I didn’t think either pack dominated the other, it was more to do with giving away field position due to unforced errors, penalties, barmy decision making and conceding off the back of it due poor defence.

On the day we did more of it, again

and were the worst of 2 poor sides.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is yet another poor crowd. Not helped by a very poor turnout by Widnes, I remember when the North Stand used to be opened for them. Maybe 50 in the bottom corner?

I said earlier in the week that we should pack in if we couldn't get a crowd of over 2k for such a crucial match, especially after recent successes against Fev and Batley. But one thing I wasn't aware of until yesterday, is that the "cash" turnstiles mean quite literally CASH. I've always thought this included being able to tap your credit/debit card on a machine but apparently not. Surely this deters quite a few - only a few of us oldies carry cash nowadays. And tapping your card isn't like paying real money (if yer get me drift). I also think a skinny discount of 2 quid for advance tickets may sometimes have the opposite effect - anyone who didn't get round to buying these advance tickets might feel they're getting mugged on the day so won't bother.

The new board will be trading in the new suits they bought for wembley after yesterday. They begged to take over and then the year they take over we might finish outside the top 6 leaving a huge financial hole for them to plug, they must be pulling their hair out especially as winning the 1895 will have contributed to that hole as well with a lack of prize money. This feels very much similar to where we were when the club decided to shift Richard Marshall out. I think there would be even more sweating going on if Grix had signed his new contract and we were still in this position.

Wrong , wrong , wrong , stop making up false narratives.

Well the positives first, the supporters trust handing over another much needed cheque for 2 grand good on them and all who contribute. And we will have a new electronic scoreboard for the Toulouse game probably due to the new IMG point scoring format. As for the game WIdnes was the better side and deserved to win by more than 2 points for me. They probably had one of the smallest packs we have faced this season but still rolled us up and down the park which for me led to those problems we had on our left side plus the other issues that have been mentioned. For me a change in coach will not be enough to turn this around for next year, we have a number of players who have been good players for us and played a big part in us getting back to back third place finishes and for some reason do not look like on a consistent basis able to perform at that level anymore. So i think we need a big clear out especially in the pack and a couple of the backs too. I just can not see Liam getting anymore out of some of these players then we have seen so far this year so changes are needed or we will either stand still or go backwards.

Which bit is wrong?

The board approached the old board on numerous occasions asking to take over, begging maybe an overstatement yes.
Finishing outside the top 6 would have financial implications for many reasons wouldnt it? A lot less central funding, crowds down and sponsorship down.
1895 prize money was reported to be next to nothing, coach trips, hotel stays, and win bonuses will have made it a loss for the club. Poor ticket sales and too much merchandise will have contributed as well.
Marshall left when we were around mid table and gone a bit stale didn't he? Feels a little bit familiar would you say?
Do you think as things stand if Grix had signed a new long term deal the board would not be sweating in 8th place and people not turning up through the gates?

As my old mucka would say, am I right? I'm not wrong.

The cup run will have created more funds through turnstile revenue alone , split gates of fev , barrow , Bradford, St Helens , London .From this point forward if this forum doesn’t have to be backed up by facts I’m saying what I want some will be true some will be false under the guise of opinion. I’ll start the financial predicament was caused by the owner of Deliveree last seasons sponsorship, he buggered off to Spain leaving historical debt , is it true is it false or is it a mixture of both with hyperbole? Who knows because you can say what the you want .

We already know some of what the BoD is doing with the clubs finances.

On the field side the new coach is in place as are the bulk of next years playing squad this work has been going on throughout the season before the final league position was known and the finances are already in place to cover it.

On recruitment / finances we’ve seen a clear improvement in the later additions, another one we know of is BD from Eagles and they intend to continue that trend with Liam Finn.

Worse case scenario isn’t all doom and gloom and we get 1 or 2 less but there will be more coming in and they will be of the right quality from who’s available.

It’s been a steep learning curve for the BoD what with coming in and IMG appearing on the scene, it’s no easy job running a rugby league club in the second tier, in the “mugs game league” it’s definitely in the top 2 or 3 even if we aren’t so maybe time to get behind them rather than in their backs.

I went into the shop before Wembley to buy some merchandise, I was greeted by Ian uttley , he tried to persuade me to buy some cups , I wasn’t overly enamoured, he said if I didn’t buy the 150th anniversary cup he wouldn’t be able to afford a wig after the 1895 cup run cost the club so much , he said his wife would leave him because he looked like mick lynch and she hated the railway union because she once missed a train to watch mick gledhills dj night .

You know most of it's true what I said when faxcar hasn't gone on all out attack against me.



Not sure how much you think the club will have made from "split" gates against Fev, Barrow, Bradford, and London although I will admit the club would have at least made a decent profit against Saints. Clubs barely even cover their expenses for cup games when crowds are so low.

So going back to your post where you said I were pushing false naratives, which parts were untrue?

Once again my post isn't even having a pop at the board more just saying how unlucky they have been to take over at this very point and saying what a tough ask they and Liam Finn now have to turn things around for the better. I would stop putting money in to the club if I didn't want to back them, which I most certainly don't want to do.

My mrs ‘ late grandad frank Bostock who ran a nightclub called Gladstones once knocked out Richard Dunn and threw him in a skip , the story was passed down to me whilst I tried to convince the family to invest in the panthers, is it true ? Is it a myth ? Is it hyperbole? We’ ll never know because you can say what you want under the banner of ‘ opinion ‘

I'm totally in the dark regarding central funding. We used to get actual figures under the old "super qualifiers" system, but zilch (as far as I can see) with the current system. I do recall someone saying York beating us in the play offs last season cost us £40k, but nothing was released about how much we actually received in the end.

Also it'd be good to see the club disclose how much was made (or lost) in the 1895 cup run as it all seems to be guesswork. Why the secrecy? Or do the fans have to find out via a bombshell "we're skint" announcement after forking out for a season ticket aka bullies style.

I'd also love to know if the costs for clubs to travel to Toulouse are met by the RL. Not being anti-expansionist (even though I see nothing wrong with a sport concentrated just along the M62 corridor) but having a French team in a part time league with all the associated costs whilst bringing absolutely nothing to either English or French RL is so stupid it beggars belief, but that's another topic of conversation!

All out attack quoting your own contradictions, slight exaggeration when I actually laughed and thought it embarrassing and talking of exaggerations "Begging to buy the club" "Selling their suits"





Not sure how much you "think" the club made or didn't make from the cup run but I am sure you simply don't know.

So going back to your post and question on false narratives and which parts were untrue.

None of it was based on facts, rather all of it was "true to form" exaggerated, tongue in cheek and based on guess work which if it was a "comments" coin yours would have doom and gloom on both sides.

Just ask gfb he knows everything from the price of Richard bannisters suits to the conversations between springer and Grix , gfb is the omnipresent one .

Must be your guilty conscience because I never mentioned anything about you having a pop at the board.

But now to say "Begging to buy the club" and having to "sell their suits" to balance to books in their first year is "unlucky" is really one of the best yet







And just for clarity when I quote you in the future.



Is it that you certainly don't want to stop putting your money in, or that you didn't want to back them which you certainly don't want to do.

It used to be that part of the agreement of Toulouse been in the league was that they had to cover travel expenses. I'm not sure if that is still the case or not. Agree regards the central funding secrecy, I seem to recall an interview that Ian Croad did around about the lockdown time when he mentioned some figures that had been proposed to clubs and that they expected a few years down the line that they would have to expect pretty much nothing in the way of central funding and clubs had been told to prepare for that. With the Sky money drop now as well we have to presume that what ever our league got before is either going to stay the same or more than likely reduce which would be a double whammy for us if we missed out on the playoffs.

Can people stop going off on random tangents. This thread is about the Widnes game. If you want to moan about Tolouse start another thread.

Will it be okay for them to moan about Widnes on the Toulouse thread



Just trying to be helpful.

Just been into Harvey’s in Halifax , seen Grayson , bannister and uttley handing their suits back in , heard them moaning that durgan was keeping his and if Karl Harrison had gone to jacamo like they suggested they wouldn’t be in such a financial mess .

It’s okay Iv’e heard now the suits have gone their all going to be wearing the left over tea shirts etc from Wembley due to poor sales and the catastrophic cup run.

And to keep it on thread they might be opening a charity shop in Widnes.

So we'll have to rely entirely on gate receipts and additional income streams from other activities? Then the Council really does need to "donate" the Shay to both the soccer and rugby clubs, thus scrubbing the rent and allowing us to extract some more cash from what is at the moment a white elephant.

I've said this for a long time now and it's not as radical as it may seem at first glance. The council don't want The Shay. To them it's not a sporting venue it's not a commercial opportunity, it's just a millstone around their necks which they haven't the nouse or will to exploit. Get a watertight covenant to ensure sporting use of the land written out and either give both clubs a hundred year lease on the ground or give it them outright and tell them to get on with it. Seriously why not?

Well our directors might be taking their suits back to Harvey’s looks like mark Campbell is taking his hammer back to wickes https://x.com/thegamecaller/status/1696 ... KKcNIJrHDA

Well our directors might be taking their suits back to Harvey’s looks like mark Campbell is taking his hammer back to wickes https://x.com/thegamecaller/status/1696 ... KKcNIJrHDA

https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news ... ay-4272215

https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news ... ay-4272215