But that being the case, you would have never addressed the real structural problems that are stopping Wakefield not just surviving in SL but excelling.

As for the Newmarket proposal, i hope it comes up for you, but its wrong to say franchising is causing you to rush it, you have been in SL for 12 years now, ample time. Maybe franchising has focussed Wakefield a little more, but this is a good thing. As this off-season is showing, Wakefield at Belle Vue simply isnt sustainable. It is Belle Vue (in the main) which is responsible for the financial problems, pushing you to replace it can only be a good thing long term for the game, but also for Wakefield.

Your friends at the RFL did give the people of Bridgend a right to the game - but then they took it away to a non-league soccer club with a half-decent stadium.The efforts of your friends at the RFL to expand the game have been spectacular failures.
Giving a leg-up to a club where former employees were guilty of a charity scam,where the former CEO is on bail for theft anf fraud charges and where the soccer supporters have a deep mistrust for the 2 owners of Crusaders.
Taking the current CEO from another club in an expansion area hardly benefits the other club and the finacial undertaking with Crusaders is anything but a level playing field.
Higher attendances are usually found in local derby games but with the country in economical decline supporters have to find money to go to France to follow their side.
Unfortunately,with Wrexham being so accessible for supporters living in 'the heartlands' the Crusaders attendances may be reasonable but the off-field situation at Wrexham is simmering.
It is hardly a level playing field for a club to lose its Super League Licence because the council won't construct a stadium.It is nothing to do with rugby league.

They didnt give anybody the right to the game, They already have it. The game doesnt belong to you, me, Leeds Rhinos, Crusaders or Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. It belongs to all of us.
the operative word there being former. However ill you wish to speak of Crusaders it doesnt alter the fact that after 137 years, 12 years in SL, and years of SL money, Wakefield still havent addressed their structural problems. Wakefield are failling because of faillings at Wakefield. Not because of Crusaders or the Expansion bogeyman. Wakefield would be where they are regardless of Crusaders admission to the League.
I think you will find Rod Findlay makes his own decisions.
Thats not Crusaders fault. Les Catalans fault, or anyone else in RL's fault. If you want to watch a West Yorkshire league, go start one, see how many people and clubs want to follow you. See how many television companies want to screen it and see how long it survives.
errm, yes, its definitly unfortunate that a Rugby League clubs attendance is reasonable. Gosh darn them, why cant they just be crap and support your argument, Why do they have to be better and make you look silly
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And at the end of the season even if they have won all their games people with the same opinion as you decide they don't deserve a chance at top flight rugby. How can that be fair? I ask again, where's the motivation to win the Championship?

the same motivation there is to win SL. To win.

To those who want a break away league to house former Yorkshire greats, I can confirm that in 2012 there will be a league where there will be local derbies, involving us, Dewsbury, Batley, Fev, and possibly Cas and Halifax. These will slug it out all season and will have not only TV money but also it's own knock out tournament.

That's what is being asked for by some loons, and it is on it's way for us. It's called the Championship. Now what was your point again?

I agree with Smokey wholehearteredly here. If Wakefield get relegated, it will be the clubs fault, not the RFL's. The club has had more than enough time to sort itself out, it hasn't and it could fall to pieces soon because of it.

Smokey's quite right about the RFL wanting a strong Wakefield side. Wakefield is a RL hotbed with a very high amount of amateur players in the area. The population of Wakefield is higher than that of Hull, the home of two successful SL clubs. To say the RFL wants Wakefield out solely because they want an expansion side in is madness. The RFL are taking a leaf out of the NRL book with Franchises, so I'm sure they're also aware that the NRL has eight teams in Sydney. This means that five SL teams in West Yorkshire is possible. If Wakefield were well run, well supported and financially viable the RFL would be more than happy for us to be in. The likelihood is we'll get kicked out and that will be because the club is badly run.

Mr Slithers you talk about the attendance at the relegation battle at Belle Vue, but have you looked at the attendances for the rest of the matches that season? If I remember rightly more than half of the matches didn't reach 40% of capacity. There were only three significant attendances that season; the two against Cas and one against Bradford in the first round, the rest were pitifully low. In fact we played Bradford twice that season, the second match being about half the attendance of the first and the attendance for Leeds was about half of the same fixture the previous year. The reliance for attendances on two or three matches a season is true of every season. We always rely on the travelling fans of Leeds, Bradford and Cas to bump up our attendances. Heck, even when we have a half price ticket offer to see Diversity we still can't anywhere near the capacity.

Absolutely ludricous statement believing that the RFL want a strong Wakefield Wilcats, it reads a good argument but is grasping at straws. Have you forgotten Celtic Crusaders, Harlequins and Catalan Dragons, they are representive of which town or city?

Do any of those clubs have a strong fan base, travelling support or infrastucture?

Wakefield and Castleford are both easily identified with not only every rugby league fan but all viewers of the sport on SKY TV.

I feel that neither the RFL or SKY are bothered which club is in Super League as long as either club has a new stadium a good financial base, a good fan base and the infrstructure in place to support the club going forward.

Yes that is a contradiction as to what is actually happening when looking at the clubs guarenteed a Super League place.

If we want to remain in Super League we have to deliver what the RFL and SKY want, if we cannot then theres no point apportioning blame to the RFL or SKY, the club knew what was at stake when they recieved a franchise 3 years ago, have the club or more importantly the BOD moved us forward enabling us to be in a strong position for the new license application they have not.

It is easy to blame others for the problems that beset the club, me personally the club itself is to blame for the dilema we now face.

You really don't get my point at all do you?
I am not talking about the Wildcats, we have obviously been poorly managed and now we look to be in the and unlike other teams in the SL we don't look like we'll get bailed out by the RL. I am talking about the franchise situation in general. Promotion and relegation gives all teams hope at playing at the top regardless of where they are based or how large their crowds are. Scrapping promotion and relegation has essentially told clubs they have no chance at getting to the top and been used as an excuse to save teams that didn't deserve to be there. What kind of motivation is that?!?!?
Promotion and relegation keeps the season alive until the last whistle, it makes it exciting at both ends of the table and it is fair for all clubs, it links the leagues, franchising does not!

Yes I know, I went to a lot of them. Without knowing it you have just proved my point and shown why we need promotion and relegation! The battles bring in the crowds and make the final games exciting. I'm moaning about the way Super League teams are decided, not about the way we have been managed.

Yes, it did give you one good attendance a few years ago. But there were 13 other matches that year which didnt get good attendances, and P+R forced Wakefield to focus on staying up, rather than addressing why there were 13 matches which were poorly attended

Can you not see that happens already?


Touché

And without P&R this game would have been another one!