They did but Wakey have literally ZERO assets to secure any loan against, Crusaders used the Racecourse ground IIRC

If they had done so surely we'd have heard about it and that they'd not be in the poop again.

And yet they have issued a comment saying they've been aware of Wakey's issues for months and been talking to them about what help they could offer, 'as they would with any struggling club'.

In fact, as they did with both Crusaders and Blackpool. The difference between those two cases was that Crusaders came up with a plan to survive and Blackpool didn't: in fact failed to respond by the deadline for inclusion in Championship 1. Wakefield could be anywhere on a scale between those two cases.

For instance: we know that the key part of the help to Crusaders given last year, around the time of the sale and move from Bridgend to Wrexham was seconding personnel to work in and with the club - they may well have offered that to Wakey and been refused, or it may not have been appropriate. We do know Wakey asked for a loan of £350k and were refused, while the Crusaders' debt to the RFL (£700k before administration according to the administrator's figures quoted in LE) has been converted into a loan secured via a mortgage on the Racecourse ground. But then, the mortgage means Crusaders are good for the debt, as its secured against property – is that the case with Wakey?

In essence: we don't know that the RFL have refused to help Wakey, or even that they haven't actually provided help - though we do know that they haven't loaned money to WTWRLFC: but then their own fans seem reluctant to do that.


On Quins, perhaps tttiger could let us know what help he thinks the RFL gave there?

I've kept my powder dry regarding the plight of Wakefield, as it's difficult to pass comment on a club I don't support and I don't know the ins and outs as well as their fans. So, at the risk of inviting brickbats from Wakey fans, here goes (and this is not an attempted wind up, just my point of view):

In my opinion, it may be that the best course of action for Wakey is to take the club into administration, take the points deduction and forego any license application in this round of applications. I know this will mean them dropping down to the Championship, but it would give them a clean slate and allow them to rebuild. It will obviously mean a huge hit to their revenue streams and doesn't solve the ground issue, but I think if they are able to follow the example of Widnes, who have managed to build at a steady rate and are now, almost certainly, ready for SL, Wakey could return stronger than before.

In addition, and probably more importantly from a Wakey fans point of view, it would mean the club surviving, if at a lower level, rather than going to the wall and disappearing forever. Nobody, no matter who you support, wants that. Having seen Cas play at Championship level for a couple of seasons, the rugby is still of good quality, the crowds are decent and the banter the same wherever you go. It may take 6 years to get back, but the club will still be alive and have the target of gaining a license to work towards.

As I say, it's just an opinion and there to be picked apart. I've just looked at it pragmatically and wondered what I would feel if it was Cas in Wakeys position. Have a team I love playing at a lower level, or no club at all.

I hope Wakey get their problems sorted and continue as a club. Nobody wants to see a major element of their community disappear.

It's plain to see Wakeys in the mire and i feel for the club and fans but a club is for the boot out of super duper league and i don't want it to be Cas. So if it keeps our top league status i can't be too bothered as would be the case if the boot was on the other foot.

A closed shop? You mean Widnes, Fax and company won't be submitting licence bids this year?

I would*, Especially seeing as not all that company will in fact qualify to bid in 2015 ( and Scorpions definitely not)

* Assuming Wakefield, under new owners, manage to turn the club around.

toulouse and south wales dont have to meet the same criteria as heartland clubs do , because there expansion clubs

and its only 2012 where the rfl guaranteed 1 championship club would be given a licence

Yes they do.

Thought there was a lesser set of criteria for Championship clubs to meet before they could submit an application...

When Wakey won promotion in 1998 the championship clubs voted to give them 140k as they wernt getting any sky money to enable them to compete, in return Wakey assured they would stand up for P+R. 12 months later they disgracefully went back on that then in 2000 voted against Dewsbury been promoted. Im sorry but what goes round comes round, they will find very little sympathy from championship club. Also they voted to accept the licensing system so they have got what they voted for.Love to see what there crowds will be like in the championship after all the remarks aimed at Rovers all these years, because i will bet any money in the world the city clubs crowds will be less than the village clubs

How do you come to the conclusion that Cas kept their Super League squad in the Championship. When we were relegated the first time we had to buy a full new squad from other Championship teams and we did extremely well to gain promotion considering that the players had never played together before and we had a new coach in Dave Woods who did a tremendous job in winning promotion. When we were relegated again we only kept part of our squad with players such as Manu, Hudson, Platt, Pryce, Thackray, Sculthorpe, Katic and others leaving for other clubs. Clubs previous to Cas being relegated were allowed to keep their squads with a parachute payment i.e Huddersfield, but we did it the hard way so please get your facts right before posting such tripe.