Absolutely. A non SL club is never going to be able to match up to the same criteria as the SL clubs until they are in the same league, so its right that you assess them on separate criteria with a view to what they expect to do in their first 3 year franchise.
FWIW, I don't see the inclusion of Widnes as a gamble, well run club in a RL hotbed area, decent facilities and will easily get more average crowd then Harlequins, Crusaders and Salford.
The point here is as a number have already said, the RFL have backed themselves into a corner with Harlequins plight, because there is no way a fair and transparent processcould come out with a decision that Harlequins should remain in over either Wakey and Cas (if you apply all criteria and not just stadium and expansion related ones). Will be interesting to see how they get out of this one
Widnes deserve the Franchise IMO.
Imo the can't get out of it and they will chuck someone out, they can't do anything else, backed themselves into a corner and that will cost someone a Franchise, it will get very messy but it will happen.
my girlfriend says i'm immature, and it's time we set aside one day a week so we can talk things through as adults. like THAT'S gonna happen in the middle of conker season!!
Imo the can't get out of it and they will chuck someone out, they can't do anything else, backed themselves into a corner and that will cost someone a Franchise, it will get very messy but it will happen.
Well heres the solution, promote widnes to a 15 team superleague. have the magic weekend with the champions (thatll be Cas obviously ) rested that week in build up to the wcc game.
Its interesting that this topic is being discussed on the Wakey site given it would appear you are one of the clubs in dangers
I spoke to David Hughes after the Quins v Hull game-During the previous week he had held a meeting with Woods from the RFL about the RFL assisting Quins - not providing finacial baccking/support. At the moment Hughes is the 35% owner of the club with Lennegan at Wigan holding the remaining shares(majority)- One of the things he was asking the RFL to assist him with was the sourcing of a backer to buy into the club-ie take over IL shares I asked him if we were buying any players- His response and this is not fabricated, was not at the moment but there is a belief some players will fall out of the Wakey and cas trees as they are in dire straights financially-followed by, as are Salford(I know they have just spent heavilly) and the Crusaders-he mentioned that all those clubs had been in talks with the RFL!!
Having said all of that he said he will not continue to put in the levels of money he currently is
Its interesting that this topic is being discussed on the Wakey site given it would appear you are one of the clubs in dangers
I spoke to David Hughes after the Quins v Hull game-During the previous week he had held a meeting with Woods from the RFL about the RFL assisting Quins - not providing finacial baccking/support. At the moment Hughes is the 35% owner of the club with Lennegan at Wigan holding the remaining shares(majority)- One of the things he was asking the RFL to assist him with was the sourcing of a backer to buy into the club-ie take over IL shares I asked him if we were buying any players- His response and this is not fabricated, was not at the moment but there is a belief some players will fall out of the Wakey and cas trees as they are in dire straights financially-followed by, as are Salford(I know they have just spent heavilly) and the Crusaders-he mentioned that all those clubs had been in talks with the RFL!!
Having said all of that he said he will not continue to put in the levels of money he currently is
And just how would he come by that information, if clubs have spoken to the RFL then surely that informations behind closed doors or did they just happen to mention it to Mr Hughes.
my girlfriend says i'm immature, and it's time we set aside one day a week so we can talk things through as adults. like THAT'S gonna happen in the middle of conker season!!
Its interesting that this topic is being discussed on the Wakey site given it would appear you are one of the clubs in dangers
I spoke to David Hughes after the Quins v Hull game-During the previous week he had held a meeting with Woods from the RFL about the RFL assisting Quins - not providing finacial baccking/support. At the moment Hughes is the 35% owner of the club with Lennegan at Wigan holding the remaining shares(majority)- One of the things he was asking the RFL to assist him with was the sourcing of a backer to buy into the club-ie take over IL shares I asked him if we were buying any players- His response and this is not fabricated, was not at the moment but there is a belief some players will fall out of the Wakey and cas trees as they are in dire straights financially-followed by, as are Salford(I know they have just spent heavilly) and the Crusaders-he mentioned that all those clubs had been in talks with the RFL!!
Having said all of that he said he will not continue to put in the levels of money he currently is
Its being discussed all over the joint if you care to look. The hard facts are . the rfl will do anything for expansion clubs and the rest can go to hell. The tennis loving freak that is in charge must be removed and Rugby League people put in place before he kills the game completely. Are they helping Whitehaven ?????? Are they love
Its a disgrace and the quins should be made to survive on their own like the rest (crus excepted but thats another disgrace )
Its interesting that this topic is being discussed on the Wakey site given it would appear you are one of the clubs in dangers
I spoke to David Hughes after the Quins v Hull game-During the previous week he had held a meeting with Woods from the RFL about the RFL assisting Quins - not providing finacial baccking/support. At the moment Hughes is the 35% owner of the club with Lennegan at Wigan holding the remaining shares(majority)- One of the things he was asking the RFL to assist him with was the sourcing of a backer to buy into the club-ie take over IL shares I asked him if we were buying any players- His response and this is not fabricated, was not at the moment but there is a belief some players will fall out of the Wakey and cas trees as they are in dire straights financially-followed by, as are Salford(I know they have just spent heavilly) and the Crusaders-he mentioned that all those clubs had been in talks with the RFL!!
Having said all of that he said he will not continue to put in the levels of money he currently is
Dire straights financially? No idea, but not a season goes by without a rival supporter claiming such a thing.
I don't think its a secret that Trinity sail close to the wind financially, mainly due to not having a rich benefactor and a having small fan base.
Quins had the former, unfortunately he is now unwilling or unable to support the club in the manner he had been doing therefore reality is biting.
Dire straights financially? No idea, but not a season goes by without a rival supporter claiming such a thing.
I don't think its a secret that Trinity sail close to the wind financially, mainly due to not having a rich benefactor and a having small fan base.
Quins had the former, unfortunately he is now unwilling or unable to support the club in the manner he had been doing therefore reality is biting.
There is no doubt our fan base will grow with the new ground. HAving said in a previous thread the fans increased but then we put our stadium prices up and brought some 3rd rate players in to replace the good players we had built up. IS there any wonder why we don't increase.
I don't know how relevant this is to the discussion, but I have a close relative that is conducting a marketing campaign on behalf of the RFL for next year and all the current SL clubs are involved with this except one. Can you guess who the missing club is? If you answered Quins you would be wrong. If you answered Wakefield you would be right!