Club of The Year

Quote: DParky "Well done at your quoting skills.

You've missed the point entirely.

Quote: DParky "Regarding the award, well club of the year should usually go to the stand-out club, onfield this was Fev, although you could argue teams like Batley always punch above their weight. '"

Now this is where a lot of people are getting confused. Is there not an award for team of the year for stand out on field performances? Are you even aware of what 'club of the year' is judged on? Because it seems to me you can't see past what happens on the field. As I said before we still have NR Cup and Grand Final which recognises on field achievement what more do you want?

Quote: DParky "Of course licencing has virtually ruled onfield activity as second fiddle, as long as you win something in the three year period or get to a Grand Final you can then focus on other things. This is what Widnes have done but it still undermines all the principles that we have all been brought up with in competitive sports.'"

You know this for a fact do you? We still spent up to the salary cap, we brought in a team which the club believed would be competitive and then we go and suffer the worst injury crisis in living memory. Do you honestly expect any team that uses 41 players in a season to finish anywhere near the top?? We still managed a Cup Final appearance on the back of that!

Quote: DParky "I know about my own clubs short comings thank you very much and I also know about the hard work that continues to take place.'"

So why when we successfully address our own shortcomings are we deemed to be singing to the RFL's tune? Surely investing heavily in youth is something that any aspiring SL club should be doing?

Quote: DParky "The Widnes club has a lot of things going for it. You know it, your fans know it, RFL knows it, we know it. I'll let Vikings fans do their own congratulating and if Widnes fans coming on here expect backslaps and champagne well you are in the wrong place, we don't even do that for our own team!'"

I don't expect backslaps from other clubs boards but what I also don't expect is the amount of back biting and sniping which is aimed at us (and this isn't exclusively aimed at this board, there are far worse boards than this for it).

Quote: DParky "
There have been posts praising Widnes but the RFL have created further apathy and disdain in our sport with their different handling of clubs, different quota rules, dufferent rules on facilities. If you need that explaining or can't see what I'm on about then I may as well give up.

I've nothing against Widnes, I've probably seen more games this season than some home fans and do a regular hospital radio show about Warrington and Widnes. I know people involved with the club and even term them as friends.

I respect that the club is just sticking to the rules set down by the governing body.

In my eyes the pressure is now on Widnes to actually win the competition next year. They can't expect to be welcomed into Super League with open arms from a fifth place finish.'"

I don't understand why the Championship clubs can't all concentrate on making this division an attractive division in it's own right then as opposed to moaning about the competition being devalued by the franchise ruling.

Quote: DParky "Hate is a strong word. There is frustration and anger at the current set of rules that have rendered winning competitions as secondary over three years to having a sexy looking balance sheet.

I won't comment further on this as that is my piece.'"
'"

Hate is a strong word and that's exactly what we've experienced from other clubs. We certainly bore the brunt of a lot of vitriolic abuse at Barrow the other week, fans of Sheffield have now waded in to the argument and now fans of SL clubs are trying to undermine our Under 18s efforts by claiming all sorts from the league is meaningless to us playing first teamers in the side...

And you wonder why we feel the way we do.