Oldham are in a lower division than us and have signed players from us that most people on here wanted rid of anyway. Obvs, they'll look good in Division 1. But really, if they'd stayed with us it would have been more of the same, which people didn't want. Rightly or wrongly.
There has been a long-standing argument on this site that Widnes fans wanted a Championship style pack. We seem to be attempting to put one together from players that we can attract to the club.
Like I said, I'm not defending the club's recruitment but I think our fans are slightly contradictory at times. The bunting was out last year when we landed Amor, that didn't work out well. Let's see how this goes.
A good player Langtree and Barrow gutted they have lost him as a player for next season. Squad taking shape and I feel a halfback, centre and a prop/back rower should be enough. Then use loan and dual when required.
If we had 40 players signed up you'd still say we need a halfback, centre and a prop/back rower.
Drop the arm on the Dansette Ratters.
Paulie xx
So your happy with just Gilmore and Lyons at halfback? Next signing should be a halfback similar to Craven, but a fit one. So that won't be 40 players, as don't need 10 wingers . 😂🙈
There is little doubt that the pack that we now have will be a different challenge to our opposition.
Our new coach has put it to us that the view if Widnes from outside was that there was a lack of grunt and that hit hard early our pack would roll over. Like it or not we have all seen it demonstrated.
My dad played a lot of RL in the 1930's, in Widnes, and I could hear him pleading for some retaliation!!! Not foul play but certainly 'let 'em know they've been in a game!!!!' would have been his cry.
At times in my supporting career we have had a variety of packs but all would have had a dig at least, until recently. Every team knew that we could play good rugby, but they also knew that we could win the fight if necessary, and that is RL at its most basic.
Whether we have bought enough 'quality' we will have to wait and see, but at least we might relieve our backs from some of the driving!!!!
The most important signing now would be a halfback, because if Lyons or Gilmore got injured we would be struggling. So hopefully a fit Dennis Moran type player. 🥖🥖🥖🇫🇷
If a young Dennis Moran were to appear today we wouldn't have enough money to buy him!!! Just trying to think if any team in SL has anyone approaching his skill set?
It shows just how the game has changed to manage without his sort of imagination and skill. Refs want slow ptb's , no quick tap's etc all back to five drives and a kick!!
If a young Dennis Moran were to appear today we wouldn't have enough money to buy him!!! Just trying to think if any team in SL has anyone approaching his skill set?
It shows just how the game has changed to manage without his sort of imagination and skill. Refs want slow ptb's , no quick tap's etc all back to five drives and a kick!!
Haha, I will try lower my expectations, possibly a few years younger Danny Craven type who can kick long and can run. My point need a halfback because we only have Gilmore and Lyons. If one gets injured I don't want Jack Owens or Gregson playing their.
Ths stark reality is this. If we start the season with the current halfbacks we have, we are in SERIOUS danger.
Agree with you we have to have at least one decent half back reserve to cover injuries, two if possible.
I don't know how much 'nous' Roberts has, if any, in a half-back position, but he is a good size and strong if he has any cred!!
Don't know if AC has any ideas regarding bulking Lyons up a bit etc. Makes a great deal of difference if he could break a tackle for instance.
Another ex-Oldham player coming in....I am utterly, utterly shocked.......
Wonder if the rumoured Warrington DR comes off (not entirely comfortable with it but hey, we're acting like a no mark club so let's run with it) whether we could get the 3rd choice Wire half back to play for us?
I do think we will have an honest, robust pack though- whether the quality more widely is there to utilise it is a different matter.
Widnes are a club that haven’t finished in the top half of the table since 2011.
Since being relegated, have had the following finishes:
2019 - 11th (would’ve been 8th but for points deduction)
2020 - Abandoned
2021 - 8th
2022 - 8th
2023 - 9th
Some fans haven’t grasped that Widnes are a bottom half of the Championship club. There are no signs that this will improve. The incomings will, with a bit of luck get Widnes within a shot of the top 6, providing they gel. It is more likely that it will be a relegation scrap.
Personally, I think Widnes will finish between 8th and 11th again.
The big question is why do we seem to have accepted this mediocrity?
One of the best supported clubs in the league (for now), to not have finished in the play-offs in four season is grave failure.
Indeed James, support will begin to slide away, we could do with a star signing preferably a half back
but when you read Salford may be no more unless they get a new lease as if not their funding is reduced from £1.31 million to £50,000 sums up where the game is - the RFL have a lot to answer for
Still feel personally because the consortium were thrown together they have struggled to move from survival mode to building mode.
Why should we accept being a bottom half Championship side: Whitehaven, Batley, Sheffield, London and Barrow have all finished Top 6 when we have been in this league.
As far as I can see there is nobody within the club with any high-level Rugby experience or knowledge. Hence the need for CH in a role which seems to be Jimmy Rule Mark II- I'd rather the new chairman grabbed things by the scruff of the neck a bit more....
If the new coaching team are good, we will be able to be in the race to scrape 6th. Just think how expectations have dropped from a lot of us wanting rid of DB when he finished 5th in the Championship and Steve Mc losing 2 GFs and finishing 6th with a points deduction and getting sacked.
In February it will be 5 years since Admin-I think that is a fair period to judge what has gone on since without referring back to the club not going bust.
But berating the Board is just self-serving and makes you feel better.
Getting a new Board together with a stronger financial backing might be a start, or offering some assistance would be positive, driving the WVIPs forward by persuading others to subscribe would be positive, but constant whingeing, of which we are all guilty, gets us nowhere.
I'm not berating the board, I'm pointing out so far they have not successfully made the transition from survival mode to progression and that they haven't proven they have the nous either themselves or through the people they have employed to get out of the cycle of disappointments.
The evidence that we've seen in league performance backs this up.
I'll be there with my season ticket like most of us, but more in hope than expectation!!
Regarding the board and them "trying their best", when a longstanding fan with career in finance, and an excellent rugby knowledge, offers to buy shares in the club and is rejected, you have to question what their ambition really is.