I in no way condone a merger but the two clubs playing out of Newmarket with the attendance's, financial clout and youth system's of both clubs combined would be a terrifying prospect IMHO. I don't think another club in the league could live with it or come close to lacing it's boot's.

I think it’s highly unlikely that Cas will play at the Keepmoat, it just doesn’t make sense if Newmarket was available, at least not from a business point of view. I think most Cas fans would stomach it as long as it’s temporary arrangement and GH is a shoe in. If everything goes to plan I don’t see a problem at all, it’s if it doesn’t go to plan for Cas (after moving into NM) I fear the dreaded M word could be on the horizon especially if both teams are still making up the numbers at the wrong end of the table. Certainly be ironic if Dick Dastardly had to come cap in hand to play at NM after the devious underhand trick he tried to pull at the PI. As they say “we live in interesting times”.

It makes more sense than you'd think.

Close, fairly cheap, would bring more support than being at Newmarket.

The club already spoke with officials about it at the Challenge Cup semi, Newmarket is probably 3rd or 4th choice for RW.

Not according to your johnny on the spot, who says that the Keepmoat was rejected by the RFL, for the same reasons that Oakwell was rejected for us last year.

Keep my seat warm at NM Gronk, and no sticking bits of chuddy underneath.

Anybody think we are being "forced together", or is it really just circumstance ?

I imagine that WMDC won't be at all unhappy to see both clubs playing at whichever stadium is most likely to be built first; at this moment in time, that looks like NM.

Garforth1 also said last week that the club were going to announce administration today, so there's more chance he's Sandal or whatever name he's going under this week



The Keepmoat was only rejected as a permanent location too, not a year move ala St Helens at the Stobart...but they will only accept it if there is actual building work going on at Glasshoughton, which again Garforth is putting the negative spin on.

i dont think he`s putting a negative spin on it at all infact quite the opposite he see`s it has positive news which it is if we have 5 years to waste which we havent.

my own personal oppinion is that this is now our only chance of getting a stadium has we have explored all other avenues and it has come to nothing the onlything that re-assures me this time is that it isnt richard wright thats calling the tune but opus and wmdc who if all is to be believed have all but given up with rw and his slow arm tactics.

i wouldnt be happy to after leave for newmarket but it makes far more sence than having to trail 20 miles to doncaster every other week which would be financial suicide.

Once WMDC get both teams in one stadium which will be newmarket ,just watch how quickly they lose interest in getting GH funded.

If Cas do come to newmarket Dicky will tell them its for a year or two but there will be no way back unless they elect to leave SL and return to Cas and play in the champoinships

Shouldnt make much of a difference if the clubs remain two separate entities.

I think it would if both clubs were still in the bottom half making the numbers up. The RFL would put pressure on us to merge especially if some potentially "good" franchise applications are knocking at the door. A good old financial sweetener might see the board of both teams tempted to make the leap.

I just can’t agree with you there, I just fail to see how you’ll get bigger crowds playing 20 miles from home than if you were playing just 4 miles down the road.

Million quid isn't it? Pretty sure that was the number for Shudds and Gateshull.

I wouldn't mind a merged team with a neutral name/colours and a head coach that's better than what both teams have at the minute.

New stadium, 2 of the best youth development programs in the league put together, best PR, best community links and a million quid from the RFL? Sounds like a good deal really.



Because you'll end up with folk not going because "it's Wakey's stadium".

As has already been said, Dick will sell it to the Cas fans as a short term temporary move (which it could well turn out to be) I think most could stomach that as long as GH was nailed on eventually

not if its explained properly. cas fans will be thinking that the money for playing at NM will go in wakeys pockets when it will actually go to the stadium trust.

That doesn't mean anything to them, there's people already saying they'll stop going even if it's only for a year.

if ac and inter can do it...........to me it makes sense or i fear 1 or both of you will lose your place in superleague.

turn the argument round and just for arguments sake imagine GH was built 12 months before NM. how many wakey fans would come to cas. less i suppose because they would know the cash would go to cas.

I was thinking about the 'M' word the other day and came up with the name 'Wakefield United', I quite like that!

but it wouldn't

On the other hand, if the ground matches the like of Widnes, and we have a backer like Widnes, why the pressure to merge? The RFL might say that there can only be one team from the Wakefield area, but if we are at Newmarket, are spending the salary cap, have crowds to match the likes of Huddersfield and Widnes (which we do already), wouldn't we be merging to save Castleford? Would they merge if they were at Glasshoughton?

No one tells Leigh to merge with Wigan, or Widnes to merge with Wire. It is always with us that we talk about it, but if Newmarket comes off, what do we have to gain by it? I would tolerate a merged team at Newmarket, but what would Cas have to gain by it?

£12 million quid in the bank instead of spunking it all on a new stadium?

We should expect Huddersfield to be in favour of mergers. You've had one already and did okay. I'm not sure Sheffield share the view though.

A merged team with the Cas stadium money + another million from the RFL?

That's a club set for a decade at the top of the league.

A ground share was the right idea in 2005 or 6 when the plans could have been made to find a site that was fair to both sets of fans. Neither proposal on the table now fits that bill, but it was a no brainer, as the article puts it, and as the history now shows us. I still think it entirely possible that neither plan will ever get off the ground. I was published in the Express in 2006 I think, almost word for word what Kear has said....but it's way way too late now. It's Newmarket or bust for us and a lot of praying over the next few weeks.