Would they have rested them if the Widnes v Wigan game was to determine a SL spot?

I see where you are coming for both our clubs got shafted in 95 for the so called good of the game and The Bulls picked a lot of new young support up off the back of it and the game is not has good now despite SL
The Bulls lost money season in season out even through the glory years and that in the end will come and bite you on the backside SL was supposed to end all this yet London/Wakefield/Crusaders/Paris/Halifax/Hull have all being in trouble add to that Widnes and Oldham/Workington who have being left to rot in the lower leagues I fear others are in trouble and 2 or 3 are propped up by a sugar daddy who will get sick of funding the gap in time SL stinks
Others like Hunslet/Dewsbury/Keighley/and Batley have all being shafted at some point all for the so called good of the game not to mention the farce of Hull/Gateshead Hudds/Sheff

BUT
That is not the fault of the people who matter in all this the Bulls fans the players and all the admin staff who now fear for their jobs people with mortgages to pay this is an awful situation for them and I wish them all the luck in the world.

Small town, small minded, ignorant, paranoid flatcapper.

Right, I've stayed away from this thread, but, please stop tarring all of us as Brand new super duper league fans with the implication we don't care about any other team or any events before 1995. Some of know perfectly well what went on and the implications.

I live next door to a fev fan, so I know you're not all as bitter, twisted and angry as the OP. Likewise there were and are plenty of Bradford fans who knew perfectly well how shafted you appeared to be, and other teams at the time and over the years, in '95 there was no rlfans or twitter for the world to bleat on, but I know of plenty of discussions at the time with fellow fans where we discussed it and thought it was unfair....but what hell were we as fans suppossed to do? If it had been the other way round you would have acted the exact same way as us, concerned but ultimately powerless and more intent on your own clubs prospects.

You got a beef with CC, fine, if you haven't noticed so do we. I'm not asking for sympathey, no-one is as far as I can tell, but using this forum to vent your spleens at us fans seems pretty pointless to me. But if it makes you all happy - fire away, gald to help, we have bigger concerns at the moment.

This.

Really????
If you think that Newlove was worth more than Offiah, you should be somewhere, where the use of sharp objects is prohibited, that is crackers!!!!
Also handing over £200k for a player is hardly stealing is it?
If that is what your grudge is over, i'd give it a break to be honest!!

This debate does raise some serious questions about our game. It was founded out of a unified decision based on justice and fairness. 117 years later and those values have evaporated.

The fanbase of our sport was struggling to finance part time players in most top division clubs in 1995, and Superleague was supposed to bring financial security and a new level of professionalism and growth of the sport.

The international game is now weaker than it was pre SL and the sky cash goes directly into the hands of the now full time players. we are told year on year that crowds are up, but how many of these people pay a full price, or any price?

The move to summer has been beneficial in some respects, but how much more revenue would a proper kangaroo tour enable clubs to earn? is it worth it?

what happens if the sky money stops? our sport would change beyond recognition. With the advent of professional rugby union, how would we survive with all the best young players playing union?

the heart of our game was always the community. am I the only person that prefers going to Wheldon Rd rather than the galpharm, or prefered Knowlsey rd to langtree park?

The sport needs to stop dreaming of a european wide league, and focus on preserving the roots of our professional (or semi pro) game.

If you havent seen them, try and get copies of the two "when push comes to shove" books. Look at the pictures and read the articles. Thats what Rugby league is about!

Absolutely bang on!!!

Oh my god! It took so long. I thought it might have been when we got Jimmy Thompson or Keith Bridges? Maybe, Dave Hobbs........I guess you didn't mind them.
Petty, small minded, amoeba - like, but mostly just pathetic.

I wondered when a thread like this would appear. Surprised it's from a Fev fan. My money would've been on a nutter from Keighley or Fax.

Are you saying that Bradford have shafted 3 clubs on their travels to glory then ultimately administration?

I as a Rovers fan was annoyed when Superleague came about but we also had ourselves to blame for the financial mess we found ourselves in. For years I thought we'd never get in Superleague because the RFL didn't want 2 clubs from Hull there.

When we finally sorted ourselves out and and won promotion in 2006 I still thought that when the licenses were going to be announced that we wouldn't get one.

What i'm basically saying to the Fev, Keighley and fax fans is that you may feel that the RFL have a vendetta against your club because you are not in SL, but if you have the right people at the helm and are showing good potential and have something to contribute, then you will get your shot. At the moment all those clubs have done is become financially proficient and successful on the field in the Championship. There is still a lot more to be achieved to make it as an SL club so don't be bitter, just work harder!

Apparently it's all our fault personally!

Also I remember when the Hethringtons said they didn't want Hull KR in the Superleague. When we did get there, Uncle Kath was purring when the extra money came in from the 23000 crowds that the derby brought.

As much as I like the clubs Fev & Keighley are not sustainable as SL clubs. You can argue the rights & wrongs all you like but the RFL can watch them get into SL on promotion & then destroy themselves trying to compete or it can try & plan for sustainability. The latter is difficult, maybe not possible, but at least it shows an element of planning & management.

I think the only way RL can be financially sustainable and not rely on big money backers is to cut salaries massively or go part time. But that will be the end of any international competition and see the best athletes leave for union and soccer.