The Blues Ox

Looking at the calibre of players that Leigh are looking at I'm not really sure Ridyard will want to go to a team in a relegation battle at this stage in his career. He most certainly can do better but Im not sure the same can be said of Duffy.

Amazing the amount of players that go around openly discussing what they are earning.

Lets face it this was always going to end in tears when Campbell went against Duffy in the Griffin situation and the texts came out with him calling him a . Something like that will not be forgotten, not by Campbell with what his coach thinks of him, and not by Duffy in MC undermining him to get a contract of a senior player off his hands. Neither party could probably wait to break from the other just this time MC has not got the money to just get rid so it won't be done on his terms this time and it will be stinging with Ridyard looking for out as well. I suspect Campbell is not one for taking his pride been hurt like that.

It would cost you the salary cap to get releases from contracts for the players you think you are signing.

If rumours are to be believed....... 1. Fev will just be happy to get his contract off their books. 2. I said weeks ago that it was strange a player apparently under contract was been offered around clubs, I would imagine that couldnt happen without MC's say so.

1. Toronto - Can't see anything other than a top of the table finish and then a question of if they bottle it in the final. 2. Toulouse - I expect them to continue where they left off and although I don't think they can top the league I think they may edge out Widnes for 2nd. 3. Widnes - Im not expecting the collapse that Leigh saw last season and they look to have a competitive squad I just don't see them challenging for top spot. 4. Halifax - Recruitment has been as good as any team outside Toronto and anything less than a top 5 finish would be a disappointment. 5. Bradford - I know their fans are playing down their top 5 hopes they have a very good squad and a very good coach. I expect them to be there or there abouts. 6. Fev - This could be the one that goes either way by the time the season starts. They have lost a lot of players and not replaced them with the same quality but sometimes that can spark a club after this week though this could easily go the other way. I doubt there will be much in the 2-6 positions. 7. York - on the crest of the wave and again look to have a decent squad and will surprise a few teams. Not sure they are strong enough to break the top 5 though. 8. Sheffield - Big turn over of players but if they can make use of DR again then they should make mid table comfortably. 9. Barrow - Some interesting signings and always a tough place to go, no danger of relegation for me. 10. Leigh - Assuming they get a team on the field I really can't see them been too competitive and expect them to be fighting relegation with the teams below. 11. Batley - Nothing to see here really, they seem to be standing still while teams around them improve. If they do well then they make mid table but if things go against them they could be in trouble. 12. Dewsbury - Similar to Batley with little improvement other teams around them are getting better and they could end up with a relegation fight on their hands. 13. Swinton - Themselves and Rochdale could be in either order but neither are strong enough to get in the mid table cluster and they can only hope to finish above either heavy wollen outfit. 14. Rochdale - See above.

One dispute now sorted with Larroyer coming to Fax which only leaves one more then they can get sorted. I just can't see what sort of competitive squad they can put on the field assuming most players are now tied up although I would assume that Ridyard may be their "marquee" signing to give their fans hope.

Kilshaw be a decent choice for Fev, seems a decent coach. Only 2 problems I see, not a big name for MC and a massive clash of personalities that could end in tears. Kilshaw really not the guy to be told what team to pick or what players to bring in.

What a weird situation. Duffy really thinks he has better opportunities at Leigh rather than Fev? Is the situation at Fev worse than people first thought or is this maybe still part of the fallout over Griffin? Or has he just been made assurances at Leigh that gives them better prospects than Fev? There are simply not the players available for Leigh to be in anything other than a relegation scrap next season unless he fancies taking half the Fev squad with him, and you wouldnt put that past Duffy, so there must be something going on at Leigh to make that jump. One thing is for sure though MC will want a "name" to fill the void but Im not sure the names available are what Fev will need.

I really am struggling to decipher what you are saying in all that. Im not sure if you are trying to compare Fax's and Fev's recruitment which is obviously going to be very different because of how the regular season ended up. We have quite a young squad with a number of young players coming through so really only needed to sign one or two players to add to a squad that has been together for a number of years. Fev need wholesale changes and given the players that have left Id be surprised if anyone thinks they will be stronger next year. Like I have said though I expect them to be in the mix and would be very surprised if they weren't.

I'd love for them to still be in this division so we can hammer them but the thing is their gloating fans will not be the ones that turn up it will be the diehards who actually have some respect.

I wouldn't be too fussed if he moved along after this season to be honest.

I actually wrote something along the same lines but POR forgot to mention the rest......... Fev look vastly weaker than last season and their signings seem like run of the mill squad players so far and that probably won't change but I don't actually expect a bad season for them, backs against the wall can actually galvanise teams and very much in the way that Fax were wrote off over the last couple of seasons, I think people will write Fev off at their perill.

Nice context. How about copying the rest of what I wrote?

Going on what has happened so far...... Lets make no bones about it, Toronto will walk the league and if they don't something has gone very wrong. At worst I would only expect them to lose 1 or 2 games and really can't see any other team capable of getting near a record like that. The question will be if they will bottle the final again. I expect Widnes to be weaker than last year and to be honest Im not sure even the team they had last year would have won the Championship, I don't think they will have a massive collapse like Leigh did though and would expect them to be comfortable in the top 5. Toulouse always look a classy outfit and again should make the top 5 pretty easily, I still don't think they will be good enough to get near to the 1st spot but could well be capable of beating Toronto in a one off game if need be but it will be their away form that could stop them getting the top 3. My own team Fax have made some good off season signings for the 1st time in about 3 seasons so Im hoping we can push the teams mentioned above and maybe we will be capable of nicking 2nd. Any finish outside the top 4 with the team we have would be disappointing in my eyes. After those teams we have a group of teams that probably won't be in any relegation danger but with a good run maybe could get in the top 4 in Fev, Bradford, York, and maybe Barrow and Sheffield. Fev look vastly weaker than last season and their signings seem like run of the mill squad players so far and that probably won't change but I don't actually expect a bad season for them, backs against the wall can actually galvanise teams and very much in the way that Fax were wrote off over the last couple of seasons, I think people will write Fev off at their perill. Bradford will be no mugs with Kear in charge and look to have a decent squad, been pretty much full time will help them but it might be a season or two too early for them to make a big impact in the league. York seem to be on a wave of euphoria and that can be massive for a team, Im not sure on paper they have a squad good enough for the top 5 but they certainly look to have a great team spirit and as a Fax fan I can vouch for how important that is when it looks like your squad might be inferior to outsiders. Barrow is a funny one as well as they seem to be bringing in a few players but maybe their squad might be a bit thin on the quality side they will still take some beating at home. The same could be said about Sheffield, they will have a big turnover in players and I don't think they will be as poor as last season. Dewsbury, Batley, Swinton, and Rochdale I see battling to avoid relegation, none of their squads are realistically strong enough to chanllenge for the top 5 and I don't see them as good as other teams mentioned. Leigh its hard to comment on, no team, no coach, and hard to say which league they will start in. If they can start in this league and manage to put together a team then they could easily be relegation fodder.