Thanks to you both for your measured response, good points, i only hope it is my pessimism that is clouding a better more competitive reality, all the best for new year dudes.

Rovers have a huge task in 2020 to avoid relegation IMO.

We know that teams like Hull, Huddersfield and Toronto are spending way over the cap and actually most of the league are too (not cheating but with the various dispensations). Rovers meanwhile in the words of Neil Hudgell 'are well under the cap'.

I'd say that most clubs have a wage bill of half a million more than Rovers. Wakefield are spending maximum cap so there's only Salford..possibly....at rock bottom spend like Rovers. And I just don't see Salford being in any trouble they have a better squad than us.

Rovers have signed 20 players but only 3 or 4 of those would have any chance of a regular starting spot elsewhere. The rest are either from the championship or players who have been on the fringe elsewhere.

We really need good luck with injuries but if we had a game tomorrow there'd be 7 unavailable so no improvement there yet. Hope I'm proved wrong but I just don't see anyone as weak as us.

I'm struggling to see why people think Toronto will be decent? I don't expect them to be poor but there are a number of reasons why I think they will be struggling

- Ageing team, wilkin, Thompson, chase Stanley, Andrew Dixon all getting on a bit.
- Have they added any real quality (other than SBW) I don't think so.
- Away form will be key, but no evidence to say they can compete week in week out away. Might pick up a few home wins however I think the glass ceiling of how difficult it is to travel to these places and win is broken now a few teams are comfortable in France for example
-Disparity in team dynamic? It's all well and good having SBW on £3mil per year, but what do others feel about that? It could prove a catalyst or it could prove to be problematic.
- Spine? O'Brien, mcrone, mellor, Cunningham/ackers? Can't say that frightens me to be fair.

Some good players there to be fair but I am not sure a 33 year old SBW is going to galvanise things on the pitch ( certainly will off it like)

Wakefield are not spending the cap, last I heard we were 350k below it.

It's quite a compliment that anyone thinks that Wakefield are close to full cap spend - I wish that we could afford to spend the cap (plus a couple of Marquee signings ).
I can see next season being close among the top 5/6 and equally close among the rest.
For those in the bottom half, it really depends how Toronto cope with tougher opposition week in week out.
They won the Championship comfortably but, with a huge advantage over the rest of the sides in that league and although they have gone all in on SBW, one player doesnt make a team and he could get crocked at any point, which leaves them with much the same as they had last season.
Some good players but, nothing better than the rest of SL, even those predicted to be in the lower half of the table.

Good luck to KR for the season, just as long as Trinity are at least one place above them in the final standings

I think we'll be 8 9 or 10 and hopefully seal our place with a few weeks to go before the end of the season, which would make a change.