Inappropriate facilities meaning no Under soil heating, you gobbin.

And where exactly is Leigh Council?

You still moaning about council stadiums, the stobarts or barra where I can pee all over myself in the dark. Hmmmmmm

The only clubs that slate modern grounds are the clubs who haven't updated/got new stadiums.......... its not our fault that we have looked to the future requirements that the RFL have said every club needs to meet.
There are a few SL clubs who have done this also (Wigan/Hudds/Hull etc)......don't see you hillbilly's slating them - think you need to look at your own needed requirements for SL entry before you put clubs down who have worked hard to get where they are today.

If a stadium is fit for purpose and safe , then nothing else should matter

aside from the serious debate here...is it just me that keeps thinking " no they only have chicken and beef" when I read the title

why on earth are Barrow and Halifax bothering when it's Rugby League's worst kept secret that Widnes are the chosen ones F.I.F.A. have nowt on the R.F,L.

It's one of those perception things , a bit like England football putting a application for every world cup in europe , result will be the same , try again next time and you'll get it , then the result is the same , try again and you'll get it , and on , and on , and on

As a Barrow fan I am a bit unhappy that we submitted a bid. Were not ready for SL by long way and I don't just mean the ground. There is a whole host of things needed before we or just about any other championship club could actually realise the much needed revenues a SL franchise would bring.

However we have and I suggest the reason we have is because there is a nice little pat on the head from the RFL for helping them out and preventing this whole charade from looking like what it undoubtedly is, a one horse race.

Barrow

Big Nige

But they aren't, not yet,

Don't like to put the truth in the way of a good story, but no decision has been made, and nobody at Red Hall cares particularly which club gets in.

We've already had arguments here that the RFL wants a Cumbrian team. We've heard arguments its a one (three-eyed) horse race. Nobody's mentioned that Big Nige is as Halifax as John Pendlebury's Drop-goal against Saints at Wembley.

Truth is, it'd be no surprise if Widnes get in Why? Because they have a great ground, a consitently decent team, and a large fan base who aren't sulking, and a management who didn't slag off the licencing committee last time around.

That said, would Widnes' position be as robust, and as well tested, were there no competition for the place (and I don't just mean on-field competition) and no scrutiny of the business plan? I'd say: absolutely not. I'd also suggest that both Fax and Barrow are planning ahead - the former just in case Widnes have slipped up, and the latter to go through the process to learn lessons for a more serious bid later on.

Besides (and as I think we've shown over the last 2 years), if your business is forced to review its practices and present them for audit, it clears the mind on what needs to be done, and it sets a benchmark to build upon. We are a better club than we were, say, 4 years ago. Whichever two-from-three clubs DON'T make SL, they will still be better, stronger clubs for going through the licence application. And they'll learn more about what they need to do to challenge for a place next time.

I have ALWAYS said that I don't like licensing, and I wholeheartedly believe in P&R determined by, first and foremost, performances on the park. I'm also on record that Crusaders should simply have been given a green light rather than going through (and so discrediting) a competitive application process last time around.

But there's no real reason to believe this part of the licencing process is anything other than a genuine evaluation of three rival bids, in which the best overall application will be successful.

Put it another way - if everyone shout 'fix' when there isn't one, and blames the RFL when there's nothing to blame them for, our comments have no weight when something really IS wrong.

Joe , for the amount of ' looking at the applications ' needed , they could announce the result tommorrow , Widnes's application was passed 2 years ago , on the day Steve O Connor went to see them the week after the last one

Is there a club that's qualified to bid by its on-field performances that is better placed to operate at Super League level?

My point is - whichever team wins would be called a fix. Barrow because 'the RFL want a Cumbrian club'. Fax because 'Nigel Wood was the Chief Exec of Halifax'. Widnes because 'It was a done deal two years ago'.

Chances are it's not a fix, then.

If Leigh and Widnes swapped performance records, and we were applying against Barrow and Halifax, we'd most likely get in. But we screwed up on the pitch. Ho hum.

Widnes will get in because they have a decent stadium have qualified by winning the NRC and have a decent crowd average. I wonder how their" non sulking fans" will react if they do not.

The others are wasting their time because their average crowds were less than the required 2500 and please do not tell me Fax's where as I was actually at the match when they had the attendance which brought up their average crowd figure to just over 2500.



Who will be destined for the dustbin is more interesting isn't it ?

Definitely. Especially as they'll be coming to LSV in 15 months.

Go on I will give you that.

Joe you obviously didnt see boots n all the day after the franchises were announced last time,when the Widnes chairman echoed virtually word for word what Allan Rowley said, (even though I posted it at the time and which none of the enti-Rowley brigade seem to have seen) which has actually been found to be true now by the way, and echoed time after time by other ch execs and chairmen around the empty corridors of Red Hall.

then I dont see the point of having any on field performance requirement , if we had a ' worth winning in its own right ' comp they wouldn't need it

Yes Widnes are the only Championship club that will be able to ' cut the mustard ' in SL , we are years away if ever

I just wish it was me they were paying to make the decision , it would be the easiest money I'd ever earned

Fair point, and I agree...

...but the performance requirement DOES give meaning to our games and our season, and it is something that Widnes could have screwed up (instead of us). It's NOT straight P&R... but it's not simply a business franchise either.

And if it was you who would you dump into oblivion (if Sky let you) ? And what are the prospects for the team you dump ? Would you give them a parachute payment to tide them over until they built their new ground ?

I do believe they will get a parachute payment I am pretty sure Ralph Rimmer said so a few week back.

im not pressuring you or anything but id love some more info on that one.

Joe , the only way we will ever get into SL is if a club fails financially , that is something I dont want for any club , you say it gives us something to play for , what exactly ? , the building of some false hopes ?

I am quickly losing faith in the whole sport at this level , I can see a time soon when I'll prefer the amatuer game without all the aggravation the pro game now provides

I am not interested in ticking a box , just to see that tick then build up the hopes of people , to then see the idiots at Red Hall do a ' Platini/Blatter ' to us again

I meant the decision of who goes up , not who comes down , that I wish on nobody

Oh goody , that is all we need , a club coming down ruining what we have at the moment , brilliant , as if they haven't alienated us enough already

Have you got a link........