Quote: Moe syslak "I don't quite see how widnes have been shockingly treated as everybody keeps saying. They were relegated fairly and squarely and didn't get back up via the GF when it was still possible. They got themselves into a huge financial mess and didn't deserve a franchise the last time they came around. However, Steve o'connor has turned them around and they do deserve SL status this time around and they will get it. I just don't see how everybody is blaming the RFL for widnes' plight.'"
I think if you look back at the whole history of SL a rather different picture emerges.
In relation to the most recent decision and the financial mess, that was the previous board/owners' issue. The O'Connor bid should have been judged on its own merits rather than punishing the fans for the errors of the previous owners. Especially as it is clear to anyone that a number of clubs had major financial problems at the time of the franchise bid/were likely to develop them in future due to the weakness of their business case and planning. I don't see why a Widnes bid that was technically and financially sound should be blackballed and weaker bids put through in an attempt to punish Widnes. That's just ridiculous - our sport isn't in a position to be doing that, if the RL wants to punish clubs then they should insist on personal guarantees from directors/owners rather than hitting the fans. And I haven't even mentioned yet the fact that the stadium plans of a number of clubs were obviously aspirational at best and downright fictitious at worst. So the decision last time was a joke as well, but that's just my opinion!
