Honest assesment from Cullen and a message to any other Championship club thinking about coming up.

rlhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/17859720rl

Is it time to shut the door once and for all? Has the Widnes experience so far this season sounded the death knell for clubs hoping to elevate? It's a tall order as SL clubs have a massive advantage having slowly strengthened their squad base to adapt to life inside SL. Never say never but any club (especially without a backer) must be off its rocker to want to try life in the fast lane. It's time for Championship clubs to stop bleating (not all of them do mind) and get on with improving their lot, rather than looking towards the land of milk and honey (or Bradford marmalade).

To be fair, Widnes were miles behind most of the clubs in the championship as well!!

You are a very naughty boy!

Go and sit in the corner and self flagellate with a wet copy of the RL Express.

It's just becoming harder and harder to make the jump. I think we can expect some of the bottom SL clubs to suggest just such a thing.

We should be trying to find ways to keep the door open ie. making the championship as competetive as possible.
Either this or change the lower league clubs into formal feeder clubs. We already have many of the younger players on dual reg. contracts and this may be the next step.

Personally, I prefered the old promotion/ relegation system but, because of the massive difference between the top 2 divisions an automatic one up/ one down doesn't work at
present.

Formal feeder clubs would be the death of the lower divisions.

"Loaning" players because you [iwant[/i to is quite different to loaning players because you [ihave[/i to.

Feeder clubs would simply be a means of reducing the wage bill of an SL club and would result in a complete lack of interest from the fans. Clubs are struggling to get fans through the door as it is without telling them they are going to watch someone else's under 21 side.

Hmmm,

It looks to me as if Paul Cullen is simply making excuses for his own failings. I really cannot see how money paid to Brad Drew years ago contributed to the hiding Widnes took at the Galpharm earlier this season.

Wakefield have made at least as substantial a squad restructure this year, whilst they may only have a couple more points, they are much more competitive. Furthermore Wakey only had from July to shape their squad.

I agree to an extent that coming up and immediatly challenging at the top of the league is a big ask, but the nature of many of Widnes defeats (thrashings) is down to poor Rugby management - Cullen & Betts

I agree. The RFL should come out and say there will be no more clubs from the CC being "promoted" to SL. They should even kick the basket case clubs out of SL. Reduce to a league of 10.

CC salary cap should be reduced further as well. If clubs want to become feeder teams to SL sides then that should be alowed as well as clubs who want to stay independant.

The Challenge Cup should be for SL sides only.

Admission fees for the CC will be able to come down as well. No one should have to pay £18 to sit down and watch part time rugby.

Either that or have the CC salary to match the higher SL one. If clubs go bust, tough. Its their own fault.

That being the case, why bother having a salary cap at all?

Well seen as Widnes got given a THREE YEAR license and not a TWELVE GAME license people need to stop expecting miracles there. Several seasons ago Catalans propped up the table and look where the club is now. Crusaders made a big leap ON FIELD AT LEAST from 1st season to 2nd. The whole point of a 3 year license is time so why don't people want to give them that time???

Good point.

But if they there were to do that and clubs in SL had one, it wouldnt be fair when SL clubs play against a CC who had an unlimited cap.

I think logic would dictate that if it was deemed there was ‘no point’ in the championships having a salary cap, it would have to be deemed there was no point in the SL having an SC

Maybe it's worth remembering that if we had the old method of promotion and relegation, Widnes wouldn't have been promoted.

Indeed. Personally I think Halifax or Fev would have made a better fist of things on the field but Fev haven't the ground at the moment and conspiracy theorists would say that 'Fax are too near Bradford to be allowed in and Bradford are a paragon of good management ....... oh, hang on a minute

split SL into 2, 10 sides leauges with P&R between them. Licensing rules still apply and if you go into administration you are put into the championship

I think all Widnes' failings in SL indicate is that they have a poor on-field set-up. Just because Widnes are failing and have lots of money doesn't mean that a team with less money wouldn't be able to do a better job.

Widnes need to start appointing the right people in the right places. Featherstone appear to have it all right at the moment.