If we hadn't had so many balls ups off the field these academy lads wouldn't have left.

Unfortunately we're in the championship for good IMO this talk from Wood about aiming for SL is just that..

Not when the show has been going for over three years now.

I think enough people know where it is if they want to watch it.

Spot on for my money. We haven't the money to compete in SL, so what's the point?
I can understand Wood, and other high ups talking about SL as many won't agree with our assessment of the situation and it's in everyone's benefit to keep people 'on-side'. All that said, who knows what plans are being made in Rot Hall? All other club's fans seem to think they're just trying to pop us back "where we belong", so who knows?

Yes I find it quite amusing how many other fans seems to be cooking up the conspiracies that we are to get parachuted in to ‘save SL’...

On topic. Surely the underlying problem in all of this is a lack of money in the game. If Scurr wants to go full time we can’t stop him but (his out of contact situation aside which voids this) we should get money for him if he’s in contract.

So should all teams who develop players. Then that money is used for 2/3 decent players etc rather than the developing team being left out of pocket.

Is the special ‘super league clause’ still a thing? Ie if a super league side come in for a championship player they can leave no questions asked? That to me was always wrong and I know Bradford have benefitted from it in our glory days but it didn’t make it right then or now.

Rhino

If he’s offered a full time contract and more money then how on earth do people expect us to compete with that?

If you were 21 and could pick between slogging a day job and then training on an evening, or being paid as a full time professional with more money and free time....... how many would pick the first option?

Best case scenario we get him back on loan. We need to accept that we’re a championship club with no realistic prospect of promotion for the next few years.

I thought we were hybrid, thereby with full time and p/t players. We'd have to compete with clubs offering him a salary for squad number 25/6. I don't know what that is. And sell the ambition of the club to get promotion. As he's the only player we have in this situation right now I wouldn't think it'd be a huge increase across the board.

But being FT with us is different to being FT with Leeds. Leeds he'd train in the day, with his team mates and have the rest of the day off.

With us, I don't know how it would work but he would presumably do fitness work and work with the foundation during the day, then training at night. Id imagine it's much less free time.

I'm sure the club are trying everything they can to keep him. He may well decide to stay as he's playing reguarly, playing well and came through our system. But we're behind the 8 ball here and it's not just a case of the club working hard enough to keep him.

I know we were hybrid previously but I thought we were PT now (might just have been an assumption on my part)

You might be right and I'm making the odd assumption or two.
NW says Odsal is uneconomic without SL, but as we've nowhere else to play .....
The championship is tough but not that tough. We're behind 3 or 4 clubs but not that far behind.
The upgrade on Scurr's wage would be a relatively cheap way to signal intent, compared to signing players.
If Scurr goes, it's a statement of what many of us on here fear. We're between a rock and a hard place, the cost of Odsal and the slow decline of Dewsbury. I don;'t see how you sell this.

At the end of the day players, young players, want a career path. I'm sure Ebon is imagining himself in an England shirt at some point in the future, and he's justified to do so imo. The unfortunate (for us) thing is that we are just a part of that pathway and certainly not at the end of it. Players like Ebon, and all the others who have left over recent seasons, will always gravitate to the 'larger' clubs, basically the ones in the top division. If you want to be the best why would you stick with a Championship club? It would make no sense when proving yourself at the top level is the only way you're going to get that England shirt.

It is fair comment to wonder just when is the best time to make that move though. Is it now? Mmm

I have a feeling Ebon will go for 1 more year after this with us and then move on. At the rate he is improving he would be in a position to get better terms in SL than now. He is still only very young. At least that's what I hope.