Consider the following level playing fields:
1) Last season - not able to sign players for most of the close season making it difficult for FC to assemble the squad.
2) This season - half the Sky money
3) Next season - half the Sky money - and put into limbo at exactly the time we are trying to sell season tickets - the clubs largest cash inflow
Some people might conclude there is a conspiracy at work

What baffles me is this:

If we were to be replaced by Halifax, Sheffield, Featherstone or Leigh, we would be being replaced by a team with less than half our attendance figures, and with a squad with no chance of competing in Super League. Those four championship squads are not prepared, even if they say they are, to take the step up, as the gulf in the salary cap is too big. So I don't know how a team that has not been preparing to play in super league all year, that hasn't signed any super league players or overseas players, can replace us, and avoid finishing bottom.

Secondly, London Broncos must be in a worse position than us. They have no ground to play at, and have let half of their players go, bringing none in. They have the worst attendance figures in the league too.

Some people over on the Broncos forum have suggested that London have asked for a dispensation that prevents them from being relegated during the next two seasons. I can see that going down well with other clubs if it ever comes to pass

You must have forgotten the form for P&R.

All contracts of the relegated club are made null and void as that club is now in no position to pay them in the next season. The usual situation is that the promoted club takes on the majority of players from the relegated club. As you say their most likely finishing position is always going to be bottom.

I would ask under what circumstances London deserve dispensation?

the answer, R2D2 iS: being in London.<- full stop, period. To misquote the rfl chairman, theres a lot of grassroots stuff going on in London, so they need to be able to reach the pinnacle of RL, - SL.

Sorry, but that argument ( and I'm pretty certain you meant it sarcastically) doesn't actually hold weight. If the Broncos were so important to all these grassroots in London, then surely that would be reflected in things like crowds, after all there are people from grass roots clubs in Bradford who come watch the Bulls and I'm sure the same applies to places like Leeds, Wakefield, St Helens etc.

And why would they need a SL club there to reach the pinnacle of RL? I can't believe that the other SL clubs don't have people scouting this area so the talented youngsters will be on the radar.

And what do London actually bring to SL? It's certainly not big crowds. If you replaced London with either Featherstone or Halifax you'd see an increase in the average SL attendance and those 2 clubs would easily beat London's average attendances. And would be a good thing for the whole league. Bigger crowds mean all clubs have more revenue coming in and can help towards securing sponsorship for the league.

Then, maybe with all these grassroots they're supplying a large number of players to the home nation international teams? Oh wait, no they're not.

No, the truth is London Broncos NEED SL, not the other way round. They need SL to keep overlooking their poor crowds and the general lack of interest they generate.

I still hold to the view that rugby league, if it ever wishes top be considered a major sport in the UK, needs a successful [defined as you will presence in the capital. The truth is I don't know how 'solid' the grass roots are in London, nor do I really know how much the London SL club is necessary to retain or grow those roots but I do know those roots are substantial and it would be a real sad day for the game if the fruits of all that work went belly up.

I'd suspect the Broncos are a figurehead for the game down there, just as the city sides in the north are for their own areas, and same as the 'grass roots' development, to me it would be a desperate shame if 30 odd years of blood sweat an tears went down the pan.

Knowing a little bit about the academy,I would say London's academy is doing very well.Dont know what the answer is for London and it's certainly looking bleak,but if Broncos go it would be really bad news for a lot of young lads coming through the system.

Won't be holding my breath for RFL to come up with a solution for them young lads

The problem is as soon as you loose a super league in the capital you loose what
is classed as a national game. Sky would then offer monies to what will be classed as local to the north of England. Could the league and clubs afford to take that chance.

That is a good point,maybe the RFL will use that to keep London in super league

Whether most fans like it or not we have to hope to keep a team in London or the game we all know is doomed in its current format. Its down to BBC prices and floodlight comps

There is some excellent Amateur RL in London. But it is struggling, and the loss of a SL club to aim for would be a massive blow. Having said that, the Broncos have been run by a bunch of clowns for years. Fred Karno would have done a better job.

Yeah cos if you're a kid growing up in London who gets into RL your absolute ambition would be to play for the Broncos. If they go their ambition and interest is lost forever. None of this kids want to play for a club like Wigan or an Nrl side or anything like that

The might have an ultimate ambition to play for Wigan or South Sydney, but most 15 year olds wouldn't look further afield than a reasonably local club as their starting point for a pro career. If only as a stepping stone before moving to Wigan. If there isn't a professional club in London they're more likely to give up or switch to union rather than consider moving up north. And how many northern clubs have established scouting networks in the south?

That said, it might be time to accept that professional game just isn't going to work in London.

As a number on here seem to believe there is no RL beyond Bradford I don't see it is much different for London kids having limited horizons.

That's what would effect amatuer rugby league in the south east not London broncos.

Goo way to lose the argument.

:2abxzcwx
Bit uncalled for TT.

I don't think you'll find it much different on any individual club's board to be fair. Let's be honest the vast majority on here come on to discuss Bull's matters and would naturally tend to have their metaphorical 'Bradford hat' on when they do so. I mean it's not the VT..[



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Whether the SL club is the 'be all and end all' as regards amateur players I don't know but it's likely to make a fair difference. No Broncos equals no local pathway into the pro game, so it will screw up the elite end in the southern counties, that's for sure. For those who are only looking at a recreational level maybe not as much, but I wouldn't put money on it.

Ahhh the London question...

Honestly, I think they would benefit from a few seasons in the Championship.

Let's face it, we all know that a certain amount of your fanbase as a sporting club is attracted to, and will only show up for, a winning side. It's an ugly sporting truth that we'd all rather didn't exist, but true none the less.

So here we have the (almost) perennial cellar dwellers of SL, and if they're not bottom, they're there or there abouts. That's not going to attract fans, or local interest. And without a Salford-esque influx of players and cash, this isn't going to turn around any time soon.

However, put them in the Championship where (with no disrespect to the Championship sides) the standard is a bit more thier pace. All of a sudden you have a team that's much more competative. Fair enough, they might not be competing for silverware at top level, but if they're WINNING silverware at another level, surely this is going to be better for them as a club? Not only that but if they start winning more games per season than you can count on one hand, as a Londoner surely you're going to start paying a bit more attention. SL or not, I would imagine it's more appealing to support a team who's winning and competing, than attempting to fight off the wooden spoon every year. And if they manage to win promotion to SL at a later date, good on 'em.

I'm not sure, however, what you'd do with the gap they've left in SL, or what Sky would do in terms of cash, but as a club that would be London's best bet in my opinion.