114 replies to this topic

[keighley]

Widnes had been on the edge for a while, they had been having money trouble continually. Lindsay pulled Widnes out of it by buying Lydon for £100,000, Wigan later again got them out of the financial mess when they bought Offiah for £440,000. Widnes had to off-load Davies on a free transfer to Warrington to save them from getting in it once again.

At the time there was nobody on a white charger riding in to save them, Warrington were playing in a dilapidated stadium bumping along at the time with once again no sign of anyone coming to the rescue.

If we had carried on would these two clubs have found a saviour, we don't know, we do know they were both heading for trouble (more so Widnes), did the creation of SL spark an interest from well financed backers for the clubs, maybe, but in reality we don't know.

What I think we do know is that we couldn't carry on as we were and where we were wasn't in a place that a lot of clubs were going to survive in.

It doesn't really matter whether clubs merged or not, in the brave new world those that sort themselves out will survive, others may be lost. The clubs voted for a fight to the death when they rejected mergers. Lindsay didn't want that but the clubs did.

And how's that working out for Widnes and Warrington today? Are both in SL ? Do we have two vibrant clubs

But you are both going to die or at best be on life support for years until you do.

And you might just be wrong, cue Wakefield after their non merger, new stadium imminent, new investor, increasing crowds.

[keighley]

Fair call there Mr. Hound.

I can't criticise the heart of any RL fan.

If Oldham and Salford fans all want to say that despite Lyndsays call he could stick a merger.

And despite the fact (as it stands) that both clubs are decimated 17 years on he can still stick it....

Then fair enough

The two clubs may disappear/survive as low level semi pro entities, and delight their diehards in doing so.

Thes rest of Lancashire and north Cheshire will carry on supporting Wire, Widnes, Saints and Wigan......

Is that the same Widnes who should have died and merged with Warrington under Supremo Lyndsay's master plan which was probably delivered to his desk by a Sky messenger.

[keighley]

Sometimes I think you live on cloud cuckoo land Padge. I don't need to ask them all I'm in no doubt the majority would say no.

Weren't there demonstrations in the streets, petitions to Parliament and threatened lawsuits, all of which ended with the merger proposals being kicked into touch. I don't think fan sentiment in that area has changed much since then.

[Dave T]

Well said Wellsy. I'm getting sick of the 'we know best brigade' hijacking every thread and trying to tell people they know more about their local clubs/areas than they do.

I understand your frustration, however if you only want to discuss your team's issues with Salford fans then maybe a dedicated Salford forum is the place to go.

[keighley]

They can say, and have every right to say "NO".

However in another 17 years of Superleague with Leeds, Wigan, Saints, Wire and maybe Wakefield in Newmarket having cleared up on every trophy going they may wish they had said "YES".

But then again most of them may have moved on....

I'm sure most of the "Merging on the ridiculous" crowd 17 years ago probably don't go to RL matches...

What about the sleeping giant that is allegedly London, the new colossus in Wales and the already powerhouse French in Catalans and the new Toulouse mega franchise. Arn't they going to be allowed to join this joyfest of trophy winning by small towns in Lancashire ? Or is all that relevant only when you are arguing other points

[keighley]

Gaz, take a step back

Featherstone have 2000 fans, 500 short of the requirement for superleague. and Sheffield were grand final winners who you could not beat.

That's not great strides at all mate,

Wakefield went bust with 6500 fans but had a hand up from SLE and after Glover took the helm they added 1600 fans without achieving anything but survival.

Newmarket if it happens may see the club hit 10,000 crowds. Wakefield may hit the same sort of revival Hull or Wire did.

So I would not agree that Fev and wakey are somehow moving on up on a par. It could be Wakefield leave you well behind??

Or it could be that Castleford will sort out their stadium and finances, Featherstone will reap the reward of their ambition and all three will be successful. Where would Wakefield be if Glover had not appeared on the scene'?. You wishing or postulating on a particular outcome dos'nt make it any more likely than me offering a different view.

If mega clubs are so much desired and in vogue, why don't Wigan abandon their rent a stadium and merge with Saints to form a mega club playing at and selling out Langtree every home game? After all, Leeds and Warringon seem to be winning all the trophies?

[keighley]

Kenny - who would be allowed to vote in the referendum?

The 16,941 fans who go to Fev/Cas/Wakey.....

Or would it also include several thousand fans in the area who would go if there was a club that could compete for trophies inSL

And do you think 8172 Wakey fans would vote stuff Cas/Fev why do we need them?

Two seasons ago, when Wakefield were on their beam ends, how would the vote have gone ? Situations are changing constantly and these changes make scenarios redundant.

[keighley]

Who would be allowed to vote? You and Keighley to go along with the trend on this board

I would imagine that there would be a mixture of replies from the 8172 Wakey fans

Hey, don't include me in this, I am busy building the barracades on the road linking Bradford to God's country in Keighley. We are going to merge with Silsden, Cowling and West Craven Warriors to form a new team, the Dalesman Destroyers playing out a brand new purpose built stadium on the cattle market in Skipton. SL here we come.

[41hound]

Hey, don't include me in this, I am busy building the barracades on the road linking Bradford to God's country in Keighley. We are going to merge with Silsden, Cowling and West Craven Warriors to form a new team, the Dalesman Destroyers playing out a brand new purpose built stadium on the cattle market in Skipton. SL here we come.

- It sounds quite catchy actually

[tonyXIII]

The thing I just cannot get my head around in all this was how the Salford fans were sold such a white elephant as Barton? I mean what was so terminally awful about The Willows? I just can not believe that the ground was so bad, I have been several times before the closure and It was In my view a fine venue for RL, the shed had a certain "Raw Uniqueness" (not for the faint hearted) and the Willows end had a certain old school charm!
All you need at Barton is an East Wind, as many residents of Davyhulme would declare...and the metaphor would aptly describe both the decision making and leadership/budget control that has been in place since they arrived back in SL.

As for the RFL all I can say is that they simply have to act with consistency...And wonder aloud what the lease for Barton would cost them?

It wasn't sold as a white elephant, it was sold as the panacea for all our ills. It wasn't sold to Salford, Salford RLFC don't own it. Peel Holdings and Salford Council built it. They own it and it is operated by a Stadium Management Company. Salford RLFC didn't own The Willows, so didn't really have much say in what happened and had to rely on the goodwill of JW. It was complicated and it has ended up a bit of a mess.

As for the Willows being 'okay', I asked the same question you have and was told that it was costing a small fortune in maintenance because it was so old and a new stadium would be cheaper. Unfortunately, we have lost all the other income streams, so life in SL at Barton has become unaffordable without a large increase in fan numbers.

All the above is simply my understanding of the situation. I could, of course, be wrong.

[eclecticsheep]

Whoever built it knew NOWT about Traffic Flow!

[Pottsy]

I understand your frustration, however if you only want to discuss your team's issues with Salford fans then maybe a dedicated Salford forum is the place to go.

Happy to discuss Salford with whoever; I just find it frustrating that some posters on here appear to be afflicted with a god complex

[tonyXIII]

Whoever built it knew NOWT about Traffic Flow!

It would appear so. However, the stadium is part of Peel's grand plan of Port Salford. There are plans for a huge container port, railway lines, new roads, a new motorway junction and a new bridge over the canal.

The cynic in me wants to say that building the stadium had to be done first in order to get approval for the rest of the grand scheme and Peel Holdings don't really care that it takes you up to an hour to get away from the stadium. The upgrade to the roads won't happen until Port Salford rises from the banks of the Ship Canal. Which might be never.

[snapski]

Why the hell has this changed into yet another thread about Cas/Fev, mergers and Maurice Lindsay? What has this got to do with news at Salford?

Because parky takes over every thread with his bile

[John Drake]

If anyone has anything NEW to say on the original thread subject, by all means start a new thread to say it.

If you just want to beat people over the head with your opinions or make bitchy personal comments about other forum members, it might be time to go and make a cup of tea and watch the telly for a while instead, rather than carrying it on in yet another thread.

Thanks, and Happy New Year.