Is it just me that's actually starting to wonder where all these sound bytes are coming from...the "real buzz around the place " ..."real confidence within the club" ...etc etc etc ....let's look at one or two things that are part of that drive ...
An exciting ground breaking record kit deal with debeau...when questioned by Mike parsons ...Tim Holmes said it actually wasn't record breaking in terms of finance but more in service ..how quick kit supply would be made available..
The reality....within days of that interview the club states they won't receive the range of leisure wear /training gear in time for Christmas....an absolute catastrophic hit on club finances ...purely because those sales in January or whenever degsys company deliver the merchandise won't remotely get close to any potential pre Christmas sales ...can add on top of that the general consensus that that very same range is roundly described as hideous....
While the club in my opinion have done a great job over the badge rebranding and new kits ...a real push on the clubs roots inspiring the kits ...the oth3r merchandise is a polar opposite...
What's to buzz about that situation?????
Let's get on to the playing squad ..
Take out Sam Wilde and a very unlikely resurgence of Jordan abdull ....is our squad for 2026 considerably any better than last season.... absolutely not ...if you argue differently your deluded ...where's the buzz from that ??? Are we marching up the league with pretty much the same squad that completely flopped last season..and those that didn't flop spent the whole or most time injured ....got rewarded tho ...
Some have taken offence at the suggestion that the designated squad numbers may suggest any potential starting line up....let's clear this up ...bent and gregson are nailed on starters even the most blinded know it ...I have zero problem with Liam other than he's not a prop ...I've played and coached the game ...a props bare basics are run hard ...break a tackle...get an arm free on contact for an offload ...you coach this to kids ...Liam does none of those ...he either gets flattened or just flops to the floor ...what he does do brilliantly is tackle anything ...works his absolute nuts off ..he's literally a victim of the gaffers blind faith in plonking him in their ..for those that challenge this and take offence ...name one single club of the 21 in the championship that have a continual strategy of playing back rows as props ...let me save you the bother ...it's one club....us ...I live in barrow ..I looked at their squad ...a squad of 20 (6 less than us ) how many specialist props do they have ?? Four ..one more than us ...it's actually laughable
Mr gregson....we're all told he's a multi faceted ball carrying forward ...a ball carrying forward that drops the ball or throws it behind his team mate ...that's all I'm saying on him .
Let's have a look at investors ...we were told by Stuart their was potential investment from the middle East ... Timbuktu...planet lala if we had bagged a SL spot ...did this actually exist ?? Nothing solid was ever put forward prior or afterwards to suggest any truth in it ..
And finally the one that really riles me that nobody seems to have picked up on is the season ticket sales ...again mikes interview with Tim ...Tim stayed ST sales were down on the previous year and he put that down to not knowing a league format etc ... magically within a week the club posted "we've burst through the 1000 ST sales and is a record for this time of year " ....so which ones the truth ...you've contradicted yourself within a week ....
I'm sorry but it all stinks of a concerted effort and strategy to put a sh#tload of spin on everything...to pump imaginary positivity on everything possible...
But the reality is ....squads not improved enough to bring some fans back ...we're taking a big hit on merchandise sales ...there's no investment at board level ...
This will look like a club bash and if you take it that way I couldn't care less ...I like you desperately want to see the club succeed ...but just cannot in anyway see results of the spin that's being spun ...
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you have said there. There is no improvement in that squad. I'm seeing my ST as a donation to help the club keep going, and I'll keep doing it for the foreseeable, but I can see Coleman getting sacked midseason as he clearly doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes.
Some interesting points. I thought the same about the season tickets. The current situation with no promotion for winning the league and the new fixture format plus the delay in the RFL announcing it must have been a factor like you say. But which is it, are we slightly behind on last season or is it some kind of record? I must admit I thought 1,000 didnt sound like a lot, I assumed we would sell around the 1,500 mark. The easy way to clear it up is simply to publish season ticket sales for the last 5 seasons Adult/Concession and Junior.
I also agree about the squad, but what I will say is with so many clubs in real trouble, Salford and Featherstone being the 2 obvious examples, I think being sensible with the squad is the way to go. We have no rich backer and crowds although still the best in the league are not what they once were. Recruitment strategy and making the most of the budget is another matter, its a fact that we are 2 props short and Bent is a real 100% player but hes just in no way shape or form a prop.
The kit is a strange one, why is it a record breaking deal and how will it benefit Widnes? Thats what matters and its not been explained.
I get the point of positivity and getting people on board, but I think people can also buy into saying it how it is and building the club around the community and generate buy in that way. Which I do see the club now attempting to do. For me everything doesnt have to always be the biggest or the best.
Agreed and this picking his mates could eventually be detrimental to Coleman getting the sack. The guy seems a top bloke but we all want results on the pitch.