Players from the championship

Your constant stream of silly jibes is an embarassment to the majority of decent Cas fans; you are an exceptionally dull and tiresome fellow.

Stupider and stupider...

Out of order mate. I can't honestly say that I'm not enjoying our neighbour's current discomfort but that's down to a local rivalry which is now in real danger of disappearing; not for the lack of competitiveness but the cosmetics of a legoland environment. If Wakey go a piece of us goes with them and what fills the void - Fev will never satisfy the image requirements of the SL suits and let's face it we aren't even on Leeds' radar nowadays.

Spot on there squire old riggins can't see past the end of his nose if he would sooner see a handfull of away fans against the thick end of 2,000 visiting Wakey fans and the same at BV when Cas come to town. Its unfortunate but true never the less, both Cas and Wakey depend to a large extent on the away following of the 2 Hull clubs and Leeds and Bradford, and in comparison to Quins,the reds,Catalans and Crusaders its like an extra home fixture,which financially in the state the economy is in is a blessing.

I'll miss the derby fixtures. I always enjoyed the atmosphere and a bit of banter over a couple of pints.
I fear the worst for our club if we don't get a franchise, I honestly think they'll become extinct. Is that what you really want Riggins.

In another 3 years time when the next franchises are on the go, who will be replaced by a club from Cumbria, Scotland, another one from France or even another go at Gateshead! Probably another Yorkshire club, I hope not and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Enjoy your moment, fortunately all Cas fans don't think the same as you and can see the bigger picture.

The current situation reminds me of the old one....
A Wakey fan and a Cas fan are on safari when they suddenly get confronted by a lion. They both freeze and look at each other. Then the cas fan slowly reaches down and takes off his boots. He reaches into his bag and puts on a brand new pair of Nikes. The Wakey fan says, "you'll never out-run a lion, even in those", to which he replies, "but I only have to out-run you!"

The RFL stated its intention to get serious on stadia when one club from the championship would be promoted without comparison or competition with the club it will ultimately replace. In a way this is fair enough as clubs such as Widnes have had a raw deal and Wakefield and others have been taking the michael for long enough with stadiium plans and promises.

I can understand the RFL's view that to survive in the 21st century the sport must be played in top class facilities and expand geographically, but at what cost?

Local rivalry is the very essence of RL, it creates the atmosphere that Oz clubs are envious of, despite relatively small crowds. You only have to go to home games against Quins, Catalans and Crusaders to see the future. The RFL want clubs to rely on home support, but reduced away support and increased segregation of fans is killing the atmosphere and killing the sport as a live spectacle. How can modernisation take place without throwing the baby out with the bath water?

In the end it all, inevitably, comes down to money and we don't have any. Widnes and/or halifax deserve their chance. Can anyone honestly say that we haven't been given ours already, and failed?
I would love us to continue in the top flight next year, but can anyone say we have done enough to deserve another chance?

That pretty much sums it up for me, although I think we have been unlucky with decisions made by others (eg, don't build your own, come to Thornes Park).

We have had some bad luck with timing and decisions made over the last 40 years, particularly with stadium development (south stand, clubhouse,'wooden' west stand, floodlights...), but that would smack of self-pity.

In the end good businesses make their own luck through careful planning and contingency and reacting well to circumstances and seizing opportunities.

We're at the mercy and whim of the RFL's decision-making now, so I don't hold much hope, but maybe we should have done better. Too little, too late?

We're at the mercy and whim of the RFL's decision-making now, so I don't hold much hope, but maybe we should have done better. Too little, too late?
Absolute 110% right, we are pretty much to blame for our own demise if this is to be the case.
But without doubt the end of Promotion & Relegation was the death tollfor clubs like ours, we fought the authorities sucessfully season after season by avoiding Relegation, we knew they never wanted us, but they couldn't touch us.
One franchise later and we're staring down the barrel of a gun, not because we are bottom of the pile, but because it suits.
The franchise system is a mandate by the RFL to preside over our game as it suits, expansion cannot be stopped no matter how unpopular or unsuccesful it is to supporters, but if it ticks all sky's boxes (bad pun!!) they will continue their proffesional Super League.
Two teams in a district not needed, what next, a limit on how many teams in a county? To bring in teams from other areas, before long you end up with something like crickets county championship.
Not a doom and gloomer, just a realist. I think this is the begining of the end for our generation of traditional fans of RL as we know it, but maybe that's the future of the game and what the fans of the future will want, but it's not for me.