Ah but they state a lot of things - you don't actually believe that do u VM ???

Nes

I am no fan of the RL but I suspect they mean business this time.Nigel Wood said in an interview a few months back that we are in competition with other sports and entertainments for peoples time and money and in this day and age people expect modern,comfortable facilities.I just got the impression they are sick to the back teeth of promises from certain clubs and the antequated image of the game when televised from some grounds.What would be the point of this charade every 3 years if they are going to award a club with an inferior rating a SL licence above a club with a superior rating?It would just breed complacency with the established also rans doing nothing to make progress with stadia,facilities, etc because they will know that it doesn't really matter.

Stadia aren't the be all and end all for franchise though. It's set up so super league clubs can cover most criteria and get a B/C grade - enough to stay in. Championship clubs don't have a chance on any criteria except for the shiny stadia one - that wont get a B/C grade. Rules will only change for clubs the RFL want in there - were Crusaders really a C grade based on the facilities they had then, and why weren't they reassessed when they became a new club at the other end of Wales? Is there a criteria for them stating "has potential to get better if franchise moved around until they find somewhere that likes them?"

Closed shop. Lets not kid ourselves eh?

Widnes were on a C last time surely! We had two 'problems' the fact a new company effectively and also our youth production both those now dealt with!

Only Saints and Wigan. Widnes finished above Leeds.

You are totally off with that my friend; weaste (where the ground currently is) is one of the most lightly populated areas of the city due to crime thousands of people have now moved. The area where the new stadium will be situated will be slap bang in the middle of nearly four different area's there's irlam/cadishead. flixton/urmston. eccles/worsley trafford/sale these area's have 10 times the population of tiny weaste which I m not afraid to say has more immigrants and crime sponging families than anything else living there. Home fans don't like going to the willows never mind away fans the ground is in the total wrong area for a top league sporting team, the sooner were out the better. You can kind of match us to hull fc with there old boulevard ground being situated in a very similar type of area to weaste, its just not appealing to families to come and watch there team.

But what happens if you build it, and it doesn't attract the fans you want it to? And that's an if. Clearing the topsoil and not laying one brick doesn't convince me.

what makes you think it still wont be built? Salford city council have injected 10 million into the project and peel holdings 16 million the work has started the tender has been finalised lang orouke i believe have the contract, the guys are on site Digging the foundations as we speak, steel structural work will start in october, the wheel's been in motion for along time now, put it this way theres more chance of gordon brown being re-elected than the stadium not being built . Have a look on the scarlet turkey some detailed arcitecural drawings on there.

Heard all this one million times. And you've cleared the site before now. And you've all shown us pretty drawings. Doesn't matter a jot if there is no brickwork.

It's not that I don't believe it will be built, it's that, this is no different to what has been said before and it wasn't built then.

believe me pal it will go ahead without any problems from now on, the last time work was holted was due to change to the drawings, the original plan was for a 32 million pound iconic stadium, since goverment issues have arised over spending the council had to go for a cheaper 26 million pound scale down version. Still a nice lookin stadium all the same, as ive said the tender has been sold to lang orouke, they will start work in october and the stadium will be finished by late 2011.

Forgive our scepticism, but it has been how long since 'Framing the Future' and still some clubs are playing in grounds that simply aren't good enough after years of promises. We've heard things like this time and time again, you can hardly blame us for a few raised eyebrows even though your stadium does seem to be actually moving along.

Can someone tell me why grounds appear to be the number one criteria for entry to SL?.

And while we are at it, how many clubs own or even part own the grounds they so proudly brandish as their qualification trump card?

I have to say I suspect the RFL of manufacturing the situation whereby we all argue about each others grounds rather than uniting and asking difficult questions of the RFL around the sports governance, lack of international competitiveness and financial state.

It could have something to do with a letter that was sent to 5 clubs currently occupying SL berths by the RFL. It warned them that their currently grounds were inadequate and threatned consequences if they did not act on their promises.
FWIW I think the state of stadiums will play one of the roles in determining which teams can apply for a SL licence along with performance criteria for the championship clubs and this average crowd figure of 2,500 that has been raised by Halifax.

Just on this... I can't agree. How long ago was Framing the Future touted. How can the sport claim to be one of the premier sports in the country when some of it's teams are playing in their current stadiums.
Don't get me wrong I am a massive fan of old RL stadiums and used to enjoy going and standing at Central Park Wilderspool, Knowsley Road, Belle Vue etc but to entice new fans to the sport I think we need to modernise in this area.

Chris, I agree that there needs to be improvements in stadia at a great number of clubs. However the standards that are being touted are way beyond the requirements of all but 4 clubs in the country.

Personally I would cite financial stability, a quality development policy and history of consistent high performance on the pitch above a 12000 cpacity stadium with a boardroom capable of seating x and y amount of conferencing facilities etc.

The stadiums are not the product thats on sale, they are just part of the wrapping.

Not that you have a hidden agenda at all do you rugbyball?!







FWIW average attendance last season was 5892. So far with 4 home games to go we are at 6207.
The 4 home games to come are against Hull KR, Hull FC, St Helens and Warrington.

I personally feel it will be Widnes to replace either us, Cas or Salford.

Just had a look at some classic vids on Widnes TV, and with the memories, and the support so strong in Widnes down the years, the question is why the fook AREN'T Widnes in Super League now.

Because rugby league need to expand to survive and because of the position we were in at the time, it looked likely we would not get in over Crusaders.

Was discussing your club with a guy who is well in the know yesterday and he told me Widnes have already started recruiting for SL 2012.

They went into administration 9 months before the licensing. Another two months would have seen this wiped from Lewis & Wood's memory by an automatic flash wipe of a chip inserted into their brain.

Years behind certain fans then



Toulouse & Widnes if 2 clubs get in, who is number 1 choice is any ones guess.

Whether we get in or not I would certainly expect us to be basing our recruitment on Superleague 2012 with the proviso that should we be rejected again the contract is null and void.

This, you would expect applies to any club wanting to dine at the top table come 2012.

Barrow's very own Harvey Dent.

Spot on Chris...the criteria for the licenses will fit the clubs and not vice versa. Mind you Widnes will surely be accomodated on the strength of their stadium despite, as appears likely, never topping the championship table or winning the GF. Whereas even if Cas and Wakey again finish in the top 8 (remember if you can that we are talking about a sporting competition) there will be just one spot for the Wakefield area and as it looks as though both will struggle stadia-wise the RFL will probably offer a franchise to a merged club only:they are already sharpening the knives for Cas anyway with the imposition of fines for massively over-hyped crowd control problems. That will facillitate inclusion of Widnes (and one other if Cas/Wakey decided to go solo in NL) and retention of Salford. While I could live with the former (in view of past injustices/misfortunes suffered by the Chemics/Vikings) the latter would be hard to stomach on any level as would the continued pointless presence of Quins, Crusaders et al.