Widnes problems

[Private Baldrick]

2 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

If they can keep the bulk of their squad together i wouldnt put it past them to still make a good run for the play-offs.

If, as usual, its picked to pieces its very very late for them to build any sort of squad and relegation looks likely

If they go into administration do all their players become free agents?

[Private Baldrick]

Kieron Purtill hasn't been the most luckiest of coaches has he!

[DavidM]

Sad indeed . Will they see their games out?

[Blind side johnny]

4 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

You can blame P&R, which is in a very small way responsible for Widnes’ demise, but Steve O’Connor needs all the stick for all but walking away from the club. 

 

His departure from the club, and the country, is much more complicated than most people realise. Would you have done differently in his place?

[fevtom]

With the current squad I think they’d easily survive and possible challenge for the play offs if they’re really that much better than Fev, Halifax, Toulouse, Bradford etc who will all take points off eachother. Who knows what other consequences administration could have though.

[Mr Plow]

26 minutes ago, Private Baldrick said:

If they go into administration do all their players become free agents?

If they went into liquidation they would be, in administration they just need to sell all their assets and find a new owner

[Amber Avenger]

40 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

If they can keep the bulk of their squad together i wouldnt put it past them to still make a good run for the play-offs.

If, as usual, its picked to pieces its very very late for them to build any sort of squad and relegation looks likely

For arguments sake only... 

Looking at a few years of a 14 team league (I took SL at the start of the decade, purely as the Champ had bonus points back then) and around 30-32 points would get fifth. So Widnes would have to aim for a 42-44 points which is table topping form. Depends on the squad, but seems unlikely at this stage. 

Probably not what is actually top of Widnes fans agenda at the moment, and I suspect just survival of the club will do. 

[Krzzystuff]

The game caller is saying on twitter that Argyle is looking to buy a stake in Widnes if he can relocate them to Liverpool and Perez is after Hemel to relocate them to NA (Boston or Hamilton perhaps?)

 

[Rupert Prince]

45 minutes ago, DavidM said:

Sad indeed . Will they see their games out?

How if they are bankrupt.

[DavidM]

9 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

The game caller is saying on twitter that Argyle is looking to buy a stake in Widnes if he can relocate them to Liverpool and Perez is after Hemel to relocate them to NA (Boston or Hamilton perhaps?)

 

I wouldn’t take what he says as gospel on past evidence 

[GUBRATS]

11 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

The game caller is saying on twitter that Argyle is looking to buy a stake in Widnes if he can relocate them to Liverpool and Perez is after Hemel to relocate them to NA (Boston or Hamilton perhaps?)

 

You do realise the closest suitable stadium to Liverpool is in Widnes

[Krzzystuff]

2 minutes ago, DavidM said:

I wouldn’t take what he says as gospel on past evidence 

the Argyle quote was directly from an interview with Fox news in OZ I believe, its at the very end of the SBE article.

[Amber Avenger]

7 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

 

but lets say its 44 points they would need, thats 22 wins, would you be surprised if they only lost 5 games? 

Two weeks ago, not at all. Today, hugely. Think it depends where they are this time in a couple of weeks. 

[Krzzystuff]

1 minute ago, GUBRATS said:

You do realise the closest suitable stadium to Liverpool is in Widnes

I don't actually. I just read it and saw it wasn't mentioned in the thread so threw it out there folks.

 

[Krzzystuff]

moving aside would it hurt to have a major fan of the sport with business acumen and the benefit of the game as a whole in his intentions the worst thing to happen to Widnes and RL in the UK? if you had to choose between Argyle, DJB or Dr. Kwack who would you take?

[saintspete83]

1 hour ago, Oxford said:

Really sorry to hear this and my heart goes out to Widnes fans at this juncture, and I hope it turns out well at the end.

Seeing Gelling sat with that young lad covered in widnes gear and now maybe not being able to watch his side again is upsetting. Surely Widnes with its history, stadium and community game close by is an attractive package. I really hope someone comes along. 

[GUBRATS]

6 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

I don't actually. I just read it and saw it wasn't mentioned in the thread so threw it out there folks.

 

Well now you do

[GUBRATS]

2 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

moving aside would it hurt to have a major fan of the sport with business acumen and the benefit of the game as a whole in his intentions the worst thing to happen to Widnes and RL in the UK? if you had to choose between Argyle, DJB or Dr. Kwack who would you take?

The richest

[Oliver Clothesoff]

14 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

The game caller is saying on twitter that Argyle is looking to buy a stake in Widnes if he can relocate them to Liverpool and Perez is after Hemel to relocate them to NA (Boston or Hamilton perhaps?)

 

Hemel aren’t in the “pro” structure anymore so buying them would be almost pointless, unless they have a guaranteed spot in the game in 2020, which I don’t think they do.

I don’t see the need to move Widnes lock, stock and barrel to Liverpool. They could quite easily stay in Widnes and move games around, Toronto style. 

[Krzzystuff]

6 minutes ago, GUBRATS said:

The richest

Argyle is is...we're on the same page!

[Krzzystuff]

Just now, Oliver Clothesoff said:

Hemel aren’t in the “pro” structure anymore so buying them would be almost pointless, unless they have a guaranteed spot in the game in 2020, which I don’t think they do.

I don’t see the need to move Widnes lock, stock and barrel to Liverpool. They could quite easily stay in Widnes and move games around, Toronto style. 

They said their RFL license is dormant but still valid so buying it would make it easier to get the club going than starting from scratch TWP style...plus voting rights I believe which is likely the biggest draw.

[GUBRATS]

4 minutes ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

Hemel aren’t in the “pro” structure anymore so buying them would be almost pointless, unless they have a guaranteed spot in the game in 2020, which I don’t think they do.

I don’t see the need to move Widnes lock, stock and barrel to Liverpool. They could quite easily stay in Widnes and move games around, Toronto style.

They cant move ' lock stock and barrel ' to Liverpool , there isnt a stadium IN Liverpool to move to

[GUBRATS]

5 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

Argyle is is...we're on the same page!

Obviously , you go with the one with the most cash to burn

[Irish Saint]

Feel sorry for the fans. Remember  watching BBC that Saturday afternoon in the eighties when Joe Lydon lit up Wembley. 

May they rise again.

[MidlandsJohn]

On 2/20/2019 at 10:35 AM, dealwithit said:

How does union manage P&R?

Badly.

In theory you're meant to have straight P+R between the Premiership and the Championship, in practice what you get is a constant yo-yo cycle between a handful of bottom-end Prem and top-end Champ clubs (Exeter being the obvious exception as they've established themselves in the top flight) who get relegated from the Prem but have resources that then dwarf their Champ rivals so they bounce straight back - this can be in the form of much bigger attendances, varied streams of revenue or reliance on a rich owner. This is part of the reason why there's now a call to scrap the idea and have a "ring-fenced" top division.

If these things don't exist, you get situations like London Welsh (who went bust and have started again in something like London Division 3) or the lower-end of the Championship with clubs like Jersey and Richmond whose sole ambition is to stay in the Championship and budget for that accordingly - they have no desire to win promotion, and probably wouldn't be allowed in the Prem even if they did (stadium issues for Jersey, semi-pro status for Richmond).

You also have TV issues skewing things - all Prem clubs (bar Saracens I think?) are loss-making and so rely on TV money to prop up their finances, whereas the second-tier receives next to no coverage at all. Actually, that reminds me of another sport...