Yes I would say that. They allowed Gateshead to merge with Hull after 1 year and they allowed Huddersfield-Sheffield to merge, both of which were farcical. They also oversaw the Paris farce.

They have improved immeasurably but I still wouldn't rely on them not to make rash decisions. I wouldn't put a great deal of trust in them either.

Fair point.

I suppose they do what they can with the resources they have.

Shame that the governing body isn't so well respected within the game.

What a ridiculous statement, it assumes growth that is by no means guaranteed. Whereabouts are Harlequins on this 5 year business plan of yours?

As for your last line well the truth clearly hurts and you have no idea what a troll is. Your probably just upset that it was you who spilled the beans on the forum about the 250 season tickets and effectively you've caused all this furore. We all know in RL we much prefer to hide things and not discuss problems with the game.

That's also probably why the original thread of 'meeting last night' from the Crusaders forum has been deleted and I suspect it was deleted by you.

Lets hide the evidence comrade!

Its not simply to do with resources. They're known for being rash and making poor decisions.

Like I said they have improved a lot since Dickie Lewis took over. The old RFL would have let the old London Bronco's simply fold or relocate to Leigh which was touted at the time.

They seemed to enjoy making the game an embarrassment.

Looking forward to the link for this one

Oh.....pleeeeeaaaaaseeeee let there be a link to this story


Oh....hang on, did you mean [url=http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/THIS[/url Leigh?

You as well

Funnily enough discussions were held between Mr Branson and the owners of Leigh at that time



Never likely to happen though

Quote ="gutterfax"Looking forward to the link for this one Oh.....pleeeeeaaaaaseeeee let there be a link to this story Oh....hang on, did you mean [url=http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/THIS[/url Leigh? '" www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2001/au ... feed=sport Hate to disappoint! It wasn't very likely to happen but my point was that old RFL would simply have pulled the club and probably encouraged them to relocate. Don't get me wrong I think the inclusion of CC so early was a mistake and I think we're slowly being proved right but they have to stick with them now they are in. It would be disastrous for RL to let them fall and even if LS pulls out I would be in favour of the RFL taking over the club. I just doubt whether they would be able to and without improvement over the next couple of years they may not see the benefit in keeping them going. My main point is that once crowds go low and the reputation of CC goes with it then they will massively struggle to get them back up even when they do compete. My opinion was always that they should have hit the ground running instead of the 'stick them in and hope they grow' mentality that hasn't worked in the past.

Quote ="gutterfax"Looking forward to the link for this one Oh.....pleeeeeaaaaaseeeee let there be a link to this story Oh....hang on, did you mean [url=http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/THIS[/url Leigh? '" www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2001/au ... feed=sport Hate to disappoint! It wasn't very likely to happen but my point was that old RFL would simply have pulled the club and probably encouraged them to relocate. Don't get me wrong I think the inclusion of CC so early was a mistake and I think we're slowly being proved right but they have to stick with them now they are in. It would be disastrous for RL to let them fall and even if LS pulls out I would be in favour of the RFL taking over the club. I just doubt whether they would be able to and without improvement over the next couple of years they may not see the benefit in keeping them going. My main point is that once crowds go low and the reputation of CC goes with it then they will massively struggle to get them back up even when they do compete. My opinion was always that they should have hit the ground running instead of the 'stick them in and hope they grow' mentality that hasn't worked in the past.

Agree on both counts , I really did expect 3/4 top quality imports go get things moving and a top union convert as well to drum up some exposure

As for the RFL taking them over , yes but I'd see it more as all the other clubs ' chipping ' in some SKY money

How that would go down with the ' majority ' I can imagine

We'd certainly see how pro-expansion the clubs are when they are asked to take a drop in money for it.

The only thing that has shocked me is that they haven't competed. I think Dixon is one of the best coaches in the league and I thought he'd get some good Aussies in just through his contacts.

That being the case, maybe they should have held an expansion draft where CC could take one British player from each established SL club. That would have forced a number of players to make the move if they wanted to remain in SL.

Surely that would be illegal?

Celtics biggest problem is the lack of ability to compete.

I think this is down to the club putting too much faith in the existing squad to perform on the field, probably in an attempt to make a fist of SL on the cheap.

its been a chastening experieince from them and i suspect next year they will be better prepared.

As for the reported investment by Samuels. Well all new businesses have start up costs, and essentially this is whats happened with the Cru.
They have also been hindered by launching in the depths of a depression.

I personally have been encouraged that a poorly performing team outside a traditional RL area can still pull 3000 fans in its first proper year of existence as a full time sports team.

There isnt a single RL club that instantly generated 10,000 fans. Not Leeds not Wigan, not Hull or anyone.

Critics should look closer to home and ask why the majority of "heartland rl " clubs cant generate support on the level of the Cru.
Infact Cru's attendances are larger than when Cumbrian teams have made when in the elite division. I dont however see people writing Cumbria off as a RL area.

People need to give the club a chance. Too many demand instant success and when it doesnt happen want to get rid. They then bemoan why RL is ignored in the media, and consigned to a restricted geographical area at elite level.

Lets judge how he club has progressed 5 years down the line and then 10 years and then 15 years.

I don't know about British law, but it's both legal and standard practice in North America. Every expansion of every pro league since at least 1960 has involved an expansion draft for the purpose of stocking the new team(s). The established ones get to protect most of their players and the new ones choose a set number from those left unprotected. This gives them a core group of experienced pros to build their team around and (if they draft well) at least a chance to be competitive from the start.

agreed surely bosman ruling would apply? as for regulating forgeign players you also need to consider the other ruling think its KOLPAK (spelling?)

i'm all for the drafting idea out of the academny system each year a huge NFL style draft however the players when drafted to a team do acutally need to agree to stay their.

I was more referring to idea that they would force a player to up sticks and leave for another club.

A draft from a young age would surely be a different thing as they are not yet contracted.

I don't see how. I googled it and found it applied to restrictions on foreign players in European leagues, and an expansion draft wouldn't involve restrictions on foreign players.

Players get moved to other clubs regularly for various reasons, this would simply be another such reason.

Big difference between what the NFL do as regards a draft and what we would get here

Main one being if somebody was willing to pay me a 5 million dollars a year for 3 years I'd move anywhere

I dont think the wages in SL are quite the same

In fact trying to force any player to go anywhere would most likely result in those players picking up better paid union contracts than being told where to go

You made a mistake then.It's not about the date of Leigh's entry to SL,nor is it about the combined total of season ticket sales at London over the past 4 years.This is about the disappointing gate at Celtic last weekend.

He did know that , because everybody knows Leigh are scheduled to enter SL in 2142

Players can't get out of their contract just like that, even if it's assigned to another club. A draft would be just like a transfer, except without a fee involved. Very few players who might be chosen in an expansion draft would have the option of going to RU, if any.

So if you are a plumber and sign a contract with somebody that will not let you ' plumb ' for anybody else , that contract stops you being an electrician



RL and RU are different sports with different ruling bodies and clubs

Carlos Tevez cannot play football for anybody unless his ' owners ' say so

But he could go and play cricket if he wanted for anybody

RU clubs have already paid transfer fees for players under contract to move over, Iestyn Harris for example. The precedent has been set that players can't switch to RU if they're under contract to an RL club without a transfer being negotiated.

In any case, it's not like RU clubs are looking for just any RL players, when they've gone after RL players they've been specific players to fill a specific need the RU club had.

Would you like to find me a reference to any ' transfer fee ' paid for any RL player to RU