Quote :2a9rm1fpfranchising gave the club time to get things right and then push for SL'"
:2a9rm1fp
It gave them time ? , no it didn't , they should have got in the 1 st time , all they have done is tead water for what will be 3 years
Quote :2a9rm1fplook what happened to widnes under P&R, they overspent trying to get promoted, failed and almost went broke'"
:2a9rm1fp
Their Stadium deal was crippling them , that is where much of the debt came from , they also had a complete muppet in charge
Quote :2a9rm1fpbeing out of SL made the club desperate to get in so theyve gone about ticking all the boxes required
rather than wasting money on winning the championship they spend it on their juniors'"
:2a9rm1fp
A strict salary cap has helped , but the RFL knew how ridiculous the decision to exclude them last time was , they have been very ' cosy with Steve O,Connor ever since [ not a criticism , as for the juniors , Widnes have always had good junior development well before the advent of licencing
Quote :2a9rm1fpQuote :2a9rm1fpmaybe having steve oconner before under p&r woudlve helped'"
:2a9rm1fpbut the whole idea of having their SL status taken away and only granted back if they improve as a club sure worked for widnes.'" :2a9rm1fp
How has it worked ? you dont need to be a rocket surgeon to realise that Widnes are 1 the best equiped club outside SL , and 2 better equiped than 4/5 currently in SL
Quote :2a9rm1fpwakey have shown theyve hit a brick wall. they cant improve any further and their current situation isnt good enough for SL'"
:2a9rm1fp
Wakey are no different to Cas or Salford in that respect , and lets not even look at Quins or Crusaders
Quote :2a9rm1fpso they get kicked out. either they do what widnes did and start improving as a club and get back in or they stay out of SL.'"
:2a9rm1fp
Do what that Widnes did , get the council to build them a stadium ? , find a local businessman who has just sold his business for 30 million ? , but will a club be allowed back in ever ?
Quote :2a9rm1fpclubs are now competing for off field development as well as on field play, and this will make the english game stronger.'"
:2a9rm1fp
Not neccessarily , it could quite easily stifle the clubs outside as they are unable to keep fans interested , and with no clear certain path to SL it will become almost impossible for those clubs to get an investor like a Steve O connor , meanwhile the gap between SL and the Championships gets wider and the clubs in SL become complacent as they dont have to improve to stay in , the RFL are doing all they can to deflect blame from themselves about having to decide a club to drop , they wont do it again
Quote :2a9rm1fpall the RFL is trying to do is get clubs to develop themselves. if they cant and there are better options well you replace the weak with the strong'"
and they havent a clue what to do to develop the heartland clubs outside SL other than encourage them to find a Sugar Daddy , which is virtually impossible
Licencing is a shambles , it doesn't work in British sport