Hoping that was aimed at Smokey clown and emptyHead....

£10 on a 17 year bet, nice.

But what odds.....

We never have had auto P&R ground caveats were always in place hence Fev could not get promoted back in the day and still don't have a facility that would meet that criteria
For those not in the know LSV was built at no cost to the council

I think it it worth acknowledging that at fev as many other clubs like batley/fax/leigh/dewsbury to name a few, there are an army of volunteers, selling match programs, promoting the club, working on the pitch and at fev, actually building the new stands for free. Are we saying that what they are doing is pointless as we cant keep up with the 'big boys'? Shall we just all pack up and not bother then? How long can we count on the generous support of such people if the door closes on 'unfashionable' clubs?

Look at Zac Hardaker, Richard whiting, Rooney who was at Wakey and to some extent Rob Burrow...All from the Fev set up or amateur. This is what the championship brings, fresh new players to the Superleague dot forget that.

Some people here sound like they have had it too good for too long and forget what it is like to have to work their way up. I think Chris Taylor has been incredibly patient with his debate on here but it sounds to me that some people are so far removed from the leagues below they dont know how frustrating and frankly unfair it feels to have a club that you love and support told 'no' to playing with the big clubs because we are in the wrong area, or the grounds not quite big enough! Look at Blackpool in football, it did them no harm going up to the premiership, controlling their spending then coming back down. They are now more secure financially because they have been well managed. This has not been the case at Celtic (dont get me started on them) Bradford, wakey and now london. Franchising has failed and done nothing but put people off. has anyone tried explaining franchising to a non-rugby league fan? They think it is insane and it is.

If the fans of the big clubs had to swap places with Championship clubs I bet there would be a swift turnaround to their priorities are what is good for rugby league.

Fev is a well run club. We have won the league shield 3 years on the bounce and might make it 4. We beat Cas with a part time team, and Gave Wigan a run for their money. We own our own ground. We are improving our facilities and our fan base. We have some full time players already. What else can we do?! It is absolute madness! Maybe we need to speak french or welsh, but frankly I think if your well run, it does not matter if your team yo-yo's, they will survive and the hope stays alive.

Can I also say thank you to the fan who started this thread, for the kind words, and convey my disbelief that a positive thread has turned into a negative mess.

That's very nice, if you think that the actions of volunteers are anything like enough to bring a club up to SL standard then you're absolutely kidding yourself. That's a total whimsical fantasy, it's like in the first wars when guns were available and opposing armies thought they could overcome them with 'courage'. No, clubs like Batley and Dewsbury will never be able to compete in Super League and if you ask people at those clubs they'll probably tell you the same. So yeah, if people are volunteering because they think it will help their clubs reach SL standard then what they are doing is pointless.

The truth is that Featherstone are not a big enough club to compete at SL level. They aren't big enough and don't have the potential for growth. The only way they would be able to compete would be if the current SL clubs were brought down to their standard. Which would of course be absolutely stupid but seems to be what most people want, so whatever, enjoy it, just don't blame me when the sport here doesn't progress and falls further and further behind the NRL and RU.

Who do you support head hunter? I would assume by your dismissive tone that it is one of the big guns, Wigan Leeds st helens or maybe even warrington and huddersfield at a push. dewsbury and batley are probably not ready, but what's to day they couldn't achieve it? I feel you have a very negative view on this, and I feel you have missed my point.

There is a wealth of work done throughout rugby league because fans HOPE that one day their team will be good enough to compete. What your saying is that they needn't bother, they will never be good enough. Imagine the collapse of the game if everyone thought like you. I notice you failed to pick up on any of my other points, just the volunteers part. In answer to that, I think that building a whole new stand to bring our club owned stadium more in line with sl standards using a recycled stadium and volunteers shows ingenuity and cost effective savvy. Something which many sl clubs have proven they lack. You need more clubs like featherstone in sl not less.

The way I feel is that sl is almost like a completely different sport. I don't bother watching any games or internationals, why? Because its a closed shop and none of the players mean anything to me. Open it up and you may start to fill the stadium more for the international and get a few more species watching on tv not a solution but a start to the lack of neutrals attending rl showcase events like the challenge cup final. It was on tv and I didn't bother watching, the only reason for me would be to see Richard whiting play, an ex rover.

None of that is relevant though, you seem to be totally deluded about the nature of the sport and the nature of Super League. It's not a charity. If you think that clubs like Batley and Dewsbury are ever going to be in SL then you aren't living in the real world. Featherstone in Super League would go the exact same way that Leigh did. The likes of Featherstone and Leigh are good Championship clubs, they are valuable for the sport but they simply are not top-flight clubs, and don't have the potential to be. With the best will in the world, Featherstone are a similar but much smaller club than Castleford and Wakefield, two clubs who themselves struggle to compete in SL. The (flawed) rationale for changing the league structure is apparently to create more competitive games, even if Featherstone maxed out their potential and reached the level that the likes of Castleford are currently at then they still wouldn't be good enough for Super League. The fact that Featherstone were resourceful enough to get a new stand is great, but it isn't anything like enough for them to be able to compete. It's a drop in the ocean, honestly.

They seem to be pretty well run and they are doing a good job at the moment, but Featherstone in SL would be a disaster for everyone concerned. If you want to be a blinkered one-club fan then whatever, that's your loss. Nobody needs to contrive things to cater for a tiny minority of people with backwards mentalities.

Thankfully those people running SL have decided that arrogant viewpoints like the one above have no place in RL. Clubs outside SL will be afforded the opportunity to challenge for a place in SL by being the best on the pitch. That's why we're all here isn't it? To watch a game of Rugby League. Headhunter has never answered the question of which team he goes to watch week in week out because he doesn't go and watch the game week in week out. It's a competitive sport not a gentlemen's club. SL chairmen have tried the franchise route and it's failed. It's their money, it's their experiences and it's their pocket it's hurting so they're now trying a different route once more.

Deal with it.

Can somebody, anybody tell me what catastrophy was afflicted upon Leigh by being promoted to and relegated from SL?

Headhunter, you say Fev and others dont have the ' potential ' , if not, who does?

Simple question sunshine, away you go

Does anybody have a cow?

It's not a bet. I have not asked for any wager. You can feel free to add to the pot if you are feeling flush?

Now replace SL with internationals and featherstone with USA.

In fact lets go the whole hog no team has been champions outside of these 4 in the last 20 years or so.

Bradford
St Helens
Wigan
Leeds

The rest are also rans so chuck all but these 4 out and just have a lottery draw once a year