im a leigh fan and would just like to wish widnes the best of luck in Super League. However when walking home from the ground some widnes fans were not gracious in defeat. I hope you do well and show that a championship club can come up and compete. Good luck

It's Ok having money to spend, but I'm not sure were Widnes are going to find 15 plus players of good enough quality, are they under the same quota rules as most of SL?

Going to be a very hard first season for them, but I'm sure that they know this already.

was reported on the footy show last night that widnes made darren lockyer an offer to delay retirement for a bit and join them for next year but lockyer has turned them down

shame but shows their justififed confidence with a SL spot

The thing that saddens me as a trinity fan of many many years...

now the new owner has control at the club... the ONLY thing that the club lacks is a shiny new stadium...

If you look at the backroom work going on at Trinity, it is (in many areas ) leading edge... in others it is merely excellent.. the youth set up is role mdel worthy.. the transition of players throuth the grades can be tracked and measured and stacks up, against any business model...

Until the middle of last year... a timescale which mirrored the previous owners business affairs hitting the rocks... at first team level the club were MORE than holding their own.

The new owner has finances which will allow the club NOW to spend up to the full cap allowance.

The only thing that lets us down is the descrepit old stadium...People say that Trinity have not stepped up to the plate.... but they have... in 90% of their business...

Congratulations to Widnes!

Is that what's important to you though? As a fan? You're happy to pay £18 to watch a below par team but so long as the off-field stuff is fine that' what floats your boat?

I've got 9 years of company accounts and audit files in my office at work. You can read through 'em for £50.

Bang on mate. You tick more boxes than a lot of Super League teams. All you need is some players and they'll be readily available as you have got longer than any other promoted club into SL has ever had. Every decent out of contract NRL, SL and Championship player (not Chris Hill or Mick Govin-hands off) will be 'contacted' by Widnes and your side next year will have all of the outstanding youth, one year older and a dozen top quality players too.

As a fan of a lower league team I hope Widnes succeed in SL next year and get into the 8. It shows the system is working and gives lower division teams hope that they have not only a future, but if they adhere to the system, a successful future in the top tier.

Glass houses and all that.
So Wakey fans can mock all they want, you've got no fans, ground and a poor side. You're days are numbered.

It still doesn't stop people going 'fishing' as he called it did it. I didn't see many Wakey fans saying he was out of order either, or any saying it now.

I understand that Barry will just jump on any negative arguement, but genuine RL fans shouldn't just lay into another team.

I personally think Wakey will be the next Widnes and go down a division, regroup, redevelop and then push on back towards Super League in a better state than they are in now.

I'm not being confrontational, but which 'other' club is in a worse state than Wakey?

I called his comments "ill-advised" which indicates I don't agree with them. You clearly can't judge a teams playing strength in the championship as an indicator of its SL potential, as you only get to spend GBP 300k - 400k in the championship against GBP 1.65m in SL.

Crusaders are clearly weaker then Wakey. The only things they have over us are "expansion" and a better stadium. Since the move to Wrexham "expansion" is debateable given they are only c30 miles from Widnes.

We beat them on :

Junior development
Crowds
Community Work
Marketing
British Playing Staff
Finances (going forward as we have a more sustainable business plan than them based on crowds and other revenue streams)

They may have a better team currently then us on paper, but they can't afford to sustain that team on the crowds they are getting, and if we were still to be in SL next year we would be able to spend to the full salary cap.

They have had 3 different guises in the time that they have been in SL as well. The RFL need to admit that they were wrong and should not have put them in last time at the expense of Widnes. It was clearly too soon for Crusaders and they should have been allowed to continue to develop as a club in the Chamiponship with a view to mounting a bid for a licence this time around or in 2015.

Good luck to Widnes, last night hardly says anything about how they will get on next year bar they need to sign some new players, they are well aware of that.

Would that be the 4 numbnuts hanging around the overflow car park.

"I wanna chuck a brick at him"
"You haven't got one"
"I've got loads here on the car park" he says kicking them around, fortunately they decided they had better get back on the 4th coach from the end of the row

If your bragging about beating us on junior developemnet, i think its a pretty pointless arguement. We have matched SL clubs in the 16s and 18s area, winning the under 18s and our under 23's are going strong this year. We have 4 players in the Enlgand adacemy, not a bad effort for a championship club. With more support with our youth setup in SL, i think our youth will be one of the best, if not the best in the country. Not far from it now.

Widnes happen to do tremendous amounts of work in the community and do a very good job of it. As it stands, we have better foundations in place to build and and go places than Wakefield imo.
What crowds are you getting this season, i'm actually curious because i don't know?

Wakey have got to accept they have been in administration ie gone bust-That would suggest the business model from top to bottom is flawed-Simple

yes you have a short term local double glazing owner keeping you afloat for the foreseeable future but is that really the basis of a strong club

Go on fire into Quins poor crowds, 10 names, 10 grounds, one money man or maybe respond to issues close at home

hahaha

as always unfortunately every club has these idiots, these were probably people who haven't been a game in 3 years and have turned up on the back of the sl decision. leigh have these idiots too (such as the leigh fan who allegedly spat at a fev fan last season). Every club always will so we might as well just get on with it instead of trying to make widnes sound bad