Where are your figures from ?

Yes yes yes

I am as excited as Meg Ryan eating a meal !

Well, it's now confirmed, 350 times as a Sky exclusive, that, Ian Watson has signed as Head Coach for Huddersfield. If it hadn't have been confirmed by Brian Carney on Sky, I wouldn't have believed it.

We'll see what he's made of now.

Brian Carney giving it the big "we broke the news" when he had no idea until Watson said it*

*He probably did hence why he fed him the line, but still

How many were Leigh getting when in SL rather than The Champiionship?

Besides, surely every bum on a seat is one less potato on a couch.

The point is that Hull attract a very large following making them a big club and thus dispelling the nonsense used to goad Hull fans...........

where are your figures from? I will keep asking... why aren't Catalans and Toronto included, or are you still wanting a little Englanders league, =#FF0000<REMOVED - Please discuss without personal abuse>.

Do those figures correlate with the number of viewers to RL on Sky or, are you just trying to follow your own agenda ?
If attendances are lower, it could be that those clubs have more armchair viewers than fans in the stadium.

Also, as you are so keen to tell everyone what Sky want, I'm pretty certain that Sky would WANT as many non traditional RL tuning in to their RL coverage, regardless of who they may or may not follow

1. I'm not sure what your talking about, the club attendance figures show that Hull are a very well supported side, in response to the poster who felt Hull.F.C. were useless/worthless. You could look up the average attendances yourself in any RL reference book

2. I've never personally told anyone what SKY want only what Eamon McManus, Ian Lenegan and Nigel Pearson have said SKY want, you can look up the various interviews they said this in League Express. You can also check the recent reports from the meeting over the TWP question when they said North American clubs were of no value to SKY. They said the same about French clubs.

it's very simple, since 2006 there have been efforts to geographically expand the game to France and North America with a view to bringing in more TV money and a bigger player pool. It didn't work according to Robert Elstone - hence North American clubs were scrapped, and Toulouse won't get the 12th. place. That leaves Les Catalans isolated.

What do you think will happen to them??

Only since they merged with that expansion club,Gateshead Thunder.

Prior to that paid their players too much and kept having financial troubles and had to sell their better players.


It seems a desperate move by Ian Watson.Huddersfield go through a fair number of coaches.Very few go onto better things.

Like Tony Smith leave huddersfield two grand finals with Leeds or. Nathan Brown leaves Huddersfield and grand final with saints. Etc etc


Sounds like you are talking out of your booty !

[/u
He has a habit of that.

Sorry.Completely forgot about those 2.Didn't even bet round to considering that far back.

A worrying sign of age - added to a little stress.

Pleased for him,then.Ihope he enjoys success in his career.

May not go so well for him at Huddersfield ,given the 2 above named.

Thats not true, the move to the KC was the reason our crowds increased etc.

For someone who keeps following me around telling me I am wrong on everything, it is ironic that you think merging with Gateshead Thunder put many thousands on Hull's gates.

It's not as if such an idea could not be checked by simply looking this up........Same for the massive mistake you made as regards your comments on the two Huddersfield coaches.

I do NOT follow you around.I cannot avoid you.

Gateshead Thunder saved a M62 club.They had immediate Challenge Cup success - found a large following which then disgraced itself following a defeat.
They had larger attendances post the takeover.

I don't think the 2 former Huddersfield coaches had much success at Huddersfield - even if they enjoyed success elsewhere.My error on that issue was caused by my state of ennui.
I must have been reading about expansion clubs and how brilliant wealthy owners have been,and are,at M62 clubs.
While,apparently,wealthy owners with start up clubs,overseas,are the devil incarnate.
Strange how players,and others,share different views to your own.

Wrong again, our attendences didn't increase because of the merger, it increased when we moved to the KC.

We didn't have immediate success in the cup that came 5/6 years later in 2005.

Straws and clutching spring to mind here.

Although questions can be asked about the merger with Hull, Gateshead were just another example of a club being elevated to the top flight of RL before they should have and another example of a filed "expansion" club.
Thankfully, Newcastle seem to be doing things "right" and may yet make it.
As for Hull, big club with a great following and their move to the KC stadium almost allowed them to break the stranglehold of the "big 4".
However, despite their Challenge Cup success, the SL title still seems some way off and they could probably do with someone like Tony Smith to get them to the next level (sorry Hull fans).

As for Toronto, you do seem the polar opposite of "Donny", he can see nothing that they could possibly add to the sport but, you seem of the opinion that they can do no wrong ?

Could you explain just how the sport can realistically afford to be a transatlantic sport, unless of course the "Yanks" embrace the game and a huge TV could be secured over there and then suggest where their players would come from and the effects that this would have on the game in the UK.

Apologies for the thread drift.

Mind you, if Watson does ok at Huddersfield, he could very well end up at a club like FC

Of course you can avoid me, your not obliged to reply. but you choose to disagree with absolutely all I point out, just like a couple of other notorious posters, and now your completely changing your arguments to carry on doing that.

The idea Gateshead's collapse saved Hull is preposterous, Hull city council had their backs and you know it...... games up mate

Thank you for your support (of sorts). I don't have any personal "opinions" on TWP when it comes to it, all I have ever done is point out the fact they entered the game with Perez promising Canadian players and Canadian TV deals "pretty quickly", then several seasons on Brian McDermott went in front of the press to admit TWP had not managed to develop anything player wise and had not found any paying Canadian TV deals.

Then the investor walked away leaving a long string of debts. All I ask of people is to just acknowledge these facts, but I suppose they are too embarrassed to admit they were reeled in? Anyway off topic and let's get back on Ian Watson, and I am looking forward to seeing if he can repeat the magic at Huddersfield.......

Thanks for supplying the corrections to OO's posts Dave. How I'd like to see Hull.v.Huddersfield in either of the major finals.

whilst i'm not an anti toronto person, or a toronto obsessive like some, i do think it's somewhat disappointing and doesn't look good that they didn't manage to crack 200 donors on this go fund me, when they're suggesting they've got crowds of 10k.

They're were phoney club, with an owner who used it as playtoy.

Is this really an Ian Watson thread?

must admit, after i posted that, and saw which one it was on, i was somewhat confused.