it at birth. Time will tell

I don't think they have changed their minds on the system and they didn't allow it go through, they were narrowly out voted so have to accept it. However I do think its likely there's a sweetener on the horizon which has caused them to back off a little regarding governance and finance.According to one of the RL papers today Sky could have some opposition for the broadcasting rights and lucrative sponsor partners are apparently lined up so maybe they've had the rug pulled from under them. All speculation but I'd be shocked if the new format doesn't get the funding needed to make it work to its full potential.

But Koukash and Adam Pearson have both said they'll give their full support to the changes. Sabotaging it by deliberately underfunding the new structure wouldn't be consistent with what they've said. There's probably another carrot being dangled somewhere in the mix.

So what would be the point in voting for it in the first place? The system can't run without the required funding. Even Lenagan has said good progress has been made following the meeting

Let's start a thread on Fev bashing. So popular on here it could easily make 200 pages