Not having followed the game for a great deal of time this ranks as one of the most saddest days of my life, someone said to me it was the equivalent of a friend dying and whilst a little OTT that's not far off how I feel, my team is dying.

I got into supporting the Celtic Crusaders following my sons school being invited to put a team into a tag festival prior to the game against Featherstone in May 08, what a game and both my wife, son and I were hooked.

From that day on we never missed a home game even getting to the ground two hours early to watch the Colts play in the conference or watch the under 18's in the winter league.

The superleague franchises came and went and I understand how bitter people were in relation to Celtic Crusaders being awarded a licence and whilst it seemed to be the promised land I can assure you it didn't feel like that, following the club home and away to get a battering wasn't fulfilling. That said the day at Odsal in the pouring down rain when we beat Bradford made it all worthwhile (even the decision the night before to go via an up and down drive in one day)

Then came the visa issues, purely of the clubs doing and the team and supporters suffered as a result, should this have been the time to leave it be?

Then the off season troubles and would I have a club to follow or not, fortunately I did, unfortunately it was 125 miles away each way. We had Nobby as coach and a team who gave their all and you bet I was proud to be a Crusaders supporter and season ticket holder, attending home and away for all bar three games culminating in the visit to the Galpharm.

Again an off season of difficulties another 10k on the clock following a team that tried it's hardest but it just seems that it wasn't to be this year.

Now I reflect on today with the decision by the club not to apply for a licence (the right decision by the way but oh so badly handled for the staff and players) for my team (that's right it's my team) who I've not followed for as long as some on these boards but can assure you I have the same passion for as you do for your team.

I've had a great time following my team through thick and thin and know how lucky I am to have stumbled across the great game and met some great people from different clubs.

I wouldn't change supporting my team for the world and wish you all the best in following yours.

What an amazing post. Nigel Wood, Richard Lewis, I hope you read this.

Well I for one hope this isn't the end of Crusaders.

As I've said elsewhere, I think the problem was that of Crusaders trying to run before they could walk.

If you'd not gone in for the first round of licences and instead concentrated on getting your infrastructures and fan-base stabilised in the Championship then I think Crusaders would be in a far better position this time round.

I hope your team comes back for you to get back behind next year

The RFL need to think long and hard about how they go about Expansion. Crusaders were included in SL too early in their life in my opinion. But that said, i do believe they could have been a success if the RFL had been as hands on as they needed to be and been the driving force behind them.

Instead it seems like they basically said sink or swim and threw them away like a used toy.

Hopefully Crusaders will continue in some form and be able to build towards a long and successful future

A wonderful post.



I'm so sorry for you and your fellow Crusaders supporters. Going to Wrexham was never dull.

I'm sure the Gateshead fans in 1999 will know exactly how you feel, not that its any consolation.

What a sport this is ...as someone once said in Oz, it MUST be the greatest game to keep bouncing back from shooting itself in the foot so often.

If only we had officials of the same calibre as the players.

I do feel sorry for the fans but I think Crusaders were promoted into Super League too early and that has caused their demise.

Maybe if they had been allowed to grow for the past 3 seasons in the Championsip then they would be in a better situation then they are now.

You, my friend, are an exceptional rugby league fan.

The "bossman" of RL down in the South West always talks about a "Scorpions, not Crusaders" approach to growing the sport and growing clubs. Now, it wasn't really Crusaders' fault that they were pushed too far too quickly, but there's a valuable lesson to be learned there - there was no structure to the Crusaders' path to SL, it just happened and drew in crowds on novelty factor alone. And all in all, I don't think the owners of the Crusaders cared anywhere near enough to make it work despite the best efforts of staff and players and even the fans. Some of the mismanagement was unbelievable, and as a Wakey fan I know all about mismanagement...!

It's a sad day for expansion of the sport but as I said... lessons to be learned. A better blueprint for growth can be gleaned from this. And a closer look shows the game is growing at grassroots. More schools are playing all over the country, academies are being established, clubs from all over have expressed an interest in joining a restructured Championship, and Wales will hopefully still have the Crusaders in some guise or other; if not, the Scorpions are always there. Expansion might just work if it's approached properly and patiently.

Traffic, you're a credit to our sport with the passion you've poured into your club. Certainly enjoyed banter with the Crusaders fans when we played each other. I hope you'll still be involved with the game.

Traffic, you've always been a reasonable sort if I remember correctly. That's something I can't boast. Good luck to you and I sincerely hope you find someone else to occupy your time if Crusaders go.

A most heartfelt post , and I'll resist replying in the same way you did me earlier today , it gives me no pleasure to see what has happened at Wrexham , it gave me no pleasure to see the demise at Bridgend , but quite simply it was never going to work , what lies in the future for Welsh club RL , I don't know , I hope they can continue in some way

I did think a few years back that somewhere like Bangor or Llandudno could be an option for a Championship club if it was centrally funded but also held back until growth occurs more naturally

My anger is at the RFL once again , how many times are they going to encourage people with totally unrealistic predictions of what is achievable in far too short time spans ?

Expansion is needed , but we cannot keep wasting opportunities as we do

The exact same thing would have happened regardless of how long Crusaders were in the Championship for, because the owners of the club were crooks. In fact, had Crusaders not been promoted when they were I'm pretty sure that the backer would have walked away there ant then and there would have been no club left at all.

This is bizarre..i actually dreamt of this thread last night.....very surreal. I said in my dream that i didn't agree with Crusaders in SL but i wished all fans to stick with them and rebuild the right way......

some may take this post with 'yeah right you dreamed that'...but bizarally i did.

Anyway the sentiment in my dream stands

I believe you, man. I believe you.

So the RFL approached a ' crook ' and asked him if he wanted a SL club ?

Maybe they should have done their homework first

A sound base upon which to build a super league franchise then. How wrong we all were to doubt such a venture.

Great opening post. Some of my favourite memories of the last three years of SL have involved Crusaders, and it won't feel the same without hearing the Cru-Cru-Crusaders to chant along to during TV games. It was brilliant when they went over to the Galpharm and outsung the Giant fans.

I am sad for their fans and for the players. I hope the fans to get a chance to support a team in the Championship, there's no shame in being in that division.

Great post. Send it on to Red Hall. Seriously....

My abiding memory of the Crusaders was the small knot of Welsh fans who stood on the rain soaked terraces at Odsal as they pipped my team, the Bradford Bulls, to gain their first win. I was honestly pleased to see their joy, even though I was gutted with the defeat.

That, and the big mob of Crusaders fans at the Galpharm for the play off match

You lot deserve far better than the hand you've been dealt

No, you know full well that's not what happened at all. With hindsight it's easy to say that they should have done more research, but at the time everything checked out, he had invested heavily and the club had grown at an incredible rate under him. The fact that he acted the way he did when the club got to Super League isn't the fault of the RFL, the same thing could just as easily happen to Widnes next year, or any of the other clubs that are funded by wealthy backers. It's impossible to tell what the future holds.

No, don't bother.

I doubt anyone there gives monkeys to be honest.

It depends who version of events you believe ? , Mr Samuels stated the RFL approached him , and if you asked the Bridgend locals what they thought of Mr Samuels in his 2 nd year of NL RL they were not shy in giving their opinion , those of course who even knew they had a RL team playing 400 yards away at Brewery Field

In their one season in the Championship Crusaders had a higher average attendance than Leigh.

1 they never played in the Championship , and yes they might have done , I went down to Brewery field , it was interesting to see 2 coach loads of German tourists and a few hundred squaddies in the stand watching the game

And the relevance if your post is what ?

Who can believe attendance figures when its been admitted that Halifax were told by the RFL to inflate one or two of theirs to make a creditable SL application ?

The relevance is that, other than your dig at attendances, I had absolutely no idea what point you were trying to make and still don't.

Sorry ? If you don't know what point I'm trying to make , why did you reply to me ?

You said all their problems were because they had a ' crook ' as an owner , I suggested the RFL should have checked if he was a crook beforehand , and if he tried to blackmail the RFL to get into SL , the RFL should have called his bluff , because they were no where near ready to enter SL , something which was plain to anybody that had visited Bridgend