Excellent, probably true and very depressing post.

But in all the years of the Trust, he's never bolted. There has to be a reason for that, and my impression is that he knows now it's going to happen. He could have just walked from the Trust and not looked back. The issue is whether the price for the new stadium is something we're prepared to pay, in terms of actual cost, the loss arising from it being done through a new Trust, and the morality of it.

Sometimes you've just got to suck it up. It stinks, but if it gets us a stadium and a level of involvement that is better financially than what we have, we've little choice, even if it is less than what it should have been.

This is all about not wanting Wakefield Trinity ie MICK & CHRIS earning too much profit/money from running the club in a new Community Stadium. In there ideal world Yorkcourt & SRW would prefer for Mick & Chris to walk away completely from the club and this would benefit them the most.

Yes it is a big Euromillions this week so every Trin fan should buy a ticket. Because you never know,if I won there would be a lovely big new Stadium for WT & Mick & Chris to run plus money they have lost.


Up The Trin

No Charlie i'm not involved, had my stint with SWAG but the people involved with the trust deserve a medal.

As I've been saying all week - this will be about enabling YC to recoup some of their investment by changing the terms of the anchor tenancy; MC is bound to be oppositional to that, and SRW is likely to be in favour, if it gets the thing done and enhances his reputation - so they collude to remove MC from the negotiations, impose a deal that achieves what they want, and if MC won't play ball, they can throw their hands in the air and say they offered a facility and he wouldn't accept it.

It's a stitch-up, whichever way you look at it.

Agreed. And I would have a statue of MC next to Foxy at any new stadium. Man deserves that knighthood more than the other protagonist here that has one!

Less than perfect though it is, I hope you are right. I guess we can keep in SL and be competitive even if they want their skim. Better than the alternative. Though my suspicion is that, judging by Michael's reaction, the amount is more than we can afford

Another bazinga from me.

Why should Yorkcourt be allowed to change the original agreement to recoup some of their investment? Surely they will still make an absolute packet on completion of all the other development.

Why is Sir Rodney on the side of Yorkcourt and not the public of Wakefield who want a successful team in the new stadium?

We have seen that just providing a stadium is not the be all and end all for a successful club - just look at Salford. The move has to be right for the club to be a force - otherwise there is no point in moving.

Very good point. Although I know Ted Richardson has played his part in our current woes. He often gets blamed for the YCCC fiasco at Denby Dale which I think is what you're referring to. That deffo happened on Walkers watch as far as I recall. Rodney has a real knack for blame shifting doesn't he.

Who owns the land where the stadium will stand

I hope I'm not - I can't see any value in scratching by in SL, in a stadium that does not benefit us; otherwise, we're just the same old underfunded team, but in a shiny stadium that offers no real benefit in terms of additional income.

If the stadium was built though, Yorkcourt would need us to actually be a viable business in order to recoup any money they'd spent on the stadium as realistically it's only going to be us playing there as there are no other potentially viable tenants. So there could well be some sort of compromise that could be made, obviously not as good as we should have had but workable and better than the alternative of just playing out of Dewsbury. Things change quickly in sport too, once it's built you never know what might happen.

Well while your giving your new found wealth away acko old boy, would there be any chance of buying snowie a new beer shed in the new ground

I am not old enough to remember this personally, but know about it from what family have told me, so please stay with me

I believe Ted owned belle vue... which is why were are in the current predicament, following its repossession by the BOI and the new current owner (88m?). Do you think Teds ultimate decision to decline the offer a ground being built for us had anything to do with any personal financial benefits of taking a rent paid from WTRLFC to Ted's holding company. I have heard numbers thrown around but don't know exact figures. Like I said, I wasnt around at the time so dont know the exact timescales regarding ground sales from club to ted etc.

It does seem to me an absolutely ludicrous decision that a chairman/ owner of a club would refuse a new ground to be built for them by their local council. To think this situation could all have been avoided, had it been for some better advice here or there.

Dont think SRW was involved with the club when the move to Durkar was being discussed.

According yo Wiki, SRW was chairman of the club between 1986 and 1993. Plans for Durkar didnt become known until around 1996. Wasnt Paul Caddick interested in the club about this time. He has just recently celebrated 20 years of owning Leeds and Headingley Stadium.

Yep Snowie would get a shed BUT only if he served Lager






Up The Trin

Although we know nothing of the terms, and this is speaking purely hypothetically, you have to take a step back and ask whether we would accept those terms if the development didn't have the history that it did. Doesn't matter who's making a quick buck, the issue is purely the favourability of the terms. There's too much at stake for it to be lost on a point of principle, however noble those principles are.

There you have it in a nutshell Caddick wasn't interested in Wakey or the new ground, he already had everything at Headingley including a Test Match cricket ground, remember this Caddick did not own Yorks. CCC but had a certain amount of influence over them as their landlords.

I honestly could not comment on Ted's financial status as I know nothing of it, there was one reason and one reason only why he declined the offer from Wakefield council and that's the same reason John Kear did not become the coach at Catalan's, pure greed.

Totally agree. If we take the optimistic view and SRW's comment that 'all he wants is a new ground for Wakefield Trinity' as genuine, then even if this isn't on exactly the terms or negotiated with exactly who we would have liked, I suppose we will have to swallow it. I can't see any other option being viable as much as I am sure we would all like to tell SRW and YC where to shove it if the 'Magic Money tree' would appear

That's the problem neither the Trust nor the Club know what the terms are because we are not permitted to see the Heads of Terms as they are being discussed.

In the Star article Rodney Walker said that he wanted the Club to be anchor tenant but no one has made contact with the Club.

The Statement refers to the terms that the current Trust would look to lease the stadium to the Club which would enable it to be sustainable and provide a community facility. If the terms are fundamentally different then the Club will have a problem. But why should a Developer be allowed to profit from what was promised as a result of a substantial planning gain.

I'm shocked Acko, you're too old to be drinking Lager, real ale is the way forward

The "magic money tree" is only only available whether it be for stadiums, or to burn wood in barns to People who wear far too much orange.