Leigh are back!

I don’t understand the position Feth have found themselves in. The two biggest clubs in the division by a considerable distance is us and Bradford. I am not suggesting that gives us a right to compete but Feth, haven’t got a wealthy backer, they don’t have amazing crowds and their area is hardly the hotbed of commercial activity.

So why they now talked up as the divisions big dogs?

Of course on the field and not stature gets you to where you are and Fev have been brilliant this year and deservedly should be going up if it wasn’t for Toulouse having the higher win percentage with Fev having more points

To be fair to Featherstone, they have been in the Top 4 of the Championship for most of the last 10/11 years.

Leigh in a derby match will be good, considering the relegation of Oldham and Swinton.

Toulouse are worthy champions imo. 100 percent record and beat Fev when they clashed. That said Fev are a good enough side not to write off their chances in a one-off game.

I don’t understand the position Feth have found themselves in. The two biggest clubs in the division by a considerable distance is us and Bradford. I am not suggesting that gives us a right to compete but Feth, haven’t got a wealthy backer, they don’t have amazing crowds and their area is hardly the hotbed of commercial activity. So why they now talked up as the divisions big dogs?

Consistent performances and wins at championship level over the years.They’ve finished top of the league on a few occasions at this level, something Widnes have never achieved.Even when we were promoted in 2001 we were runners up on the table and in 2011 we were a poor 5th but got the nod via application.You could just the same ask why are Widnes considered big dogs.

Featherstone have also developed their ground unlike both of their near neighbours.

I don’t understand the position Feth have found themselves in. The two biggest clubs in the division by a considerable distance is us and Bradford. I am not suggesting that gives us a right to compete but Feth, haven’t got a wealthy backer, they don’t have amazing crowds and their area is hardly the hotbed of commercial activity. So why they now talked up as the divisions big dogs?

What criteria are you basing your claim about us being 1 of the biggest 2 clubs in the league. We have won a number of trophies in the past but haven’t won anything big for over 30 years. It’s about finance now and we are nowhere near the top two in that respect.

Fev are bank rolled by Mark Campbell, and a few others. He also is involved with York City Knights.

I've met him a few times and he is very passionate about his club, and has a lot of ambition for it, that said, they'll always struggle for crowds.

Paulie xx

Spike Island 90 wrote:

I don’t understand the position Feth have found themselves in. The two biggest clubs in the division by a considerable distance is us and Bradford. I am not suggesting that gives us a right to compete but Feth, haven’t got a wealthy backer, they don’t have amazing crowds and their area is hardly the hotbed of commercial activity. So why they now talked up as the divisions big dogs?

Consistent performances and wins at championship level over the years.They’ve finished top of the league on a few occasions at this level, something Widnes have never achieved.Even when we were promoted in 2001 we were runners up on the table and in 2011 we were a poor 5th but got the nod via application.You could just the same ask why are Widnes considered big dogs.

I am not disputing or discrediting their success, I am just asking why a club with no rich backer and with crowds of around 2,000 can compete  with a full-time Tolouse or Leigh.

More importantly why can’t we.

I am basing my claim on history and name recognition. More people in Aus, would have heard the name “Widnes” than Featherstone.

In 2019, a huge tv (in RL terms) audience watched us play Leigh on Sky other teams simply haven’t got our profile. Yes, we might not have the finances but Leigh have bigger finances than Bradford does that make them a bigger club? No, it doesn’t.

Looking at Leigh, it will be interesting to see what Degsy does next year - he's thrown his toys out the pram before and he was very critical of the team in his programme notes a couple of weeks ago.  If he sticks around and keeps them full time then they will be battling with Fev for promotion.  If he starts pulling funding and sacking players again, then they could just be battling for a decent play off spot.  Should be a decent comp next year, Fev/Leigh will be obvious favourites, but I don't think they will be as 'invincible' as Toulouse this year.

Anyway, we always seem to do better against Leigh when we are the underdogs, so bring them on! 🙂

We will have to see what the financial package is for the future before anyone will know whether SL is worth a shot. It may well only be attractive to clubs with a private financial backer prepared to shovel money in forever more. As Beaumont found out throwing cash in doesn't always get the results that you need.

If that is how it works out the game may split of its own accord with a competitive Championship happy to compete at that level, leaving the SL to plough on eating up the cash. I would guess that there are a few Championship sides who would happily do that.

Just how we would fare in SL is an interesting question but if, in the end, the game rests on how much private finance a club can command I think that we would struggle.

I am basing my claim on history and name recognition. More people in Aus, would have heard the name “Widnes” than Featherstone. In 2019, a huge tv (in RL terms) audience watched us play Leigh on Sky other teams simply haven’t got our profile. Yes, we might not have the finances but Leigh have bigger finances than Bradford does that make them a bigger club? No, it doesn’t.

What has that got to do with the price of fish? Just because Widnes were good (Great) 30 years ago doesn't mean they should be now. Look at Derby, or Notts Forest, or any other sport were teams go through trouble. It doesn't matter if anyone has a "bigger" name, for whatever you think that's worth, it's all about the squad on the pitch and what they produce.

I don’t understand the position Feth have found themselves in. The two biggest clubs in the division by a considerable distance is us and Bradford. I am not suggesting that gives us a right to compete but Feth, haven’t got a wealthy backer, they don’t have amazing crowds and their area is hardly the hotbed of commercial activity. So why they now talked up as the divisions big dogs?

It's good that plenty of people have provided some very good answers to this question already. But if I can have my say as a Fev fan:

Firstly you say Fev don't have a wealthy backer. How much has Mark Campbell put into the club during his time there? Perhaps a lot more than you might think.

But more importantly: Fev own their own ground, which means not only do they not have to pay out rental etc on match days but also they have big income streams on the day from the bar etc.

Then there's the clubhouse, which, Covid permitting, is in near constant use for weddings, conferences, parties etc. It also stages numerous events such as an evening with Frank Bruno/Josh Warrington etc, comedians, all of which are moneyspinners.

Then the club has a really impressive roster of sponsors which have been built up over a number of years.

The chairman himself oversaw a huge ground improvement which included dismantling two disused stands from Scarborough FC, transporting them piece by piece to Featherstone and re-assembling them by using a group of volunteer Fev supporters who had  a variety of building skills. He's also built a top-class indoor training facility (which we hired out to Wakefield for a number of years).

I think that the continues presence in SL of Wakefield, in particular, and Castleford has been a source of great frustration to Campbell in recent years as he has transformed the ground, had consistent success on the field, and views Featherstone as a much "bigger" club than Wakefield, at least, the only difference being the £2m handout every year that enables them to field a squad to keep them in SL, whist they and Cas have been allowed to continue to play in grounds that have been delapidated since well into the last century.

And of course there's one other reason why, as you put it, they are "talked up as one of the division's big dogs". Look at the table!