Feel exactly the same - the game is a joke.

The UK borders agency do not have to give a reason why a visa has been refused do they, well not 'publicly' at least.

fighting relegation this year me thinks,im not surprised at all

Very disappointed but was always inevitable I think.

"Continuing efforts are being made to identify players of sufficient quality, and bring them to the club to fill the void left by Joe’s absence, and strengthen the team to help them attain a good play off position, and hopefully a Grand Final appearance."

Surely that's for next season?

Hold non a minute. Let me get this stright. Paul Rowley is given information from what must have been a credible source that his visa is sorted and Paul gave a statement or interview to a news paper that he is pencilled in for the Whitehaven game. The club must have spoken to Paul before he did this so the club must have been given this information. You dont get clearence then dont get clearence, unless he has knocked out the govenor. The RFL have got nothing to do with this. We have been told repeatedly by the club that they have done everything they can and have backed us. Is this information wrong also? Is this the reasdon the club said nothing about the article in the Reporter? There is something that stinks and the smell is again coming from our own door. Honesty is the only thing that can stop me from also washing my hands of this club now. I have called for fans not to walk away from the club because of the results but those and the thought that there is really, really a group of people running ( or not ) the club that have no consideration for its fans turns my stomach. In fact this news has made me well and truly p1$$ed off.

Better take my boots to 'Haven.

I wish I'd kept a copy of the email I sent through the official site tonight. Put it this way, i never thought I would feel this way about the club, or rather the people allegedly running it

the club 'can appeal' but dependeds on 'what grounds' he's been denied i guess. Do the UK Borders Agency not like M62 'corridor' clubs either. Celtic's Aussies got 'delayed' but eventually got allowed in. Maybe Joe Williams 'dropped some litter' in a car park in Newcastle (AUS)

Maybe they saw the reports of him fighting and not realising he was boxing

Maybe we didn't advertise the position locally for 2 weeks, before bringing someone from outside the EU in.

UK Border Agency is a law unto itself. There will be nothing suspicious in this.. the RFL have no influence, they aren't the employer, that's not how it works.

A fundamental part of any non-EU immigration application is that it has to be shown that the incomer has a level of skill and talent at their profession which is superior to any EU citizen that would apply for the job on the same wage. Players going into SL have a far better case. It makes no odds to the UK Borders Agency whether his contract was being paid by a 3rd party... their argument demands that nobody within the EU of similar ability is available to take the position. Maybe that's just not the case here.

Please bear in mind how goddam difficult it is to get into this country next time the stupid papers start banging on about immigration. Our borders are very tightly controlled... far too tightly. As has been written, don't be surprised to see Williams playing for Tolouse or Les Cats. It's much easier to get into France. And, if he does, THEN it's perfectly possible that he will prove himself sufficiently better able to fill a position at an English club.

Whilst the RFL has been undoubtably biased to "pin in the map" / Fantasist expansion clubs I feel Leigh seem to have come out of this looking unprofessional.
The whole saga is one that should have never happened with the on / off state of it and surely everyone in RL saw how the Crusaders struggled to get players in for the SL comp so perhaps a bit of over enthusiasm on Leighs part.

I presumbe the club has a plan B

Please ,please, please will someone tell me who told Paul Rowley that he had a visa to come and play for us and gave Paul the clearence to talk to the Reporter?