You will all miss me when im gone.

The thing is you wont go because you have a soft spot for Halifax.

Our youth system is pants and thats not in doubt but on the flip side i really cant see the point of a team like Halifax developing there own talent when SL teams just take them away for nothing if they are any good and any that are very good at a young age are already snapped up by SL clubs.

As an Halifax fan, yes i want to see exciting players and exciting rugby from my home town club. But i have been concerned about the no of overseas players we have. In my view, and i suspect employment laws dont allow, but i would prefer no more than 1 overseas and preferbaly none at NL level, and current limits in SL cut back. My biggest concern in our game is the international scene which i feel is why we get poor media, decreasing crowds at internationals and to me this is embarrssing.

Despite full time professionalism being here for several years, fitness levels no longer being a factor, we still can't compete with the Aussies on a consistent basis. And I don't see what the overseas players in our game bring to this issue. In the main they take up the key positions, preventing home grown players from testing their abilities. If we take our game back 20 years, i believe we had the skill players to compete, just not the same fitness levels and training regimes. How we could do with a Edwards, Gregory, Hanley now.

I also feel part of the problem is SL clubs snapping up youngsters from outside their catchment areas, and these players getting dissolusioned and leaving the game when after a few years they are still overlooked in favour of overseas players. Some of these players may develop to full potential later than others, but don't feel they are given their chance.

Not always though, for instance any youngster currently with us knows we have a good chance of a franchise and they also know that they will get more of a chance to play first team with us rather than someone like Wigan or Saints. Granted if we dont get one a few may leave but that is a risk we must take. Paddy Flynn and Ben Kavanagh both last year signed 3 year deals despite heavy interest from St Helens and Hull KR.

Excellent post and good points raised.

To be fair I think you will get 1 and I wont begrudge it you after the amount of times the RFL have stabed you in the back.

and they didn't stab us in the back when they brought in the salary cap rules into NL the year we got relegated, but then changed the rules again when Cas came down the year after.

Come SL time those 8 in your squad will be deadwood. They'll be in your squad but they'll rarely get a game. They're simply not good enough. It's all cosmetic bullcrap in order to satisfy one of RL's ever growing mysterious criteria points.

Listen son, if the RFL want us in, they'll put us in. If they don't, they won't. It won't matter if we suck up and satisy everyone of their silly goals - they won't put us in for 2012. So, in the meantime, Halifax RLFC will continue to do what they think is best - to entertain their fans ON THE FIELD - where it truly matters.

Your current squad? 90% of them won't see SL. They're nowhere near good enough - unless SOC has designs of matching Salford and Celtic Crusasers as was. He's spent too much money to let that happen.

In the meantime you and all the other SL franchisees will continue with their "yoof" policy. As good as the hype says that'll be, we'll still get mullered by the Aussies. It's all bollox VM - and you know it.

only a few months ago one young lad that was being watched/earmarked for fax academy from brooksbank school was signed up by a SL team.
how many times has this happened in the last few years.
including as far as know ben kavanagh at widnes.
how are fax supposed to get a good youth system going when no leagues for the teams. i.e. all set this year then RFL changed their minds.

Of course they stabed us in the back too but I just feel Widnes should of got in last time instead of Celtic Crusaders.

Agreed BUT - they'd just come out of Administration. It would have sent the wrong message. Now though? Without doubt.

It's not mysterious it's all down in black and white



You need to suck up to the elder gods or else your doomed. Ass kissing is the way to go with the RFL or you dont stand a chance. How long will finances hold up for in this division? even with Steve O'connor at the helm i shudder to think where we would be in 3 years if still in this division.

Im quite aware that we'll suffer some pastings if given the chance to get back in the super dooper league but the Viking massive will make sure we succeed.

Yours in sport

VM

After the laughable events of this week i couldn't care less. Just so long as Halifax are available to watch, week in, week out with a decent game and some top entertainment i couldn't care less how those knobsacks at Red Hall conduct themselves. They're like Greek Gods meddling with mortals on Earth.

I just want to watch Rugby League.

I have told you many times before, if you want top class entertainment get down to the Stobarts.



Anways Bradford V Wigan starting soon............

I've always wanted to have a drive in a big truck. My feet won't touch the pedals though.

Some will make it and some won't. To suggest that none of them will make, while knowing practically nothing about these players, is beneath you, Littlerich.

I’m not suggesting they’ll all make it in SL, because they won’t, but one or two may. With a club in SL, we’ll be able to entice the better local players into our academies and slowly build a team with a backbone of local players, which have come through our system.

Running academies now, gives us a head start on this. It’s important for local pride that we try to continue to bring our own youth through our club. It is something Widnes have, until recently, have always done. We had 5 or 6 Widnesians in the side when we won the World Club Challenge.

If a club has no immediate ambition to join the pinnacle of the sport, then investing in a youth set up, probably isn’t worth it. But if you do, then an academy is a prerequisite for entry - It just is. It has to be as well.

We were getting things in place only for the RFL to move the goal posts re u18 & u20 teams (its been documented on here many times before)

Anyway, how can you take anything that the RFL stipulate as being correct.. look at the farce they made of the recent Toulouse news!

Given the farce with Celtic/Crusaders and the laughable gaffe this week with Toulouse, our future is already pre-determined and it doesn't involve SL. What i've heard from a source close to the Halifax board will shake the foundations of Rugby League for the next five years at least. I'll say [iParis-Toulouse-bankrolled and BskyB [/iand leave it at that. I kid you not.

Widnes will be the last "heartland" club admitted. European expansion is coming and the road will be littered with cock ups and embarrassment. Unless Huddersfield or Bradford collapse, we haven't a chance.

I love bearers of good news.

Remember that this is hearsay, and the delightfully depressing Littlerich.

It knocked the wind out of my sails this week i can tell thee. It is hearsay obviously and i hope it's wrong but nothing that the RFL says or does surprises me anymore.

SG is a hard running back row forward

I agree. Bringing the youth players through is certainly not easy and is very much a roll of the dice. Back in 2006 our u18's went the regular season unbeaten, but it didn't lead to immediate success in bringing players through to the 1st team. Some of that was probably down to Steve McCormack seemingly not having any faith in young players, some of it because of administration and most obviously despite some player being outstanding at u18's level doesn't automatically mean they'll make it at open age. We still have some players at the club who were part of that u18's team who are still finding their feet in the 1st team.

The point is that its easy for Halifax fans to turn round and say youth development doesn't work and that you reached 3 reserve finals in row but no players came through etc. You have remember though that (as far as I can remember) all 3 of your reserve finals were played against Widnes. We have kept faith in the youth development and to a certain degree, prove that in the long term it does work. Sometimes players have to be brought through from a young age maybe over 3 or 4 years. The message Halifax are sending is that youth development is too much like hard work and there's no guarantee that it will work so we won't bother. Its a bit of a farce that any publicity Halifax are getting is always accompanied with comments like "and we wish Halifax all the best in reaching their aim of SL for 2012". From what we are told youth development is one of the major criteria now so how can anyone even consider Halifax of getting a licence when they are blatently ignoring parts of the criteria.

People talk about the licence process and how it should all be out in the open with no surpises or anything hidden. With Halifax having such an obvious omission (was going to call it weakness - but how can it be a weakness if there is no youth development?) why is the Halifax club still talking about SL? There's no youth development, you don't fulfil the criteria, go straight to jail do not pass go, goodnight, god bless.

Ben Kavanagh, Halifax born & bred, still lives in the town, but was snapped up by Wigan as a schoolboy, released when he was 19 i think

No mate - it's too expensive. Give us an SOC and we'll have a youth team. It's easy when you've got a barrel of cash. Why did we [size=150postpone[/size our youth development? Because it cost too much money. Simple as that. Our priority has to be getting the fans through the gates. We aint going nowhere until we get that right.