Wire attendances used to be e and only a wealthy owner and (comparative) success has changed that. The others are successful sides in RL hotbeds so no excuses not to have big crowds.

People rip the p1ss out of Salford's crowds but it's a minority sport round here, far more so than Leigh or Widnes who have had worse problems than us. I hope Widnes survive, I really do. They had some great teams in the late 80's/early 90's when I started watching the sport. However, if they don't can we have Olly Ashall-Bott please?



PS. Yes it's a joke before I get stick.

PPS. But we'd still I've to have him.

That can't/mustn't happen! As a Leyther, I know (from very recent history) what you must be going through. Keep the faith and hope this can be resolved. It's heart aching being a 'mere' helpless fan, when all this is going on, but someone will bale you out. Whatever the expansionists on here say, Widnes [uIS[/u a 'big' club, just like Bradford, and mustn't be allowed to fade away. I assumed that a spell in the Championship would be a good chance to rebuild, but it isn't easy to run a full time club in this league, especially with a couple of other full timers to compete with.

Whilst all this is dreadful for all the fans and all the players and staff, spare a thought for Kieron Purtill, Harrison Hansen, Liam Hood and Jack Owens, for whom this must be a very painful case of deja-vu!

Stick in there, and good luck for a speedy recovery.

wrong, crowds went up with the stadium, moran only took over after we moved into the stadium, and we only won a tropy 5 years later.

Out of the 4 clubs to be relegated in recent times Widnes Leigh Hull KR and Bradford 3 have gone bust and we survived because the owner stuck around and the fans bought into it selling more season tickets than the previous season in SL and we bounced back the next year which was important as if we hadn’t I think things would have been different the problem with the championship is you have a few teams with SL aspirations and the rest with no intention of been promoted

Great post Alan, I echo all of what you say.

Toulouse has a fan base of around 1,500, which is exactly the maximum that Catalans got before they were promoted to Super League.

Now Catalans regularly get 8-9,000. When Toulouse is promoted to Super League I expect it to attract the same numbers.

Should they make it into SL, where would Toulouse play ?
Their current stadium is perfectly good for playing in The Championship but, the capacity of around 4k is some way short of accommodating the numbers that you have been dreaming about.
Also, Catalan wont be too pleases about having to "share" the current pool of French players.

It would be a great "derby" fixture though.

We’ll survive somehow, just a shame because it’s a squad that maybe isn’t a match for Toront. but with the whole squad made with the majority of players coming through the academy, something great has started this season. The club have worked so hard in not breaking the bank the last couple of seasons and playing their own talent, it’s just been ran appallingly.

Hope things are sorted out for you. The derby games with Wire have benefited both clubs financially, and look forward to their return in the near future. It worries me about the game in general, with recent financial issues at several clubs. Were now in a fortunate position. However, that may have been very different had Darren Burns not booted a ball into the Fletcher End when we were in a relegation battle. Those were humbling days, and it makes it easier to brush off the bitterness from some rival supporters when making a signing. Chin up, and wishing you well for a return to SL.

Thanks a lot, same here. Wire away is the one I look forward to the most, even though we haven’t won since Cahill took Hodgsons head off 6 years ago

Spot on this big club stuff makes me P*ss 7-15 k for our big clubs. If my two local football clubs were at home on the same day there would be around 130K at two matches, with many more in the pubs/clubs.

RL can't half fill one stadium when there all playing.

Hope a solution is found , always enjoy my visits to , and the atmosphere at Leigh when they visit , a good bunch

Widnes always used to produce great young player, some of the best players i have seen came from or started there career there, in the 80's they was the side a feared, remember the old regal/JPs cup draws and CC draws always thinking please not Widnes. Gave us a couple of bloody noses in big games in the early 90's too. really hope they can bounce back, but the town and the fans need to get back behind the team.

Even when Widnes had those amazing sides in the 80s they still didn't get regular 5 figure crowds. Loved watching them back then - unless they were playing us!

The best part of all that is, back then, nobody even mentioned the attendance. All of the comment was about the game, the players and the skill on show - which is how it should be.
It's a fine example of how the sport has shot itself in the foot by setting the 10,000 attendance agenda for SL and, lets face it there are only 5 clubs capable of hitting this mark with any regularity and 2 of those have dropped 20% in the last couple of seasons.
A successful Bradford side could increase that number but, that's still only half of the sides in the comp.

Many people have lauded London's return to SL and it should be a positive but, their attendances are woeful.

We really need to be bigging up the sport as, played at it's best RL is still "the greatest game"

As much as I'll never forgive Widnes fans for ruining the semi final of the challenge cup in 2014 for us, I don't want to see any club in trouble. Players, staff etc.. have mortgages and bills to pay the same as the rest of us. The community work and the youth system Widnes have built should be applauded. Just a shame the first team hasn't had the same attention over the last few years. From an 'outsider looking in' point of view it looks like Rule has done the same at 2 clubs now as I'm sure the Hull fans will agree with. Like others, I remember watching the Widnes sides in the 80's and enjoying how they played the game. They had a great side back then. I hope something gets sorted soon. Good luck guys.

Fantastic post Wrencat, I think sometimes we get bogged down on here by trolls deliberately on the wind up and genuinely sour negative people that just have nothing better to do than put down aspects of other clubs. I cant remember the last time I came on here and saw people talking about the actual game that is being played...

SOme of my earliest rugby memories are of Naughton park and having a drink with my family in the players bar and being in awe of all these rugby players that just mingled with the fans after a game.

I hope they can be saved

Widnes in the 80 were excellent and with the likes of Davies, Offiah, Sorensen, Myler etc played some of the mots attractive RL that there has been in the history of the sport.
They were a great watch, unless your side was the opposition.

I remember getting to Naughton park for a Wednesday evening game, back in the late 80's and we were a few minutes late getting in.
Trinity were 6 - 0 down as we came through the turnstiles and another 6 before we had got to the "away stand"
Again, does it matter how many were watching if the SPORT on view was top drawer, I dont think so.

www.totalrl.com/widnes-game-with ... alled-off/

www.totalrl.com/widnes-game-with ... alled-off/

Gutted, we have some great fans (Cas fans look away now), but it's hard to take. It's been run into the ground and when the money dried up, they all jumped ship leaving it in this state. James Rule, i haven't got enough words to describe my hatred towards this man. All of the funding we've had in recent years, it's not like we've ever tried to break the bank to get to the playoffs, we've probably spent the least of all clubs in the last 6 years, maintained a 4,000-6,000 average gate. I really don't know where to moneys gone.

I know just how you feel pal. We’ve been through this three times! It’s feckin awful.

It’s a case of gritting your teeth now. Administration may safeguard the club in the immediate term but there will be rumours aplenty about potential owners and players leaving etc. A lot of it will be rubbish. It’s like riding a rollercoaster. There will be heaps of uncertainty and players, staff and supporters will be the last to find anything out. If you can I’d recommend finding a desert island to hide on for a few months.

Hopefully a new owner will emerge and you’ll be saved.

I will never or could ever support any other team than widnes but it's very hard to take. 6 years of scraping by in superleague to be relegated to this. with the likes of Toronto, Widnes, Leigh and Bradford, i was looking forward to this season more than any in a long time. Hopefully the players wont all jump ship but we have a lot of young talent, plus Gelling, Inu and Hood who would get a gig in superleague and top championship clubs.

If you go into admin I think losing players is inevitable. We learned that 3 times over.

However, you have a decent sized squad, a good academy and many other clubs have spent their budgets. That means it won't be an immediate mass exodus. The main priority is finding a new owner. Then see where you are then. You'll probably see a few leave in dribs and drabs. Especially if money is needed to cover the salaries of the rest.

I guess my advice would be to forget about the short term and this season and think long term. Having a club is the main priority.