I agree and the Salary cap higher for the top clubs in the Championship.Be nice if Ste oconnor could buy his way to Superleague.

That's not really the way to do it though is it?

To be honest i dont care.Next year will be a different team as i know a few from Fax and Barrow coming to Widnes.I,Anson a good signing and Tangi Ropati the centre.

The salary cap in the Champ should be higher for those who can afford it...... set it on income.....Widnes would be laughing at the mo

Mick, I think you need to tell us what is the answer ?

Licensing is upon us and we can debate things until we are blue in the face and big up or degrade every other clubs applications.

The criteria are there though and playing performance is only a small part of making that up.

Anyway been bad season for both our teams.Maybe next year eh.

Did he include that idea in Widnes' application ?

You lot say every year that "We bought the wrong players etc etc" It gets boring.

You got whalloped and simply do not deserve a Licence. I'd rather not be able to apply than use the second best route of the NRC !

Halifax deserve the Franchise spot faaaaar more than Widnes as they have consistently performed better than any team in The Championship over the last 2 years.

And where did you get this information from ?

Troll city on here, widnes have the infrastructure to go into super league others don't. Simples.


Long off season ahead......with plenty of comings and goings.

Gary as I have put earlier there are more criteria than playing performance regardless of whether you agree with it or not.

Widnes have done what was needed on playing performance despite some poor years whether that be down to recruitment, injuries or just generally poor form and coaching.

Equally though other clubs are poor in other areas of the application process.

There would be people to argue that Fax werent the most competitive and it possibly highlights the worst aspect of licensing in that we have fans of Championship clubs now almost fixated on developments at each others club and devoting time to either bigging up their own club or degrading another.

I think we are starting to see the roll out of this to the SL clubs and it will only intensify further as we get towards March and the Virtual Terrace goes into franchise meltdown.

That my friend is very true and very sad.

Rugby League is dying........Expansion has proven to be a load of tripe. P&R is the only way to save Rugby League - Not having nice stadia or a few more supporters !

dont forget your SLE limited standard yoof who've battered all in front of them

Whatever else, that performance from Widnes today was simply not acceptable. Completely clueless, no game plan, no ideas in attack and players that simply didn't seem interested or able to do anything about it. We were lucky to get away with 38-0.

Time to draw a line under this season, but I hope we learn some serious lessons from this year. Sadly, I don't think we will without a major change in the coaching department.

It is only a valid point if you are completely, and irredeemably, stupid.

Do you think that this will be the team Widnes puts out in Super League?

Do you not know that we are operating on a £300k cap down here?

Are you under the illusion that we will continue to be on this cap in SL, and not the £1.6 million SL clubs operate on?

A few more fans eh?

Barrow average att for the league season is: 1,753
[urlhttp://championshipstats.rlfans.com/Teams/Barrow-Raiders/The-Co-operative-Championship-2010/index.html[/url

Widnes is nearly double yours with 3,020
[urlhttp://championshipstats.rlfans.com/Teams/Widnes-Vikings/The-Co-operative-Championship-2010/index.html[/url

You’re right about the ground though, we have that over Barrow too.

How’s Barrow’s academies doing?

Oh, I forgot, you don’t actually run any. Well that’s not good for a SL application is it?

Do Barrow have the kind of top class training facilities Widnes have?

How’s their bank balance?

Do think it’s even worth Barrow bothering to putting a bid in?

It is the general consensus that Widnes will get the nod for Super League, but they truly don't deserve it. RL is a laughing stock. A little piece of my love for our game died when they abolished P&L and it will be another sad day when they relegate a team that doesn't deserve it and promote another one.
Sport should ALWAYS be about how your team performs on the field of play.

Be a waste of the one piece of paper i think. WE ARE BARROW AND SUPERLEAGUE NEEDS A CUMBRIAN SIDE. What else is there than this they have over Widnes, or Halifax for that matter. No matter what teamgoes up, they will dramatically change their team as the salary cap increase by 4 times as much.

The whole SL model is absolute cack. We were sold it on the basis of an improved game, a better international competition and the removal of relegation was touted as a method to stop clubs going bust.

"Supporters will see a better game in better surroundings, and the deal will see their sport receive a greater profile nationally and internationally." Rodney Walker, RL chairman, welcomes the Super League, 5 April 1995.

Since then....

On Expansion and club longevity...

We lost PSG never to return, with the game in Northern France in a worse state now.

Gateshead and Sheffield got shafted to save Hull and Huddersfield, Cumbria alienating many fans in those areas.

Cumbria has been almost shut out, the county with the highest percentage of registered amateurs than anywhere outside Oz.

We haven't had a Super League winner from outside of a 68 mile radius.

I ain't gonna talk about Wales!

Internationally..

The World Cup was postponed in 1998 cos of the Super League upheavals in the UK and Oz.

Murdoch's money means Origin is so financially huge that Australasians nearly all wanna play for the Kangaroos just to play in that game at the expense of their home nations

France has been overloaded with too many Aussies in it's clubs to mount a decide return to international football.

The World cup draw is now fixed to allow the best teams to play each other more and generate more TV money. Try explaining this to a soccer fan and they wet themselves laughing at how pathetic it sounds.

A greater national profile....?

How could this ever possibly be so when the SL games are tucked away on a channel that has only 1% audience share. That's if it's not on Sky Sports Xtra or the red button!

How will this ever change when the League and the richest broadcaster are owned by the same group?

The only things that have improved for me are Summer games and more evening kick-offs, some good rule changes and a few nicer grounds.

Thing is though Super League haven't paid for Widnes' ground .

An one more thing, Bradford n Co signed up for all this like a shot so you can go and boil yer 'eads for all I care for your hillbilly opinions.

Promoted clubs replace their players anyway. I don't really see how this is relevant. We would have a completely different squad in Super League.

Should w1g4n have stayed in SL on the back of 145 point to nil a couple of years ago ?

Widnes like all the Championship clubs don't set the rules , they play to them , if you have a problem ring the RFL

The whole franchise system stinks.

My team (Cas) have averaged an 8th place finish for the 2009 & 2010 super league, yet are the bookies favourites to be booted out of Super League for 2012 with Widnes coming in (whove averaged what, 7th in the championship?). Seeing it like that, surely the most hardened Widnes fan must agree that it defies logic and promotion / relegation would be the fairest possible method to all concerned.

Don't get me wrong, I like Widnes, loved our battles in 2007 but this system needs sorting. What have the likes of Barrow, Fax & Fev got to play for?

We're working within the system. If the system was P & R, our team probably would be too. I don't get this argument. And considering some of the comments we had from cas fans at the time of the last licenses I wont have any sympathy if we replace them. It's all very well and good being positive about a system just because it's benefitting you and then seeing how bad it is for the game only when your threatened. I'd bring back P & R in an instant, but it's not here, and Widnes are the club primed for promotion under what we have. Single results over the three years don't change a damn thing.

And no, we've been nowhere near averaging 7th.

Well maybe in 2012 - 14 we should borrow a sh*t load of players for the NRC and win that. Then we can rip our supporters off and field a truly under achieving pile of =#FF0000removed so we can tick a few other boxes

.

You will without a doubt be in SL in 2013 but not through "on field merit". The general overwhelming consensus is that getting into SL through =#FF0000removed off Dickie and his cronies in Huddersfield makes our beloved sport a laughing stock.

Barrow Raiders should THROUGH MERIT be in SL this season and Featherstone Rovers THROUGH MERIT going up next season. Widnes should be wallowing in The Championship until iyour Chairman puts his money into a decent WINNING squad. Bleat on about Des Johnston as much as you like but he hasn't had the luxury of a Council built, RENTED stadium to ease the burden and help finance a Youth setup. What he has done is give the rugby loving people of Barrow a team worth watching. I'd be embarrased to be accepted into SL after having won what is basically a tin cup that only offers a route to SL in order to keep the sponsors happy and add a bit of meaning to it !

You lot on here moan and bitch about player purchases that TOC & Paul Cullen have made but in the next breath are saying that the very same person(s) will buy you a top squad full of Aussies when you get to SL ! Make your minds up.

What is your average position for the last 2 years?