We had to abort the academy be it now or next year the club made a financial decision that was a must. We move on and build once the pandemic is over. How many championship clubs run an academy ? some SL sides do not run one and they all get by. Why do people think we will have a squad of loan players ?. We will sign players and then they become a Viking a lot of fuss over nothing. At least now the club will be spending all the money on the first team squad which after a long time will and always should be the main priority.
Speechless.Widnes scrap the pathway to the first team for young up and coming lads and it’s no big deal ! I’m not interested what other clubs do,they can please themselves. So now that we are just another second division club with no ambition, in future let’s not mock and ridicule the so called expansion clubs for having no grassroots and no junior set up because we are just the same as them.
Bemused . That you will recognise we are no longer a big club and have not been for years we cannot afford it simple as. Like was stated we could not run it anyway after this season. Have you got a youngster in the academy ?
If we have no academy or reserves and pick up 6 or 7 injuries what will we do for getting 17 players on the field?
Whore ourselves out for loanees.Some think it's no big deal.They'll still be saying that watching Widnes on gossages rec in the amateur north west counties.
Have you got a youngster in the academy ?
No I have'nt and I don't see the relevance of the question.Do you have to have a son or relative in the academy in order to care ? I know you don't give a monkey's but some of us do.
It is of course disappointing with the effort put into the academy over the years to get us to being classed as one of the top Grade 1 academies (for whatever that was worth)
However, the over reaction has been, in my opinion, completely over the top.
I would bet a lot of the people calling it a final nail in the coffin and whatever else are most likely the same people complaining 2/3 years ago that we were not spending enough of finances on the first team squad and putting too much emphasis on academy development
Have you got a youngster in the academy ?
No I have’nt and I don’t see the relevance of the question.Do you have to have a son or relative in the academy in order to care ? I know you don’t give a monkey’s but some of us do.
With your dramatic reactions and stating you won't be watching the side play anymore suggested that you did. so how exactly do you propose we could of financially kept the academy going ?. I care as I will still be supporting my club will you ?.
Unfortunately we are a 2nd tier team with very limited resources. The lower divisions should do their own form of brexit and sever ties from SL.Our crowds will not support a SL team, there just isn't enough of us.Get all the schools playing again from infants upwards that is how players will come thru, we did this yrs ago why not again. I for one would watch widnes on Leigh Rec if I had to, they are MY home team
With your dramatic reactions and stating you won’t be watching the side play anymore suggested that you did. so how exactly do you propose we could of financially kept the academy going ?. I care as I will still be supporting my club will you ?.
It was a throwaway comment born out of frustration.Apologies for having a pop.Just p1ssed off.
With your dramatic reactions and stating you won’t be watching the side play anymore suggested that you did. so how exactly do you propose we could of financially kept the academy going ?. I care as I will still be supporting my club will you ?.
It was a throwaway comment born out of frustration.Apologies for having a pop.Just p1ssed off.
No problem I get it and understand yes it is a shame and would of been nice to keep it but we are at where we are, like posted earlier we are still suffering from the Rule era.
I think the decision is wrong, but I also think the communication over this has been poor.
Why isn't there a comment from our CEO or Board Members? Surely they could add their comments to the statement or even hold a virtual fans forum over the decision. I think the decision is too big to just have a statement on the website.
Also, on the communication point why did Finney tell BBC Merseyside we weren't applying for SL? Why didn't he tell us through the club first?
The Board are there to run the club, the statement re the Academy is pretty straightforward and comes down to cost which would reflect on the first team aspirations.I can't see how laying the clubs internal financial situation for all to see would benefit anyone other than our opposition and I am happy to accept the Board's decision. The Board Members, known by most locals, are not wealthy sugar daddies and volunteered their finance to save the club from extinction. For that they have my support and trust.
I subscribe to all manner of causes, including Widnes RLFC, but I don't have the means or the desire to belong to the Board. If any of the causes do something that I'm not happy with I can always withdraw my support.
Agree about communication, not been the best lately. The Sheens saga included.
I do think it's a dangerous move to hold too much store in it's our team and people will watch them come what may: undoubtedly some people will be like that, but were there not people from Halifax or Oldham with that attitude?
You can have a look at companies house which has the last 12 months of finances that needed to be disclosed if you want like
Can't see a financial knight in shining armour coming over the horizon just atm, so we'll either sink or swim with what we have or haven't got.
I think the decision is wrong, but I also think the communication over this has been poor. Why isn’t there a comment from our CEO or Board Members? Surely they could add their comments to the statement or even hold a virtual fans forum over the decision. I think the decision is too big to just have a statement on the website. Also, on the communication point why did Finney tell BBC Merseyside we weren’t applying for SL? Why didn’t he tell us through the club first?
What makes you think that the statements put on the club's website re the Academy and the application for the SL place did not reflect the views of the Board? Not sure what a fans forum would have achieved. I think the club statement was published on the web site the day after the Radio Merseyside interview and I recollect that there was advance notice of the interview on here.
Re Sheens, there was a lot of speculation on here about the reasons for Sheens leaving. Perhaps the fact that there has been no comment from Sheens suggests that both parties agreed not to make further comment.
I can't see how you can criticise the club about communications when most clubs update their fans via the club web site.
Now the academy is going our fulltime staff must be down to single figures, do we need a full time CEO?