Which sides are most likely to get a SL licence

[Northern Exposure]

Barrow and Fax for me.

Widnes offer nothing that the others dont have.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Northern Exposure

[Fully]

Widnes are better than all the rest in most aspects.

They offer a world-class academy, for instance.

[Bulletproof]

Your last one got locked for being the pathetic trollbait that it was and so this one can be taken with the intent we all know is there from the start.

[Maximus Decimus]

Barrow and Fax for me.

Widnes offer nothing that the others dont have.

Doesn't trolling get boring?

The above is just a blatant lie.

[widnesvikings]

Widnes will be in super league in 2012 this is a certainty. Although for all you Doubting Thomases keep on coming out with all the negative jibes about Widnes, if it makes you feel better. And you will see some world class players in the Vikings squad. When we get the nod in March. The headlines will be WELCOME BACK, WIDNES VIKINGS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TEAMS IN WORLD RUGBY LEAGUE.

[1976PMJwires]

Don't care........Who ever gets the nod will struggle.

[Northern Exposure]

Doesn't trolling get boring?

The above is just a blatant lie.

Well, instead of just jumping on the bandwagon, why not point out what Widnes have to offer that Barrow or Fax dont?

Cos i cant see anything.

[Northern Exposure]

Widnes will be in super league in 2012 this is a certainty. Although for all you Doubting Thomases keep on coming out with all the negative jibes about Widnes, if it makes you feel better. And you will see some world class players in the Vikings squad. When we get the nod in March. The headlines will be WELCOME BACK, WIDNES VIKINGS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TEAMS IN WORLD RUGBY LEAGUE.

What, like Gareth Haggerty? lol

Your academy seems to be based in Wigan?

You're 8th mate. Even below Toulouse.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Northern Exposure

[Maximus Decimus]

Well, instead of just jumping on the bandwagon, why not point out what Widnes have to offer that Barrow or Fax dont?

Cos i cant see anything.

You must be blind then.

How about better crowds, better stadium and better youth development for a start.

[Stratobill]

Toulouse needs to be added to the poll, they have more chance to impress Sky with the european aspect. They will be guaranteed b4 Widnes as Celtic were.

[thirteenthman]

Widnes will be in super league in 2012 this is a certainty. Although for all you Doubting Thomases keep on coming out with all the negative jibes about Widnes, if it makes you feel better. And you will see some world class players in the Vikings squad. When we get the nod in March. The headlines will be WELCOME BACK, WIDNES VIKINGS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TEAMS IN WORLD RUGBY LEAGUE.

You're right about Widnes being in SL come 2012. Today's announcement pretty much makes it certain. And I'm fairly sure they'll be a good addition to the comp. Even my next door neighbour Thomas agrees.

Not sure about that last line though. I mean 'Welcome Back'? They're only in the Championship. They're still playing every week. They haven't disappeared like South Sydney did for a couple of seasons. There's more to Rugby League than just Super League.

[mick wilson]

You must be blind then.

How about better crowds, better stadium and better youth development for a start.

As it stands (today) Widnes do have a better Stadium but its rented and you dont get 100% of any connsessions sold & your landlord holds the keys.

Barrow & Fev own their grounds and the land it sits on and Fev even own a much bigger tract of land in the surrounding area, both keep any monies generated & own the keys and titles.

....................

Today Widnes have the best crowds but they are falling by a bigger margin than the rest & going from the various Widnes supporters forums many are saying that (( if )) they dont get this franchise they will stop going completely......which i find STAGGERING as we all live with this reality every season and dont threaten to quit.....OMG are they Widnes supporters or just top class RL fans.

Barrow have a big UNOPPOSED area / population to draw support from , so have the bigger potential in drawing in both new and previous fans back to the club, We have increased our support in the last 4 seasons but have hit the wall this season with next to no visiting fans & a few less homers as they say whats the point "its a closed shop"

Both Barrow & Fev have re-development plans but can not implement these plans on Championship finances & crowds.

Half the current SL sides have a 10 yrs plus on the gravy train yet have not managed to achieve this, yet the RL expect championship clubs to be able to do this on a TENTH of the monies the SL sides recieve ?????

Which mean prudent clus get penilized for keeping solvent but not rich enough to pay for all these newer developments, should be go into massive DEBT TO ACHIEVE THESE REQUIREMENTS then dont get excepted only to bankrupt ourselves for trying ?????????

Today Widnes have the best yoof structure, but again that can be fixed almost overnight, especially in Furness due to no other quaility competing clubs, We are really struggling this term with our Reserve & yoof sides because its only our 2nd year in the championship and we have had to increase the other town player numbers to be competitive enough to win the chance of entering the great franchise race, we came up with a side full of locals, half left to join Wukkie as they would not get into todays team as we had to win somthing first, but next season we WILL HAVE A ACADEMY SIDE.

we have tons of kids at haven & wukkie academys who would love to play for their home town club instead of the 3.5 hour round trips up the coast 3 times per week at their parents expence.

If we were a SL club the best of the west cumbrian yoof would then travel down to us to be the best in the area, so we could draw all the talent from the whole of Cumbria.

We have SEVERAL Barrow kids at Saints, Wire, Leeds who could very easily be loaned out to Us as we establish ourselves in the SL & THE OTHER CUMBRIAN SL kids would probably do likewise to gain valuable experience.

Leigh, Fax & Widnes have all previous with SL and it wasnt pretty, Give others a chance.

Sorry for the ramble but i was multi tasking as im typing this.

[ChrisB]

As it stands (today) Widnes do have a better Stadium but its rented and you dont get 100% of any connsessions sold & your landlord holds the keys.

Barrow & Fev own their grounds and the land it sits on and Fev even own a much bigger tract of land in the surrounding area, both keep any monies generated & own the keys and titles.

....................

Today Widnes have the best crowds but they are falling by a bigger margin than the rest & going from the various Widnes supporters forums many are saying that (( if )) they dont get this franchise they will stop going completely......which i find STAGGERING as we all live with this reality every season and dont threaten to quit.....OMG are they Widnes supporters or just top class RL fans.

Barrow have a big UNOPPOSED area / population to draw support from , so have the bigger potential in drawing in both new and previous fans back to the club, We have increased our support in the last 4 seasons but have hit the wall this season with next to no visiting fans & a few less homers as they say whats the point "its a closed shop"

Both Barrow & Fev have re-development plans but can not implement these plans on Championship finances & crowds.

Half the current SL sides have a 10 yrs plus on the gravy train yet have not managed to achieve this, yet the RL expect championship clubs to be able to do this on a TENTH of the monies the SL sides recieve ?????

Which mean prudent clus get penilized for keeping solvent but not rich enough to pay for all these newer developments, should be go into massive DEBT TO ACHIEVE THESE REQUIREMENTS then dont get excepted only to bankrupt ourselves for trying ?????????

Today Widnes have the best yoof structure, but again that can be fixed almost overnight, especially in Furness due to no other quaility competing clubs, We are really struggling this term with our Reserve & yoof sides because its only our 2nd year in the championship and we have had to increase the other town player numbers to be competitive enough to win the chance of entering the great franchise race, we came up with a side full of locals, half left to join Wukkie as they would not get into todays team as we had to win somthing first, but next season we WILL HAVE A ACADEMY SIDE.

we have tons of kids at haven & wukkie academys who would love to play for their home town club instead of the 3.5 hour round trips up the coast 3 times per week at their parents expence.

If we were a SL club the best of the west cumbrian yoof would then travel down to us to be the best in the area, so we could draw all the talent from the whole of Cumbria.

We have SEVERAL Barrow kids at Saints, Wire, Leeds who could very easily be loaned out to Us as we establish ourselves in the SL & THE OTHER CUMBRIAN SL kids would probably do likewise to gain valuable experience.

Leigh, Fax & Widnes have all previous with SL and it wasnt pretty, Give others a chance.

Sorry for the ramble but i was multi tasking as im typing this.

Lots of 'Yeah Widnes have ......., but they might not in the future' talk there Mick.

The reason that many would turn their back on 'the game' and the governing board (rather than the club) is that the club has strived to fulfil the criteria laid out today and have by the looks of it four out of five green lights. The fifth might be turned on shortly. We are the best candidate for this set of applications outside of SL.

If the RFL opted for another team other than Widnes it would be nothing short of a disgrace and contradict everything they have said.

[3owls]

Barrow for me, widnes would be a backwards step. Cumbria needs to be represented and it would be a travesty if barrow aren't given a licence. A county that has rugby league as its number one sport needs a presence at the highest level.

[Bomb Jack]

Barrow for me, widnes would be a backwards step. Cumbria needs to be represented and it would be a travesty if barrow aren't given a licence. A county that has rugby league as its number one sport needs a presence at the highest level.

But you say that with your heart, not with your head. Like it or not, Widnes' Licence bid will be MUCH STRONGER OVERALL than Barrows.

If anyone thinks only having their First Team better than Widnes' will get them a Licence over us is living in cloud cuckoo land.

[jannerboyuk]

Lots of 'Yeah Widnes have ......., but they might not in the future' talk there Mick.

The reason that many would turn their back on 'the game' and the governing board (rather than the club) is that the club has strived to fulfil the criteria laid out today and have by the looks of it four out of five green lights. The fifth might be turned on shortly. We are the best candidate for this set of applications outside of SL.

If the RFL opted for another team other than Widnes it would be nothing short of a disgrace and contradict everything they have said.

The job of the rfl is to make the best decision as it sees it in the interest of the sport. Personally i think that, on the face of it, it should be widnes but your attitude stinks quite frankly.

[Bomb Jack]

As it stands (today) Widnes do have a better Stadium but its rented and you dont get 100% of any connsessions sold & your landlord holds the keys.

Barrow & Fev own their grounds and the land it sits on and Fev even own a much bigger tract of land in the surrounding area, both keep any monies generated & own the keys and titles.

....................

Today Widnes have the best crowds but they are falling by a bigger margin than the rest & going from the various Widnes supporters forums many are saying that (( if )) they dont get this franchise they will stop going completely......which i find STAGGERING as we all live with this reality every season and dont threaten to quit.....OMG are they Widnes supporters or just top class RL fans.

Barrow have a big UNOPPOSED area / population to draw support from , so have the bigger potential in drawing in both new and previous fans back to the club, We have increased our support in the last 4 seasons but have hit the wall this season with next to no visiting fans & a few less homers as they say whats the point "its a closed shop"

Both Barrow & Fev have re-development plans but can not implement these plans on Championship finances & crowds.

Half the current SL sides have a 10 yrs plus on the gravy train yet have not managed to achieve this, yet the RL expect championship clubs to be able to do this on a TENTH of the monies the SL sides recieve ?????

Which mean prudent clus get penilized for keeping solvent but not rich enough to pay for all these newer developments, should be go into massive DEBT TO ACHIEVE THESE REQUIREMENTS then dont get excepted only to bankrupt ourselves for trying ?????????

Today Widnes have the best yoof structure, but again that can be fixed almost overnight, especially in Furness due to no other quaility competing clubs, We are really struggling this term with our Reserve & yoof sides because its only our 2nd year in the championship and we have had to increase the other town player numbers to be competitive enough to win the chance of entering the great franchise race, we came up with a side full of locals, half left to join Wukkie as they would not get into todays team as we had to win somthing first, but next season we WILL HAVE A ACADEMY SIDE.

we have tons of kids at haven & wukkie academys who would love to play for their home town club instead of the 3.5 hour round trips up the coast 3 times per week at their parents expence.

If we were a SL club the best of the west cumbrian yoof would then travel down to us to be the best in the area, so we could draw all the talent from the whole of Cumbria.

We have SEVERAL Barrow kids at Saints, Wire, Leeds who could very easily be loaned out to Us as we establish ourselves in the SL & THE OTHER CUMBRIAN SL kids would probably do likewise to gain valuable experience.

Leigh, Fax & Widnes have all previous with SL and it wasnt pretty, Give others a chance.

Sorry for the ramble but i was multi tasking as im typing this.

Ground

So it's better to own a dump of a ground rather than rent a Superb Stadium, is that what you are saying Mick ?

So Wakey are better off than Wigan ?

Get real. It doesn't matter if your ground is rented or owned, it's the quality of it that counts.

Crowds

Widnes are the ONLY Championship Club that pass the 2,500 average, period !

Academy

We have a World Class Academy structure, and have ran an Academy / Under 21's for years. Licence bids have to be in for December this year, and the outcome will be announced March next year. Do you honestly think you can match or better our structure in 4 months ?

[ChrisB]

The job of the rfl is to make the best decision as it sees it in the interest of the sport. Personally i think that, on the face of it, it should be widnes but your attitude stinks quite frankly.

Why? A snub for Widnes in the next application process would be the RFL blatantly saying your face doesn't fit and won't fit. Especially with clubs like Wakefield, Castleford and Salford in there who are really no better suited to life in SL than we are or offer anything more than we would. Especially as we've danced their little dance for the last three years.

With our history with the RFL I wouldn't blame anyone for saying I've had enough. Who want's to be associated with a sport that doesn't want to associate with them?

[ChrisB]

Ground

So it's better to own a dump of a ground rather than rent a Superb Stadium, is that what you are saying Mick ?

So Wakey are better off than Wigan ?

Get real. It doesn't matter if your ground is rented or owned, it's the quality of it that counts.

Just to add..

It's also not true that we get nothing from the concessions or the match day packages. The agreement we have with HBC on the rental of the ground is very favourable. They sit on our board and want us to achieve as badly as some of our fans do. We are incredibly lucky to have them as landlords and it is an arrangement that will be in place for many many years to come.

[Northern Exposure]

You must be blind then.

How about better crowds, better stadium and better youth development for a start.

Thats all very well, but what about on the pitch where it counts?

[jannerboyuk]

Why? A snub for Widnes in the next application process would be the RFL blatantly saying your face doesn't fit and won't fit. Especially with clubs like Wakefield, Castleford and Salford in there who are really no better suited to life in SL than we are or offer anything more than we would. Especially as we've danced their little dance for the last three years.

With our history with the RFL I wouldn't blame anyone for saying I've had enough. Who want's to be associated with a sport that doesn't want to associate with them?

Because you are acting like arrogant kids "you must let us in you must you must". You say you demand a fair process but for you its only fair if you are automatically in"! So fax, barrow, leigh current c license clubs etc should just lie down and apologise for daring to get in your way. Every club that is serious deserves a fair go!

All this the rfl hate widnes ######! Seriously what are you on about? Why would the rfl hate widnes but not warrington or wakefield? Why would your face not fit as opposed to any other heartland club with a long history? It makes no sense.

The RFL may make the wrong decision or the right one but it is theres to make as the governing body for the whole sport and should not allow themselves to blackmailed by bitter fans. Ironically and luckily for you your club owner isn't like that and thats exactly why you probably will get in. I hope you do and i hope you get thrashed every game and the rfl bring back relegation and promotion two weeks from the end of the season.

[ChrisB]

Thats all very well, but what about on the pitch where it counts?

Not in the eyes of the RFL... that's why teams are sitting pretty for 3 years.

You need a Holistic view on things these days.

[Northern Exposure]

As it stands (today) Widnes do have a better Stadium but its rented and you dont get 100% of any connsessions sold & your landlord holds the keys.

Barrow & Fev own their grounds and the land it sits on and Fev even own a much bigger tract of land in the surrounding area, both keep any monies generated & own the keys and titles.

....................

Today Widnes have the best crowds but they are falling by a bigger margin than the rest & going from the various Widnes supporters forums many are saying that (( if )) they dont get this franchise they will stop going completely......which i find STAGGERING as we all live with this reality every season and dont threaten to quit.....OMG are they Widnes supporters or just top class RL fans.

Barrow have a big UNOPPOSED area / population to draw support from , so have the bigger potential in drawing in both new and previous fans back to the club, We have increased our support in the last 4 seasons but have hit the wall this season with next to no visiting fans & a few less homers as they say whats the point "its a closed shop"

Both Barrow & Fev have re-development plans but can not implement these plans on Championship finances & crowds.

Half the current SL sides have a 10 yrs plus on the gravy train yet have not managed to achieve this, yet the RL expect championship clubs to be able to do this on a TENTH of the monies the SL sides recieve ?????

Which mean prudent clus get penilized for keeping solvent but not rich enough to pay for all these newer developments, should be go into massive DEBT TO ACHIEVE THESE REQUIREMENTS then dont get excepted only to bankrupt ourselves for trying ?????????

Today Widnes have the best yoof structure, but again that can be fixed almost overnight, especially in Furness due to no other quaility competing clubs, We are really struggling this term with our Reserve & yoof sides because its only our 2nd year in the championship and we have had to increase the other town player numbers to be competitive enough to win the chance of entering the great franchise race, we came up with a side full of locals, half left to join Wukkie as they would not get into todays team as we had to win somthing first, but next season we WILL HAVE A ACADEMY SIDE.

we have tons of kids at haven & wukkie academys who would love to play for their home town club instead of the 3.5 hour round trips up the coast 3 times per week at their parents expence.

If we were a SL club the best of the west cumbrian yoof would then travel down to us to be the best in the area, so we could draw all the talent from the whole of Cumbria.

We have SEVERAL Barrow kids at Saints, Wire, Leeds who could very easily be loaned out to Us as we establish ourselves in the SL & THE OTHER CUMBRIAN SL kids would probably do likewise to gain valuable experience.

Leigh, Fax & Widnes have all previous with SL and it wasnt pretty, Give others a chance.

Sorry for the ramble but i was multi tasking as im typing this.

Spot on.

Cumbria should get its chance.

If Widnes feel hadly done by, then Cumbria should be fuming.

[ChrisB]

Because you are acting like arrogant kids "you must let us in you must you must". You say you demand a fair process but for you its only fair if you are automatically in"! So fax, barrow, leigh current c license clubs etc should just lie down and apologise for daring to get in your way. Every club that is serious deserves a fair go!

All this the rfl hate widnes ######! Seriously what are you on about? Why would the rfl hate widnes but not warrington or wakefield? Why would your face not fit as opposed to any other heartland club with a long history? It makes no sense.

The RFL may make the wrong decision or the right one but it is theres to make as the governing body for the whole sport and should not allow themselves to blackmailed by bitter fans. Ironically and luckily for you your club owner isn't like that and thats exactly why you probably will get in. I hope you do and i hope you get thrashed every game and the rfl bring back relegation and promotion two weeks from the end of the season.

How are we acting like arrogant kids! No one's demanding to be let in. We deserve to be in. You yourself have said as much. We have done EVERYTHING asked by the RFL. That is why we sit as the only club in the Championship that currently can apply for a franchise spot.

If the RFL turned around now and said you aren't going in, Toulouse are!! Would we not have reason to be miffed. All the money spend on renovating an already excellent stadium, the tens of thousands of pounds being spent on youth players for our future.

I don't pretend that the RFL hate us.. we have been unfortunate that there have been numerous run ins over the years that have ended with Widnes sucking the wrong end of an egg.

As for your attitude about Widnes.. it doesn't surprise me. The club that should have got in ahead of yours the last time around is about to show how wrong a decision that was. If your club's still in existence then obviously!

Edited August 4, 2010 by ChrisB

[mick wilson]

Just to add..

It's also not true that we get nothing from the concessions or the match day packages. The agreement we have with HBC on the rental of the ground is very favourable. They sit on our board and want us to achieve as badly as some of our fans do. We are incredibly lucky to have them as landlords and it is an arrangement that will be in place for many many years to come.

Who said you dont get anything from ground connsessions.........?

I SAID "As it stands (today) Widnes do have a better Stadium but its rented and you dont get 100% of any connsessions sold".