i hope the chemics get in

I think that profile fits Castleford more, super record locally in schools development in particular. Apart from the stadium of course. I would suggest that Wakefield has none of the above.

How can you compare how you played against Featherstone, or how Widnes would do against SL opposition this year? Our cap is £350,000!!! What's a SL cap? £1.5m or something like that?

Widnes are running 14,15 and 16's scholarships this year, which no one else in the Championship is running. We're gearing up for the licence bid, and I don't really know what more Widnes can do to be ready for it.

Move 200 miles away ?

Rugby league is best loved in the North and I couldn't give a about the southern softies who refuse to pick it up - just get the heartlands sorted for mine. Catalan are in French RL territory and I take no issue with them being in - that place absolutely laps it up and it's great to see.

Salford need to get their in gear and quickly otherwise they will be out on their ears and Widnes should have had their place in any case last time around never mind this time.

Quins will get in despite their absurd attendancies which simply are not increasing. Never going to increase so long as I have a hole in my . Even if they made every game free entry they would struggle to gain decent attendances IMO because there is simply too little interest. It is ridiculouse that Quins are in and Widnes have been out in the cold (as funny as that is) for so long.

Leigh
Fev
Widnes
Barrow... all offer better alternatives to Quins IMO.

Wakefield and Castleford should also stay but you can pretty much garauntee that due to their close proximity and non starting stadiums, that at least one of them will be out.

Crusaders are a mockery because the idea of them being in was due to the fact that they were in true welsh territory in the south. Now they are just outside Widnes it's simply not acceptable. But will the RL have the balls to boot them? No way.

In my opinion the following will happen.. Wakefield will drop out - replaced by Widnes

What should in wirefan's world happen is:

Quins out > Replaced by Widnes
Crusaders out > Replaced by Leigh

I've asked this a couple of times and like you here I've been largely ignored by the "I'm all right Jack" brigade on the forum too.

A couple did try and claim they wouldn't mind if it was for the good of the game but I suppose that's easy to say when you know your club is safe. The acid test only comes when you aren't.

In the context of Widnes I do think we as Warrington supporters probably need them more than Super League itself does. By that I mean that although we enjoy a good laugh at their expense and have great memories of putting sixty points on them or their own ground to send them down one glorious sunny afternoon in 2005, we do miss the derbies and therefore miss them more than most others do.

Personally I'd love Widnes in but the cynic in me says the RFL will bend over backwards to accommodate Toulouse.

hope not

its bad enough travelling to catalans

and then you have got quins and then the magic weekend where ever it will be

people wont be able afford it

It is bigger than a village as 60000 people live in it.Widnes also have runcorn to attract from and it is part of halton borough.If we get into superleague we will look to attract from south liverpool, and frodsham etc.If a team does well they travel from anywhere.Alot have moved out of widnes and come to the games like myself.Widnes is actually bigger than castleford, and you do not need 16000 fans average to be successful.Saints dont average much over 10,000

If people in Runcorn or South Liverpool want to watch Super League then they are already adequately catered for with the close proximity of both Warrington and St Helens.

I accept that Widnes is not a village however if anybody from the Hamlet of Widnes wants to watch Super League its not exactly that big an effort to travel to Warrington or St Helens. Amazing that people expect Harlequins to attract support from say Lewisham yet the people of Widnes cannot be expected to travel 10 miles maximum. You could walk to Warrington from Widnes quicker than getting from Lewisham to Twickenham by public transport.

If roles were reversed would you travel to Widnes to watch SL if you lived in Warrington? Not a chance.

If you kick out the expannsionist teams then the Sky money will go down. Widnes didn't get in last time because they lost the GF and then went bust a couple of days later. I firmly believe that they'll get in this time, most probably at Salford's expense.

I totally agree with your post.

Am I right in saying that Wakey got in last time based on their plan to have new stadium?
If so then I'm afraid they have failed and for the chop.
I think Cas said they would have an improved or new stadium, so again they could well / arguably should go.

It's ironic that they are both good teams.

I can see Widnes coming in but after that not sure who else.

IMO there's something not right at Leigh and 'fax have a good stadium but need a couple more years to develop.
Fev need to build more and there's the stadium issue.

Why have Leigh, they bring nothing only a shiny new stadium? I'd have Weirdness, Barrow, all the current SL sides possibly Fev, Halifax and Toulouse all above Leigh.

I sincerely hope Widnes recieve a franchise. I no what you are saying about Leigh. I'd like Halifax to get in aswell.

Sorry, my mistake, I agree totally with the sentiment. I'd be content with Widnes + one of the other clubs listed.

We have had long, long enough time to see the top division London club does not work and is not viable. Is it not time to take another look at the strategy?

I much prefer the concept of "organic" growth of the game, seeping from the heartlands. Rather than the "bone marrow implant" method currently endorsed.

i.e) Didn't we once have a team in Nottingham? A realistic expansion if Sheffield were still in play surely? If Sheffield would have local derbies, Nottingham would too. Once Nottingham were established, what then a chance of a Leicester or Derby side?

I also remember a team in Gateshead in 1999 getting absolutely shafted by the RFL to prop up Hull in a daft merger. Where was the expansionist policy then?

If you get rid of Quins you just write off all the rugby league players that show promise to Union though. The Quins stratagy is wrong but having Quins in the league isn't.
All they need is someone who can turn it around at club level and someone in the RFL helping them and really pushing for success. At the moment they have neither.

I get you and I respect your zeal but the same argument about "writing players off" could be made in the Gateshead argument. I understand they play RU in that area too.

How would you fix the Quins issue? More free tickets?

It was really telling to me that when Quins played the double header RU then RL game afterwards that the vast majority of RU fans went home. They didn't want to watch RL even for free.

Playing in Twickenham does them no favours at all, it's like trying to market skiing in Brazil on World cup final day.
They need their own identity first then for the rest ask Gutterfax.

Barrow ??

Granted they are a good side but facilities.

Have you ever been to Craven Park?

You know after that game I felt a spectrum of emotions. Clearly I like to beat Widnes at every opportunity (immediate reaction) but, on reflection (more considered view), I did feel like we had confounded our dearest Nemeses (plural?) to a fate I would never, ever, wish on them. A bit like cutting your nose off to spite your face. I miss the Widnes games.

I resent the expansionist view which is concerned about too many teams too close together. It's part of the history and foundation of the sport. I mean Saints and Wigan are just 10 miles apart. Could you ever conceive that either of these two would have to make way for the Edinburgh Eagles on geographic basis? No neither can I. It's just unfortunate that Widnes were in hard times when the axe fell. Could easily have been Wigan in the early 80's and look what we would have lost.

Gateshead were actually shafted by the alleged 'First Lady of Rugby League,' Kath Hetherington, who is still in the Chair at Hull. She spent several weeks quite openly lying to those of us who were fans, stating that Thunder were taking over Hull, who would continue to play in Div 2, with Thunder playing in SL. The Club then upped and went lock stock and barrell to the Boulevard, leaving nothing but unpaid bills in the North East. As a consequence the new Thunder was unable to get much in the way of sponsorship because of the reputation the old Club had left behind. In that one season they went from a base of 1000 fans to over 3000 by the end of the season, and interest was certainly growing. The beneficiaries were the Falcons who suddenly gained a lot of support and a new Ch Exec in Mick Hogan (now at Wigan). The loser was RL. The truth of the matter was that the Thunder were grossly underfunded from day one and those running the organisation should have been kicked out of the game, not given a second chance. Rant over.

Don't know about Widnes, more likely Salford as easier for me to get to.

The concept is no different to myself choosing to watch football at Goodison Park rather than Cantilever Park.

Sorry I didn't know the exact facts but I know Gateshead got a very raw deal after a very encouraging start in SL. The RFL would be wetting itself if they could emulate what Gateshead did in Wales or London.