Promotion to Super League

[Mumby Magic]

For me it had to be a playoff. Knowing RL well put team in and theyll go bust too.

[Robin Evans]

3 minutes ago, PEANUT HEAD said:

Never said I don't like fev, just cant under stand this love in, when have they ever shown any ambition for promotion. 

Eh??? They rebuilt the bloody stadium ffs. Posted a fiscal surplus. Been in 4 grand finals in ten years. Own their ground. Have training facilities SL clubs have used. Embraced disabled and womens rugby. Have a community foundation Trust working in the locality.

[Tex Evans Thigh]

4 minutes ago, PEANUT HEAD said:

Never said I don't like fev, just cant under stand this love in, when have they ever shown any ambition for promotion. 

Never shown ambition?!?! The club have been banging the drum since 2012 with the destination SL campaign. Spent money getting facilities updated for licensing, then got that opportunity taken away. Didn’t moan and carried on trying to build the club and challenging at the top of the champ each year to getting within 40 mins of SL to be beaten by Toronto. Mark Campbell has repeatedly stated the intention is SL.

I’m not sure where you get the love in from either. To me Fev appear to be the poster boy hate club for expansionists who can’t wait to name Fev as everything wrong with the heartlands. Around half this board would rather run with 11 than have Fev given a chance.

[Cardypaul]

4 minutes ago, PEANUT HEAD said:

Never said I don't like fev, just cant under stand this love in, when have they ever shown any ambition for promotion. 

Well for 5 seasons they finished top of their the championship during which time they were in regular conversations with the RFL and SL about what would be required to take their place in SL if the opportunity arose. During this time the club developed the ground extending the playing surface as well as erecting new stands.

 I would count that as showing ambition.

[Tommygilf]

Kind of wished I'd gone for Donny now just to give a bit more balance to the League 1 poll

[Industria ditat]

We'll know who will be selected when they publish the criteria for the clubs to fulfil  eg.  if it says the club must be in the EU, begin with the letter T and that their fans need to be fluent in French, it might give us a clue.

[Gav Wilson]

 

[Hela Wigmen]

So we have Toulouse, Featherstone and York so far putting their hands up. 

Expect more interest to come out over the next few days. 

[wilsontown]

I would obviously love York to be in SL one day, but they surely aren't anywhere near yet.

Maybe it's just a social media strategy to keep us in the RL public eye, because there is next to no chance.

If we have to pick out of a bunch of teams that haven't played or trained for months on end and have squads that are not SL standard, I'd go for Toulouse, but it looks a disaster waiting to happen to me.

[wasginger]

59 minutes ago, PEANUT HEAD said:

Never said I don't like fev, just cant under stand this love in, when have they ever shown any ambition for promotion. 

Oh Mr Peanut Head. I think your name says it all.

[Davo5]

Got to be Toulouse if Superleague wants to retain a modicum of credibility.

[Gooleboy]

1 hour ago, Cardypaul said:

Well for 5 seasons they finished top of their the championship during which time they were in regular conversations with the RFL and SL about what would be required to take their place in SL if the opportunity arose. During this time the club developed the ground extending the playing surface as well as erecting new stands.

 I would count that as showing ambition.

Whilst at the time Toulouse had a go in the Championship for a couple of years and packed in.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, Robin Evans said:

Eh??? They rebuilt the bloody stadium ffs. Posted a fiscal surplus. Been in 4 grand finals in ten years. Own their ground. Have training facilities SL clubs have used. Embraced disabled and womens rugby. Have a community foundation Trust working in the locality.

The lack of knowledge about Fev around these places is astounding. I'd add to that the club is run in a far more professional manner now than was the case a few years ago. Chairman, CEO, Football Manager, Finance Manager...a thriving clubhouse hosting a wide variety of events (Covid permitting), a slick and popular web-based TV channel/subscription service, a very well supported Squad Builder programme, a renovated and enlarged club Super Store...in terms of long-term income streams it leaves plenty of existing SL clubs in the shade.

[Forever Trinity]

Do we really want another French team in SL, I recall Catalans were brought in to assist the French game particularly at International level, well that's worked out well then!

[Tex Evans Thigh]

4 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

The lack of knowledge about Fev around these places is astounding. I'd add to that the club is run in a far more professional manner now than was the case a few years ago. Chairman, CEO, Football Manager, Finance Manager...a thriving clubhouse hosting a wide variety of events (Covid permitting), a slick and popular web-based TV channel/subscription service, a very well supported Squad Builder programme, a renovated and enlarged club Super Store...in terms of long-term income streams it leaves plenty of existing SL clubs in the shade.

People dont want to know because 'small town' and/or 'too close to Cas and Wakey'. Fev could play in a full 30k stadium each week and win the league every year and some would struggle to get past this.

[Clogiron]

1 hour ago, MADREDNIGE said:

Most Fev fans didn't like it but if we hadn't used it (and well) another team would have. We have our own squad now if you'd care to look further then your nose! 

Excellent, pity you aren't playing any games at the moment.

[PEANUT HEAD]

40 minutes ago, wasginger said:

Oh Mr Peanut Head. I think your name says it all.

Sorry for not being part of your Yorkshire love fest.

[Tex Evans Thigh]

It's going to be interesting to see what the criteria is, who decides the criteria and who makes the decision. I find it unbelievable that the clubs in a division can vote on who they want in that division. It is a colossal conflict of interest. They will feign independence but it wont be.

In any case, I assume they will want to grade clubs on:

- On-field achievements (I assume more recently)

- Stadium

- Commercial viability (whatever they determine that to mean)

- Fanbase/attendances

- Infrastructure/Juniors may come into play.

- Something akin to the old 'catchment area' criteria where you get more for being further away from the heartlands, which makes you better for some reason.

I would suggest the clubs with a realistic shot are London, Toulouse, Fev, Leigh and York. Widnes and Bradford are rebuilding, probably a bridge toop far for Fax and Sheff or other Champ teams and Newcastle shouldnt be seriously considered whilst they are still a League 1 club.

London - did well last time and most recently there so good claim on that front. Obsession with having a London club will be in their favour but they dont stand up too well on other criteria. Propped up by Hughes, awful 'stadium', team on its backside.

Toulouse - Seemingly good on all fronts and tick a lot of boxes. COVID might work against them though if the travel uncertainty continues. 

Fev - Runners-up in last GF plus mist successful Champ team on the field in the last 10 years. Good stadium/facilities, decent fanbase and commercial set-up. Historically good junior set-up but currently lacking. Good squad but would need to convert to FT which shouldnt be an issue. Big question mark is proximity to other SL clubs which seems like the only criteria a lot of people care about.

Leigh - Similar kind of situation to Fev. I imagine in a grading system they would be very close.

York - Lot to like about York including the new stadium and their location as a big city just outside the heartlands. My only concern is that they are new to the top end of the championship and need a little more time to grow. They spend much less than Fev and Leigh and I think need a little more time. They are one coaching appointment away from being Doncaster.

I think they will plump for the safe option of London to be honest even though objectively I dont think they are the best option. Even though I support Fev and would obviously like them to go up, if it wasnt them I would say Toulouse look strongest. I think all of them would do ok though and the sooner the decision is made the better to give them time to prepare.

[Oldbear]

1 hour ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

I’m not sure where you get the love in from either. To me Fev appear to be the poster boy hate club for expansionists who can’t wait to name Fev as everything wrong with the heartlands. Around half this board would rather run with 11 than have Fev given a chance.

I’m a died in the wool expansionist, I was introduced to RL via Fulham. My journey around the UK with work saw me following first Carlisle, then finally when Gateshead were formed I actually got my home town team. I love Fev, as people have pointed out on here they have done a huge amount in recent years, including a ground rebuild with real stands, not artists impressions. I personally would be very happy to see Fev in SL, as well as Toulouse, maybe it’s time for Wakey’s bluff to be called on their stadium, or maybe in the light of very recent events Fev would be seen to be a better option than HKR, either way I do think it’s sad that a club that has done everything they could ever be asked for off the field does find its route to the top blocked by 2 other WF postcode teams, who don’t seem to have half as much ambition, and play out of slums.(plus if both Fev and Toulouse go up, Robin gets to keep his favourite away trip)

[Robin Evans]

1 minute ago, Oldbear said:

(plus if both Fev and Toulouse go up, Robin gets to keep his favourite away trip)

That would be nirvana to me

[wilsontown]

How is York "just outside the heartlands"? It's between Leeds and Hull and there's been a club here of some sort since forever. There's grassroots clubs here and not much tradition of Union. This is the heartlands.

[Tex Evans Thigh]

4 minutes ago, Oldbear said:

I’m a died in the wool expansionist, I was introduced to RL via Fulham. My journey around the UK with work saw me following first Carlisle, then finally when Gateshead were formed I actually got my home town team. I love Fev, as people have pointed out on here they have done a huge amount in recent years, including a ground rebuild with real stands, not artists impressions. I personally would be very happy to see Fev in SL, as well as Toulouse, maybe it’s time for Wakey’s bluff to be called on their stadium, or maybe in the light of very recent events Fev would be seen to be a better option than HKR, either way I do think it’s sad that a club that has done everything they could ever be asked for off the field does find its route to the top blocked by 2 other WF postcode teams, who don’t seem to have half as much ambition, and play out of slums.(plus if both Fev and Toulouse go up, Robin gets to keep his favourite away trip)

The club has had a lot of 'bad luck', which can easily be translated into frustrations.

• Last club cut off in 95
• Told we were next in line but when PSG dropped were overlooked
• A dodgy decision away from winning the 98 GF and getting promoted instead of Wakey
• Dominating the Championship from 2010-13 but having no promotion
• Building for a licence on and off the pitch only for licensing to be taken away, SL reduced and the impossible for Champ teams Super 8s being introduced.
• Get to another GF in 2019 and get ground out in the 2nd half by a heavily funded team who turned out to be a sham

It's Fev's centenary next year and sentimentally, after all the club has gone through in the past 25 years it would be great to see us having a crack at the top league again. I'm not holding my breath mind.

[Oldbear]

4 minutes ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

It's going to be interesting to see what the criteria is, who decides the criteria and who makes the decision. I find it unbelievable that the clubs in a division can vote on who they want in that division. It is a colossal conflict of interest. They will feign independence but it wont be.

In any case, I assume they will want to grade clubs on:

- On-field achievements (I assume more recently)

- Stadium

- Commercial viability (whatever they determine that to mean)

- Fanbase/attendances

- Infrastructure/Juniors may come into play.

- Something akin to the old 'catchment area' criteria where you get more for being further away from the heartlands, which makes you better for some reason.

I would suggest the clubs with a realistic shot are London, Toulouse, Fev, Leigh and York. Widnes and Bradford are rebuilding, probably a bridge to far for Fax and Sheff or other Champ teams and Newcastle shouldnt be seriously considered whilst they are still a League 1 club.

London - did well last time and most recently there so good claim on that front. Obsession with having a London club will be in their favour but they dont stand up too well on other criteria. Propped up by Hughes, awful 'stadium', team on its backside.

Toulouse - Seemingly good on all fronts and tick a lot of boxes. COVID might work against them though if the travel uncertainty continues. 

Fev - Runners-up in last GF plus mist successful Champ team on the field in the last 10 years. Good stadium/facilities, decent fanbase and commercial set-up. Historically good junior set-up but currently lacking. Good squad but would need to convert to FT which shouldnt be an issue. Big question mark is proximity to other SL clubs which seems like the only criteria a lot of people care about.

Leigh - Similar kind of situation to Fev. I imagine in a grading system they would be very close.

York - Lot to like about York including the new stadium and there location as a big city just outside the heartlands. My only concern is that they are new to the top end of the championship and need a little more time to grow. They spend much less than Fev and Leigh and I think need a little more time. They are one coaching appointment away from being Doncaster.

I think they will plump for the safe option of London to be honest even though objectively I dont think they are the best option. Even though I support Fev and would obviously like them to go up, if it wasnt them I would say Toulouse look strongest. I think all of them would do ok though and the sooner the decision is made the better to give them time to prepare.

Good summary, if I might add my bit

London, for me the biggest problem has to be that stadium, it just looks wrong for a top flight team, in the same way that Cas and Wakeys stadia also look wrong

Toulouse - like you I worry about the impact of Covid, but probably the best case from a strategic point of view, plus it placates those who say expansion died with TWP

Leigh- I feel for Leigh given how close they are to Wigan and Saints, but I also feel that someway needs to be found to get Leigh in the conversation without having that hung over their head.

Fev- see above, although it’s worse here in that both their local rivals appear to be broke and playing in tips

York- An interesting possibility, new stadium, well coached, maybe this comes a little too early for them, have to be a SL possibility soon though.

Newcastle- need to get out of L1 first

In a perfect world go with 14, promote Leigh, Fev and Toulouse, but that’s not happening so if it’s 12 it’s one of those three (plus some hard looks at a couple of incumbents).

[Tex Evans Thigh]

5 minutes ago, wilsontown said:

How is York "just outside the heartlands"? It's between Leeds and Hull and there's been a club here of some sort since forever. There's grassroots clubs here and not much tradition of Union. This is the heartlands.

The York club themselves have branded their bid #heartlandsexpansion so take it up with them. I agree that they have some hallmarks of a 'heartlands' team but demographically York isnt a 'proper' heartland team. The heartlands is made up concept and open to subjective assessment, I dont think of York as solid heartlands but at the same time I dont really care, that's not really the point of the post.

[Oldbear]

3 minutes ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

The club has had a lot of 'bad luck', which can easily be translated into frustrations.

• Last club cut off in 95
• Told we were next in line but when PSG dropped were overlooked
• A dodgy decision away from winning the 98 GF and getting promoted instead of Wakey
• Dominating the Championship from 2010-13 but having no promotion
• Building for a licence on and off the pitch only for licensing to be taken away, SL reduced and the impossible for Champ teams Super 8s being introduced.
• Get to another GF in 2019 and get ground out in the 2nd half by a heavily funded team who turned out to be a sham

It's Fev's centenary next year and sentimentally, after all the club has gone through in the past 25 years it would be great to see us having a crack at the top league again. I'm not holding my breath mind.

Shame my view counts for nothing, as you would have my vote!