Mrs b makes a good point about the world changing. Some of The traditional divisions between RL and RU have diminished, though others remain quite profound admittedly. They'd love more of a foothold in the north, we seem to feel we need a presence in the south. We'd like a higher profile international game, they'd like international games with the odd try in them. Match made in Heaven. Possibly.

The last time a merger was seriously considered was during the birth of super league. It'd take something on a similar scale of upheaval to get it back on the agenda. I don't think a Rugby Super Premiership is anything like imminent, but one day, you never know. It'd probably even have a title sponsor.

The tapas crew. Like it.

Nothing should be off the agenda. Life is constantly evolving & RL will need to evolve with it. It's never been afraid to change in the past, & I think RL is going to need some radical changes in order for it to survive at a high level.

Yeah, I think the sport is at a real crossroads.

It's all about in-seat artisan dining in the new world with the rugby a sideshow. We might need real knives and forks though. Sandra the Terrorist would be good at brainstorming this, he's out of town too.
McDonnell
Briscoe
Welham
Yeaman
Lineham
Holdsworth
Dobson
Paea
Hodgson
Lynch
Paterson
Ellis
Tickle

Not too bad.

Your itching to say it. A joined Hull club would in my opinion wipe the floor of opposition within five years. Crowds would be 20,000 at the kc.

there is no such thing as a merger one club takes over the other and then the weakest one which would be us reforms in the lower leagues like the Hull/Gateshead or the Hudds/Sheffield and then it all starts again the merged club would just be Hull really after a couple of seasons

Boo dont spoil the fun.

The question is whether the current situation is short term driven by the economic slump or more fundamental issues. I think both, but the stranglehold of Leeds and Wigan creates lack of hope and ultimately disengagement of other teams and their supporters. Of course only recently Bradford and Saints have been seemingly unassailable, but the teams with biggest fanbases, best academies, and deep pockets are Leeds and Wigan which makes them seem unreachable. Chuck in the inability to get basic sponsorship, the self interest of individual club owners (understandably) and the drain of quality to Aus, and it's a total bag of spanners. Radical thinking needed.

Ooh yeah, I reckon a team of that quality could very well challenge for 8th/9th in SL. Oh, hang on..

This is a happy place go away with your doom mongering.

Looks like I'm bringing the Pimms then



Seriously - would be no-go for me. Not worried while AP is in charge though as my sig points out.

This is RLFans, this is never a happy place, you know that, you've been here long enough to know that



.

MERGER MY ARSE . I dont know what I would do but I know 100% I wouldnt be going to watch a joint team as long as ive got an hole in my aris

Fair comment. Let's stay as we are then, that'll work.



To be clear, I'm totally playing devil's advocate but if the current situation is bang average with no imminent prospect of improvement and a potential to deteriorate, you have to imagine some alternative scenarios and make sure you're not missing an opportunity simply because in the short term it would be painful and difficult. Merger may be unworkable but if 10 years down the line RL in the city were in a better place with consolidated resource and fanbase, you have to at least consider it. The issue is we won't know until we try and it could be a total disaster and/or have no longevity of funding, so it won't happen.

Team Name Kingston upon Hull.
Club mascot a housemartin, or a cannibal (luis suarez??)
Kit Red white and black, in no particular order

Done. Move on.

Even with the talk of tapas for us out of towners , I'm not for a merger (and the temptation to lock this has been almost overwhelming). I just feel that both clubs have so much tradition (my in-laws have been going for 50+ years plus their parents before them, for example) that would be lost, sacrificed in the altar of the quick buck (and for who?). The posts about derby day are spot on and I'm not convinced that regular 20000 crowds are a probability even within 5 years. Success for one team would increase crowds at that club, but not necessarily at the expense of the other.

I think it is time for a serious discussion about RL finances and marketing the game better as the "dying in its arris" comments are, in my view, right too. Merging clubs wasn't the answer in 1995/6 and it isn't now for mine. I can't come up with a suitable football merger suggestion that reflects FC/KR (finances, rivalry, current positions/performance), but for sake of argument, imagine the outcry (because I can) if the suggestion was for Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday to merge, just because one was having a little difficulty?

To be honest Mrs B, you hit the nail on the head in your first post. The problem for a merged club would lay in the time it would take to convince the doubting thomas' (who, me sir) that this was the best way forward. Someone would have to bankroll the club for a number of years before the project reached fruition and I have a feeling the associated parties would pull the plug before sufficient progress was made.

I still believe that Hull fc, in their current guise, are capable of scaling the heights once more, which rather negates the original question in my eyes.

This too...

This is a major point for me, I feel we would lose so much with no guarentee of riches down the road anyway. In a worst case scenario we could end up with no club. No Fc, no Kr, no merged club.

Also Chris, why were you tempted to lock the thread. It's actually an interesting discussion for once on what is, admittedly, an hypothetical scenario.

Was only joking. I thought it after the first post actually but its become a proper discussion, very rare these days

I'm really worried that those nasty people at Red Hall will think we're serious and will start making merging noises again. Can we remove all traces of this thread before Nigel and his gang find out.

It's not really the "quick buck", though, for me, it's about whether there could be a long term opportunity to consolidate and build something better in a structure where all bar Leeds and Wigan are struggling. There are loads of obstacles, fan engagement and financing being the two blindingly obvious and serious ones, but as said, short term difficulties shouldn't stop us thinking of creative alternatives to the status quo when the sport's in trouble. I really hope we can push on ourselves, obviously.

It's not on the Leeds or Wigan board, or on a meat pie menu. Unlikely Nigel will be interested.