No I don't think he is going to provide any evidence since I very much doubt he has any.

Silly me though, I forgot that once tb has said something 3 times it automatically becomes true*.

It's the law.

* - as stated in tb's Big Book of Disingenuous Bollox

So have they got completely new backers? With a bit of luck, it will be people with plenty of cash behind them. They should rebrand to Wrexham or North Wales Crusaders in my opinion, leave Scorpions to the South, build up a rivalry , North and South Wales already have that. Hopefully this will cement a pro RL club in Wales for a long time now.

It's the same guys as before. The new company is called W Crusaders Ltd, which could mean either Welsh or Wrexham will proceed the Crusaders moniker.

You dont need to be a stable business to be in Super League Europe then? Next stop scrapping the salary cap and a return to the bad old days

Whatever.



If you think seeing a 75% empty stadium (Stoop) on Sky paints a good picture of SL to non-RL Sky viewers (i.e. people channel-surfing say) compared to Craven Park with 9000 in creating a fantastic atmosphere then fine.

If Quins are valued more then us by the people in charge then the game's screwed.

The thing that gets me is all this "inherited debt" business. When the Wrexham outfit took control last year, they and the RFL new all about this debt, which means their are two conclusions you can come to.

1. Wrexham had a business plan in place that the RFL ratified and one that dealt with this debt, and if they are to be believed that support for the club has been better than expected, then why have they not been able to stick to their business plan.

2. The second option and one more near the truth I suspect, is that Wrexham and the RFL new all along that the debt was unserviceable and that the club would have to be restructured again. I believe that with the move of home and owners last year coupled with a poor league place, poor crowds etc, that going into administration and in affect forming a whole new club mile away from south wales, was deemed just too unpalatable and not likely to get the backing of the other clubs.

Other questions this raises, were the crusadars playing with the smallest playing budget? if not why were the RFL registering players to a club who's debts were clearly out of control.

Why were the RFL giving extra financial support to a club clearly heading into administration, knowing they were already the main creditor?

The money that has Just been given to the administrators to pay the player, is this tied to the Old or new club?

Their is one line that sums up the whole situation in RL at the minute, and it is the one about the clubs voting to change rule on clubs becoming insolvent. The rule was their to act as a very strong incentive to clubs to run themselves properly, exactly the sort of rule a STRONG GOVERNING body should be putting in place for the protection of clubs and the whole game. Yet it has been repealed for the benefit of ONE club just about sums it up really.

Hiccup indeed

is this a thread about leigh getting a sugar daddy and now having serious SL intentions?

craven park does look like a dump on TV though. full or not.

is this you trying to derail another thread?

IMO a packed non-modern ground looks better then an empty modern one. Same as a rammed Jungle or Headingley looks better then an empty Galpharm. Not a dig at Hudds, just saying empty seats always look bad on TV whatever it's for, that's why if there is a televised concert or event which is only half-full they use black covers to cover up the empty seats, thus making them less visable on TV.

Ofcourse Quins are woth more than you. Hull KR are in an area where they are dominated (in terms of club size) by a bigger team. The City of Hull will play Rugby League no matter if Hull KR are there or not. They contribute an average attendance to the league, few young prospects and even the much adored travelling support started to reduce dramatically last year as the "buzz" of SL started to spark out.

Quins, for all their faults (and they have many) are much more important to Rugby League than Hull KR.

To refer to this as a "hiccup" is totally disrespectful to creditors who are losing money in this fiasco, including the RFL and its customers "us".

The stupid thing is that Nigel Wood probably thinks he has to say these things to protect the games "profile" outside the heartlands, Well wake up Nige the game has no profile outside the heartlands. I hear people say that he is making RL a laughing stock, well he is but to the people that already CARE as nobody else gives a fig, and in his efforts to put up this front, he will find one day he has lost the people that really do CARE.

...and that company's registered address is the home address of Moss I think.

Off course the RFL knew about the debts, they have had people in running the club for the last 12 months for which they billed the Crusaders £700,000. So ultimately you could say its the RFL that have taken the company into administration

LONDON son, LONDON!!!

No matter how much we may dislike things Sky REQUIRE a presence there and therefore THEY ARE MORE IMPORTANT!!!

Losing 1 club in Hull would be no great loss as far as LONDON is concerned and those who run the game.

Lose LONDON and a lot will be lost.

As hard as it is to swallow, RL is now a TV game, run by TV, for TV just as the NFL is in the US.

They pay the piper, they call the tune, they choose the games, and we have to roll with it!!.

I'm not saying it is right but that is the way it is currently!!

I've stood in a 90% empty Craven park not that long ago



Grant you that you weren't on tv in them days

Long time ago.



Hey FTR will be heading over for Earl's testimonial in the New Year, looking forward to some RL.

You got the point though, 10 years (ish) isnt that long ago, cold weds night if i recall correctly

Yeah but that could be said for many clubs (inc yourselves in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's tbf). Can't knock teams for building their support, e.g. Bradford received nothing but praise (deservedly so) when they doubled their crowds in the space of one season in the mid-90's.

It can indeed but im not the one knocking another teams efforts, i remember our poor crowds, i was stood amongst the few hundred, so i and you are hardly in a position to knock others

Perhaps you would like to explain your reasons for this.

London was lost a long time ago, I find it very unlikely that the powers-that-be at Sky Sports are really that bothered a side that has sub 3,000 attendances.

It's those EYE thingies looking at the box they are interested in!!

Where is the biggest concentration in Britain?

Widnes?

Anybody got a regional breakdown of Sky SL tv viewing figures and if there is evidence that more people watch SL games on Sky when Quins are playing than when HKR are playing? No? Thought not! Anybody who thinks that the massive profile and huge drawing power of Quins SL is creating a large populous of SL TV viewing in the South of England has rocks in their heads!

ps has any RL club ever had 3 different names in just 3 seasons?

May not be not 3 seasons but Wigan Highfield, London Highfield, Liverpool City, Huyton, Runcorn Highfield, Prescot Panthers is an interesting variation!!!

You think that Londoners watch all the SL games just to see Quins but don't want to go to any of the games?

I'd certainly be interested to read whatever study / report gave you this snippet of info.