I thought it was a Tesco now?

I'm going to assume starbug this is the question you were referring me to not answering?

Can you explain to me how any club in the championship would not need hundreds of thousands from somewhere to become minor premiers.

The fact is Huddersfield have the money (through a rich backer) and so spent it, if he pulled out, I would expect Huddersfield to align their spending accordingly, until that point will continue to do so for the sake of on field success.

Would you say Chelsea are poorly run - as they have needed hundreds of millions poured into them over the last 5 years?

Quote ="Starbug"Central Park?'" www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.a ... &type=news Here's what he's referring to (yes it is sad of Wigan to call it that) Physical assets, I agree, should be considered a crucial criteria for any successful club.

Quote ="Starbug"Central Park?'" www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.a ... &type=news Here's what he's referring to (yes it is sad of Wigan to call it that) Physical assets, I agree, should be considered a crucial criteria for any successful club.

Thats interesting i always thought DW bought Orrell out

You suggested Huddersfield were ' well run ' , quantify that if they need massive financial support?

Chelsea, like Manchester City are charities, not businesses

magic beetle beat me to it, but yes its still another asset even though its not clear on who owns it completely or if its shared venture but its still another asset to go along with www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=41

magic beetle beat me to it, but yes its still another asset even though its not clear on who owns it completely or if its shared venture but its still another asset to go along with www.wiganwarriors.com/WContent.aspx?id=41

apparently not or i have no idea why Leneghan would invest 2 million quid to develop the gym.

' Owned ' ? , are you sure of that ?

Was always under the assumption orrell was since IL took over,

I suggested they were better ran than village teams (I believe, this was a while ago, and a lot of points have been raised in this discussion!)

You can consider Huddersfield a charity too then

(I honestly don't know enough about their financial situation to have a discussion about it, I admit I went off their recent on field success as an assumed indicator, if this is not the case, I retract my comments)

Orrell perhaps, ( it'll do fine in 2016 in the Championship ) but ' Central Park ' , no chance

Fev are sat on around 8 acres owned by the club, not the clubs owner

Yes they are

Fair enough

And how would you know who owns it?

I think you will find that the Orrell is owned by the club and not IL. Also i have no idea how much Fev land is worth but there must be reason they haven't developed or sold it? I know Orrell is worth quite a lot and if Wigan Didn't have a 14-16 thousand average attendance it could be developed into Wigan's Stadium but as it is it suits a purpose and is still an asset that somebody tried to make out wigan didn't have.

Is central park the baby of DW and Ainscough?

Fair enough, nice of Mr Leneghen to buy you somewhere to call home , Fev havent sold PO road because they havent ever put themselves in a position of having to, unlike your good selves and a few other ' better run ' SL clubs

According to a (albeit quick) google search, Central Park is owned by central training limited (or at least appears so) which, in turn is owned by Jeanette Williams.

I can't find any link between her and the club, but maybe a Wigan fan knows better.

Anyway this is getting some way off topic ...

Thats the Youth Zone in the town centre

You thoroughly deserve to have a shot at the big time IMO.

It must have been an insufferable six years watching your team win league after league, however, you appear to believe the majority of Wakefield fans are totally against promotion & relegation.

This is far from the truth, the problem many have is the method which it is to be implemented. Many would rather see a straight one up / one down, with a season’s exception, quite a few would prefer two up / two down.

Yes you finally can see a glimmer of light, but the method that has been agreed gives underperforming teams in the SL a second bite of the cherry which will impede your own clubs aspirations.

He started it

Thanks for that.
Oh to have your own council and your own multi millionaires

Did anyone see the part about the Top 8 entering at the 5th Round of the CC?

Will the top 8 be decided by then? 23 rounds plus round 4 of the cup is near as damn it 6 months, get you to August. I thought the 5th round was June/July?

I think it means for the next seasons Challenge Cup.

I think it will be interesting to see it in practice and it might make a lot more sense when the teams are out there. Branding is the key here;

The RFL talked about the Super League brand in the policy document (which I doubt many people on here have read)


This is interesting and poses the question of how the RFL are going to integrate a new league into the SL brand. Will there be a new brand, Super League Two? Or will they retain the Championship as something football fans will recognise?

What's also interesting is how clubs react to the new structure on the pitch. That's where it often is the case, because players know how to get the new system to work to their advantage. With a simpler Top 4 play off, I think accumulating points will become much more important in the Super League Play Offs, but not so much towards Rd 23 for a club in, say, 11th and certain to be in the Qualifiers. I'll be interested to see also how clubs like London react to the changes.

What cannot be argued is that the jeopardy of the new system is favourable to RL. I think it will be simpler in practice and the idea of a Top 4, straight knockout Final 4, to use an American term, will be epic. It's what the game has definitely been missing over the past 5-6 years, sudden death, elimination games in the playoffs. For the top clubs, it certainly benefits. It also creates bigger games at that end of the season. We've been bored senseless with Widnes vs Wigan on the TV at Round 26 simply because they have to play as it has an effect on them finishing 4th or 5th (which doesn't really matter anyway). [i(Widnes vs Wigan was actually super this year)[/i

I think fans of the Top Clubs, undoubtedly want to see the best teams face up at the end of the season. We'll have another Hull Derby or another Huddersfield vs Leeds and it'll add excitement for the fan. For the Qualifiers, it'll mean more competitive fixtures, at the end of the season. Maybe not initially, as Championship clubs reacclimatise to playing professional outfits. But lets not forget, two of SL clubs will be part of the new Championship. Castleford, during their Championship title campaign had an average of over 5,000. If we can get clubs having something to play for in the Championship, it could do wonders for Second Tier RL.

Some issues are raised, however;

1. How are we going to pay for this? We currently have no more money coming in and are we relying on hypothetical increased interest from the World Cup? If we can negotiate a proper television deal then we can fund this. Currently I fear their isn't enough money for this. Funnily enough, the RFL said;



So will it be a situation of trickle down competitiveness? Starting with one or two teams being competitive and hoping through increased gate money, bigger games and more income flowing through the sport generally, they can garner more competitive clubs? First we'll start with Featherstone and Sheffield being more competitive, then Halifax and so on.

2. What will happen to the Magic Weekend? The extra fixture replaced the weird "sometimes we play you twice, sometimes it's three times" fixture method we used to use to get the games up to 27. Now we have more games, 29 if my maths is correct and we have no need for the filler. Nevertheless, does this mean we should give up on a popular and entertaining weekend? Here are some options for the Magic Event;

a) Play it at Round 23 and have everyone play each other with First Stage places up for grabs. Seed it so 1st plays 2nd, 3rd plays 4th, and so on. Hopefully, this would have excellent games with a lot to play for, and all the games would be competitive.

b) Play it with the Quarter Finals of the Cup and potentially, have 4 superb games in one day.

c) Play it late on after the split. Have it as 8 games over 2 days.

Lots of questions, but these will be answered over the next two years.

So clubs will now play a 30 game season rather than a 27 game regular season. Me thinks the sweetener that has turned the likes of Pearson is extra games and probably a higher SL grant.