Eccles isn't a long term solution (not least because he doesn't want the job) but for now he seems composed, candid and able to see where things are working or not.

Agreed Buzz bt it does pose the question why the Coach couldn't!

Mustard was possibly out of his depth given the amount of change this season and in interviews seemed pretty negative. That's not going to help build confidence in the players.

Eccles has been around the club for 10 years and probably knows how players tick. He seems to be keeping it simple. Train well and you'll get in the team.

I don't know how good he is at coming up with specific game plans for the opposition but the biggest step forward is probably motivating the players and getting their best effort.

It’s noticeable that both Rams and Widnes, who dispensed with their coaches around the same time we did, now have a new man in post. I don’t know how recruitment is progressing or if it is but probably best to get someone in before Widnes as quite a few tricky games thereafter and the new manager bounce could soon deflate after a home tonking from Fev. Hopefully a decent standard coach will have seen enough over the last few weeks to think the job is an opportunity not a poisoned chalice.

Given it looks like Mac has again been found out as an average coach, this time at Fev, might he head back so as to steer the conveyor belt of talent in London back towards SL?
The amount Fev have spent this year, surely he won't get a second season?

I get the feeling Fev have thrown everything at this and may suffer as a club when Leigh see them off.

I tend to agree. Not withstanding they are clearly well run it is a small club in a game not awash with central funding. Their current squad is impressive and it’s difficult to see how it is sustainable but clearly they’ve got something going on so who knows.

It probably is sustainable (if we can keep the average crowds as they are now), here are my thoughts:
- The Fev adult ticket price at games is £20, £22 if you buy it on the day. However there are concessions, kids, season ticket holders, hangers on, etc. so let’s assume an average ticket price of £15. After which there is other purchases on the day beer (£4 a pint), chips, sweets, coffee, etc. so let’s assume that the extra revenue is an average of £5 a head, just over a pint per person, that makes it £20 per person.
- Fev are averaging @3,500 per game so that is £70,000 per game. With a minimum of 13 home games before playoff n cup game revenue. That gives Fev a revenue stream of £910,000 (less costs).
- Add in Sponsorship @£400,000 plus revenue from RFL @£120,000 takes us to about a turnover of @£1,430,000
- Gledhill recons our wage bill is about that £1.2 million mark.

So at a guess we are more or less breaking even, but this does not allow for investment in the infrastructure.

I guess this is the advantage of owning your ground.

Yep, makes quite a difference not only with the reduced outlay but the ability to generate match day revenue.

Three and a half thou is a decent gate. Good to see local community buying into it. The days when pints were £4 in London are sadly long, long gone. I wonder what take up would be like if Broncos went down that route.

Think it's a bit like comparing apples with pears. Teams like Fev almost have a bit of a captive audience that just doesn't exist in London.

Yep, but we have a much bigger potential audience. If we were consistently competitive in SL and marketed ourselves properly, we would be be getting sustainable crowds (or near to).

If we played at home semi regularly during the season might help as well building up a bit of momentum.

Guessing that Wimbledon are relaying the pitch? Leigh are annually in the same position as they share LSV with soccer teams (Man Utd reserves and women) and the piper plays the tune suggested by the larger payer. Following last Monday's game against Fev, this parish won't see Cherry & White shirts for about two months. 4,226 saw them off (notwithstanding it being a streamed fixture on a Monday night), maybe a larger crowd will welcome them back - absence and the heart and all that. Two sides to every coin.

All true Bongser but you’ve got to remember we’ve moved to a different area of London. There’s very little connect between Ealing and Wimbledon and so they’ve needed a re haul in who attends. A lacklustre awareness raising campaign coupled with 2 disgusting performances against Widnes and, in particular the 8-0 loss against a modest Whitehaven threw away our first and best chance to make a good impression. Decamping for 6 weeks whilst the pitch is relaid during the increasingly shrinking timeframe when football is not the only game in town is a bit of an own goal. All things considered I suspect our average attendance will be at around 900-1000 (much of it heavily discounted) but basically we will be back where we were post Covid and the seemingly wilful running down of Ealing.

I fear that we may have missed the boat as far as drawing a decent crowd at Wimbledon.
Had we had a decent team and got some wins under our belts we may have had a chance, but now I believe it is probably too late.
Remember. You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

Absolutely Victor. Plan in haste repent at leisure. Time will tell if we’ve messed this up. All entirely predictable.

No need to wait for Time to tell you BT. I'll tell you.....they've butchered it as expertly as a city and guilds final year apprentice butcher.
I'm

You're what?

At a loss for words


Hughes silence is telling. He warned in his pre season begging letter that it may look like it wasn't working and to both the untrained and old hands of Broncos shenanigans, that's exactly what it currently looks like. From proudly banging the drum for the opening gate they've started witholding attendance figures, whilst blowing the corporate trumpet ignoring the fact they've discounted corporate across the board.
The sooner Hughes admits he was AGAIN fed bullcrap and AGAIN allowed someone to steal a wage on the back of blaming everyone but themselves, then the sooner he can look at practical solutions.
As for the on the pitch issues. That's 100% Hughes' doing. We need 3 more wins and he needs to buy or rent us the players to do it. If we defeat town at home then it's a straight sprint between us and dewsbury......Hughes can make 5his a memorable year by admitting he was wrong and putting things right, but NOW....not when it's too late

Thanks for finishing that off. It has been a worry all day pondering:
I'm going to throw myself off a tall building
I'm going to run off with the au pair
I'm jumping on a plane to punch Hughes on the nose

The options are endless but now we know.

May 2023 is the next European expedition scheduled and for the first time since we left in 2009 I am not sure I'll bother with the broncos......I am keener to see the new Brentford stadium.

Watch the women's team. They are well organised and competitive. As for Hughes, his silence shows contempt for fans.

A month now since our brand new, much lauded, coaching team departed after a predictable but nonetheless disappointing start to the season. (FWIW It probably came a bit later than it should but I thought both sides handled the comms around it with some dignity.)

Have I missed the announcement or are we dawdling again or was no one interested in the job. Eccles seems to be doing well but he said he didn’t want to be a coach and one assumes there is a slightly different skill set from the now vacant fitness post and the vacant coach and assistant posts. We can’t keep busking it and hope for the best. Surely?

Well we busked it and hoped for the best last season after Wardy's departure .......................