Leigh: Celtic licence is not so super
Jul 22 2008 WalesOnline
LEIGH have hit out over the decision to award Celtic Crusaders a Super League licence, claiming the games governing body should hang their heads in shame.
The Centurions were among the five losers when the Rugby Football League this morning announced 14 three-year licences from 2009, including Salford City Reds and the Bridgend-based Crusaders.
All 12 existing engage Super League clubs kept their places, with Leigh missing out along with Featherstone, Halifax, Widnes and Toulouse, who are expected to be offered a place in the National League.
Leigh chief executive Allan Rowley said: May we take this opportunity to wish Salford and Celtic all the best but we also have to say we are thoroughly disgusted with the Celtic decision.
We now have a team that fielded 10 overseas players against us because they are classed as a development team and are now in our elite competition, which is a complete contradiction of terms and we feel this decision is purely a geographical one.
We have nothing at all against the people who run Celtic. They can only do what they do within the laws of the game but the decision makers should hang their heads in shame.
We know that there is no system for appealing but we are definitely going to ask the RFL how Celtic ticked more boxes than us. We owe that to the public of Leigh.
The Crusaders, who entered the National League only three years ago, will play their matches at the Brewery Field, which is described by the RFL in their summary of applications as limited and old-fashioned, and have no plans to take matches to Cardiff.
RFL executive chairman Richard Lewis, who was on the five-strong panel that came up with todays unanimous decisions, said Celtics licence was granted on the basis of Bridgend and were quite comfortable with that.
They persuaded us that they can deliver. The Crusaders have gone from National League Two to One and grown their crowds. Market research is positive and I think they put together a good case.
Leigh, who were relegated from Super League in 2005, based their application on their imminent move to a brand new stadium.
We are devastated with the decision, added Rowley. The bid was professionally presented by Deloittes and had the full backing of Wigan MBC (Metropolitan Borough Council) and Leigh Sports Village.
The bid incorporated a business plan that was approved by Deloittes, which demonstrated the enormous potential of Leigh Centurions together with the opening of the fantastic new stadium and other facilities at the Sports Village.
The new facilities definitely ticked enough boxes for a successful bid and all that we can do now is monitor the development of the successful clubs and see whether they can deliver what we at Leigh Centurions have already delivered.
We are not naive enough to think that the new stadium is the be all and end all but it is the catalyst to develop the club and the infrastructure in association with the local amateur clubs.
This, along with the backing of the Leigh public, will ensure that there are exciting times ahead for Leigh Centurions.
Widnes, who missed out when original plans for Super League were drawn up in 1995 and lost their place 10 years later when the League relegated an extra team to make way for the introduction of Catalans Dragons, took todays news on the chin.
New owner Steve OConnor, who took the club out of administration in November, insisted they would bounce back and re-apply for a place in Super League when the licence system is reviewed in 2011.
We must build on the solid foundations we have laid down over the past eight months and prepare an absolutely irresistible licence application for the future, he said.
I feel it is vital for the game as a whole that the Super League flourishes under this new licence system and Im still convinced that Widnes Vikings have all the credentials to become a powerful force in Super League.
If there was joy in Manchester and south Wales, the reaction in Castleford and Wakefield was one of relief after both established clubs struggled to meet the minimum standards laid down for facilities and stadia.
Castleford, who were promoted back to Super League last year, hope to move into a new stadium in 2010.
Tigers chief executive Richard Wright said: This is fabulous news for the club and the fans and just what we have been waiting to hear.
