Widnes fans seem to think that if they hadnt won the Cup last year, this years team would be different. However, as they would still have to adhere to the salary cap of £300,000 or at a push £400,000 i dont see how much difference it would make. I would assume that they would be upto the cap with there current squad, as poor as it is.

The cap is £300,000 with an absolute upper limit of 40% of £1m. It's there in black and white.

3. a club may exceptionally seek in writing a dispensation from the RFL to spend in excess of 40% and/or the above finite upper limit (to be known as the Club Agreed Salary Cap) subject to the following;
3(a) such a dispensation will not be granted unless the RSCM is in agreement that the club can afford to spend in excess of the finite upper limit and/or 40% of Salary Cap Relevant Income on player wages, having regard to the club’s financial history, the level of debts at the club, a liquidity assessment of the club and an assessment as to club’s overall club development strategy; and
3(b) an absolute upper limit of £400,000 (for a club in the Championship division) or £200,000 (for a club in Championship 1).

Nobody really knows what each club has spent on the first team.Be nice to know,but if Widnes have spent the same or more than Fax then we have recruited badly.

They do now but not sure they thought that way at start of season. I am quite sure many of them thought they would be up there, but like you say they have been poor (again). And despite the crowd issue yesterday, at ours have been going in the right direction. And thats down to getting a team on the pitch worth watching

This is a red Herring. Widnes may, or may not, be spending up to the cap. All it means is that Widnes have spent more on better quality, but fewer old pros and tried to give youth a chance by playing many more youngsters than the rest. Unfortunately it’s those few old pros whom have been crocked for most of the season.

If we hadn’t won the cup last season, Widnes would probably have gone down the same route as Halifax and Barrow and chocked it full of old pros, south sea islanders and Aussies.

So yes, it would have been a very different team. That kind of experience makes a difference in this league.

But are the young players able to make the Quantum Leap to Superleague standards

So...Widnes decided to spend most of there cap on better quality players? Which ones are they then?

Some will, most probably won’t. We won’t be able to play as many of them in SL as we have in the Chp though. The aim would be to create the spine of the team from our academies, but this will take time. We’ve done it before and I’ve no doubt we can do it again.

The ones that aren’t 30 and over!

So because they arent over 30...that means that they are better quality?

We've even managed to start a discussion on the VT forums about it

Experienced SL players who are still young enough to have a possible future back in SL, may cost a little more.

So who are these potential SL players you signed last year?

Thacks, Kav, Pickers, Netherton, Allen... All have time on their side still! Come 2012 how many Fax boys be good enough for 4/5 seasons in SL?

Oh and youth going well against future opponents in case we forgot to mention