Well being a part time mathematics professor at Salford University (when I am able to spare the time) It is amazing what one is able to do with figures.

Even on LISA's committee we have a qualified accountant a famous actor and a reknown conservationist.

Research was recently undertaken on our fan base and over 70% admitted to an interest in all aspects of the current financial turmoil we currently find ourselves in.

Bet they can't say the same in Dewsbury for example.

Our humour is also better.

It has to be living in and supporting Leigh

Hate is a strong word and that's exactly what we've experienced from other clubs. We certainly bore the brunt of a lot of vitriolic abuse at Barrow the other week, fans of Sheffield have now waded in to the argument and now fans of SL clubs are trying to undermine our Under 18s efforts by claiming all sorts from the league is meaningless to us playing first teamers in the side...

And you wonder why we feel the way we do.

Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.

Nope, I think it’s you who has missed the point of what the Club of the year award actually means.

There can only be one award for the team of the year that is actually worth anything, and that will be decided on Sunday night.

Club of the year, awards the people and staff at a club; the ones who don’t actually take the field but have, none the less worked hard to move their club forward for the betterment of the club and the game itself.

Giving this award to Widnes does not mean that RL is or puts forward any proof of the

This has nothing to do with licences, so stop trying to pretend that it does. This award is not part of an RFL conspiracy and will have little meaning come decision time in March. After reading your last two posts it seems a bit of a cheek that Leigh fans are calling Widnes fans paranoid on this thread.

Widnes deserves this more than any other club in the Championship. We did, after all, get to a final again too.

Either way, you are talking complete and utter tripe.

Well if it is still run how it has been in the past each club are forced to buy a table anyway so are you saying the Fax table was empty? Tony Beevers turns up to the "opening of an envelope " he was at the Fax v Sheff game handing out an award there . He likes his rugby league and so does his Mrs who knows a great deal about the game too.

Well Pepe I see you too have taken my earlier posts out of context to argue your own point.

So everyone in Rugby League has the same set of rules do they? I don't see it.

I still think that the RFL have reduced the Championship to little more than a box ticking exercise over three seasons thanks to the introduction of the franchise system. This is sadly how fans view it both on here and around the grounds. HatedandAdored did make one good point in his tirade and no I'm not talking about the full stop at the end of his rant...

He said that he couldn't see why Championship clubs couldn't make this an attractive competition in its own right. The trouble is how do you market a "sub-standard product"? This is largely how the Championships are percieved, you only have to read the editorial comments in league weekly on the Championship games.

Starbug had the idea of everyone pulling together for the good of the game outside Super League, well sadly the whole franchise thing ripped a huge hole between fans. We no longer seem to discuss what was once important, creative halfbacks, finishing wingers, mean packs, all we seem to go on about is attendances, box ticking, balance sheets and who has the wealthiest chairman.

Nowadays this isn't the sport that I fell in love with and used to be decided on the field by who won finals and actually finished top of the league. How many people were lost to the sport when it chose that path?

I still love this game, I'm passionate about it, I want what is best for my club and I would love the competitions to thrive.

Come the end of next season they will need to do something about the competitions in any case, this is because the deck of cards can not be sustained with just ten home league games a season. That doesn't pay the bills and unless every club has a wealthy benefactor I can see a lot more doing a Whitehaven or a Rochdale.

It's all opinions isn't it.

Back on topic, do I think Widnes are club of the year? no.

I think there are more deserving clubs. Obviously as Widnes fans you'll disagree.

You have a point... Living here isn't that bad, it's just all those roads to W**an we avoid!

Hence the reason why I moved !!

I had too but in my case it was due to the press of creditors although the roads to Wigan do not appeal.

Parky's post is hard to disagree with and I am told franchising will shortly be imposed on the Championship.

I think this will be terminal for the professional game if it is true.

A thoroughly deserved award and testament to all the hard work put in by people recently. Yes another string to our bow.

So who is the club of the year in the Championship?Then i may or may not agree with you.Widnes have ticked all the boxes set by the RFL to get Club of the Year. 1. Over 2500 average which most failed 2.Youth top of the league in the Academy beating Superleague teams. 3.Finances sorted out with profits. 4. Another year in the Rail final.

Featherstone Rovers - best team on the field, a club fostering community spirit, good programmes in place. Ran sides at 14 & 15s last season and will launch their under-18s in time for next season - a positive step and costly one, so well done for them having the financial clout to do that. They are not a rich club, they don't have 2500 gates at this stage but they are on the up in all areas.

Disagree away.

Have to agree with Parky on here. Can't have competitive leagues with some clubs having a special status. At the moment two London, two Welsh & two French on a different status to everyone else. Lets have a separate development league at the professional level, so that all the professional leagues can return to all the clubs in them having equal standing. Development/ expansion league can then add its Scottish, Midland, SW & Irish clubs if thats what the RFL want & probably realistically what the sport needs.
Also cant see how professional clubs can survive on 10 home games a year, even amateur clubs need to operate 9/10 months a year with approx 20 home games.

Even being an expat Leyther, Featherstone is my team of the year.

Mooing good for next years award then aren't they! As still behind Widnescin points you mention... On field in league much better but NRC different story? Apathy to Widnes achieving something as a club is laughable tbh!

If Widnes fans were honest they would admit getting to the NRC Final was very lucky,their record in the games was not brilliant and they even got the best draw in the semis.
Fev best team on the field by a mile, off it no complaints about Widnes but only their fans will think they were anything put a poor 4th or 5th best team where it should count,on the field.

Exactly and we don't think we were anything special this season though obviously injuries MASSIVELY took their toll at times, the main issue was what the award was for CLUB of the year which you have already eluded too

It's always injuries with your lot but you never hear us Leythers complain about our teams injuries even though they undoubtably cost us the League title' the NRC cup' and' it is obvious to all' that we would have won this weekends Grand Final.

Stop moaning.

I wasn't moaning as I said we expect we were poor this season but you have to take into account when you field about 40 players it takes it's toll and heh it could of been worse as people say and you lot found out the difference between playoffs and relegation is not a lot and that would of been bye bye SL! Why is are season such a disaster compared to us?
Moan about injuries? Better than moaning about everything else instead?

for a start, there is no heavy industry or really any chemical industry to speak of around here and there has not been for decades if not the best part of a century. 'cheshire' yes that is a real county and has been for many years. widnes never has been in 'Merseyside'. in point of fact, Runcorn, Speke, and st helens are the hotbeads of scouse 'overspill' around here. and no, its not a paradox, its an inconsistency. and widnes has a railway station because the main line from liverpool to manchester runs right through it. there, any other parochial bull need setting straight?

What has any of what you have written got to do with Widnes winning the “Club Of The Year” award?
Please explain, because I just don’t see a connection at all.

Of course I don’t think all teams are treated the same, but saying that Widnes have only been given this award because of it, really is low. It really is.

What favours are we getting from anyone?

The club have worked hard and built a club worthy of a Super League licence. We have done this on our own, without any help from the RFL and I see no Championship club that even comes close. That is why we are most peoples favourites (whether they like us or not) to gain a licence. You’ve said as much yourself. So it seems somewhat hypocritical to point the finger at Widnes as an example of RFL cheating on it’s behalf – [size=150as if![/size

We’ve all got these in place. Plus you seem to saying that Featherstone should be rewarded for what they might do next year? - incredidible! It just shows how weak your arguement is.

Do you actually know what Widnes have put in place this year as an actual comparison?

I mean. Unless you know all the facts an details, you really have nothing to get on your high horse about. For instance, do Fev have a player pathway scheme, where players are given the opportunity to learn a trade or take qualifications and degrees? This gives players something to fall back on if they don’t make it, or when they retire. That’s just one element which Widnes have put in place. Widnes are running at a profit, the academy are beating the best Super League have to offer, player pathways, a great community program including the ‘Valhalla Foundation’ and even more infrastructure being put in place within the stadium in the form of media hospitality and broacating rooms. TV companies will appreciate it if every club had such facilities, maybe more channels would want to cover the sport if they did.

What you do need to do is get who you think is the best team, out of the equation, because this has happened before. The best team isn’t always the best club and vice versa. The winner of the League doesn’t always get the “Club Of The Year” award. Was you saying that about the club who won it while not winning the league then? Where they the darlings of the RFL, or is it only when Widnes win it while not being top of the league?

It seems to me that it is.

Here’s an admittance of what I’m saying here by one of your own

Correct!

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I never thought I'd see the day when somebody would actually fall for the bait of Frank.