Now we are nearly up to the issue of

I can understand why you and everyone else would want the old promotion/relegation system in place but unfortunately if your particular club is not able to afford the rapid rise and player contracts required for the S/L they will be getting flogged by 50 every week and no-one wants to see that.
A firm criteria is the only way to go that I can see from an outsider looking in.......cheers

All this franchise situation was mentioned in the " framing of the future " documeant when Maurice Lindsay was the big Honco at the RFL. Then like now it was on about improving grounds, and trying to get clubs to invest in junior talent.
At least clubs are making a real effort now to improve grounds or build new one's. A lot of effort still needs to go into Junior development as some clubs are still signing has beens and never was players from the NRL.

Franchise all the way - who wants to go back to the 80's and early 90's when the only team that could afford to be pro won everything??
Francises have developed the player pool and are spreading the game around the nation, the number of non M62 corridor kids playing the game is testament to that.
I do appreciate what your saying about promotion/relegation though

PS when are the licenses announced and is it the same criteria as last time?

Found a note on criteria from rfl regarding next three years. They are very worried that the league is been too heavily biased towards the letter W with the addition of Widnes so one of the existing W clubs has to be ejected. Wire seem safe and it is in the rules that Wigan must be in SL ( see past rule changes for that one --- ask any cas fan). So why wait for all the made up rubbish coming out of redhall in next week everybody in the game knows we are going so why waste all this time and money. A true contest would be between bradford, wakey, crusaders, Quins and Widnes and I can only see one looser in that race. Goodbye from belle vue the past 100 years have been fun and the fans can always go watch Dewsbury...

don't count your chickens just yet.... Cas have not done any work on their ground.

I can't understand why Widnes were given a license? They are right between Wire & Crus geographically and have a poor recent financial record....

if the RFL were deadly serious about expansion and improving the national team, they should of plumped for Barrow/Cumbria rather than Widnes