Yes, he has a PS3, and every other game playing gadget you can think of. He just cannot wait for any longer than is strictly necessary to watch it. We’ve got Sky HD, so we recorded it for him, and he still wasn’t happy!

If we don’t get out of this league, I doubt he’ll want to carry on going at all. He’d sooner go out with his mates these days. I loved the game when I was 11, but I had a great team playing RL at the highest level, and I had no Nintendo X stations and Wii PSP’s to play with…







…oh and Dr Who was then too.

I've heard a lot of people say this; I'm not so sure. I think the 'die-hard' will still be there, no matter what happens with the club. It'll certainly be depressing though.

alot of people saying these things are 'die-hards' and have been for a number of years but with current finances and if we cant get promoted for another 3 years then you are just throwing good money away that can be spent in better ways.

Why are you throwing good money away? My support of Widnes isn't based on Super League or nothing.

The people who I've heard say they might stop watching Widnes are not saying so because they think it's a waste of time and money but because they would be so upset at the decision to not let us in.

This is the time more than ever Widnes fans should be turning up and supporting there club..

You cant be giving the RFL any excuses for not giving you the place in SL every other fan knows you you should have got 2 seasons ago.

I see you're not a frequenter of the VT then.

at this moment in time i dont work, i go as many games as i can but if there is continually going to be nothing to play for then it gets a bit pointless

Tis not necessarily the end for the lad. I've seen people go through periods early on where they're not interested but they regain it later on when they realise there is more to life than Ricicles and Going Live!

Actually during the 80s there wasn't much more to life than that thinking about it.

You guys are hilarious, even if there WAS auto P and R then you guys wouldnt have got promoted, you didnt win the league last year. Before you go moaning about how your being wronged by not being in the big league maybe you should win the comp underneath that first. Sure you have "ticked the box" but wouldnt it be nice to cap your (almost certain IMO) return to SL in 2012 by winning the competition.

P.S dont see this as a dig at your club or take the usual RLfans practice of slagging me off, I have a lot of time for your club and the people who are involved with the organisation, not to mention your superb fans.

P.P.S as a Barrow lad I can only give my opinion on it: Since my local side got promoted from Champ 1, I feel very fortunate that Barrow now get to rub shoulders against sides like yourselves and Halifax (both former SL clubs), and while it feels odd having won the competition and now having to repeat the process I know that as Barrow Raiders stand it would have been almost impossible for us to compete in SL.

You are 100% correct, good post. Not only did we not win it last year, we've never won it since we got relegated and have just 2 Northern Rail Cups to show for it. The reason for the opinion we should go up is the criteria that's been laid down and the likes of Salford were given the nod on the promise of a new stadium that won't be ready before next round of licences anyway.

And I pretty much agree with that opinion, the reason given was your finances and I'm not sure it was a good enough reason when you consider Celtic's financial trouble and you cant see Salford raking in the cash on the gates they get, it was all about location and I can understand their reasons for that.

My main point is some people are bemoaning the fact P and R is not in operation, yet if it was Widnes still wouldnt have been promoted.

Seems I opened a bit of a flood gate on this issue viewtopic.php?f=35&t=451999&start=23

Seems I opened a bit of a flood gate on this issue viewtopic.php?f=35&t=451999&start=23

To be fair if there was automatic P+R we might have put a bit more focus on our first team rather than spending money to fulfil the franchise criteria.

Yeah, we're not spending our cash on proven talent any more as much, we're improving the whole club and just getting in that way.

I partly agree with you to be honest, as i think there should always be p and r.But i feel if their was promotion, we would have spent more on experienced players ,and not a youth set up.We are doing what the rfl are telling us.The salary cap has made it easier for all teams in the league.I think if our owner and yours could spend, we both would end up in superleague.Teams in superleague like quins,celtic,salford, would have suffered without help.

Widnes have built a squad around Home Grown Youth, Halifax and Barrow pump all the money they have into the first team.

That is why neither will get a franchise.

I dont think Barrow are even remotely close to a franchise for 2012, I hope Widnes faith in youth pays off for you, Its good to see.

Rubbish.

Halifax won't get a licence because our crowds are woeful.

Finances, Stadiums and attendances are paramount - everything else is a footnote. If you believe Home Grown Youth is at the top of the RFL's list you're an idiot. It's one thing having a youth policy - it's another thing having GOOD youth members of SL quality. Sure, you've made a great start in this area and we haven't but we have other priorities to sort out first - until we get those sorted - we won't get a franchise.

Pi$$ funny.


Actually, you'll find that the RFL have different weightings of criteria for different clubs. Where's Crusaders "yoof" policy? They're in SL !!! Why are Cas & Wakey in SL with their stadiums?

It's all a croc. The RFL will put in who they want really.

My post was aimed as a wind up to the Barrow chap but he didnt bite as he's a sensible chap, thankfully though you bought into it.

You bloody chuffer.

Anyway..........back on topic, im losing interest as we cant even field a team at the moment. Can we have a treatment table as a Mascot?

Rugby League is a great product. But the people running it are ruining it from the bottom up. The passion I once had though to watch a game, is gone. I do not get to many games due to not living in the UK, but even then I struggle to get motivated to watch Fax live or on TV. You are not rewarded for your success-Barrow should have been promoted last season. The way the RFL runs things I honestly cant see now Fax ever being given the chance to play in SL-no matter what we do in this League. The RFL will make sure Toulouse are in SL by 2015 if not before, no matter whether they are better run or not than the likes of Fax, Leigh, Fev etc. The RFL are doing little to promote the Championship. The way the RFL shoved the Crusaders in to SL at the expense of others sickened me. The way Quins, Salford etc are not accountable for being so poorly run is a joke. Crowds of 3000 in SL? WTF. The way teams are making Stadium Announcements about nothing yet get away with it since 1996 whilst teams in the Championship have better stadiums and are ignored sickens me. The way the Greed of SL Clubs has destroyed the very soul of the game.

In a small League its the same old teams with the same faces mainly each year. Its clear who the top 5 will be- Fax, Fev, Barrow, Leigh and Widnes even after just 6 or 7 games. Its also clear that the rest have next to know fan base and them games just offer no atmosphere, passion and for me just makes the games feel like they are being played at a Graveyard! Haven are struggling as are others and are just being abused by SL CLubs which is allowed by the RFL. Sorry but I cant see the championship surviving more than 10 years at the moment in its current form.

I am watching the NRL more now and its way more exciting as the quality is good, No team is guarenteed a win-well maybe except when playing Brisbane!

2012 Franchise = TOULOUSE