Right, I don't really intend to get into a debate on this but will say my piece.

Barton Willmore are acting on behalf of an objector and possibly being jointly financed by another developer who has had their site rejected for Newmarket. We don't know, we think we know, but don't for certain.

Barton Willmore have written to Richard Wright and asked him to write a letter, exactly what they have asked him we don't know... but they have asked him to write that letter. Barton Willmore are a well established, respected and professional planning consultancy, I am sure that they will have not misrepresented themselves to him and they will have explained who they are, whom they are acting on behalf of and why they would like this information. I don't believe Barton Willmore would have tricked Richard Wright into writing this letter, they have asked for it and he has taken the decision to write this letter. I think that Barton Willmore will have seen this as a punt worth taking. They clearly had decided on this as one of their arguments against Newmarket, so they would have gone down this route no matter what RW did or didn't write. I suspect they might have been surprised and pleased to get a reply!

The issue for me comes right here! I can't see anyway that Richard Wright did not know for whom and for why he was asked to write this letter. As many people have posted, other than a bit of Cas spin, the content of the letter is nothing that RW has not said before in the press pre-July.

He has taken a decision to write this letter in the full knowledge of what they were going to use it for, to use it to object to Newmarket!!! I am sorry but at this point Richard should have written back, very politely, and said that he did not wish to comment any further and that his previous comments on this matter are available in media records.

Simple!

He didn't do that and that is very disappointing and I think it lacks professional integrity and common courtesy!

I think that the some of the posters from Cas who are defending his decision should actually just put the boot on the other foot. If James Elston had been asked and then written to a group objecting to WR, maybe Edinburgh House, saying that Castleford could ground share at Newmarket, intimating that there is no need to build a supermarket on the WR site how would Cas fans feel?

Come on, be honest?

But we just keep highlighting the point that we would not take part into the council feasability study. We are now telling everyone that fact, that is my point. Other clubs fans, the media and maybe those at the council will draw the conclusion that we were running scared and they were not.

Link?

Quote ="RebelRebel"Link?'" m.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/dec/ ... pe=article

Quote ="RebelRebel"Link?'" m.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/dec/ ... pe=article

The neutral eye view of the whole situation.

I think the club are right to maintain their diplomatic silence. Treat this mischief-making with the contempt it deserves.

Just wait until Yorkcourt read out the list of "pre-let" agreements they have.
If government wants the private sector to "pick up the slack" this will make their slack "rock hard".

This list will show definitively that NM is sustainable, the business is already there; signed up & chomping at the bit to get going.

Tesco's are 100% on board with NM & that's only the lions share.....

Business such as this can't be ignored, especially in times like these. You know it, I know it, Eric Pickles knows it & evidently Richard Wright knows it (which is why he's had to resort to moves such as this!).

FWIW I think WR's comments could come back & haunt him in a number of ways.
1. WTW are going to have a "frosty" relationship with him/CT, not good to have with your biggest crowd puller....

2. He's shown his true colours to all the RL family. Who will want to do business with someone obviously that low/desperate/underhanded.

3. If wind blows against him he's effectively signed his own warrant. Before this he MAY have been able to survive taking CT to NM- "The economy...boo hoo... The WMDC... boo hoo... The chemical licence... Boo hoo.. Ben Bailey... Opus/Tesco (watch this space).... Boo hoo.. But I kept us in SL by bring us to NM!!!"
Now for me he's screwed should it come to this.

Should it ever come to #3 I'm sure he'll have many a (red, white & blue) man happy to help him pack before his "midnight flit", just before the mass of track suits and pitchforks at his door!

I'd be awful if such a thing came about now wouldn't it????

In recent months I feel I've let myself down; I'd become somewhat liberal with the idea of the WMDC & had even been dubbed part of the "love in".... Well no more! I want them out of my district!! Devolution for one of the 5 towns. Let them stand on their own. The town is dead, all they have is J32, which IMO is looking more shabby (& I've always maintained TACKY). Let them live on the sweat of their own brow for once rather than being subbed by the city neighbors.

I hope this has annoyed senior WMDC staff too, the same objectors make claims of nothing short of council corruption & I hope they remember where RW stands in relation to all this when viewed within the context of all the back-bending WMDC have done for them. RW needs to remember he has to work with Box et al & they in essence hold the keys to his future (and that of WR)- why would you want to rub these people up the wrong way?? Desperation- As Meatloaf once said "It leaves a stain on all your clothes & no detergent get's it out!"- I guess that stains Amber!

Quote ="G.Price Fan Club"Just wait until Yorkcourt read out the list of "pre-let" agreements they have.'" www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Com ... king.shtml Joke Sandal ! Just to lighten the atmosphere a little!

Quote ="G.Price Fan Club"Just wait until Yorkcourt read out the list of "pre-let" agreements they have.'" www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Com ... king.shtml Joke Sandal ! Just to lighten the atmosphere a little!

How so, we choose against the study because we decided to go it alone and concentrate on our own development. The only side that was going to gain from it was Cas and that was patently clear and a part from that the study would have been of great cost to the tax payer.
They thought because they already had full planning permission and NM was on part Green belt they would be a shoe in, that's why the were up for it, they needed us more than we needed them. Both clubs know deep down that a ground share would more than likely lead to the dreaded M word and no one wants that.

Quote ="bigalf"icon_eek.gif www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Com ... king.shtml Joke Sandal ! Just to lighten the atmosphere a little! '" What annoys me about you Alf is you have a brain cell, but clearly choose not to engage it. You know full well what an emotive topic this is an choose to have a laugh with it. Others I won't name speak without knowledge of the case or legislation, you on the other hand have a grasp of both, yet choose to bend both to match what little (& shrinking) case you have. Guess that comes from the colour of shirt you wear. Jokes obviously... [size=50cough[/size

Quote ="bigalf"icon_eek.gif www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Com ... king.shtml Joke Sandal ! Just to lighten the atmosphere a little! '" What annoys me about you Alf is you have a brain cell, but clearly choose not to engage it. You know full well what an emotive topic this is an choose to have a laugh with it. Others I won't name speak without knowledge of the case or legislation, you on the other hand have a grasp of both, yet choose to bend both to match what little (& shrinking) case you have. Guess that comes from the colour of shirt you wear. Jokes obviously... [size=50cough[/size

The dudes from Methley... Don't waste your breath Shifty. He's never a Trinity fan while I've got a hole in my behind!

The thing about the so called feasibility study is the fact it wasn’t feasible. The parameters were complete bias! The study was to look into which ground would be built quickest. It said nothing about what would be the best location to benefit both clubs as a business. More importantly it had no reference at all to funding of the project! Imagine if we had agreed and the study decided on Glasshoughton, what would have happened? Newmarket would have been shelved and still no funding would have been available for Glasshoughton.

This is basically one last desperate act form unpopular guy trying to tap into some anti Wakefield sentiment and win some favour with his ever growing band of critics in Cas.

Unfortunately Youngcat has a point in there somewhere. I'm as up in arms as anyone, and I may even have just fallen out with my best mate who just happens to be a Cas fan but ultimately we have to let this issue go.
Let's be upset tonight but concentrate on showing how good our case is tomorrow.

Our case is good and being so upset about RW comments could be seen by some that we are worried. We shouldn't be. The mood was positive this morning. Let's go back to that, and once we've got this moving again we can give all the stick we want to Wright. He's picked his side, let's not argue with him, let's just make sure he is on the losing side.

It's like when a team not as good as yours tries to pick a fight to stop you playing your better game. Win the game first, then smack them around when they are knackered!

We've put Dicky on the losing side enough over the past decade.
I'm all for cracking out the woad and going pre-roman on his ass!

If he wants a battle, let's give him a battle!

Oh my, i see you are on the general attack again. As you choose to post on our board on a regular basis i thought i would join you where you are most likely welcome and help you out again.
At least in another of your above posts you choose to single out Richard to vent your frustration where it is better directed - the route cause of your dismay. However i note you still struggle to resist the chance to elaborate further and decide to attack Castleford's fans/general public or town in your usual ways as you throw the teddy out after hearing or reading some thing that upset you -bless (stick to your battles with Neverdid, they are the ones you nearly win before showing yourself up in the process).
1) Regardless of Richards reply to we will both still remain one of each others biggest crowd pullers (maybe with a little extra spice after the passion this issue has created) lets be honest the clubs dont exactly have a loving relationship prior to this episode do we, both Wright and Glover have made derogatory comments about each other before franchise decisions to aid each others cause.
2) Rival clubs fall out on many occasions, all part of looking after your own business interests (Bradford/Leeds over Harris just as an example) life goes on we will both upset each other further in future.
3) If this means we would be unwelcome at NM if GH falls through, it would be my preference, i will still be proud to follow Cas in the National leagues as i have previously and im sure Richard would be long gone before he needed help packing, many Cas fans may feel different, many the same (just as if the boot was on the other foot).
I dont own a track suit or a pitchfork however but i get a feeling if i had the need i would know where to come to find one



For the record before i have to reply to a barrage of nonsense - i will await an official statement from one or both of the clubs regarding this issue/letter before making a better informed personal opinion, thus far it seems a question was asked and an answer was given - one that made no direct comment on NM just facts that are already open in the public domain - tbc.
Either way i bid you all well in your quest for your new home - i understand why you would be defensive when some thing in appearance goes against what you are trying to achieve, i also truly believe this issue would be/is already on an objectors agenda and will have no lesser or greater impact than it would have if Richards reply was - no comment (if anything it may only reflect on him in a negative way) !

Regards.

That's the point though isn't it, what he's put in his letter is out there in the pubic domain anyway and when one of the objectors groups comes a calling, as a leader of a local rival club, you'd think to yourself, no this is not for me to get involved in, particularly for this side. He's a intelligent enough man to know exactly the response it was going to get but yet chose to do it.

Anyway another day of questions and answers down at the PI, lets hope we can have another positive day.

I presume you have read the letter, its on here somewhere if you haven't.
In his letter, (which he didn't have to write, would have been best advised not to have wrote, and would clearly have seen the inflamatory nature of his writing it) he has caused provocatation where it was not needed.
I can understand objectors seeing value in his negative comment, however i think he has only served to show up what a desperate position both he and cas are in regarding their own future.
RW has offered his views on GH to all that will listen in his typical style, with confidence with enthusiasm etc.
Now why if he is so confident would he need to try and detract from our development, if he has so little concern for it, he has stated you are so far down the track with development of GH, you future is assured, surely?
Apart from it being bad form from RW, involving himself in such a way in something that concerns him so little, i think it is beginning to show the cracks in his very fragile facade.
These are my views on his letter:
1) You are not very far down the track with GH, you have all the fluff and none of the substance to make the build happen (ie £££££)
2) Wakefield only objected to the GH focus of the feasibility study, as it was not a considered balanced view, on the strengths of both developments.
FWIW my view is that RW always new GH was going to be a financial struggle (as it has proven to be) but because of his grandstanding nature, and his own shaky position at Cas, he has had to follow this through.
When Wakefield "refused to cooperate" with the feasibility study, he knew IMO it was his last chance saloon, and the doors had been slammed shut on him, hence he is now doing what he can to throw a spanner in the NM works, simply out of spite.
I think this is the beginning of the end for RW, i thing in recent years he has become very unpopular within WR and his popularity with those that don't cling on to his every word in the Cas support base is also slipping drastically.
I would love to see this story make the league express next week so the rest of RL can make for themselves what kind of a man RW is and what kind of spiteful act he has chosen to involve himself in on the behalf of Cas.
I will offer my full apology on the cas forum, if i am wrong, but i will state on record, that cas will not get GH in the near future, and Cas never were going to, but RW has strung the supporters along in order to keep himself in a job, but ultimately he will go because of it.

OK, my take on it is this:

Richard Wright was asked to comment, he chose to do so and once again to try and make Cas's progress look better than ours.

Yes, what he said was all stuff that is in the public domain, but as usual he neglects to mention the more salient points.
How can we share a stadium at Glasshoughton that is looking unlikely to be built anytime soon? There is NOTHING to share!!
By suggesting that we could share he gives the impression that our "need" for a stadium at Newmarket is not essential.
Any Cas or Wakey fan in their right mind knows that if one or either of us are not in a new ground for the next round of franchises we are GONE!!
If we do not get the go-ahead for Newmarket, Yorkcourt will not transfer the funding to Glasshoughton (why would they, they are really only interested in getting the development land at Newmarket). We then become reliant on sharing a non-existent ground at GH to keep our place in SL.

This is why what he has done is so wrong! He has dleiberately tried to put a spanner in the works of our development, to detract from the fact that Cas still are not making any significant progress.

Well said Fordy, we need to move on from what our "friend" from over the "common" has said.
Our focus should only be on N/M.
Exchanging insults with Cas' fans may be good sport, but its not important right now.

It's better for us if Wright stays in charge at Cas. Hes holding that club back

He has issued his statement. Says nothing of any worth as usual.

[urlhttp://www.castigers.com/article.php?id=1931[/url

Looking at that Cas website you'd think they only had one player.

"However, we remain open to the concept of a shared stadium [size=50(as long as it's ours and at Glasshoughton)[/size.... blah blah, blah..."

I'm sure those people who are qualified to represent our interests at the PI won't be distracted by this pathetic sideshow being staged by the CE of the Castleford club.

It sounds like you put a lot of thought into that statement Mr Wright, well done.

In response to Richard Wrights statement this morning - [urlhttp://www.castigers.com/article.php?id=1931[/url I would just like to comment as follows.

It is a shame that Richard Wright did not take the opportunity to clarify why he felt he need to respond to the questions raised and asked directly of him by Barton Willmore, whom he clearly knew to be working on behalf of a group objecting to the Newmarket development. He has said that there is nothing new in what he said in this letter and indeed, I would say that is correct. So in that case, why did he write the letter just to them and if he felt he needed to clarify his and Castleford Tigers position on this issue, why was the letter not sent to the planning inspector, sent to all parties, or issued as a general media release... or even, just left it alone completely, which should have been his decision IMO!

He has missed the opportunity to either clarify why he felt the need to write this letter, or in hindsight apologise for possibly make a misjudgement in issuing this letter to Barton Willmore, knowing for whom they were working but that he he stands by the actual content of the letter. That is shame and I still think the initial release and this statement lack clarity and indicates a potential lack of professional integrity on his part.

Right, that is it, move on!