.I will always watch my team Leigh no matter what , ive NEVER chanted "We hate Wigan ", in my life , so sad ,i also trust the BOD , Trevor B , Paul R , they are all people with Leighs best interests at heart .

I shall see how this situation developes over the next few weeks , thogh im not taking the Fraser "We are all Doomed ",approach , if the said fans on here decide to stop watching Leigh , theres nowt anybody can do its up to them , i know Leigh will survive , and i personally will do everything i can to assist Leigh .

I postponed the push for new members for Easter Monday as I only had 3 people including me, to help , I was going to wait a few week, but it seems pointless doing it while everyone feels like this........
.......

However, it wont be YOUR team....this only benefits one club, thats for sure!

Reading the "Benefits of the Partnership" part of the press release it all but says merger, this type of language has been used in industry and banking for years to avoid the word takeover, sad day

Derek you know how much i respect you , and your opinions , i also know how much you love the Club , as i do , no more or less , i agree how this initiative can only lose fans at a time when we need them , it pains me to see fans reacting in this way , but im going to keep on doing what i can to help , and will never give up .

I do hope things turn out OK , some fans will see me as a YES man , to the Club , but im just a Fan who wants to watch his team play , and will try to help them in any way possible .

Still can't get my head around it. I read earlier that every junior player registered to a Community Rugby League Club in Australia can go to any NRL game FOR FREE.

What would Leigh lose by letting every junior player up to u16s at Leigh East, Leigh Miners, Atherton Dragons, Golborne Parkside, Culcheth, Westhoughton free entry with proof of registration?

I don't know how old kids are when their parents let them wonder about on their own these days but I was 15 when I was allowed to attend games on my own. Before then from the the age of 9 I dragged a parent, an aunt, uncle or older cousin with me to a game (who I presume paid full price) because I had 13 idols + parky pig to see on a Sunday afternoon.

I'm not sure weather I got a membership pass from Leigh East U10s that meant I was only charged £1 for entry, I can't quite remember but it was something along those lines.

Granted I know at the time entry fee for adults was cheaper as was fuel, the price of chips, pop and everything else but surely a scheme which to me seems simple, is worth a go.

It creates links with all amateur clubs in the area, when people become aware of such a scheme it may encourage and increase participation in the junior teams at these clubs, giving Leigh RL a greater chance of finding the next local star. The more people playing and watching rugby in Leigh, the better.

On this point I will say there is an excellent deal being offered to any club / organisation that registers don't how many have done it though.

The way I see it:

* We'll have some Wigan players in our youth system. We'll also have the players we have contracted. Wigan will have no more right to sign up these players than they did previously. However, Leigh will be in a much more favourable position to sign any Wigan contracted youth players that Wigan decide they don't want to sign to their senior squad.

* We'll have up to 4 Wigan players on-loan (more stable) or on DC (more flexible). These players will be U23 and not regular members of the Wigan first team squad (numbers re: experience would be handy here)

* We'll work with Wigan on off-field matters wherever the two clubs can agree that it's favourable.

* Wigan have no rights to our players. We have no obligation to fill any of our sides with Wigan players.

However, I am extremely worried about the way the club has communicated this. The press release was too long, contained too much information and wasn't anywhere near clear enough on the salient points that matter to lifelong Leigh supporters who feel they have been betrayed by the club.

Like toadstools says an urgent fans forum needs calling before we lose more fans

Some people are missing the point of this " arrangement " , the training methods being used to train the young kids are archaic and 20 years out of date and by the time they get to open age they need retraining to progress to the next level and will be behind the kids who have benefitted from modern training .

For those who don't follow the amateur game it's dying on it's arrse on this side of the Pennines with teams folding left right and centre , so what would you rather have a fat oaf who hasn't played the game teaching an U10's team things he knows nowt about because he's the clhairman or the likes of Shaun Wane , Pat Richards & Sam Tomkins going down to the Miners or the Easts ( If the committee ever passed it ) and gave a few training sessions on a regular basis and the same for Paul Rowley , Ryan Brierley & Sean Penky doing the same at St Judes & St Pats to improve the standards of play across the borough .

There's only so many players that Wigan can have in their squad so if maybe we may lose 2 players to them but possibly have the pick of 10 -12 released by them , It benefits everyone all round , especially the people who matter the kids who are being tought modern playing methods .

In principle everyones a winner , but I still want to see it in action for the rest of the season before I'm truly convinced

From Trevor Bartons programme notes on the 13th Jan 2013..............
"Our fans should be aware that we are not signing a partnership agreement with Wigan because ‘we beLEIGHve’ and we have ambition to get to be a Super League Club".

From the Leigh website on the 22nd Mar 2013............
Leigh Centurions are thrilled to announce an official partnership with Wigan Warriors.

I presume Barton now doesn't 'beLEIGHve' we have ambition to be in SL anymore or was he just lieing in January ?