I'm a fan of all clubs specifically the ones outside SL , the RFL don't ' have it in for Fax , they just needed someone to play a game for them , you fitted the bill , it could quite easily have been Leigh , but you were never in with a shot at SL no matter what you put in your application , or who you had used to help you submit it

As soon as I heard that the RFL had encouraged you to post the large attendance at your last match of the 2010 season it dawned on me what game they wanted you to play , unfortunatly the prize of SL can blind some people , your BOD in this case to what is actually going on in front of them

Let's hope in future nobody else gets used , then abused in this way , although I won't hold my breath on it

Totally agree.

Have your books been published yet? Keep saying your self sustainable but this time last year this board was rife with rumours playoffs were boom or bust and we only got from RFL that you reached 1mill turnover... Still doesn't mean debt free?

KPMG cannot be neutral, surely the are paid by the RFL to do a job?
The bigger point is that other than Widnes will any Champ club get in to SL, it's not just Fax, as Starbug said, it could have been Leigh. the route into SL needs to be be clear cut and what criteria need to be met, if you do not meet these then you are out. Not just you went bust but it's Ok this time carry on and drain even more money.
The issue of hidden agendas makes the whole game a laughing stock.

There has been rumours on here that we were signing Sonny Bill Williams, doesn't mean that they are true though.

What part of "speculative" means "detailed business plan"? "Speculative" means given to conjecture, which is impossible to avoid when you're dealing with what hasn't happened!

I thought speculative meant basically guesswork based on nothing?
Whereas 'estimated' and even 'ambitious' as used on other bids suggest had something behind them.

E.g.

Ambitious
Widnes feel they will reach crowds of 10,000 in SL by 2013 due to intense marketing in the south Liverpool area, strong local rivalries and a previous SL attendance of 7-8,000 previously.

Speculative
Halifax believe their SL return would see an average crowd of 7,000 at the Shay.

Just like the last round of franchises, a different use of words to describe what in reality is the same but to make one bid sound better than the another. They did this with the current state of grounds last time, on some bids concentrating on them not being up to standard where on others said they had potential. Just making it up to back the clubs they had already decided on, only this time Crusaders through a spanner in the works so they had to quickly look for the team they would prefer not to have. And I've said before, we will never get back with our near neighbours already taking up 2 spots.

I do agree that no doubt your bid has been give an extra kick in due to Wakey staying as ours did with Crusaders getting the nod. Though to compile a report not detailed enough to be assesed financially is not just a shot missed but a big worry in general?

Some of the summaries are a bit of a joke. See Salfords! Pays no attention to performance of the club on or off the field and basically says new ground nearly done so be fine for now.

Was thinking about this today and the whole 'speculative' thing. Maybe the details in Fax's bid were so unrealistically speculative (no chance of hitting the proposed targets) that the RFL had no option but throw it out.

Well that may have been so but seeing as how they had our application in Jan and we were in the mix with Widnes who (quite rightly ) got the nod.Why were we then told our application was good enough to go into another bid with the Super League teams.
Surely it would have been better all round if the RFL had said our application was not good enough when Barrow was told thiers wasn`t .The point was they needed some other club in the mix so as we could be used to prod the Wakeys , Cass etc into doing something about their stadiums.So in actual fact they had no intention of allowing us in this time I sometimes feel as if the Champ Clubs should just concentrate on being the best they possibly can be in this division and stop trying to play the RFLs game. Don`t accept dual regs and all that nonsense and stick together on it.

I agree with that and thats why RL is flawed, because its all about nothing to do with what happens on the field. But regardless of Fax's protests in the days following the decision, maybe we should just accept that the bid wasnt up to it.

What I cant understand is why the RFL allowed or said Fax was fit for SL in the first round when clearly we wasnt. The whole pantomime from the RFL and the rubbish they spouted about Stadiums, Crusaders fiasco has made me feel I wouldnt trust them as far as I could throw Nigel Wood.The whole thing is a farce both from the RFL and Fax. Wakefield should not be in SL and realistically the game doesnt have 14 teams fit for SL and we should just have 12 teams there for now. The RFL should have realized this during the past 3 years. Crusaders a disaster waiting to happen with Nigel Wood and co knowing how bad the problem was but ignoring it. The RFL knew Wakefield had major problems months ago and knew they needed a 14th team so have believed more rubbish from Wakefield and allowed them to stay which was wrong. Hull KR, Salford, Bradford, Quins/London are hardly in great shape. Fax were right to question Wakefield being in SL as they dont belong there, sadly neither do we at the moment.

I cant knock the effort, time and energy invested by the BOD but maybe when doing the application they should have got Professionals in to not just do it but to advise on what was realistic and what needed more investment in. Its easier said than done but maybe its something the club needs to look at next time if we are serious about SL. But to have a go at the BOD is maybe too easy. Where are all these people that used to turn up to follow Fax? Does the town deserve a SL club when it has less than 2000 fans who can be bothered to support a top trophy winning team?

That's the most damning thing about the last three years. Calderdale folk are dismal sports followers.

Get 4,000 regulars at the Shay , become part of a Championship club merchandise deal , encourage away support via subsidized travel , and start getting value for money out of your Community dept

And it won't matter who does your application

Who outside SL will ever get those kind of crowds I ask you?
Nobody as Fev and Leigh both have had great seasons yet still have crowds way below 3K, Fevs have been terrible for such a good side.
It aint gonna happen now with Widnes going up and Crusaders coming down, who takes fans in any numbers to away games in our league? Only us, Fev and Leigh now, the rest take about 50 tops to away games.
My fear is nobody will even get the required 2500 in future!
Yet SL clubs can get whatever crowds they like as they don't have any minimum to achieve???

Not saying it is easy , but it has to be the aim , as it is the only way that any of us will ever progress