Just watched highlights on youtube and the commentator described both clubs as having 'storied' histories....if that doesn't show the absolute ineptitude of some of the coverage......(especially from over the pennines)
If we don't try and enact a plan for SL from this (not saying we will get there straight away) then this was a completely pointless exercise.
Next season we need to aim for the title, simple as....
@spelly That is true, but it is also true in SL and other sports. In the recent Saints v Leeds game on Sky, the commentator referred to the great following from Leeds, who took about a 1,000 fans to the game. My guess is that we are certainly one of the best supported away teams in the Championship, if not the best.
What is important is whether we could generate a consistent home following, if we managed to get into SL. With a decent competitive team and the right level of promotion locally, we should be able to attract crowds at the same level as Leigh in my opinion. What would be needed is someone with the same level of commitment, enthusiasm and yes, money, as Derek Beaumont.
We have had 2 bites of the SL cherry, and have never had the same crowds as Leigh have. S.O'C said we needed 7k average to be sustainable, we never got there.
Paulie xx
@pauliewalnuts Isn't that the attitude that will forever condemn us to the Championship or worse?
What crowds were Leigh getting before Beaumont put in his money AND promoted the game within Leigh? He showed that you can generate more interest and support by investing in "stars" and then aggressively promoting the game within the town.
With hindsight, I think the game made a mistake in rejecting Eddie Hearn. I am not sure what kind of spectacle that he would have created and whether towns like Widnes would have been in his plans, but he certainly knows how to promote a game.
With RFL/SL we have the worst of all worlds. Self-serving amateurs like big Nige producing meaningless strategic plans that amount to nothing; who think that promoting the game is about setting off a few fireworks before a game and enjoying an annual jolly to Las Vegas; sold out to Sky, who have used the sport to fill slots and played the RFL negotiators for fools; and now thinking that jumping into bed with the NRL is the answer to all their dreams.
You also need to look at who was in control of Widnes, certainly in our last stint in SL, and whose interests they were promoting. I actually agreed with Steve O'Connor that we needed crowds of 7,000 to be sustainable in SL, but then those running the Club were more interested in taking money out of the Club, than investing in the team and promoting the interests of the Club.
The problem that I see with the current game is the thinking that you need a local individual to be happy to invest ie lose, up to £3m every year, without generating enough income and investment to sustain the game in the future. That is a route to failure unless Beaumont, Moran, McManus, Danson, Ellis etc have discovered the secret to eternal life and wealth!!
spot on lad
the game is in seriously bad shape, but the powers that be disguise with record attendances etc
beneath the promised land the game is very quickly dying - the very well paid idiots at the RFL need to wake up and smell the coffee
i would do their jobs for nothing ( can’t do any worse !)- drive at my own expense because I care about the game - not like the clowns in charge at the moment
The administrators of this game should not be so heavily invested in one team as they will only ever act in a way that works in the best interests of that club.
I can't remember how many times on RLFANS I was told that I shouldn't be so selfish about my club going under if it meant that the game as a whole was stronger. Never in a million years would those same people have traded their club for the game but once you are at the top table it is all about self interest. It's the only viewpoint from where shrinking the game makes sense to try and expand it. A slightly bigger share of an increasingly shrinking pie! Idiots
I also don't think any of them genuinely look further than 12 months ahead. What does 5 or 10 years look like? And what is the path to get there? There are problems that need to sorted out now but how do you know how to get where you want to go if you never look up once in a while.
@pauliewalnuts Leigh went up with a winning culture where we stumbled in. Think many Widnes fans believed we were going to compete and sign the best players but that never materialised.
Exactly and the corrupt team with James Rule were not as good at marketing than Tim Holmes and the board now. You need the good community and support team to achieve these goals and bridge out to Runcorn too when successful with a money person.
@d-day would of peaked interest a lot more had the Lockyer and sheens deals got done year 1 haha
