Talking to a ex Widnes player today, he told me that the Widnes Vikings will buying the Widnes St maries and will be known as Widnes maries Vikings.

Anyone else heard this?

IMO would be great move for all involved in Widnes.

whats the point of that though? i fail to see any real reason for doing it.

I'm not sure, perhaps to create better links in the juniors? Buying them out isn't necessary for that though.

Aren't their rules about sides creating 'super amateur clubs' or something like that?

Had heard Widnes were looking at buying up the Maries club / grounds to do with the Liverpool rec development so maybe it's based around that?

It would make more sense that whoever has informed St Pete about this has got the wrong end of the stick and is actually on about the Liverpool Rec site which the club will be taking over the lease on. Maries then to move into that site given that they are struggling financially themselves and taking on the 'Vikings' moniker.

There wouldnt seem to be any point in Widnes buying up the Maries or their site and given the amount of people that are linked to them on TIW it would have broke there first rather than coming through these channels.

I'm obviously not going to name the ex player but I'd say he'd know whats going on and doubt he'll have the wrong end of the stick.

From what he said, Widnes St maries are in huge debt, the club house has already been shut down( so he says).

He said that Widnes will invest in St maries and provide new changing rooms, club house( on Liverpool road/lane he said?) and all young St maries Vikings players will go on to be Widnes Viking scholarship players.

It sounds like pretty much what I had put in my previous post.

The confusion was from you putting that Widnes would purchase the Maries club setup whereas now it sounds from the latest post as though they will move into the Vikings new facility on Liverpool Road.

All I know, he said Widnes Vikings would be going in with St maries and being called Widnes St maries Vikings. They will settle the debt that the club has and also produce young maries players in to the Vikings scholarship.

Isn't that heavy an involvement with amateur sides barred though! IIRC Wigan & Saints tried it before and it was blocked.

seems like a lot of fuss over nothing. they could still get younger lads in the academy without having any formal relationship with the maries. the club are building a new training facility on liverpool road, so maybe the maries will play there. i suppose its better than the rumour i heard, that bobbie goulding was going to buy the maries, sure fire way to drive even more punters away, all hes famous for around here these days is being a drunk bellend who picks on old men and young disabled lads in pubs.

I think that Widnes don't want a big local team like St maries going bust. It's not good for the game. So they are saving the maries which IMO a very good move by Widnes.

Widnes St maries will play at Liverpool road according to the ex player I spoke to today.

Are Widnes building a new training facility on this Liverpool road for Widnes Vikings to train ?

yep, training facility and its also were the reserve and academy teams will be based.

..... Widnes St maries.

Warrington used to have connections with the Crewe Wolves and the Chester Wolves so i don't think their is any rule to stop professional clubs having connections with amateur clubs, well their obviously wasn't around that time.

Its a good move from Widnes if true, a lot of potential talent gets missed in the amateur game because of the lack of interest at times from the professional clubs, i know Warrington in the past wasn't great in this area but thats certainly changed in recent times.