I'm certainly not going to call any fan for not getting to games, but it is a bit worrying that a lot of people might not be regulars next season (if your views represent a lot of Widnes fans). From the season ticket sales news that came out of the club, it all sounded promising, but the attendances against Whitehaven, Salford and particularly Saints was very poor. There must have been less than 2,000 Widnes fans there for all 3 games. From memory I think the attendance for this Saints game was around 1,500 less than the last friendly against Saints 2 years ago. Now if we assume that most of the missing fans were Widnes fans (with it being a home game) then it doesn't really bode too well for the coming season.

I know there are a million and one reasons why people can't or just don't want to go to games, but if people can just hang on in there, people might just forget about the politics and enjoy the games themselves. Its not the club's fault or SO'C's fault that all is not great in the game at the moment and although some of the games are a bit tedious and lack atmosphere, I for one will still be there.

I think what it is for me is that I am a Widnes fan 1st and foremost and a rugby fan 2nd. Do I give 2 s if the game expands? No. Did I want Catalans in SL at the expense of Widnes - for the good of the game - did I fook. Will I care about the game if Quins go bust tomorrow and Widnes get a chance to go into SL? Don't be daft. If fact that goes for any club, no offence to other club's fans, but if any SL club goes bust, my 1st thought will be - "Will Widnes benefit?" and then after that "will that club be dealt with properly by the RFL?" As they did with Widnes. After all, when Widnes went bust almost everyone else said they had no sympathy for us and it was all of our own doing. No-one really cared about us fans and the fact that there might not have been a pro Widnes team anymore. Would I really care that much if Sky ditched RL and we all went back to winter rugby? Not really.

The way I feel at the moment and probably always have done is that as long as Widnes have got a team, my loyalties lie with them and I support whatever is best the club - not RL as a whole. For anyone who is an RL supporter 1st and a Widnes fan 2nd then can totally understand them being disillusioned with the game. Personally I try not to think much about the game as a whole and the politics - it seems to make watching the game a lot easier.

V4E... your posts are normally quite long in length but pretty much always well constructed and I'd agree with most of what you posted on here... I do disagree with the fact that you thought most fans had no sympathy with our club when we went into administration. I think that we had a good amount of good feeling from fans in general and it was appreciated at the time.
There will certainly be those fans that only care about their club and as long as expansion is good for their club then they will back it to the hilt. The minute they find themselves on the wrong side of a decision made in favour of expansion we will see their true colours of that I am certain.
Speaking as someone that didn't go on Sunday... I will be attending every home game I can this season and have bought a season ticket but there will be a few that I can't. The reason that I didn't go was purely and simply down to the fact that I didn't fancy it..
Paid £14 on Tuesday to watch us against Salfud and thought another £14 on Sunday to watch us get beat in a meaningless friendly and for me to get cold was enough to turn me off. All credit to those that went mind.
Moz.. hope you get yourself straight mate. I've been in a little debt before.. nothing too bad.. but they way it plays on your mind is a horrible thing.

cheers matey. Oh don't get me wrong, it isn't anything particularly serious, more of 'got other things to make priority'. Which is a bit of a shame. Booking this damn flight to france bieng one.
I have been to all the friendlies, all except St Helens at home, that was due to being in London for the Weekend. Don't get me wrong, I am going to try and make as many home games as physically/financially possible. People find it bizzarre that I'd prefer to go to away matches than home, but just my way of seeing it, can make more of a day of things.

Like V4E, I class myself as a 'Widnes fan', and a widnes fan only. Balls to being a RL fan, where has that ever got me, or my club? It is very alarming that we were 1.5k down on our last friendly (2006) against the Saints, butas you are all well aware, there are 101 factors behind this. I genuinely don't believe the club are to blame for stay-aways, but however I don't really think paying £14 on the door is acceptable, that isn't a dig as such, just my POV. Essentially this season means jack sh*t to a hell of a lot of WIdnes supporters, we can't be promoted! Ok we can all see ahead of this, and realise we have to maintain a healthy challenge at the top of the championship/National League, but for a big percentage of Widnes there is little or no incentive. And as you said yourselves, the intensity of the matches isn't there a lot of the time, which means pretty much no atmosphere week in, week out.

With regard to other fans' sympathy votes, I am sadly in agreement with V4E, although some voiced 'how sorry' they were on here and alternative forums, there was still an over-riding majority who were claiming to be 'expansionists' as I remember. I remember when Cas went down in 2004, and we survived after that away game at Hull FC, we were all over the Cas forums saying how gutted we all were they'd gone at our expense, but lets face it, we didn't geniunely mean it.

Anyway rant over

I haven't renewed my ST and neither have my son and daughter. One of my mates and his family haven't either. I never thought the day would arrive when my interest in the club would wane to this extent, but the combination of different match days which clash with more serious interests and the fact that some of our supporters are embarrasing pricks who A) Can't take their ale and B) Seem to think they're at a soccer match, means I'll be spending my cash elsewhere. If you ever feel like watching an amateur game, give us a shout mate. We always enjoy your company.

Cheers doc, and likewise of course. Yes I am always up for having a gander at the local amateur set up. A few mates play for Birchfield RU (boo hiss spit ) so used to watch them a fair bit, even wnt to training for quite a while
But yes I have to echo most of your senitiments there chief, clashes with a few of my hobbies/interests too. Which is a shame. When are you next going to a local game, might pop along and have a pint.

I wasn't going to mention anything about our 'supporters', but seeing as you have brought the issue up and we have similar views I may as well contribute. There are some genuinely lovely people who watch Widnes, made many a friend via the club, but like you say there are some complete ing whoppers. As you know, I appreciate banter and atmosphere, oh and having a couple of jars at the game, but I don't let it cloud my judgement and act like a nobjocky at the match. And also another thing that riles me about our fans, how quick they are to get on the team's back after a poor display or failing that, a mistake or an individual bad performance. I think half the stewards are complete and utter tools as well. I generally don't enjoy a match day experience at home anymore. Sorry none of this is aimed at any of our fans off this forum, I know the majority of you have some brain cells and don't fall into that category.

Looking forward to Sat 14th Feb Doc,Magazine are playing Manchester. Happy days,Young Moz is right about the Dick ed stewards at the home games,i was watching someone been thrown out last sunday,and after this bloke had been thrown out the dicks followed him outside and started pushing him about OUTSIDE the ground.I see they even have even got a scab as a head steward,who i remember him been thrown out during the plate final against Hunslet a while back.Strange set up we are getting down there these days.

What the fearless warrior didn't get stuck in

Bears v Cadishead the game of this weekend for me

I think tbh we have every right to be bitter, and I doubt any bitterness I harbour will simply dissappear just because people are telling me to "get over it", usually fans of clubs who have never been in this position. We're one of the founding RL clubs, we're a real stronghold for rugby league, a town where it is dominant, and they treat us really shoddily. Like we're an inconvenient truth, that the game is, yes, northern, and yes, working class. The reality we present to them is not the one they want the public to see. They'd like to con the public that the game is national, but it will be significantly less so if they continue to dump on teams like ours.

It's disgraceful the way we are treated. I'm bitter because of it. The rugby league community is coming apart. I remember a game where, okay, there were some pretty fierce rivalries, but you'd defend the game and feel a certain affinity with the other fans of the game. Now, I wouldnt defend it if you paid me, and fans of other clubs do nothing but slag each other off. I couldn't give a crap about the game in general, the people running it are liars. A number of teams lied about things in the run up to the franchises. Now a number of teams whose stadiums were in the bag are now talking about them very hypothetically again, and one has flat out (and conveniently) dropped the plans. And plenty of teams with very solid accounts are asking for sky money in advance. We were in effect punished for the same crime twice, and yet we've got a certain southern team in there who have consistently been on the racks financially, and supporter wise, who got in no questions asked.

I'm not just bitter, I'm a little worried. The almighty association football swallows up more and more of towns like ours, and with the constant dicking around we get the harder it is to introduce the youngsters and convince them that widnes is a rugby town and the more older fans turn away from it. People don't want to be associated with a team who doesn't have a chance to better itself.

Basically, I hope this "new era" of super league dies on its and the powers that be have to turn to its hardcore once again, because that'll benefit Widnes and at the end of the day, it is all I care about with rugby league. Fook the good of the game. The game never seems to look after us. It's ran by business minded liars with no concept of soul.

Excellent post Brother Dalton. I don't see that rugby league is as strong in the town as it was 20 or 30 years ago, but that's down to our old friends at Sky and the constant hyping of Premiership football, which is really only the same as WWF wrestling with a ball added.

No it is not,it is down to the lack of 'success' driving the fans who were spoilt by 20 or 30 years ago away.And Doc you are not one of them I hope.