start the expansion teams at a lower level giving them some success instead of throwing them into super league when they get battered in the first season and then people lose interest. back to a 12 team or even 10 team super league with relegation and promotion simples!

Rumours starting that the RFL are set to annonuce postponement of the 2012 licences until 2015 as Cas/Wakefield have threatened legal action against the RFL if they are not renewed whilst "crusaders" stay in super league.

rumours? where from?

Quote: SLIMply the best "rumours? where from?'" www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A77003174

Quote: SLIMply the best "rumours? where from?'" www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A77003174

Yeah it something that someone made up from the quality board of BBC606

Crusaders is working. It didnt the first year of their super league life. However when the new owners took over and moved to Wrexham they took on the old debt. They paid the tax man however Leighton Samuels wants his slice so the best way of making sure he doesnt is to wind the club up and relaunch. A bit like what Leeds United did.

Should they be in Super Leage next year I dont know but I would hope so. I stick by that Widnes should not have been allowed to come up in the last round.

But they have a chance next year along with Fax and Barrow. I dont think it should be nailed on that its Widnes.

Do those two points not kind of conflict with each other... what Crusaders are right to do Widnes should of been punished for?

As for fax and Barrow both those clubs spent soley on the first teams in the past three seasons whereas Widnes invested in the club, an academy thing that will see us well over the next 20 years at least not the next 2/3. That is what the RFL wanted from this current system and that is what only Widnes have given them (you could arguably include all SL clubs in that too as for some very little change / progress has been seen to date).

Can anyone offer an explanation for widnes' amazing financial performance? Incredible work really and something that should be shared with the rest of SuperLeague.

But surely if Celtic Crusaders are wound up and "Wrexham Crusaders" is a completely new outfit, have they even been through the procedure to applied for a SL licence.

Widnes were no where near ready for Super League last time around. you were lucky to have a club then let alone a Super League club.

And now they have......its called St Helens

i think they have a range of tickets in one of the boxes that are £100,000 each... people seem to buy them sometimes... but never actually go the game....

And again Crusaders will be this time as well as last year?
In what way were we not ready? Don't get me wrong we have improved a lot over the past few years off the field but where we 'in' the top 14 clubs in 2007? Without a doubt!

Going from one sponsor to about ten (& still growing) winning NRC, a full review of club the year before that made sure it was now fully cost effective etc etc.

Which all apply to Batley as well so where has the other £975,000 of profit for Widnes come from?


At the end of the day Widnes is a village between St Helens and Warrington and would bring nothing to Super League. If Crusaders do fold then the number of Super League teams should drop to 13 this year and 12 the year after when either Wakefield or Castleford should be kicked out (decide that by toss of a coin as they are as useless as each other).

Not sure that shows anything. I think the accounts will, whenever they are released.