I had too but in my case it was due to the press of creditors although the roads to Wigan do not appeal.

Parky's post is hard to disagree with and I am told franchising will shortly be imposed on the Championship.

I think this will be terminal for the professional game if it is true.

A thoroughly deserved award and testament to all the hard work put in by people recently. Yes another string to our bow.

So who is the club of the year in the Championship?Then i may or may not agree with you.Widnes have ticked all the boxes set by the RFL to get Club of the Year. 1. Over 2500 average which most failed 2.Youth top of the league in the Academy beating Superleague teams. 3.Finances sorted out with profits. 4. Another year in the Rail final.

Featherstone Rovers - best team on the field, a club fostering community spirit, good programmes in place. Ran sides at 14 & 15s last season and will launch their under-18s in time for next season - a positive step and costly one, so well done for them having the financial clout to do that. They are not a rich club, they don't have 2500 gates at this stage but they are on the up in all areas.

Disagree away.

Have to agree with Parky on here. Can't have competitive leagues with some clubs having a special status. At the moment two London, two Welsh & two French on a different status to everyone else. Lets have a separate development league at the professional level, so that all the professional leagues can return to all the clubs in them having equal standing. Development/ expansion league can then add its Scottish, Midland, SW & Irish clubs if thats what the RFL want & probably realistically what the sport needs.
Also cant see how professional clubs can survive on 10 home games a year, even amateur clubs need to operate 9/10 months a year with approx 20 home games.

Even being an expat Leyther, Featherstone is my team of the year.

Mooing good for next years award then aren't they! As still behind Widnescin points you mention... On field in league much better but NRC different story? Apathy to Widnes achieving something as a club is laughable tbh!

If Widnes fans were honest they would admit getting to the NRC Final was very lucky,their record in the games was not brilliant and they even got the best draw in the semis.
Fev best team on the field by a mile, off it no complaints about Widnes but only their fans will think they were anything put a poor 4th or 5th best team where it should count,on the field.

Exactly and we don't think we were anything special this season though obviously injuries MASSIVELY took their toll at times, the main issue was what the award was for CLUB of the year which you have already eluded too

It's always injuries with your lot but you never hear us Leythers complain about our teams injuries even though they undoubtably cost us the League title' the NRC cup' and' it is obvious to all' that we would have won this weekends Grand Final.

Stop moaning.

I wasn't moaning as I said we expect we were poor this season but you have to take into account when you field about 40 players it takes it's toll and heh it could of been worse as people say and you lot found out the difference between playoffs and relegation is not a lot and that would of been bye bye SL! Why is are season such a disaster compared to us?
Moan about injuries? Better than moaning about everything else instead?

What has any of what you have written got to do with Widnes winning the “Club Of The Year” award?
Please explain, because I just don’t see a connection at all.

Of course I don’t think all teams are treated the same, but saying that Widnes have only been given this award because of it, really is low. It really is.

What favours are we getting from anyone?

The club have worked hard and built a club worthy of a Super League licence. We have done this on our own, without any help from the RFL and I see no Championship club that even comes close. That is why we are most peoples favourites (whether they like us or not) to gain a licence. You’ve said as much yourself. So it seems somewhat hypocritical to point the finger at Widnes as an example of RFL cheating on it’s behalf – [sizeas if![/size

We’ve all got these in place. Plus you seem to saying that Featherstone should be rewarded for what they might do next year? - incredidible! It just shows how weak your arguement is.

Do you actually know what Widnes have put in place this year as an actual comparison?

I mean. Unless you know all the facts an details, you really have nothing to get on your high horse about. For instance, do Fev have a player pathway scheme, where players are given the opportunity to learn a trade or take qualifications and degrees? This gives players something to fall back on if they don’t make it, or when they retire. That’s just one element which Widnes have put in place. Widnes are running at a profit, the academy are beating the best Super League have to offer, player pathways, a great community program including the ‘Valhalla Foundation’ and even more infrastructure being put in place within the stadium in the form of media hospitality and broacating rooms. TV companies will appreciate it if every club had such facilities, maybe more channels would want to cover the sport if they did.

What you do need to do is get who you think is the best team, out of the equation, because this has happened before. The best team isn’t always the best club and vice versa. The winner of the League doesn’t always get the “Club Of The Year” award. Was you saying that about the club who won it while not winning the league then? Where they the darlings of the RFL, or is it only when Widnes win it while not being top of the league?

It seems to me that it is.

Here’s an admittance of what I’m saying here by one of your own

Correct!

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I never thought I'd see the day when somebody would actually fall for the bait of Frank.