I think banging on and on about the injustice of it all just because early doors in the league you are riding high (like you were last season) speaks volumes about this.

I think it was just THE at the start and THREAD at the end of the title that was added by mods. The middle part is the original.

Ah, fair dos then. To be honest, once a thread goes to 16 pages I forget what it was about in the first place. I only pipe up to pass the time at work!

Starbug, you are arguing semantics. Did you play a single game in championship 1?

Surely it would have been fairer to promote a Ch1 club which had done well and finished high in the league and got to the semi finals, rather than a club struggling near the bottom of the Championship?

That would have rewarded the on-field performance of the club?

Do you reckon that the RFL just offered that place to Leigh because they were likely to be able to prosper in the Championship better than any club in Ch1?

I think that’s the most likely answer. So, Leigh benefited for what they had in place off the field rather than on it.

It may have been 2 years ago, but I didn’t hear a single Leyther whinging about player performance elevating them to a higher league then, in a way they are doing now.

It’s called hypocrisy!

Or perhaps, selective memory?



Why would we want to do that?

Everything is looking great at Widnes at the moment. We just need to show up the hypocrites for what they truly are.

That is irrelivant , the RFL restructured the divisions in the off season , on the last week of the regular season we were relegated

How on earth is it irrelevant ?

We're talking about you being demoted to championship 1. Did you play a single game in championship 1?

That’s makes leigh fans even bigger hypocrites then. It means you were elevated into a higher league based on off the field issues. You can’t even say that it was a case of what we have we hold.

So you only get relegated on the 1 st day of the following season ? , no you get relegated when the RFL say you are relegated , they told us we were relegated

And they saved you from relegation later on because of Gateshead. You were never in championship 1, because you operated the following season in the championship with the same cap and rules as the rest. You were to be relegated, but you were saved from it. You never felt the sting of relegation ergo you were not relegated.

As I say, it's all semantics from you.

I'd say most leythers acknowledged that we were very very lucky.

It's still totally irrelevant to Super League franchises though.

So are Leigh

Let him have that if he wants it, Chris.

At least we had to submit a bid to be promoted to a higher league, and be judged against others for it. They were promoted to a higher league without the other, more worthy on the field Ch1 clubs, who had a great season, being able to make a bid themselves.

Christ, the more I think about it, the more sorry I feel for the club that must have missed out.

But that’s RFL favouritism for you.

It's not if you're arguing that Widnes should not be promoted for off the field processes.

Yes, I do feel sorry for the other C1 finallist not given the chance to ply their trade in the championship thanks to political favouritism which Leigh benefitted from.

Exactly , we didn't do anything , we didn't ask . we didn't submit a bid , we just did what we were told to do , if they had put Oldham up , then fine , no problem

Yeah right.

No it isn’t.

If anything, what happened with Leigh is even worse. But the problems and ramifications are exactly the same.

A club missed out on promotion because another club was regarded, by the RFL, as being better off the field. This is now something which some Leythers, with a very selective memory, seem to be getting hot under the collar about now, but not 2 years ago.

We weren't promoted , you havent been promoted

The original title was 'From a Halifax Fan to the RFL'. It is still there in the original post at the top of the thread.

Just in the interests of accuracy and pedantry

Bollox!

I bet AT was on the phone to the fat b*stard as soon as he heard Gateshead we're in deep financial trouble.

Fair enough. Either way, the title is what is causing the problems and misunderstanding.

Nope , we had no contact with the RFL , they contacted us , and asked if we would be prepared to take Gatesheads place in the Championship

Of course we have been. We've been promoted to a higher league, again, don't start arguing semantics, it's pathetic pedantry and nothing more.

And I agree, you weren't promoted. You were saved from relegation thanks to off the field workings and were it not for another club going bust you wouldn't be so cocksure right now. I suspect a lot of it stems from the fact that you are league leaders and would be favourites for promotion under the old system, which also explains the OP too.