I've been keeping off the board to a large degree as it seems to be full of Hysteria.....

How can it be a surprise to a people that we are getting a few hammerings - remember most of our players were not wanted at other SL clubs and we couldn't start recruiting until effectively after game1?

How can it be a surprise that we haven't been able to recruit good players given the franchise situation?

Personally where we are today is better than i thought we would be at the start of the season - i didn't think we'd get six wins this year.

We need to stop attacking Players / Owners / coaches and Owners as the state we are in this year is not really their fault IMO - for me it lies with the previous owners and the RFL. We should just support our club and see where we stand post the announcement as that's when we can start to put plans in place for next year.

If you want to have a dig about kear's style of Rugby this year then fair comment - as it isn't great to watch - but then don't switch tune when we turn over Hudds. For me we don' have the players to play expansive rugby and be successful - they simply are not talented enough. So whilst i'm not exactly happy with what i am watching on the pitch, in it's context it's understandable as i'm sure JK would also be getting stick if we were sat on zero wins but had tried to throw it around.

Re broadbent, thoroughly decent bloke from what i've seen, heard and personally experienced - but shouldn't be getting involved with the fans as you can never win, but it can't be nice hearing abuse constantly from your own fans and does the abuse he was getting really help the club - all this incident does is make the club look bad.

i'd like to see mr shuttleworth given the silent treatment by everyone at the club and within the supporter base on his next visit to belle vue, and banned from newmarket for life should it ever be built.

Not at all, as you say nothing is expect of this side and to play an expansive game would be satisfactory to most people. Losing 22 – 46 against Saints at home would be (relatively) enjoyable. The Huddersfield game tactics were no different, it just so happened Huddersfield were absolutely dreadful and the conditions suited one man RL.

For short periods of the game the players showed they can throw the ball about and they made headway, but that dispersed almost as soon as it was conjured.

Me too!

I agree completely. Well said.

I agree 100%. It's good to know there are people out there who understand finance and rugby. Glover and kear have done the best possible from the point where Glover took over.

I think the reaction yesterday is really one about the previous two games. I didn't go, for various reasons, but if we go back to the start of the year a score like that against Saints is hardly unexpected. We got some false hope because of more wins than we expected, and then saw two very poor results against sides not much better than ours.

My concern is that we are making it very easy for the RFL. The three year window might be the period of assessment, but memories don't work like that. People will say that you can't chuck out a side who look like a top eight side (Cas) or might become one (Salford) in favour of a side getting thumped. No one will say that you can't chuck out a side who in 2009 finished higher than those two clubs ever have done in the Super League, even though it's the same period of assessment. We are going into the franchise decision looking like a beaten outfit.

It's a problem of momentum for the players, I imagine. You cannot play above yourself for a whole year. That is why you get surprise cup winners but never surprise league winners.

Mr Shuttleworth has a duty of care to his clients. If the livelihood of those clients is threatened by this crazy franchising situation what do you expect him to do if the clients are uneasy about their futures ? Despite all the rumours no one has left yet, some of those rumoured to be leaving could stay if we remain in superleague. We use agents to get us players too, for instance do you think Batley were happy to lose Gareth Moore ? Player movement happens continually we are in the weakest of positions to do anything at all to stop it. Surely it is better to deal with agents that are Wakey fans . FWIW I stood with Mr Shuttleworth for the whole of the U20's game and thoroughly enjoyed his company.

Who are you signing for Sue?

No other team could offer me what I get out of Wakey on such nights as Good Friday this year, beating Huddersfield at home this year, anytime we beat Leeds etc etc

Quote ="Slugger McBatt"No one will say that you can't chuck out a side who in 2009 finished higher than those two clubs ever have done in the Super League'" That's funny...because I'm pretty sure Cas have finished 5th. In fact, I distincly remember us finishing 5th in 1999: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Leag ... e_IV_Table AND 2000 www.slstats.org/t10/Castleford+T ... mmary.html .

Quote ="Slugger McBatt"No one will say that you can't chuck out a side who in 2009 finished higher than those two clubs ever have done in the Super League'" That's funny...because I'm pretty sure Cas have finished 5th. In fact, I distincly remember us finishing 5th in 1999: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Leag ... e_IV_Table AND 2000 www.slstats.org/t10/Castleford+T ... mmary.html .

here he is....................

Quote ="Fully"That's funny...because I'm pretty sure Cas have finished 5th. In fact, I distincly remember us finishing 5th in 1999: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Leag ... e_IV_Table AND 2000 www.slstats.org/t10/Castleford+T ... mmary.html .'" I actually wrote "during the franchise era" but in white font. Okay, that's a lie. I'd forgotten about that, but I assume what happened 12 years ago isn't part of your application.

Quote ="Fully"That's funny...because I'm pretty sure Cas have finished 5th. In fact, I distincly remember us finishing 5th in 1999: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Leag ... e_IV_Table AND 2000 www.slstats.org/t10/Castleford+T ... mmary.html .'" I actually wrote "during the franchise era" but in white font. Okay, that's a lie. I'd forgotten about that, but I assume what happened 12 years ago isn't part of your application.

I also agree 100% Big Cat.keep the faith.

I'd assume not. Anything pre-2009 is largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It'll be about progression over the last licensing period and how clubs are improving/becoming sustainable as businesses.

Do you really believe that?

Apparently we have improved since the last license up to the highest grade in commercial, community and youth. The new facilities 'guaranteed' for Belle Vue including cover and seating makes our improvement up to A/B (with an A grade ground as a back-up) from a low C and we are now sustainable as a business.

So how come the WT supporters on this board are so negative regarding our application?

But there is an anti tamper deadline that I don't think we have yet passed and therefore he should not be touting his players around, and other clubs should be respecting that too and not circling like vultures.

Yes, I do believe that. That's what licensing was all about; progression, stability and improvement. I believe that on the whole, the majority of clubs have done improved in the licensing period. Some still have considerable weakenesses but ultimately, that will pull their bids down.

Unfortunately, it's not based on the last 3/4 months but the whole three years.

mr shuttleworth does indeed have a duty of care to his clients and to the club's to whom he provides services. however it seems to me that he's made his mind up how things are going to go on franchise day, and that agents like him have an opportunity to cash in as big and as quickly as they could be considered to be making the situation at belle vue worse than it needs to be for this and next year. he could be considered complicit in our inability to even talk to players about contracts if what is rumoured is true.

the fact that you enjoyed shuttleworth’s company is of no relevance to this thread. i keep being told he’s a fan, but i’ve always viewed him as a rugby union man, first, second and third. he’s an agent so i’d guess that he likes money, and that is his motivation for being close to the club. in my broad view agents same throughout sport: manipulative, duplicitous and when it comes down to it callous.

I don't see how good his company is has anything to do with it, the Krays were fabulous party guests!

I agree, in the main an agent and a clubs interests are poles apart, IMO football may have enough cash to waste on agents but RL does not.
I think if he has made an assumption that our players contracts may be null and void shortly, he is clearly an astute man, however his tactics to "get on with the job" before the announcement is made, may well be doing us no favours as a club.
Perhaps we could offer him a job!!!!!!

I wish we could give 110% in the last few games of the season and pick up a few surprise wins to take us above Quins. How ridiculous would it look if we were given the chop after finishing above Crusaders and especially Quins with our 4 point deduction? The 2 points dropped at Quins was our big chance of getting anywhere near.

That Quins game was massive. I believe had we won that we would have capitulated in the last 3 games like we have.

do we have a vacancy entitled "short d union stooge"?