Bottom line with the Crusaders is they have recruited incredibly badly

They needed to hit the floor running and get wins early doors as HKR did , but they seemed to keep too many of last years squad and have struggled as a result

I cannot really see any great changes this season now and only one or two more wins as teams at the bottom lose interest later in the season

What is the most important thing is they do a Catalans and have a decent second season , if they dont then alarm bells will be ringing

If the quote from Mr Samuels is true and he's already shoved £ 750 grand in so far this season on top of whatever the last 3 seasons have cost then he should be applauded , however can that be sustained is the question

They must get a competitive team next season

I agree Starbug. (never thought I'd ever hear myself say that)

I think we have longer to recruit and the coaching staff have seen the level of player needed and so have off field staff.

We need to improve in all aspects but I'm confident the club can achieve that. We have a platform to build on, although admittedly not a very good one, but the hardcore support is something and some of the crowds have shown the interest is there. We just need to get them in and keep them. A lot of the time only wins and a competitive team will achieve this. As you and others know with increasing fan numbers the rest of the aspects of a club usually improve.

It was a classic chicken and egg, without SL would LS have bothered, but with no big RU converts recruited Bidgend cant support a SL club unless it attracts from further afield, which requires big names, winning and facilities.
The youth coming through is vital, it will take time and the proposed new stadium will help, if they can last that long.

The youth is fundamental to our long term success. No doubt about that.

John Dixon, Leighton Samuels and Mike Turner spoke at length about player recruitment and it was surprising to find out that it is sometimes easier to recruit Aussies than British players. As JD explained he approached Hull FC for a player and was told 'he is a codhead and won't move far from Hull so you have no chance'. It was funny at the time to hear that term from a fella with a deep Aussie brogue but it is interesting to think about and puts a different spin on the team full of Aussies stuff.

As for the new stadium, it may go ahead but the Brewery Field may be redeveloped. If it is, then either way is good. If the worst came to the worst and either didn't happen then there are other options within South Wales at ideal, modern grounds that gives Crusaders options that other clubs like your Cas and Wakeys do not have. They are surrounded by RL clubs and cannot move down the road and do not have a stadium to move into as such either. Crusaders, for example, could move 20 miles or so east and could play at the Arms Park, which is attached to the Millennium Stadium. This has now got room for Crusaders with the Blues now moving to Cardiff City's new ground and has 12,500 capacity, numerous hospitality boxes and the location (who didn't enjoy the Millennium Magic weekends?)

As usual, a swathe of ignorance, with pretty much everyone missing the point. I suggest some people do some research into what progress is being made in grass roots RL in South Wales, then come back. It's sad that so many think the success of a SL club, and NOW, is the be-all and end-all.

I can't understand why halfway through the season even the arch-whingers can't just wish them well and give them a break.

Enlighten us then?

The ignorance is yours my friend , if they dont survive because they are unsustainable then any grass roots development will be lost , just ecenomics simple as

ridiculous post

Progress in the field of junior development is all well and good, but the club is a dead man walking if each season the owner is forced to cough up half a million plus quid to cover expenses. Cardiff is haemorrhaging capital at an alarming rate and as the weeks draw on with spectral attendances it begins to awaken memories of previous hopelessly planned RL beachheads where the landing force has been gunned to mush before it's left the water.

Under Lewis I thought we'd left THOSE days behind us.

Aardvark,,It*s not ignorance,it*s just a genuine concern that it could go belly up down there in 3 years if they don*t as the Celtic supporter said *get better organised* i like many other who live outside the Rugby Legue heartland would like nothing better than to see a Superleague do well.

Firstly, only guide dogs are allowed at the Stoop


Secondly, crowd figures are worth 2 points in the licence application process and we got our licence on merit.
I agree, we need more fans, but it is the old chicken v egg scenario. Do we continue to operate within our means or do we go for bust and spend loads of money on advertising?
I believe that we have 2.5 years to start showing growth in attendance figures or we will be given 1 last 3 year chance to show we can do it....failing that, I will still follow the club, but it will be to championship grounds and not SL ones.

It is clear they were not ready for SL, fanbase, stadium or playing squad wise.

Typical SL wanting to fast track to look good rather than being willing to invest and build a strong foundation. I hope they can be around long enough to build but it may take a decade+ if Broncos/Quins are anything to go by.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

And be even fairer, they have already paid to travel down to this game once this season, it is a long way to do it once never mind twice.

They can't see that wanting a Super League club to do well and thinking they will are not the same thing. Its like bloody East Germany on here sometimes, you musn't think against the accepted way now!

Its pretty much gone the same way as we expected it to and I've little doubt that if they are still around in 10 years that we will be arguing the same thing about whether they are viable or not off such little crowds.

I suspect there is a genuine concern about LS pulling out but it gets ignored because it gets made out to be just negativity.

But what if Ken Davy walks away from Huddersfield, or Ted Richardson from Wakefield....are they any clubs which really don't rely on a major shareholder/benefactor?

Yes there are with Widnes being one of the main ones but don't go giving balance to an argument like that.

Not when they can say there is a genuine concern of Samuels pulling out when the man has said he won't and there is no indication of that.

I get your point but some clubs are self supported.
I think Warrington turn over 4million+ as do a few others, more than enough to run a club

And on the other side of the coin there are those that aren't and quite a few fall into that category also.

Er, widnes have a rich benefactor

Oh of course.
I was just stating that you guys are probably more in danger than most, especially being a young business.
I personally wouldnt worry about the crowd numbers all too much yet, i'd be more concerned about the last 2 performances tbh.
Say 7 out 7 in should do the trick at the end of the season, and the following year the same again.

Didn't read the previous post properly.

That was the point I was trying to make.

Widnes point the finger but with no evidence to suggest Samuels will walk out then it galls me that fans can point the finger at one money man when they have exactly the same thing.

Maybe so but without the backing of Moran you would not be able to pull off the signings that you so regularly do. Hypothetically without the players of top calibre, performances on the field will drop, in turn crowds will fall and so will the sale of merchandice etc etc thus reducing the turnover of said club and then you're back to square one again relying on the big money investor to turn around the clubs fortunes. Its catch 22 every team in the league needs a wealthy backer, I would imagine the najority of chairmen/board members have spent much more than they have got out of their respective clubs, probably even more so someone like moran.

Touche.
Without the backing of Moran Warrington would IMO simply not exist in the capacity it does now, he paid off a number of debts years before he became our owner and according to the shareholder information it would appear we still have debts.
However with the strides we have made in recent years off the field i'm fairly confident we could run a SL club at full cap fine

I sincerely hope that is the case and in years to come hope the same can be said for every club playing pro rugby league (not just super league), however this is obviously an unrealistic dream. Warington are a club others should be looking to in terms of growth on and off the pitch but as you rightly pointed out you needed the money man in order to get where you are now (this is not a dig every successful club needs one).