I don't think you can say that the financial disaster of 2011 was out of context. Income, attendances and results were all following a roughly similar pattern for the previous 3 years.

A return of some form of P&R I can see happening after this licence period, I'd guess if it was in today we'd already be in the Championship next year with a cap exemption of some discription for a year as punishment but with a clear way back.

A return to Semi pro en mass won't happen whilst there are enough weatlhy backers at enough of the top clubs. Its more likely that the top league will shrink and a few of the currently weaker SL clubs, which might well include us, will end up outside of the top league in the semi pro leagues.

Attendances and results - agree.

Income - or at least profitability - hardly:

The club lost c.300k in 2010 (first year of no Odsal Settlement deferred income release) after almost break even in 2009 (last year with the annual release).

In 2011, according to such information is available, the underlying loss was c. 1m, it seems the rate of loss likely accelerating as the year progressed. And it seems the trend of losing £100k/month continued into 2012.

That was the point I was making. When I saw the 2009 accounts, I concluded the club could maybe stand one more year of similar losses. What it could not stand was losses several times that (for whatever reason) - but that's what it seems we got.

Perhaps we're looking at things from different places. During 2008 I felt it became apparent that the squad we had was not only in decline but terminally so. Retention, recruitment and overall application was poor. Attendances were falling but not dramatically or irrecoverably. At the end of the season an ordinary Wigan side beat us comfortably in the play offs and the case for change seemed irrefutable or so I thought. The main case against change involved either the financial implications which had led us to where the squad was or the financial implications of sacking SM. Neither issue, real as they were, would be resolved by carrying on as before, nor it appeared could the club do anything about it.

The point I was making is that whilst there may be discrepancies in claiming a direct correlation between accounts and broader context, the key element in any business, the product was not only deteriorating but the club appeared both unwiling and crucially, unable to take radical action. The club was a beached whale at that point and the events of this summer simply waiting to happen.

We are confident, sorry smug, in our superiority.

I think your starting point is too late.

We were in decline from around 2006 with the cash account dropping as the Odsal settlement monies dried up and the Harrisgate losses came on stream. There was a big economy drive where we put the academy onto a part time basis, lost the chairman and coach, then sold such as Stuart Fielden to Wigan and lost several other 'names',over a period, to be replaced with lesser 'names', and in a final act, iirc the Chief Exec finally fired himself. We have never really recovered from this period