This. Widnes seems to be too small a town to support a Super League club without a wealthy owner who’s prepared to bankroll them.

If I were a Widnes fan I’d be happier watching a successful championship team topping the tables and the attendance charts with 3-4000, than getting smashed each week with the same attendance and no atmosphere. Anytime you want to see a bit of super league you can watch Sky at the pub or put on some clandestine clothing and head to a Saints or Warrington derby game.

I actually made a tongue-in-cheek statement on a recent Jonno the Great trolling thread, in which I envisioned seeing Widnes as a feeder club to Warrington with their decent youth setup. Now I’m thinking that may actually be a good idea - they can dual reg with us and we get to share our fringe SL players and talented youth. I may even head down there to watch them like I used to watch our reserves (off to wash my mouth out!)...

Didn't hear the end of it from my Wid supporting mates when we were languishing in the middle 8's. That link to their website is hilarious though; they have lots to worry about, yet they are more concerned about what Warrington fans are saying on a RL forum.

If Wid went down, I'd feel sorry for my mates who support them, but to be perfectly honest, that's as far as it would go. They deserve to be relegated, they've been abysmal for ages and a spot in the Championship is probably what they need. I could go so far as to say I hope they go the same way as Leigh; in a load of bother financially and all the players leaving, but that might be taking it too far.

PS - I couldn't care less about them beating the, what was, 4th best Australian team in the '89 WCC.

No chance of us staying up now. As much as I love beating Wire (Can't remember the last time it happened), it's the game I look forward to more than any. Warrington away, a proper rugby league day out. Action on the field and a good day out on the Ale from 10 in the morning until the following day



We apparently have a sponsor Luke Backhouse who has money to burn. Rumoured that he wants to buy the club outright and spend a fortune but the club are reluctant to sell for whatever reason I don't know. He funded the Gelling signing.

Like many of you say, we are in the position we are for a reason. Last season finishing 12th should have been the wake up call James Rule needed. Finishing rock bottom again I have no arguements about going down, it may be the best thing for us. We will be back but fear it will be a lot harder. Can see Ollie Ashall and Danny Walker being snapped up, 2 great young players surrounded by absolute garbage.

Good luck against the Frogs on Saturday.

When I Googled the populations of all the towns with Super League teams I was quite surprised to see how small Widnes is, however, it's not just about the size of the population it's also about the RL heritage. It's far easier to attract the next generation of fans when they follow in their parents footsteps. Widnes has a long rugby league heritage and they have travelling support. Whilst Toronto, Catalan and Toulouse may get good home support (I'm not sure how many London are attracting these days) they won't be swelling the attendance figures at away games.

I'd hate to see Widnes go the way of the once mighty Bradford Bulls.

Play smart and the £1m game is on. Getting beat by London might actually be the best result...!
I'm more hopeful for you now than if you beat London with Toronto slipping up because they thought they have a home gimme.

Widnes will finish 5th and still aren't done with 4th...but Toronto after their defeat cannot take any game lightly....they can't rest anyone.
They're only going to get 4th max now....Widnes aim for 5th and rest players who need it. A strong Widnes can turn up against Toronto.
The astro turf won't inconvenience you either.

You don't want one with money to burn. You want someone like Simon Moran or our new Chairman Stuart Middleton who will spend money but wisely and patiently. Moran kept his expenditure to a minimum whilst the finance team - led by the very capable but boringly named John Smith, and Norman Summers, (who is still a director) got the club on an even keel financially in the run up to the new stadium move. Splashing the cash too early (see Dr Koukash at Salford) is not a good policy for the long term future of the club.

Haven't read the thread but don't think we should be laughing til we see how at least Saturday pans out!

Coming from Manchester and having never met a Widnes fan, my only experience of Widnes fans is JonnoTheGreat; the most bitter man in this website. So thanks to the Widnes posters above for not biting to the thread title and having a fair and square conversation.

It's not that long a read, and overall the tone is of sympathy for Widnes fans and regret that they may go down, so now 'reverse gloating' material.

The "Widnes lovers" who have posted on this thread might care to look at their reaction to our loss on the trustinwidnes site.

Yes but I don't let others determine how I behave, otherwise it's a race to the bottom. Grace and decency are a gift to yourself.

Had we finished bottom for two seasons running and lost our opening two middle eights games, we'd be seeking some light relief. There will be some on here that will waste no time in posting on trust in widnes, should their relegation be confirmed. It's just a bit of local rivalry, which prompted this thread in the first place.

Beaten by Toulouse, that’s their season pretty much done now.

Really do feel sorry for em..can see some players being head hunted by the the super league clubs....wish them well in there pursuit of super league rugby...we need Widnes in super league

I agree, we do need Widnes. What we don't want however is that awful plastic pitch of theirs. Dig it up and plant some grass seed.

Why do we "need Widness in Super Leagie"? Does one good crowd at Easter make up for zero promotion, dim-witted fans and pitiful attendances the rest of the time?

Give me Bradford back in SL any time, but whoever is in the comp has to earn the right to continue to be in it, unless you want a return to franchises.

Give me Widnes above Toronto Toulouse any day...I do agree with if your not good enough down you go..but its the 1000 or so travelling fans from Widnes that will be missed..can't see Toronto bringing that many

Agreed that pitch is awful, widnes FC aren't allowed to play on it they're about 8th tier football but theyre allowed to play top tier rugby league on it. Irs getting done again but it's not the same spectacle for me it's like watching training.

It's getting a bit real now though, looks like we will be losing the widnes derbies and crowds. I genuinely hope they come back (with a proper pitch).

Toronto Wolfpack have an artificial turf playing surface.

Great, something to look forward to.

How many consecutive games have Widnes lost, and two of the last three have been to championship sides. Do they deserve to be in superleague?

deserve?
They have a SL template with a stadium that ticks all the boxes. The team is going through a terrible period.
Do they have less a deserving template than Castleford and Wakefield?

All fine and dandy under a franchise system RD, but the performances and results on the pitch will ultimately decide who receives a place in SL for 2019.

I have heard a rumour they have signed Anthony Gelling, maybe a little late. In my opinion Widnes need to win at least 3 out of the last 4 games to stand a chance of reaching the million pound game.

Paul

Just read that Gelling has only signed from 2019, which rather voids my point above really



Paul