Oh good. After stupidnotyellow got all a'rsey I though that there'd be nobody to play with...but here you are.
It's FulhamCrusaderBroncoQuins if you want to have a pop.....and if we do change names again, we have decided to let the RFL spend 10,000,000 on consultancy fees to help us decide.


. You can ask. You actually have asked. The answer is yes, we do. The same as Wigan Athletic, Huddersfield Town and Hull City have tennants that play Rugby League on their pitch, we have Harlequins Rugby Union that have tennants that play Rugby League on their pitch. Difference is, the RFU are not considering a "sole use" policy on their clubs grounds, whereas the Premier League/FA are.....maybe you should ask the same question on the Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants and Wigan Warriors boards


The ground that we are tennants in is up to the standard expected of a 21st century arena....whilst you have a crumbling wreck and/or a set of blueprints and a Tonka Toy





Since SL invited us to join in 1996, at the express request of the broadcast partner who is responsible for dragging the game out of the dark ages, London RL has attempted to attract not only crowds to the game( where we admit we have failed BTW) but also new players. LMS was I believe 11 years old when London RL ran out in their first ever SL game......he is now a full England International and on his way to St Helens. Without London RL in superleague, this development and the money involved in carrying it out would never have been available. The 9 Cockneys that played for the club this year would probably be playing Union........
Now, I know 15 years may seem like a long time, so let's put it into perspective for you.

1980, when professional RL started in the capital, so 30 years. Average gate this year, 3,394. That's 113 fans per year in existance.
1896?1905?1926/
Let's be nice....1926! So, I make that 84 years and an average of 6,612. That's 78 fans a year.
See...if you ask about "how long"...or come out with timescale type questions, you will only look stupid.

I have no issue with Castleford fans in general, but it does seem that some of you, together with a few idiots from other clubs in supposed danger of being ejected, would rather point the finger at an easy target rather than look at the hard facts faced by your own club.
You promised a stadium by the next round of licence applications and I sincerely hope you deliver it (I genuinely do), but as it stands, you have delivered nothing..unless a crayon sketch on the back of a beer mat counts as a new stadium in Yorkshire



Or maybe your club misunderstood and thought it was the next round of OFF-LICENCE applications



Feel free to pop in any time. It's always a pleasure

I dont want to get drawn into any of the arguments going on on here as i think there are enough between us and wake, but there is one thing that really narks me about all this licence situation and that is we will probbably be show the door just because we have an ageing ground. Fair enough i know we promised a new stadium (and this could still happen) but if it doesnt we are out. I know you talk about all our years in existance but in reality we have had to start from scratch twice in the last 7 years, we finished in the 8 last year and we still have a chance this year. I think this is a real credit to our club after all it has been through, but this means nothing to the RFL and i think the next fall there will be no coming back from. Quins have done well to fetch there players through but not wanting to sound bigheaded on this, cas have brought that n umber of juniors through fivefold in the last 5 years but once again this counts for nothing with the RFL. So basically i think everyones probblems from the M62 corridoor (or cas and wake area) is that the RFL are not giving us a level playing field, I dont know what your clubs state is exactly but i know its not too good at the moment but as far as SL goes you are as safe as houses, our club is improving year on year but we are very much in danger. I am sure if you look at it this way you can see why people are getting frustrated. Personally i think the league should be extended and all clubs should be allowed the same number of overseas players say 4 each but unfortunatly this will never happen as the game may not be as glamerouse for sky for a few years but in the long run i think this is the only way British and French Rl will improve. But to me that sounds like common sence so it has to be a non starter

There not arguments. This was a subject that was being debated in a nice manner until the trolls decided to infest.

I believe that the vast majority of Quins fans have no interest in pointing the finger at other clubs (unless provoked) and we would be sad to see any SL club ejected, but the cold hard facts are that the RFL have a vision for where they want the game to go and one of the things they require is stadiums that are up to scratch. This is where a number of clubs, including Odslum and caravan park by the way, will be in trouble.
We have 2 major issues. Fans, or lack of them are something we were warned about, as you were with your ground. We have made no progress on this matter and this is of concern.
Secondly, finance. Regardless of who is to blame, a guy who owns 30% of the club is picking up 100% of our losses.....and he hasn't got the money to keep doing this.
So, quins have our own problems to deal with without visiting fans pointing out how good their youth set up is, how many times they have had to start/re-start from scratch etc.....
I empathise with your plight....I really do.

Cas is one of my favourite grounds

That and Post Office Road.

Wrong. The DW, Galpharm and KC stadia are owned by holding companies and the RL and soccer clubs have leasing agreements with them ( I think Wigan's was a 99 year one.).

those with closed minds need to recall.............gateshead being used to bail Hull Fc out.......then the crazy marriage with Sheffield( i think) that bailed huddersfield out.......
ahh but it doesnt count when its 'up ere' ?
Leeds were near bankrupt when GH n Pete Caddick bought it and turned it round.
Wigan were milliseconds from closing when Central park was sold....
So numpties who- 'rl was here before SL/broncos-Quins/Sky ..and will be fine again'.....need a reality check.
Every team is vital we arent that big we can lose any.What each brings to the table needs acknowledgement.
A devils advocate could say that as Salford have been in the 'heartlands'/whippetcountry/flathatlandia [delete to suit tastes they have no place in SL considering the attendance figures arent brilliant,what have they been sitting around NOT developing.But again 1/you cannt coz they is NORTHERN....2/Objectivity is not nice when clsoe to home at times.BUT Salford know it and have spent a lot of time targeting the future to develop themselves.....
London havent had since 1873(salford) to get into the local psysche/culture why is that difficult to recognise i dont know.Must be northern myopia....
keep going in't smoke...at pro or amateur level.

In Hull and Wigan, rugby league is the dominant sport, and I know a Huddersfield Town fan who complains that the football club is used to bankroll the rugby club. Rugby league is dominant in those areas.

The "London" side has had a roving franchise throughout its existence. Do you think it would fare better if it does what Crusaders have done, and that it relocate to a town where there is no other dominant sport, and try and represent that town? Hemel Hempstead was always a place cited as an amateur hotbed.

The anti-London thing I'm afraid is because of franchising, because people do not perceive the playing field to be level. Which it isnt.

Its interesting Sluggy that 2(one being Hull FC) of the 3 teams you mention as dominant have both during the super league era been paired off and joined up with other clubs- Surely dominant and strong clubs with sound foundations dont require that.

Out of curiosity what constitutes a dominant sport- ie why is Wigan RL dominant over Wigan football, ditto Hull FC/Hull City and Hudds Town and the Giants

Rubbish. I've been hearing the same old nonsense for the last 23 years ever since I starting watching Fulham at Chiswick poly Ground. Even then there were RL "fans" mumping on about it not being a level playing field despite the club usually being at the bottom of division 2. There are a persitently tedious group of fans who will never accept us and will always find some way to bag us.

I wasn't having a go. The playing field isn't level, because you get extra points for your location. That's a fact. I wasn't saying it was unfair, just that some people see it as unfair.

They were paired off to avoid relegation or financial meltdown. Hull has always been a big rugby area.

Wigan RL is dominant over Wigan football because more people follow rugby than football in Wigan. Similarly in Hull. There has been a slight peak because of their time in the Premiership, but once they go down a division, the crowds soon drop off. Wigan Athletic has always been the secondary sports team in the town. In Hull, the rugby crowds go up when Hull City are not doing as well, as the football fans switch back to rugby.

Except we don't. In the July RLW the RFL's compliance manager Blake Solly said "The geographical criteria in the last round of licencing assessment has been removed from the process to determine which clubs are awarded licences for 2012-2014".

Something I didn't know and something that would blow a few arguments on here out of the water.

Wigan RL is dominant over Wigan football because more people follow rugby than football in Wigan.=#FF0000That's the total extent of your criteria-very scientific may I add ps =#FF0000are all Wigan football fans followers of the town side or are they allowed to follow Liverpool, Man Utd etc Similarly in Hull. There has been a slight peak because of their time in the Premiership, but once they go down a division, the crowds soon drop off. Wigan Athletic has always been the secondary sports team in the town. In Hull, the rugby crowds go up when Hull City are not doing as well, as the football fans switch back to rugby =#FF0000would that not therefore suggest that premier football to some is king

Would the Wigan ground being owned by the football owner(accepting there is a 99 year agreement) maybe not suggest football is strong in Wigan

It will be some time before Quins can out do Chelsea, QPR, Arsenal, Spurs collectively for crowds-maybe Kingston semi pro soccer

If you mean there isn't an argument for the strategic importance of London, hardly. It just means there isn't a separate point for distance any more (or in the context it was said clubs wouldn't be discriminated against for being close to each other).

Premier League was a novelty when it came around, but it never displaced rugby league in terms of crowds.

No I didn't. I meant that the posters claiming Quins RL are a shoe-in simply because of their geographical location are wrong.

Which was my basic point. I'm not saying Quins shouldn't be given an emphasis because of their strategic importance, but the fact that they get that emphasis creates the perception of unfairness. Whether that unfairness is something that is justified is a matter that people disagree on.

My own view is that the importance of a high-profile southern side to the grass roots is important, and this can be seen in the emergence of London-grown talent.

They would be a shoe-in if financially stable.

Correct.
Regardles of anything else, we have only ourselves to blame for the current situation. It would be unfair for a team to be booted out next summer instead of us if we don't find a solution and quick.
As it is, I have fears that the Wire game may be the last for London RL in sooperleague for a while

Is your sig in reference to Wigan by any chance?

Say what you want about Hull being a League area (which it is), but two years of 24,000 at the KC is pretty good for a 2nd tier sport. Unlike Wigan, who have established Premier League clubs around it, if Hull sustained a run in the Premier League, they could become a large club, enough to average 30,000+ easily (expansion permitting). The circumstances between Wigan and Hull are too different to compare too, with Hulls population dwarfing Wigan. I actually think Wigan Athletic have done ok for such a satellite town thats wedged between Liverpool and Manchester. But as I said in another thread, I think all football fans think that Wigan are holding bigger clubs in lower divisions back.

And ofcourse crowds drop in lower divisions, they'd drop for Man U let alone the rest. Thats part of the appeal of having a top tier.

Not having a go because you are a Rovers supporter(we all have a cross to bear) but you are out of order with your comments.
I agree that the game is stronger in the north,but that does not give it a divine right.Quins means as much to their supporters as much as supporters of any club. I must admit I am surprised a city the size of London can`t attract a bigger crowd to the great game,and I am sure a few pub regulars arn`t going to change that.Its a pity,as R.L does need expanding to a wider audience.

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 952050.stm Won't go down well in the heartlands

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 952050.stm Won't go down well in the heartlands