You're right mate. Fax should be in SL end of. Not saying you should be in ahead of Widnes but you should be in. The RL have their minds made up based on politics. An example was Celtic Crusaders based in Cardiff. Long before the decision was taken to allow them into the SL, I happened to buy a TOM TOM. On it was directions to SL grounds, guess who was on there.

No you were not. I'm not interested in arguing semantics, it's irrelevant. You didn't go down to the next division, ergo, you were not relegated.

Whilst I cannot deny many, including and exacerbated by myself, reacted badly to the last round of licenses, this is an utter falsification. There were hardly any complaints about catalans getting in ahead of us. We knew that there were two relegation spots before the season, it was an even playing field, and unfortunately we were not good enough to stay up that season. In fact, some of our complaints about crusaders were the way they had been stealthed in ahead of others on the back of propaganda and lies about their strength instead of them being promoted honestly and in a similar manner to Catalans. People only utter this non-truth because it sounds like something we might have said.

It also has nothing to do with the decision to promote Widnes, yet Widnes fans keep bringing it up as some form of defence if anyone has the nerve to suggest the system which has seen Widnes into Super League is flawed.

Spot on again Dalts!

Yes we were , the RFL included us in the Championship 1 fixtures and Gateshead in the Championship ones , even on these boards we went down

, ask tb ?

So there's not been a significant number of Widnes fans in the past that have suggested that the club has twice been shafted to accomodate a French club? I'd say that there has (There's one on this thread as an example!)

Your complaints about Crusaders are justified. In 2008, the RFL knew exactly who was going to be awarded franchises, I suspect the RFL have known for 3 years that Widnes would get a franchise this time around. Begs the question why they didn't just let you in last time. SOC on Boots n All last Thursday seemed to give the impression that you've had 3 needless years in the Championship.

Yes it is. The OP clearly states "Why today's announcement is an outrage". There is no getting away from this fact. Going by what a licence bid is supposed to represent, Widnes were clearly the best option. Therefore the decision is definitely not an ‘outrage’.

It is clearly a pop at Widnes.

Most of the others are making pointless statements about P&R, which just isn’t on offer anymore. This is not the thread for that. What should be being discussed is, going by the licence criteria, who was best place to get the licence?

Clearly the OP thinks it should have been Halifax. I, personally can’t see why.

It's entirely relevant when you're complaining about widnes going up thanks to off the pitch matters. Off the pitch matters saved your club from Championship 1. You're also in the unique position of having won nothing in recent years, unlike Widnes, Halifax, Featherstone, Batley, Barrow nor in any position to even bid. How on earth are you personally feeling hard done to? This isn't most leigh fans, just a vocal minority.



Did you play any of those fixtures? Or did you start the season in the same division that you ended the last season? You were not relegated. You were saved by Gatehead's turmoil.

There certainly has not been a significant number no. I remember it well. The rules were transparent, Catalans were a sensible inclusion, we had no means to argue. Most of the people who bring it up aren't even widnes fans, and one or two with selective memories does not constitute significant numbers.

You didn't get relegated. As Chris has said, off the field circumstances saved Leigh. Perhaps they should have promoted an extra club from Ch1 and sent your club down?

I'm not feeling hard done to, I've also not seen any Leigh fans suggesting that we should be given a license either. Doesn't mean we can't have an opinion on the system that is in place.

I thought the thread title was created by a mod that had merged several threads on the same subject

Perhaps they should have. Perhaps they decided that Leigh were the highest placed team in the league which could have moved up to the Championship. Perhaps this is an argument for 2 years ago? Perhaps Leigh's relegation / reinstatement is something Widnes fans are using as a some sort of petty deflection tool against anyone that questions anything that relates to their club

I think banging on and on about the injustice of it all just because early doors in the league you are riding high (like you were last season) speaks volumes about this.

I think it was just THE at the start and THREAD at the end of the title that was added by mods. The middle part is the original.

Ah, fair dos then. To be honest, once a thread goes to 16 pages I forget what it was about in the first place. I only pipe up to pass the time at work!

Starbug, you are arguing semantics. Did you play a single game in championship 1?

Surely it would have been fairer to promote a Ch1 club which had done well and finished high in the league and got to the semi finals, rather than a club struggling near the bottom of the Championship?

That would have rewarded the on-field performance of the club?

Do you reckon that the RFL just offered that place to Leigh because they were likely to be able to prosper in the Championship better than any club in Ch1?

I think that’s the most likely answer. So, Leigh benefited for what they had in place off the field rather than on it.

It may have been 2 years ago, but I didn’t hear a single Leyther whinging about player performance elevating them to a higher league then, in a way they are doing now.

It’s called hypocrisy!

Or perhaps, selective memory?



Why would we want to do that?

Everything is looking great at Widnes at the moment. We just need to show up the hypocrites for what they truly are.

That is irrelivant , the RFL restructured the divisions in the off season , on the last week of the regular season we were relegated

How on earth is it irrelevant ?

We're talking about you being demoted to championship 1. Did you play a single game in championship 1?

That’s makes leigh fans even bigger hypocrites then. It means you were elevated into a higher league based on off the field issues. You can’t even say that it was a case of what we have we hold.

So you only get relegated on the 1 st day of the following season ? , no you get relegated when the RFL say you are relegated , they told us we were relegated

And they saved you from relegation later on because of Gateshead. You were never in championship 1, because you operated the following season in the championship with the same cap and rules as the rest. You were to be relegated, but you were saved from it. You never felt the sting of relegation ergo you were not relegated.

As I say, it's all semantics from you.