Reading the article with Bob Beswick this morning I noticed a small mention of the fact that no players are contracted for next season and beyond. I must say I was quite alarmed by this. Is this normal practice? I assume we're waiting for the new coach to come in and make some signings but with Michael Steele saying they don't expect to appoint/announce a new coach until the end of the season, will that not be too late with alot of players maybe of already signed new deals elsewhere by then?

Someone put my mind at rest, please!!!

Article in the courier i should say

It was the same scenario last season. No contracts were offered officially until the season ended. The assumption as you pointed out will obviously be on who the new coach wants to retain but i take your point that some of the players he would like to keep might now be talking to other clubs, however if they want to stay at Fax they will probably wait to sign as they might struggle to get better deals elsewhere.

I hope you're right mate

I too am worried.

I dont want to criticise our BOD, they do a great job,

But.

The silence from the club is deafening.

I am not worried. The players know the score and they know we are a club with a good chance of playing in Finals. The other clubs cant really start signing players yet as nobody is sure of what the exact format is next year. Is there P & R this year? Will we have 1 League? How many home games will there be next year? The RFL are once again showing their incompetence. The rest only really Fev have money and they wont sign too many players due to the Salary Cap. The likes of Finn, Dickens etc are signed up for next year. Leigh and Barrow are looking to cut back rather than make big name signings, Sheffield, Batley, Dewsbury etc dont have the money Fax have or the stability.
I would expect a number to be leaving to be honest as some are simply not good enough whilst others are too old. A new era is about to begin at Fax and one that will see some big changes I feel both on and off the field. If players want to play elsewhere for more money thats up to them but it doesnt always work out for them-Gleeson at Barrow for example. Penkywicz has turned down offers before. I think Players will wait in many cases to see what Fax offer beforing deciding to stay or go elsewhere.

Just get a few of the obvious ones signed up starting with Penky and we wont have any problems attracting players.

This happens every year. Even when we had the players sign two year contracts to maneovre around the impending salary cap reductions. Every year people move on. Stars go and strugglers come in. We make them stars and eventually they also leave. Then the next batch come in and we make them stars too. We are star makers. We are The Champions.

Then they sign for the mutants , and become crap again

I wouldn't worry too much. Halifax is a big draw in this league and not many players will find salarys or clubs the same at any other team in this league. Coach depending though there could be a big shift around players.

I am not worried, most of our players are not going to be going to Super Legaue anytime soon. and now Widnes are gone, is there anywhere better to be in the Championship??

Or for you for the big bucks eh

No big bucks off us unless you mean all that win bonus money ours get when they play you

Said the same to my dad on Thursday. Tangi Ropati was awesome for Sheffield and one of very few of their players i would have liked to have seen in a Fax shirt. Signs for Widnes and the times i have seen him this season he hasnt been good at all. I think Cullen does a great job of coaching any skill out of players that they may have by the looks of it. Tangi, if you want fixing we may be in need of a centre or two next season if you fancy it.

Ropati's only real issue is that he often goes flying off out the line, which is great when he smashes someone or gets an intercept (like against Hull FC where he was MOM for us) but a lot this year especially early on it led to a few soft tries going in when we'd been defending well. Probably same at Sheffield but stood out less, still effective in attack.

If i was the BOD i would be getting Penky, Aizue, White and Worrincy signed up if they are not going to SL next year. Most of the others can be sorted out but these 4 are the difference in our team, Nash to when he has his game head on.

Yes to all of those but not Nash, too erratic.
get Jim gannon back as well as while I thought he was past it at the beginning of the season he has been revived and has one more season in him, leads by example and has sorted out his discipline.
Miles Greenwood is Mr Consistency we need him too.
Others need to be looked at but its up to the new coach as he shoud know who he does and does not want.
Like others are saying where are players going to go if not staying at Fax as Leigh ar skint we hear and Fev have their team sorted mostly the rest have no money so nobody really, best stick with us lads.

Leigh aren't skint mate. The sudden departure of our benefactor left a hole to be filled but it has been. At the end of the year new Shareholders will be in who make O'Connor look poor, time to focus on Academies to tick all boxes - 5 will move up next year, 3 of whom have played some part this year in Hopkins, Nicholson and Briscoe - Pownall would be the 4th but limited.
Full time academies linked to Leigh college will be running in September, next franchise farce makes us a shoe in.

It's a long held view by some that certain SL clubs hold great sway in who gets a license from the Championships (See Bubba's Law). On that basis Wigan will never allow Leigh back into SL.

Linky?

All the best with that then

T'Humbles aren't big enough to stop it.

Goodbye Salford.

Just the crowd issue then eh Maurice?

Will be no problems there J20, not far off this year and thats with the daft way we disclose gates. Will miss the Widnes 'derby' of course but the Wrexham 'derby' has a ring to it

Why don't they just do a ring around the family and move the Appleby Horse Fair to Leigh for one weekend.