, they would potentially then improve their national team and possibly become future coaches in their own country ?

All paid for by the RFL , I originally suggested something similar for players from the French Elite one as a better preparation for Catalans inclusion in SL

dear oh dear,seemed to have ruffled a few feathers ! WHY isn't the game thriving in Widnes,for example ? with about 50000 potential fans to draw from why are the gates so low ? Whatever the mighty Vikings are doing to attract the paying public obviously isn't working so,what is the answer ? I,like yourself & Starbug and all the other like minded people don't have the answer - maybe there isn't a solution and the game will continue to diminish as a serious sport even in the traditional rl areas
The easy way has always been to blame the RFL - they probably caused the Vietnam war if the truth be known - All we,the fans can do is support our teams and try to spread the word though 'expansion' of what we have ISN'T increasing is it ?
The game needs all the support & help it can get and,with respect I can't see the suggestion of getting more terrestrial coverage as a 'negative term'
Sorry for any offence caused to Starbug by the way - he sounds a decent guy with the love of the game close to his heart but it doesn't mean I have to agree with him,or you.

No.

He means your inability to doff the cap.

He's a saboteur.

Ask him about Hosepipegate. Nothing decent about that little episode.

funny though

Apart from the fact I couldn't go to the original game but could go to the re-arranged one

:3hxfd94g

Well first of all , playing in what many see as a ' worthless ' competition has a huge bearing on your ability to draw crowds , so how do you change that without bringing back P and R ? , well having a token french side in that is excempt from relegation doesn't help , having a ' fractured ' fixture list is another problem as most people are used to a home , away , home , away scenario , also neither is having your best games played on a midweek night and televised

to attend matches , the clubs have neither the expertise or the resources to do it , instead we get ' gimmicks ' and ' spin ' telling us how well everything is

Well it's not

I want to see the sport grow , GROW , not just EXPAND , be that in new area's or existing

'expansion' regarding the drivel from Mr Dalton on an earlier posting

so are you telling me the clubs get 'sweet FA' from the tv companies or matches shown either Sky or BBC ? if that's true then there is no point of broadcasting live RL to the masses.

the potential audience is massive - if the general viewing public are 'grabbed' by what they see,a certain percentage will make the effort to go to games just to see what it's really like.
I'm just a typical Mr Joe Public who,unfortunately has always lived long distances from live RL venues - when we lived in Gt Yarmouth it was a 5 hour drive to Leeds for example - since 1989,living in central france our nearest live RL is at Toulouse which is a good 3 hour drive so,taking ME as an example,people will take the trouble to go to games if they can be tempted out of their armchairs - that means more nationwide exposure especially as the clubs themselves seem incapable of tempting their own home-grown support.

If only a few hundred loyal fans can be tempted to watch the Workingtons etc of this world then the future is indeed bleak...

I agree we should have P & R applicable to everyone (yes,even TO !) - I wonder if they will be treated differently from the others when they eventually make SL ?

sorry for my ignorance but what the feck is 'Hosepipegate' ? or shouldn't I ask ?

In some cases it has actually cost the home club money to be on the telly !

No don't ask



Champ clubs get something like £4k from the Co-Op sponsorship, nothing from sky. That 4k always seems to be spent on ticket initiatives ie free tickets so I think that is a stipulation of receiving it. I think that is still the case, but who knows.

Yep, from what i've gathered we get nothing from sky, 4k from co-op which is spent (has to be spent??) on ticket initiatives etc. Basically we spend it trying to get back some of the fans who aren't going because its on tele.

Dont forget the extra money from advertsing boards from around the ground.

Do they pay any extra if there is a televised match , especially in rented stadiums ?

A lot of sponsorship of lower tier clubs is done more for ' love ' than monetary gain , we dont have ' blue chip multinationals ' queing up to take advertising space for a Championship match being watched by 70,000 RL fans

This is nothing to do with my club. My club has got a healthy amount of fans - and has done so for years. We are the best supported club outside super league, and it is obvious to anyone not on a wind up that being in the championship limits your crowds significantly.

Your posting is becoming increasingly and startlingly irrational.

, and as I said quite often with the attendance is reduced both of home and away fans resulting in less atmosphere , making the game look less atractive to any new potential fans on TV

If we use you as an example , would you go to watch Whitehaven V Sheffield as a result of watching RL on tv ? or Saints verses Warrington ? , are you suggesting there are hundreds/thousands of potential Leigh fans not within a 10 mile radius of the LSV ?

And the direct benifit to the Championship clubs of this exposure ?

Given the obvious difference in climate , yes Leigh used to have a full nights ' entertainment ' after matches , however we play on Sundays meaning things have to stop at a reasonable time , because of the LSV we dont any longer and we dont have a couple of hundred away fans on a boozy weekend away , do we ?

So yes we did and other clubs still do

Excellent news , I hope it continues

well,first of all more national (and local) exposure might just provoke the good people of Leigh to realise they have first-class entertainment on their doorsteps, that's assuming terrestrial tv has reached that neck of the woods....Leigh is a biggish place so why is the local populus so reticent about supporting their team ? Leigh,along with all the other dozens of teams have to take responsability for their own situation,don't you think ?

I can't see what differerence playing on a sunday makes to having a family entertainment programme post-match ! Unless of course you have to be at the Evening Service at half-six...The climate isn't actually that relevant - only half the TO post-match entertainment is outside during the season - for example, last years' TO v Leigh game post match 'do' was indoors if you recall ! (with the local brass band) . All the Villeneuve post-match entertainments are indoors cos' the LER operates during the winter months and it gets blinkin' cold down Toulouse way from november to march ! but that doesn't stop the supporters attending week in week out.

Lots of blame has to be put at the doors of the clubs themselves for not promoting the game in a professional & commercial manner - the survival of clubs in C/C1 is largely in their own hands - more reponsable management and maybe a lowering of expectations (living beyond their means etc).

I totally agree with a few of the things you say, the promotion of our club is next to nothing and any ideas the fans have arn't ever listened to. We have pretty much no opposition from other sports in our town, we should be averaging double what we do now.

At the same time, a lot of supporters feel like there's nothing to play for in our league with no P & R, which affects attendances. I'd like to see what kind of crowds we would get if we had a half decent team given a shot at Super League, with a decent coach and stadium now. Seen as we were badly prepared and got battered in 2005 and still didn't have the worst crowds.

yes,it's always been a mystery to me why so few fans turn out for their local teams,especially in the so called rl heartlands !
I honestly believe P & R IS a big issue for the lower leagues - it's something to aim for not only for the club but also of course for the fans - imagine what would happen if the same criterium were applied to the Barclays Premiership ! the big target for the lower divisions is the dream of one day reaching the Premiership - the dream came true for Blackpool last season - it's the ultmate goal.
As a neutral,the change at Leigh has been staggering compared to 2009 for example - Basil & Robbie have worked wonders with a seemingly whole new approach (more professionalism etc) to the game.Yes,you are right P & R would go a long way to increasing gates and giving us,the punters something to aim for.
I have stated before on other forums,why not have two SL leagues each of 12 teams with the top six competing for the play-offs and the winner of each league meeting in the Grand Final - this would include P & R for each league of one or two new clubs from a lower league : ie have seven of the present SL plus five Championship teams in each of the two SL leagues.

Yes the clubs have to share some of the blame , unfortunatly most if not all are just trying to survive , leaving little if any money for Marketing themselves , that is why I have suggested it is arranged and financed by the RFL on their behalf , the bottom line is that they have removed the most marketable thing the lower tier clubs had ' promotion ' and the RFL seem either incapable or uninterested in finding something to replace it

quote from Starbug
Do you seriously think the people of Leigh dont know they have a RL team ?

answer : obviously but they evidently are not interested in local RL - if Leigh did actually find the SL what kind of crowds would they attract ? or more precisely,how many more locals would turn out to support them ?


Do you know where Leigh is ?

answer other SL clubs all within 30 minutes drive

answer : yes,that's stating the bl*****g obvious - it has always been tough for all RL teams to compete in the rl heartlands and it always will be
If you believe your club has done the utmost to increase interest in your catchment area then,my friend,your club is DOOMED
Leigh,along with all the others will just have to scale down,manage their affairs better and lower their ambitions just to survive.
By the way,what excuse can you give for the lack of support for the likes of Whitehaven or Workington which are even further north of Watford ? and certainly a fair drive from the 'first class' sporting venues you describe ! Maybe they all head for the hotbed of footie that is Carlisle Utd ?

quite agree


regarding LER crowds - I can't say offhand but I will find out - it's not a cop out,I just don't know

off the top of my head I would estimate a crowd of about 800 - 1000 for the Villeneuve games