345 replies to this topic

[keighley]

But why would the RFL advise this when they don't want clubs like Featherstone in SL - or so we keep getting told!

People are just making things up to suit their argument.

It seems to me that the Featherstone of today and especially tomorrow if this investor comes on board, bear little or no comparison with the Featherstone who were in deep trouble in CC1 a few years ago. That Featherstone had zero chance of SL

Today the club have ticked so many boxes, ground, team, juniors, finance, even improving crowds that they are becoming impossible to ignore. They seriously compare with London and Castleford and maybe Salford and Widnes and not even the ring fenced barons of SL can any longer ignore the clamour at the gate.

[Griff]

Yes, that's how it ended up conveniently. But if you remember rightly, the original idea was quite different...........

Looking at who was and who wasn't in that original $uperleague I'm not sure how "convenient" it all was. They wouldn't have been the twelve clubs I'd have hand-picked.

So - were you for the original idea, Mark ?

[Griff]

It seems to me that the Featherstone of today and especially tomorrow if this investor comes on board, bear little or no comparison with the Featherstone who were in deep trouble in CC1 a few years ago. That Featherstone had zero chance of SL

Today the club have ticked so many boxes, ground, team, juniors, finance .....

Finance ?

[Wellsy4HullFC]

More great news coming from Fev. Hope they have a great year on the field to back all this up. If they do, they must be certainties for SL.

They're doing everything right it seems under the current system. Whether people agree with the system or not is irrelevant. They will hopefully be rewarded.

[keighley]

Don't allow romantic claptrap to get in the way of facts. It was top 10 plus London & Paris.

Hull, Hull KR, Wakefield, Salford, Widnes & Huddersfield all managed to gain entry without 17 years of perceived persecution.

Featherstone were in the 1st Division when SL was formed. Even if they were not in the top 10, then they should have been given for a place ahead of a weak second division side like London and a non existent entity like Paris ( Where are they now). Widnes were similarly shafted. Hull KR, Wakefield and Huddersfield were all in Division 2.

Romantic claptrap was the essence of the Paris incarnation. No team, no money, no fans, no nothing. Like Don Quiote tilting at windmills. Romantic claptrap of the highest order.

Nobody said they were persecuted but fate was mentioned and demotion not on merit was theirs.

[keighley]

Ah right. Your previous post was ambiguous and I misunderstood exactly who "they" were. Still, I'm sure Mr Nahaboo is smart enough to seek appropriate confirmations before making his investment.

By the way, how are we going to decide who wins this bet ?

Difficult but if Fev get a SL licence that will be part of it and then I guess someone will have to directly ask the investor if it was true that he knew a SL licence had been promised or not and rich men never lie

[keighley]

Finance ?

Isn't this thread about a 7 figure investment in Featherstone.? That sounds like finance to me.

[Griff]

Difficult but if Fev get a SL licence that will be part of it and then I guess someone will have to directly ask the investor if it was true that he knew a SL licence had been promised or not and rich men never lie

Just a hypothetical bet, then.

[Griff]

.
Nobody said they were persecuted but fate was mentioned and demotion not on merit was theirs.

Bit picky, perhaps, but, as I recall, they weren't demoted. Twelve clubs got promoted to $uperleague and Fev stayed where they were.

[marklaspalmas]

Looking at who was and who wasn't in that original $uperleague I'm not sure how "convenient" it all was. They wouldn't have been the twelve clubs I'd have hand-picked.

So - were you for the original idea, Mark ?

They were the only two options available. Shy-te and shy-ter. Everyone knows that exhaustive studies were carried out about how best to squander the SKY millions and who should be in which league. There was no mad headlong rush into it all at all. It was perfectly fair and no club was left feeling hard done by or 'left out'.

Thank God those responsible for the 1995 scandal are no longer involved in the running of our game.

[marklaspalmas]

Bit picky, perhaps, but, as I recall, they weren't demoted. Twelve clubs got promoted to $uperleague and Fev stayed where they were.

That's just silly.

[barrowraiderskid]

Isn't this thread about a 7 figure investment in Featherstone.? That sounds like finance to me.

Being financially sustainable and getting an investment are completely different. If you arnt financially sustainable then an investment will be gone within a few years and of had minor impact in the long run.

[Griff]

Isn't this thread about a 7 figure investment in Featherstone.? That sounds like finance to me.

Well, let's see what it's spent on. Featherstone has been lossmaking for a number of years.

[Trojan]

Featherstone were in the 1st Division when SL was formed. Even if they were not in the top 10, then they should have been given for a place ahead of a weak second division side like London and a non existent entity like Paris ( Where are they now). Widnes were similarly shafted. Hull KR, Wakefield and Huddersfield were all in Division 2.

Romantic claptrap was the essence of the Paris incarnation. No team, no money, no fans, no nothing. Like Don Quiote tilting at windmills. Romantic claptrap of the highest order.

Nobody said they were persecuted but fate was mentioned and demotion not on merit was theirs.

At the time Superleague was mooted, Fev were in the semis of the CC. They had done like many other clubs before them and sacrificed league position for a cup run. The Challenge Cup was much bigger in those days than it is today. Had they known what was coming perhaps things would have turned out differently. But they didn't. Indeed even after the Superleague deal was announced no one knew how results that season would affect Superleague places. The whole thing had the air of a stitch up. I reckon that's why Fev fans (and Widnes fans for that matter) felt so bitter. After all Paris, Oldham Bears and Workington all ceased to exist in short order.

[keighley]

Being financially sustainable and getting an investment are completely different. If you arnt financially sustainable then an investment will be gone within a few years and of had minor impact in the long run.

Like Salford and Barrow then.

[Griff]

At the time Superleague was mooted, Fev were in the semis of the CC. They had done like many other clubs before them and sacrificed league position for a cup run. The Challenge Cup was much bigger in those days than it is today. Had they known what was coming perhaps things would have turned out differently. But they didn't. Indeed even after the Superleague deal was announced no one knew how results that season would affect Superleague places. The whole thing had the air of a stitch up. I reckon that's why Fev fans (and Widnes fans for that matter) felt so bitter. After all Paris, Oldham Bears and Workington all ceased to exist in short order.

That's nonsense. Are we seriously saying that Fev were moaning about not being in $uperleague because they wouldn't have thrown their league games if they'd known Sky were going to come along ?

Dearie me !! Get the paranoia pills out.

[keighley]

At the time Superleague was mooted, Fev were in the semis of the CC. They had done like many other clubs before them and sacrificed league position for a cup run. The Challenge Cup was much bigger in those days than it is today. Had they known what was coming perhaps things would have turned out differently. But they didn't. Indeed even after the Superleague deal was announced no one knew how results that season would affect Superleague places. The whole thing had the air of a stitch up. I reckon that's why Fev fans (and Widnes fans for that matter) felt so bitter. After all Paris, Oldham Bears and Workington all ceased to exist in short order.

Indeed and having a team capable of getting to the semi final of the cup should have counted in their favour as well.

[Dave T]

I do agree with the fact that it was naughty the way SL was constructed - for mine, we should have announced the qualification criteria and given teams a year to qualify - ie top 10 plus London and Paris.

What I don't agree with is the suggestion that Fev or any other team were stitched up as the RFL didn;t want them in - as has been pointed out, it was hardly a dream SL lineup after the mergers had been thrown out, so they basically went with top 10 plus the two expansion teams. Nothing more to it than that IMHO!

[Griff]

Indeed and having a team capable of getting to the semi final of the cup should have counted in their favour as well.

Remind me which club's fans keep banging on about the league being the most important competition to win.

Consistency - that's what should be rewarded. None of these one-off games.

Anyway - stop now - my sides are aching.

[Padge]

Isn't this thread about a 7 figure investment in Featherstone.? That sounds like finance to me.

It depends what the money is for, what strings are attached, if it materializes and if it does how much in reality the amount is.

At the moment its still an internet rumour.