Seems I'm unable to split threads anymore so I've posted some of the posts from the new signings thread below as it's a good debate and it deserved a thread of its own. Quote woolly07="woolly07"SL clubs will be delighted at having another club bringing no away support so they will all be hoping Fev make it.'" Quote woolly07="Pumpetypump"I reckon Toulouse untaps greater SKY viewers and potentially better TV deals. I think that's got to be seen as being more important than the relative handful of Featherstone fans swelling home gates.'" Quote woolly07="Bully_Boxer"Better TV deals? Toulouse have been around for long enough and Sky haven't shown much interest in broadcasting their matches before now. I'm not sure what image it projects where we have to have the French sides in the English comp because their isn't enough players or sides to make up a competitive league in France. I guess it papers over a few cracks though and creates an illusion tha the game is expanding.'" Quote woolly07="Bullseye"Well if you look at other sports then having some international club competition is seen as a benefit when attracting coverage and sponsorship. Now we're a million miles off this in RL so a couple of French clubs in SL is probably the best we can do at the moment. If we want to attract blue chip sponsors and not Foxy Bingo and Marrowfat Peas/Big Soup then we need to show we're not just a sport played by thick working class northerners. Having Toulouse in the elite comp with Catalans helps give the game a less parochial look.'" Quote woolly07="Bulls Boy 2011"I think it could be good it Catalans and Toulouse can win their respective competitions.'" Quote woolly07="Bully_Boxer"It's nonsense in RL though, the sport needs to prioritise getting the homelands strong. We've heard this all before with London.. presence in the capital is vital etc etc but they've generally been a joke moving from one place to another every season or so. Blue chip companies aren't going to look at RL with our without a couple of French side made up of a decent contingent of Aussies.'" Quote woolly07="M@islebugs"45000 empty seats at Wembley exploded that myth for me. I don't quite get the RL's acute embarrassment at its own support base. There's something of the modern Labour party about it all. I think this is interesting; https://www.theguardian.com/sport/no-he ... per-league Let's see what happens on Saturday night but at some point we need some evidence, i.e sold out stadiums with 'new' fans and TV deals increasing because of the draw of Les Catalans outside the heartland.'"

Seems I'm unable to split threads anymore so I've posted some of the posts from the new signings thread below as it's a good debate and it deserved a thread of its own. Quote woolly07="woolly07"SL clubs will be delighted at having another club bringing no away support so they will all be hoping Fev make it.'" Quote woolly07="Pumpetypump"I reckon Toulouse untaps greater SKY viewers and potentially better TV deals. I think that's got to be seen as being more important than the relative handful of Featherstone fans swelling home gates.'" Quote woolly07="Bully_Boxer"Better TV deals? Toulouse have been around for long enough and Sky haven't shown much interest in broadcasting their matches before now. I'm not sure what image it projects where we have to have the French sides in the English comp because their isn't enough players or sides to make up a competitive league in France. I guess it papers over a few cracks though and creates an illusion tha the game is expanding.'" Quote woolly07="Bullseye"Well if you look at other sports then having some international club competition is seen as a benefit when attracting coverage and sponsorship. Now we're a million miles off this in RL so a couple of French clubs in SL is probably the best we can do at the moment. If we want to attract blue chip sponsors and not Foxy Bingo and Marrowfat Peas/Big Soup then we need to show we're not just a sport played by thick working class northerners. Having Toulouse in the elite comp with Catalans helps give the game a less parochial look.'" Quote woolly07="Bulls Boy 2011"I think it could be good it Catalans and Toulouse can win their respective competitions.'" Quote woolly07="Bully_Boxer"It's nonsense in RL though, the sport needs to prioritise getting the homelands strong. We've heard this all before with London.. presence in the capital is vital etc etc but they've generally been a joke moving from one place to another every season or so. Blue chip companies aren't going to look at RL with our without a couple of French side made up of a decent contingent of Aussies.'" Quote woolly07="M@islebugs"45000 empty seats at Wembley exploded that myth for me. I don't quite get the RL's acute embarrassment at its own support base. There's something of the modern Labour party about it all. I think this is interesting; https://www.theguardian.com/sport/no-he ... per-league Let's see what happens on Saturday night but at some point we need some evidence, i.e sold out stadiums with 'new' fans and TV deals increasing because of the draw of Les Catalans outside the heartland.'"

Sort of. But how does the Labour party reconnect with quittling parts of the north like Wakefield and Leigh? The party machine knows brexit is a catastrophe for the working man and woman of the north. And yet the working man and woman of the north bloody love it. So either Labour lie about it and get them to come back, or they tell the truth and people keep voting blue which is exactly the same as taking a running kick at your own face.

Sorry. I'll shut up now.

Why doesn't it explain to them that they're horrible idiots who don't understand their own best interests because I'm guessing that's never happened before?

Lots of definitions here. I'm happy with heartlands including York, Newcastle and Cumbria. Those 3 areas have either a large (NE) or wealthy (York) population and at least know what RL is. I'm not sure how a Cumbrian team gets into SL though as they currently are but that question has been rolling around for a long time.

In the short term, either Fev or Toulouse will get a shot. Toulouse are the better long term bet, as are Newcastle and York. Toulouse will not have financial issues, they'll have decent quality, wealthy sponsors lining up. They'll spend full cap immediately.

But they need to add value to the competition (crudely - what $$$ do the other clubs get) and that asks the questions - will there be higher value competition sponsors? will there be higher value TV deals in the combined pot? I think Toulouse now (sorry Fev) and then Newcastle in 2-3 years will increase value.

Looking at how Catalans have developed into the best supported team in SL and the potential in the south of France (a heartland of the game) I think Toulouse could do very well. They're well financed and are far too too professional a setup for the championship.

I'm not sure York has the population and scope to be a successful SL club but they do things properly off the field in stark comparison with a few others including us and Fev. Cumbria is far too divided to ever get behind one team and that's what holds it back.

Newcastle will hopefully show what putting sound foundations in place can achieve. The game is growing there in contrast with some of the older "heartlands" and should be encouraged.

That's sort of my point. They can't say that, and nor can they say with any credibility that leaving the EU was the right choice. They can't win. Anyway I'm not stamping my strong political views on here, I shouldn't have mentioned it.

We need to strengthen our homelands I agree, but when there are genuine shoots of real expansion we need to really nurture it. Hemel was an example of a town where the game was actually being played in the schools (unthinkable!) and the future seemed really bright to get Hemel embedded into our league structure and growing. How did we manage to stuff that one up?! There's never going to be a better candidate for expansion and it was allowed to wither.

We lost a load of development officers when we had a cut in Sport England funding IIRC. They do an invaluable job.

Sorry excuse my backward looking M62 myopia but 5 French players and swathes of empty seats. What is the upside? The French RL team is arguably worse than ever. If expansion means less people scattered over a greater geographical area then RL has achieved it.

Hard to disagree. The sport is a mess at the moment and I don't see it getting better anytime soon with the current numpty Rimmer in the RFL hotseat and the SL clubs only voting whatever gives them the best short term gain.

Meanwhile whilst we are growing the game in France, crowds are dwindling over here and broadcasting deals seeing huge cuts. By all means, push for expansion but sure to god it has to be a position of strength rather than desperation.

If SL and the RFL had a clue how to market the game they'd sell out all the showpiece games. Rugby Union has always managed it despite the games being a much poorer spectacle.

Craig Lingard suggested bringing back the old "double header" to Old Trafford. So play the million pound game and the grand final on the same day. I think that's a superb idea. I loved the old double header premiership finals.

Just over 9000 in 19K seater stadium. Not too shady imo

And besides, we have very little credibility in ragging on other teams for having 'swathes of empty seats'