I seem to remember that when the Broncos went tits up four weeks into the season a few years back, David Hughes was banned from being a director of the club in future. It was part of the deal Richard Lewis managed to get through to allow the club to see out the season before the Quins rebranding despite the anger of the northern clubs. That seems to have been ignored by the RFL so maybe they'll let this slide as well?

Either way, I think those people talking about a Supporters Trust last year need to dust off their plans.

One teeny weeny little local difficulty faces anyone seeking to either buy the club outright or to buy out IL's 65% share: at 30/11/08 the club owed £2.5m to Lenaghan and £1.9m to Hughes.

That was 12m ago, so who knows what the situation is now?

Of course, it is possible that one or both of them have written some or all of those loans off - like the £0.84m that they wrote off in 2007.

But otherwise, anyone buying the shares takes on a technically insolvent (and how...!) business funded by subordinated loans from the current owners. Will those current owners be happy for that situation to continue under new ownership when they lack control?

And if the "new ownership" happens to be a current owner's son, then would the substance be that nothing has really changed?

It ain't working, guys.

Er...it is though. See my post above re the loans.

Oh, and I agree that this ownership issue should impact on Wigan just as much as on Harlequins. Maybe he will be told he has to divest himself of his Wigan holding >25%

Won't happen though, surely? The RFL must be pooing their pants right now over the financial state of Crusaders, Harelequins and quite possibly one or two other SL clubs, as well as any number of lower league clubs. No way will they be able to stand up to an owner who threatens to pull his funding and bring club down IMO.

David Hughes wrote off another £1.5m when the Broncos went under. Worth remembering those figures the next time the usual suspects start moaning about our board not spending enough money.

Indeed. Had Lenaghan and Hughes not pretty well totally bankrolled the club, to the tune of MILLIONS, then it would not be here now. In fact, it would not have been here years ago. Bet they get sod all thanks from most of the "fans", and they must be thoroughly disheartened to see such poor attendances (whatever the cause).

But dont most clubs have a "financial donor"- Wires were deep in it until Moran stepped in, it makes you wonder what the sugar daddy's at The Reds and Hudds pump in.

There is no question we are tightening our belts- you only have to look at our signings plus who we have released over the last couple of years.

Worrying times for Quins and RL as a whole

I should think David Hughes is beyond being disheartened by our gates but he's still here (thankfully as if he walks its pretty likely the end for us.) As for thanks, I think most people around Quins RL are well aware that without David, and for a period Ian, we would not have a fully professional RL team in London. There's a small minority who think the board don't invest enough, I doubt David loses too much sleep over that. His accountant may though given the sums we burn, I seem to remember David saying at least once that his accountant had advised him to cut back on the way he bankrolls us.

I'd love to see us turn it around for David's sake but back in the real world...........

I'd agree that many other clubs, all sports, have a sugar daddy however we are probably more vulnerable than most. There's not likely to be too many multi-millionaires who grew up watching Fulham/London/Quins and most sugar daddies are people who grew up watching the club - Simon Moran being one of them. If David walks the queue to replace him is rather short, as Ian appears to have discovered whilst trying to shift his shares.

As I have posted many times before. I cannot fathom how David Hughes is prepared to lose millions of pounds yet tolerates the status quo at the club. How McDermott and most of the players are even contracted to the club is beyond belief.

Wot about helping out D H with a supporters trust. anyone any idea how they work etc etc

If you can get enough like-minded folk together, then you need to talk to Laura from Supporters' Direct. She is the Rugby League Supporters' Trusts Development Officer (and a Hudds fan...) and her full-time job is to help supporters set up STs. I'm sure she would be delighted to come to a meeting (provided there was demonstrable serious intent) to explain how STs work and what is involved.

I have met her several times.

If anyone wants contact details - provided they are serious - PM me.

But David Hughes is a multi-millionaire, self-made, so he must know a thing or two about business. I can't fathom him either, but I'd trust his judgement more than I'd trust yours. That's unless you too are a multi-millionaire, in which case you ought to put up or shut up.

He might know a thing or two about business but it looks like he doesn't know anything about creating a viable Superleague club. Again, I put it back to you, if it was your money and you were losing milllions would you tolerate the status quo at the club in terms of marketing, coaching and players?

First question. Why the hell am I responding to you

Second question, Ever think there's only enough to keep us afloat rather than drive us forward?

I'd either, 1.. sack my Chief Executive, who's paid to run the business (but as I've done that and Paul Blanchard's just into year two that might be jumping the gun) or 2.. jack it in.

Luckily for us, David Hughes is not jacking it in. Goodness knows where we'd be if he did.

It just about sums up how total Parochial Rugby League is, Maurice Lindsay "talked" about expansion, but the majority of Northerners were never really committed to it. It is one of the reasons I stopped supporting St Helens my home town club and started with Fulham v Wigan at Craven Cottage and never had any regrets!

But I now worry about the game!

I'm me, far from a self-made millionaire, he's him. Obviously our minds work very differently, so what I'd do in the situation is irrelevant.

The other major difference is that he knows far far more about what's going on than I do, or than you do for that matter.

Have you approached him directly with your issues? If you did get a reply it would be of much greater value than you'll get from me or (with due respect to them all) any other poster on here. That's unless one of them is DH in disguise of course.

All the fans I've ever met are eternally grateful for what Lenaghan and particularly Hughes have done for us, in fact I've yet to come across one who isn't. Also I'm sure Hughes is unhappy with the attendances, but he's also smart enough to realise what the problems are.

I spent some time last summer seeking to obtain support (and bodies) to set up a supporters trust. Laura @ the Trust was a great help with info etc and would help in thesetting up of a trust. Quins fans just need to get it on!!

Unfortunately, there were just a few nibbles of the bait and no firm interest in setting up a trust other than a few good luck messages.

Unfortunately, family matters have eaten into my downtime in recent months if you want further info/chat then pm me and I'll let you how it went.

Unfortunately LQ we had pretty much the same response when we tried to set one up back when tricky dicky bailed out

Speaking from past experience - you find any number of people ready, willing and able to talk the talk. But finding those who go on to walk the walk, and are prepared to make the hard yards, is a whole lot trickier. If a fraction of the passion that was expressed on message boards was translated into action, we'd solve most of the problems IMO.

And, if you DO get something off the ground, all you get from so many of the armchair experts and critics is "why aren't they doing something about [issue)?" Its all too often someone else's problem. Got a drawer full of the tee-shirts...

Seems a ST would be an excellent idea and I wish anyone seeking to pursue this option well and very good luck. Given the huge annual deficit and funding requirement, something I doubt a ST could make significant inroads into - you need owners remaining prepared to put hands in their pockets big-time for that - but may be a lot more potential for raising interest in the club and thereby attendances? Working alongside the club, and maybe concentrating on the youth and academy development side?

Sensationalist garbage. RL is still a hugely popular sport and always will be.

You worry about the game because you've got no respect for it.

Just get along and watch the game every week at your lcoal pro-club. All of you, that's the least you can do if you respect the sport. You cant dump a club because the management make decisions you dont agree with, or because the club is unsuccesful.

That's sport, get over it.

I know I am probably wrong here.....but is it only me that thinks the club and most people at it, don't have a f#cking idea of how to run a business?
Since I started watching (less than 10 years ago) the club has always made a lost, ignored potential revenue streams through attracting fans and now somehow managed to ship 1,800,000 smackers in 52 weeks? WTF is going on???
I don't care about development of youngsters......why develop them if the pro club is going to go tits up every 5 years?
Sorry, but it's time for make or break at TW2. Either fill the ground, pay wages that the club can afford and sack slackers when they start to slack or just fold up your tent and head to leigh.

35k a week....FFS, where has it gone? and this is 35k every week. If you only count the season weeks, then it's 65k.......nearly 10k a day???? On what???? Tea and muffins?
SKY money, + gate revenue and residuals should just about cover wages for the squad......but 65k a week losses is unacceptable.
Thank god for the NZ sunshine.....nothing seems to have changed with the field of dreams mentality at TW2.

clearly not, given there's been no response for 3 days

The level of losses seem extraordinary given the overheads are supposed to be low, and I kind of share your view on the competencies, looking in from the outside. There seems to have been no progress in the however many years it is since the rebrand, but then again even with some marketing can you generate local interest from a hinterland that isnt in any way culturally engaged with the sport?

Theres no reason to respond other than to give you the facts behind the RFLs decision to reinstate Leigh. It wasn't just because Gateshead went pop. The RFL said that they could have reduced the Championship to ten teams and left Leigh down in Ch1. However and these words came from Nigel Wood, it was felt it was unfair to Leigh as Gateshead had gained an unfair sporting advantage, ie paying all there NRL experienced overseas players while not paying normal everyday creditors. I was as gobsmacked as anyone else, this was the RFL acknowledging the non-level playing field. Now applying this to SL, imagine that you finish bottom in the next two seasons due partly to Crusaders fielding 14 overseas players every season (SL is no longer a level playing field even without the annual threat of relegation). You are then ejected from SL due to your poor playing record over the last three years. I don't think you would let the concessions given to the Crusaders go 'undiscussed' would you.