warrior till i die posted:
DaveO posted:
It means in simple terms if Leigh and Celic Crusaders (the Welsh team who have said they are interested in applying for a franchise) end up on the same points total due to their facilities, finances etc then Celtic would get in and Leigh would not.
But is that fair? A major factor in this is support attracted to these teams.
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Support is part of the franchise criteria as well so in order for Celtic to beat Leigh by virtue of getting the one point for location, they would have to at least match Leigh's total on all the other criteria including support.
It wasn't fair Les Cats were immune form relegation for three years but if you want to promote the game outside the heartlands by having teams in SL in those regions, fairness isn't high on the criteria. In fact it isn't on there at all.
If they are the same on points you cant really award the franchise to for example celtic can you? Surley if the teams are on the same amount of points but a team on the M62 has a better support than for instance Celtic surley the M62 team should be accepted?
For them to get the same total (before Celtic get the extra point for location) Celtic would have had to match Leith's total which means by definition they can match the support. So given two teams on the same total it's a simple question of where you want the new team. In Wigan borough or down in South Wales?
If you want to expand the leagues goeography the answer is obvious but that won't go down well with traditionalists.
It makes perfect sense if you want to expand the geographic coverage of the game as it helps the likes of Celtic. It also acknowledges that if teams are close together they compete for supporters.
Does it? If you where a wakefield fan and you where refused a franchise could you really see fans supporting the likes of leeds? Bradford? Castleford?
It certainly makes sense from the geography point of view. Whether if a team was refused a franchise their current support would migrate to another club is doubtful but over time (and I am talking at least a generation here) kids would see a big SL club in the next town cand in the same way people I know who are members at Chester RUFC support Sale so maybe the same would come to pass in RL.
Mo tried to tackle this when SL first came about by suggesting merged teams but that didn't work because no one supported "Calder". If you look to RU hanging the franchise on a real club even if it is not everyone's own local club seems to work better. People who remember Orrell being a great side may never support Sale but there are lots of new fans from all over the North West who do.
Dave
