Seeing as we did very well vs Wigan in last seasons CC and we beat Cas away and did very well away to Saints with several strike players missing in this seasons CC.

We are last seasons League winners & play off final Holders.


Yes we need to improve our ground, but plans will be announced shortly once everything is sorted, yes we need to create several junior sides, but again plans are being worked on.

If we had already begun with major re-development of CP which we own by the way & our junoir sections were in place by the time frame of the next franchise selection, would we be serious contenders ?

My thoughts arethat we wouldnt need the change our current squad that drasticlly and would have 3 yrs grace to adjust to everything the SL offers.

Barrow would have to prove they could attract good gates on a regular basis. I think they could. The ground is sub-standard and would need mass improvements before they could be considered, however.

I think establishing a junior set-up will take longer than you say, it's not just a matter of putting together 50 local lads and claiming it is an academy system.

Barrow, along with Fax, have a nucleus of talent who could go well in SL though. They wouldn't need as many changes in personnel as Widnes, Leigh or Toulouse per se, but the club would be best suited to a 2015 assault.

You are probably right in that we would be better suited for a shot at it in 2015, but you just have to go for it dont you !! there could be extra competitors in 2015 from the SW of England, Wales, Barca & France etc then we'd be screwed.

Due to our isolated geography I personally think it would be a doddle to set up a junior academy, plus I know of dozens of lads who currently travel away to various clubs academies at their parents expense, the parents i know have already said if Barrow set up a long term full on Academy they would be there in a heartbeat due to the travel and costs involved .
We would attract a healthy crowd average of say 6000 / 7000 & remember as Owners of our ground all concessions & gate receipts stay within the club.

I think the current Barrow team would need a fair few additions to compete week-in, week-out at SL level. It's true that being full-time would allow some of the current players to flourish, but large scale strengthening would be required. As a club we have a good track record in strengthening (NL2 to NL1 in 2009) and I've absolutely no doubt that with a £1.5M cap our current BOD would put together a VERY good side. I've also no doubt that we have the fanbase to support a SL club. Last years Wigan match, the NR Cup Final, the Grand Final and our Challenge Cup run proved that for the big matches, the fans turn up in numbers.

The ground needs improvement, but not as much as people bang on about. New floodlights, toilet facilities and refreshment outlets would be essential to start. The guaranteed 3 years (at very least) of SL rugby would mean that further improvements would be undertaken using the vastly increased SL income, sponsorship and corporate without risking the future of the club or selling the family silver (the stadium).

Whatever happens in 2012, it'll all end up in the courts. It's going to be a PR disaster for the sport.

That's one thing guaranteed not to happen.



Only if someone is stupid enough to give Barrow a license. And even then it wouldn't be.

Can you enlighten us into why you think it would be stupid to give Barrow a license.

Two of the most ridiculous and ignorant statements I have ever read on this forum.

The ground wouldn't cope. It was a good trip for us Wiganers last season but the ground was dire. You basically had the choice of a brick to pee on that overflowed back towards you or some small indoor toilets in the bar. I recall the queue for the ladies was so bad they were using the cubicles in the mens.

No beer or food facilities I can remember, if there was any it was so packed you couldn't get near them. Their was a bad bottle neck in the corner of the stand I was in (next the indoor bar in one corner) which you had to wade through with snail pace to reach the toilets.

Maybe I just didn't know where the facilities are but for me that ground will need a fortune spent on it to make Super League standard. Not going to happen.

In reality it's got nothing to do with how you are on the field as any promoted side has a 90% new team by year two of SL anyway. It's if you can bring your revenue up to 3mill quid+ and attract 7,000+ fans that RFL are interested in.

Relocate the Border Raiders to the France/Spain border and we might have a possibility.

Not going to happen mate i'm sure that all the RL
clubs signed an agreement stating they could not do such a thing.

Because - imo, and it is just my opinion - however good the Barrow first team is, and it is good, the club does not have the infrastructure - physical, financial or in terms of club structures - to be a top- flight professional club. There are, again imo, 3 to 4 clubs better placed - though whether they meet the on field qualifying requirement us another question.



The second is an opinion, as explained above, and you're free to disagree with it. But I would argue that it's neither ridiculous nor ignorant.

The first is a simple statement of recorded fact. Part of the process of applying for an SL licence is a binding agreement that the decision of the RFL is final, without recourse to a legal challenge. Should any club break that agreement, the consequence,iirc, is expulsion from all RFL competitions.

I reckon Barrow could manage this with the right peopl in place.

We are having a cruise liner terminal built, so that any Welsh, Scots, Irish, French or Barca based fans can travel in style



We have an Airport if any fans fancy flying in

Pity you don't have a good enough set up for super league considering.

i wouldnt have thought barrow would be anywhere near obtaining a SL license imo,the current first team is ok, would possibly struggle as they are now.
as for claiming they would attract 6/7,000 crowds, well.........erm.....................................................

Mick, tell me the last time Barrow averaged over 4500 in a season?
Tell me same of Haven, then Town.

You're not allowed to make a legal challenge to franchise decisions.

Think that may well be because the RFL knew the decisions were gonna be opaque, bias and agenda driven.

Says it all really............

Apart from Cas in 2007, tell me the last time ANY team from below SL averaged above 4,500.
Quins have only broken the 4,000 average twice in the last 10 years in SL!!! Also Salford in their last 9 seasons in SL have only averaged above 4,500 twice.

Regarding Craven Park (again), I posted earlier that 3 things would definitely have to be sorted before SL could be contemplated.
1. Toilets
2. Floodlights
3. Refreshment outlets

Yes, a few hundred grand would have to be spent, but nothing that would threaten the future financial stability of the club. Other improvements would be financed on the back of 3 GUARANTEED years in SL. Special dispensation should be given to clubs who are looking to enter SL for the first time and haven't been in the privelidged position of raking in millions of SKY cash for several/umpteen years. Craven Park actually had a new Grandstand installed 10 years ago, yet the likes of Saints, Cas etc haven't made any noticeable improvements in that time. That is a bigger scandal and should be looked upon in a far worse light than those clubs who haven't had a pot to p1ss in for decades.

I find it galling that a Huddersfield fan is giving out advice and opinions on crowds. For decades, Huddersfield Barracudas were knocking around in the gutter and were one of the perennial whipping boys of the sport on crowds far lower that Barrow's current average. Then came the Sky cash and voila. Huddersfield's history is actually proof that a SL team in Barrow would work.

typical. another thread supposed to be about rugby has turned into a shiny toilet and crowd debate

Side note, having some legal expertise at my disposal. To the people who keep banging on about the RFL's little scheme of making clubs sign up to a 'no legal action' statement. In this country, it is not possible to sign away your right to bring in the law where you have had a crime committed against you. To that end, all that would be needed would be a solicitor diligent enough to find written evidence of non-successful license chasing clubs being led by the RFL to believe they were entitled to SL status upon achieving certain goals. A technicality, IMO, that it would be possible to exploit with good quality lawyers poring over all the documentation handed out to the aspiring SL clubs. For example, it is not currently legally possible to sign away your right to legal action against someone or some organisation who fraudulently denies you what has been paid for in good faith. And believe me, clubs have paid a LOT for the goal of SL rugby.

Im not sure any club would choose to pursue it, or could afford it, but it is certainly NOT beyond the bounds of possibility.

Back OT, the Barrow side would need a hell of a lot of additions, just like all current Championship sides. I could probably think of only 2 Barrow players that would be starters in SL for a team with hopes of being anywhere but last.

saints havent made any ground improvements beacause of the new stadium.granted it has taken a long time in coming,but it has been in the process for the last 12 years.various cock ups with the old board and time taken with planning applications and funding haven't helped.but the wheels are now in motion.we haven't had the luxury of being able to share with a football club,but at least when the ground is built it will be OURS.there was never any point in building new stands when we were not going to be staying there.

Anybody not reading the thread from the beginning could be forgiven for asking which Craven Park are we talking about.

You can add new turnstiles to the list. You can burn 500 calories off pushing them to go through.

But how come SL clubs get in this case 12 yrs to get stuff sorted out (18 million+) of murdocks money recieved during this time , but any Championship Clubs dont get any big money or a reasonable time frame to adjust etc