Its a difficult one, i agree in principle that Barrow and Fev/Fax should have a go but it could cripple your club in the process. Take Fev for example, they would have to bring in around 15-18 players for a start to even compete. A year getting smashed left right and centre and then your back down with a headache and have to build another championship team again. Meanwhile the coach may have gone and the club are in money troubles.

That sounds a little extreme but it would more than likely happen.

I would just like the RFL to stick to the rules and be honest, we all know clubs like Quins and Wakey are struggling so instead of threatening to drop just the one drop a couple of clubs and give the 2 best championship clubs a go with the best overall infrastructures. They also need to invest more into the Championship divisions, prize money for the final should be say 400,000 for the winners and 100,000 for the losers. As touched on previously they make enough profit so they should invest into where it's most needed.

Utterly agree 100% with that Vikingman me old chum.

I completely disagree , you go up , if you're not good enough , you come down , which clubs have got in money trouble through going up to SL ?

However being stuck there for 3 seasons paying out contracts you cannot afford on the gates you are getting because you are getting tonked every week , not good

And if you ask for an example of this ?

Huddersfield , it has taken them 8 seasons to finally become a viable SL club ( of sorts )

Hull KR?

The gap is bigger than ever now between SL and Championship.

Go on , explain

I have to go to Nottingham now , so you've a few hours to think how

If Halifax got "promoted" this season we'd get mullered. It would kill us off. We're not ready for SL.

I dont have to get into one of your debates starbug, i have explained above what i think would heppen in the scenario that Fev went up.

If you announce that you`ve signed Ropati........ you have signed a excellent player IMO.

back on topic, you are a credit to your club

You seem to be contradicting yourself here and it actually backs up what VM has written

I think your principle works fine with a P&R system, but the 3-year licence system requires that the club promoted already needs to have everything in place and be financially viable for the full 3 years.

There’s only one club in the Championship who meets that at the moment imo.

I’m not, in any way, sticking up for the licence system - in fact I hate it – but there’s no sense in bitching about it on the Widnes board. I really wish some fans would realize this, but I guess some people are just too stupid and bitter to understand the circumstances in which we all find ourselves at this moment.

OK , I’ll bite.

This is total bullsh\t. Just in case it may have escaped your notice, the club has appeared in two cup finals in two years, winning one of them and narrowly losing the last one. This season we have used 41 players due to the worst injury crisis I have ever seen, and our coach has spent most of the season dealing with personal tragedy. It’s hardly suprising we struggled. We did put a little too much emphasis on bringing youth through, but is that such a bad thing?

Total?

The league tables say not. But like the RFL have pointed out - performances on the pitch are only a small part of the criteria. You will be going up to SL. You haven't been the best side.

It's simple.

Yes, because you are implying that the club couldn’t be bothered where they finished in the league, and that is just not true.


Only if you ignore the fact that many of our best players were out for most of the season. Having to use 41 players means game plans and constancy go out of the window. We had some very good players last season, more than good enough to win the league. Circumstances prevented this.

"I'm coming up so you better get Roparti started".

Chants make themselves sometimes.

Outstanding

Hang on , don't go changing ' tack ' on what you said , you said if Fev went up they'd get battered , come back down and possibly be financially damaged

So that post was assuming a seasonal P and R scenario

I was asking which club has already had that scenario ?

You suggest HKR , I asked you how , as far as I know they haven't been relegated back down with financial problems

So away you go , I'm all ears ( well eyes actually , but you know what I mean ) ?

Surely VM was talking about a seasonal P and R ?

I agree completely that there is only one club currently that is in a position to take a 3 year minimum licence , that club is Widnes

Where am I ' bitching ' ? , as I said VM was using a seasonal P and R situation ?

I would disagree with Littlerich , I have no doubt that Steve O Connor is not happy with your on field performance this year and was hopefull of better

Yes you have had problems both with injuries and disruption of your coaching staff , and given the competitive nature of the Championship it is not surprising where you finished , I stated at the start that any club suffering injuries could have easily ended up in a relegation battle

I took it as meaning, whilst he agrees with the best team on the field should be given the chance in principle, this just wouldn’t be a good thing in the current licence era.



You weren’t. Others [iwere[/i, [ihave[/i been, and no doubt [iwill [/ibe here in their hundreds in a few months time doing just that. It wasn’t directly aimed at you.




Exactly!

I don’t know how much of what littlerich is saying here is tongue in cheek, but he’s been spouting this nonsense for a while now on various boards.

Pepe - had you not ticked your box last year Steve O'Connor would have put an entirely different team on the pitch this year. Hence, this years squad wasn't the best he could have put out. I said so in January. So, a club's raison detre is to field the best possible side for it's fans. That's not what's happened this year is it? The RFL allow this to happen and SOC quite rightly has taken advantage if it.

There's no need to be embarassed about it.

Embarassed?

You’re wrong, mate.

Go and have a nice lie down and think hard about the situation, and why this would be a very risky tactic.

I agree completely. My beef is with the RFL for making those conditions exist. I don't need to lie down - I understand the state of the game that the RFL have laid out in The Championship. Should SOC have concentrated on providing the best team on the pitch? Of course not - he didn't have to. If you're happy with fifth then fair do's but you will have to do better next year otherwise you'll go up to SL with no winning mentality whatsoever.

As I constantly keep pointing out, my problem is with the system the RFL have created. It isn't the fault of Widnes.

You do realize that Steve O’Connor didn’t recruit the squad don’t you?

We spent to the cap and got some excellent players but, unfortunately they didn’t get to play much. SOC, and the club in general did have broader horizons than just the first team, but Paul Cullen would have been desperate to sweep the board. Things sort of got in the way of all that.

Over the last two seasons, we have reached half of the finals available, just like your team, unlike your team we have actually won one. Not bad for a club not concentrating on having a competitive first team.