Wakefield and especially Leigh have done well will wealthy owners. The game is that skint a few million quid goes a long way. Leigh at Hilton Park achieved nothing for years with poor crowds. Now good crowds and Wembley appearances. Look at last time we got in, it was with SOC money if we are being honest.
Without 1.5m per season to put in SL is not viable and we are better off in the Championship. Lets hope somehow the RFL get a decent TV deal so its not down to owners having to put millions in to sustain a full time squad. And of course promotion is re-instated. I pay for SKY but hardly watch SL and I'm a big RL fan. What does that tell you about the game/product.
6 Year plan according to the Chairman at the Members' Monday after the IMG announcement in Oct 2024.
Paulie xx
Good post dan1!!!!! Like you, as far as SL is concerned it seems to have lost its value as the 'top' game. Very repetitive with only a select few featuring on TV and even then very few teams playing high quality rugby. Some of that is due to rules that have slowed the game down and officials who have difficulty keeping pace with the action.
Thinking today about Dennis Moran at Blackpool in our team hunting SL promotion - is there anyone in SL anywhere near to him these days? The quality of the Championship is its competitive quality throughout the league whereas SL has a select few top teams who are always on TV.
It's not good when the game is sold as a package at a giveaway price and so many clubs cannot put a team out without millionaire charity. The SL clubs handed the reins over to a management group that has failed.
The millionaire club owners realise that with the Sky connection failing they either have to re-invent the SL or it will fall apart.
It is doubtful that the Championship clubs could manage without a share of Sky cash and would have to fall back onto supporters. Our crowd base maybe lower than we would like but is certainly better than most in the Championship group.
Many 'top' Championship clubs have minimal loal crowd support and from our present situation it is hard to see just what can be done to re-establish the financial element of the game in its heartland never mind expansion.
Players whom have enjoyed fulltime contracts etc are unlikely to want to revert to part time rugby, but that may well become the option.
I don't get this 6 year plan unless we have a big money person like Wakefield, Leigh etc it is not viable. What in 6 years will change it unless got big sponsors and more fans to the games.
Good question for a members Monday. Details of the 6 year plan. If its to get into SL what are the markers for success and how do we track progress.
In terms of crowds, playing squad and money coming in, are we any further forward than this time 12 months ago??
@sandgroper Would you be mocking SL if we where in it ? . Every game is shown live that means that fans can watch there team play every week. Most the games I have watched have been superb. There is nothing wrong with our game bar some poor refereeing, it's not the game that needs attention but the running of the game.
A question that needs asking is that with there is a good chance of a 14 club SL why are we no where near a candidate to join the elite.
The short answer is money. We do not attract big money from outside or within the Borough.
We have, I believe, honest Board members doing their best supported by the core supporters. Basically we are where we were when SOC said that we needed 7,000 gates to survive.
@sandgroper Which I think could be achievable in theory. We were only 500 people away from 7,000 in 2012 and 2016 if my memory serves me right.
@dan1 I agree that we are probably better off in the championship with the current situation in the game.
Even with an owner who can sustain us, would SL really be worth it? Widnes had a decent super league last time around and a good proportion of the fan base didn’t buy into finishing 8th. Which I believe would be our average ceiling if we reentered in SL even with new ownership.
I would love Widnes to thrive in the championship similar to a Featherstone, build a fan base of 3k a game, win some comps and just be competitive. Conference football is thriving atm, with fans enjoying the whole experience away from the big lights of the premier league.
Why can’t championship rugby be the same?
Sport is about winning things which is not available in the Championship basically there is nothing to play for and no end goal.@dan1 I agree that we are probably better off in the championship with the current situation in the game.
Even with an owner who can sustain us, would SL really be worth it? Widnes had a decent super league last time around and a good proportion of the fan base didn’t buy into finishing 8th. Which I believe would be our average ceiling if we reentered in SL even with new ownership.
I would love Widnes to thrive in the championship similar to a Featherstone, build a fan base of 3k a game, win some comps and just be competitive. Conference football is thriving atm, with fans enjoying the whole experience away from the big lights of the premier league.
Why can’t championship rugby be the same?
@prisoner That is a good point mate but there is still the 1895 cup. Widnes have spent 6 seasons in the championship but have only finished in the plays offs once.
If we were winning most weeks and competing in the plays offs, I would imagine crowds would increase even slightly. Winning is always better than losing regardless of the competition,
Good question for a members Monday. Details of the 6 year plan. If its to get into SL what are the markers for success and how do we track progress.
In terms of crowds, playing squad and money coming in, are we any further forward than this time 12 months ago??
The 'markers' are the IMG criteria (supposedly for 10 years, but will be tweaked/or binned). Coleman's ambition is to steadily improve until we are the best placed, non-full time club. Bums on seats, VIPS, and any Sponsors that can be enticed, all helps towards this, for better Player recruitment.
Paulie xx
@sandgroper Which I think could be achievable in theory. We were only 500 people away from 7,000 in 2012 and 2016 if my memory serves me right.
But in reality that was 13 & 9 years ago. Are there things you did back then, that you don't do now, and have no intention to ever do them again?
Life moves on
Paulie xx
What's the point of a 6-year plan in RL? The goalposts change year-on-year. IMG will be long gone in 6 years, the RL/SL will have had another re-think by then. Don't forget, SL's best and biggest are losing money hand-over-fist.
As for us, every time this topic comes up, the answer is the same; money! We will not be able to slowly build to get to the point where we're a SL prospect based on graft and Championship recruitment alone. Hardly ever works like that, even harder now than it was 5 years ago. Unless someone (a Widnes fan, let's face it a non-fan would have to be clinically insane) walks through the door with a bagful of cash and is prepared to lose it on a long-term whim, then it's not happening. i.e. one of us need to win the EuroMillions.
If I had to have £1 on it, I'm not sure SL will be here in its current format in 6 years anyway. Sky aren't interested anymore and clubs can't lose £1.5M a year for the next 5.5 years. It will be different by then but, we still won't be in.