I agree with you on your points but it hardly good for expansion of the game!

IMO the RFL needs to make its mind up,

We either go with the model they have now, expansion, bringing through home grown youth so we can compete with Aus & NZ, creating better stadia etc but make sure it is a level playing field, because it currently isn't.

Or back to P&R which is a fairer system, that all other sports use, which in effect will not achieve the gains the RFL are chasing via the existing model.

I am in favour of the model in use at present even though my club has been dumped on, along with other Champ clubs, as I want to see our sport spread and improve, but the system is flawed as the RFL will break their own rules to keep expansion clubs going.

Come on RFL make up your minds you can't have it both ways, you are turing our sport into a joke.

Yes good idea cos merging 3 clubs of your choice instantly means all there fans will agree with you and will all turn up for the games

Duplicate post

Sorry to hear about this.

However, if this is really down to debts run up by the previous owners (Leighton Samuels?) then the present owners and directors obviously didn't do their due diligence well enough (if at all) and shouldn't be in business.
However, if they have been mislead, they will have a case against the people who sold it to them.

It appears the Celtic Crusaders Ltd only had one director: Paul Retout (Appointed Jan 2010) and was 100% owned by David Neal Tompson?
As far as Wrexham Village Ltd is concerned this co is shown as dormant and has never issues accounts or traded. The othe Co's which are connected with Roberts, Moss and Atkinson either as shareholders or subsidiaries including; Gefco Ltd and Sibco Ltd & Wrexham Football Club (2006) Ltd are all a bit of a bag of nails.
It seems that the RFL also did no proper due dilligence.

Widnes Wolves, I've heard

not a chance in hell the fans of both clubs are bitter rivals, and imo there would be a riot on the streets of hull there,s a better chance of titanic docking at liverpool again

Is a merged club allowed to merge again?

I find that comment hard to take not for my club but for all the other clubs like fax, fev, leigh, sheffield, widnes and barrow in the championship league that are borderline of acceptance to the super league,

while I'm not narrow minded and can see an expansion helping the sport in general it has to deemed that all clubs get the same chance,

its been a bitter pill to take for the last few years with the quins and catalans side getting favourable help,

promotion and relation shouldn't of been taken away as its survival of the fittest but given a three year protection for clubs promoted of going down would of been enough to allow them to get to speed with SL

all this help has now alienated new clubs and I see an uprising coming from the fans, they are staying away from the game as they are demoralised with the RFL and who could blame them,

be aware this season could well be a long year full of protests if you go into administration and be allowed to continue a third year under a different name

Fax, Fev, Leigh, Sheffield,Widnes and Barrow????? There crowds are a joke! For teams that have been around for so long. Widnes near enough had a home tie against hull kr a couple of years back. There fans were outnumbered 70-30 % Why should that team be in Super League when no one in that town is interested? Leigh, how many are bothered about them? Brand new and top of the range stadia and a handful of fans. The rest aren't worth talking about. If you go back 100 years or so. How many fans do you think were at Warringtons,Saints and Wgans first game??? Couple of men and a dog I bet. So give Crusaders a chance. 10 years minimum in my opinion. They had more fans at the play off game in hudds than most of the teams mentioned above get for a standard home game. And they sang from start to finish! Credit to themselves and the league. On a final note. Catalans. They must have an average home crowd of 7000. that speaks for itself! Did anyone noticed how many spectators turned up to watch France play Scotland,Wales and Ireland!!!! Expansion is working and if we can get toulouse up and running. I'm quite confident you would easily see a 20,000+ crowd. You wouldn't get a combined total with everyone of the teams you mentioned if they all played each other for another 50 years! So good look Crusaders and Catalans! COME ON THE WIRE!!!

Crowds will always be a joke in the Championships, because nothing has been done to make it a worthwile competition in its own right. It is set up for the RFL to place SL clubs in waiting and giving them SL style protection from relegation etc etc. This skews any league positions and basically the championship just becomes a bunch of 'friendies'. But then I wouldn't expect you to know anything about that in your ivory tower on Tescos Carpark.

Just heard a solid rumour that one of the two serious parties interested in taking over Crusaders RL is the Bridgend based business consortium that offered to take them over originally.
Could we be looking at the rebirth of the Celtic Crusaders back in the club's home town?
There'd be no Samuel or Turner this time around, so no reason it couldn't work.

I imagine that the other is the current owners in some other slightly different configuration.

A North vs South tug o' war on the cards?

I don't see what is wrong with all clubs getting off on AN EVEN FOOTING, you seem to think Snowie that the beneficial treatment that you perceive the Crusaders and poss catalans get is unfair to you and the club you support in the Championship. To be honest I don't think there is such a thing as an LEVEL PLAYING FIELD whatever the RFL does as the Cru have to build and establish themselves in an area with no RL tradition and try to achieve what clubs in the North have been building for the past 100 years and more. If we had no help or involvement from the RFL then we prob wouldnt stand a chance, when initiatives to get RL going in Wales happened before, it was the lack of assitance from the RFL that brought about their downfall. They are obviously going to great lengths this time that it does not happen , unfortunately we are in harsh economic times and probably the poorest region of the entire UK to obtain funding from.Unfortunately, if we had no help from the RFL right now, we could not survive and RL will be permanently stuck along the M62, that might suit you , it might not, but for the development and prospeority of the game ,nationally and internartionally , it is the way forward.

The RFL need to come out and lay its cards on the table so all the clubs know how its going to work out. You may think it harsh on the Halifaxs ,Leighs and Widneses of the world but its not going to be long term. That would help us all.

The one thing the Cru need more than anything is the best people to do the job, and apart from some of the coaching and support staff, the majority of the Financial Operations has been a JOKE and at worst, AN ABSOLUTE BLOODY DISASTER!!

I don't see them back in Bridgend. For a start the ground isn't up to SL standard, which I seem to remember was one of the flatcapper grouses when the club were given the license, even at the start the support wasn't as good as the Racecourse and also would they actually be able to get an agreement to play there?

The last thing the club needs right now is a tug of war Grendel, though that's not to say it won't happen. I don't think there is the infrastructure and support in Bridgend , either from the local population or more prominently with the local authorities, up in Wrexham they seem to bend over backwards to help the club out which has led to better crowds,support and funding , none of which we had in Bridgend.

Not sure it's fair to say there's no infrastructure in Bridgend Rob. Consider where the majority of the Welsh Crusaders and the Scorpions come from. Where the Conference teams are situated, where the best RL school in Wales is, where up until the end of this season the Crusaders youth team was based, where the Welsh team still trains etc.

As regards support, well two words Leighton Samuel. He would not be around. Support could and would grow.

HOWEVER, the other teams (the M62 11 anyway) seem to like that the team is on their doorstep, so I'm sure the RFL will kowtow to whichever arrangement brings them the greatest short term gain whilst not abandoning their pretence at "expansion".

Either way, I am neither for nor against this proposal. Just sharing a rumour I heard. I believe it has credibility, due to its origin. Spongebob feels it deserves personal abuse. I leave it to you the fans of Crusaders RL to choose whether you believe it or not.

i wonder if rfl will tell crusaders the same as they told Blackpool that they cant go into administration & get ride of all debt & come back in the league debt free i dont think so because its a super league club !!! if rfl really are wanting to expanding the game why were Blackpool not aloud to renter the league debt free like other clubs have been aloud to do !!!!

hmmmm

You clearly are not aware of the different approach adopted by the RFL regarding Blackpool.

In Blackpool's case, the RFL told them they would not allow them to go into administration and re-form. The plan that Ralph Rimmer talks about was that they had to come up with a plan to pay all existing creditors 100% of their money. The club obviously could not do this, or put forward a credible plan to do so, and so were expelled.

Which is the complete reverse of the situation regarding Crusaders (and other clubs such as Whitehaven, Gateshead & Keighley recently I may add).

This is not a criticism of Crusaders, merely pointing out that the RFL have changed their MO somewhat in Blackpool's case. There may be other reasons for it that haven't been made public, but on the face of it it appears that Blackpool have been 'singled out'.

Any news from your meeting with the RFL and the accountants?

you see the situation at batley regarding monies owed,and do have to realise that the rfl is just a dogsbody to sky!!! they wont let crusaders or quins die without a fight,but will allow lower teams to drift away,co sky aint interested enough at that level.Batley have said they will pay their debts,so that they can register their squad with the rfl.will crusaders be denied registering players also? i have no real grind over crusaders,but all teams should be treated the same.

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/20619 survival!!!

www.therfl.co.uk/news/article/20619 survival!!!

Interesting how the comments constantly refer to North Wales.
Is this the RFL accepting the game has little future in the rest of Wales?

No matter anything else it's great news for Cru fans and a massive relief. Moving onto the RL now hopefully!

l think the long term future will be in South Wales. The Scorpions are running with a majority of players from there.
lts up to them to catch up and overtake the Crusaders, and they , in my opinion are in the best place to do lt. the South is much more populated. rugby, is stronger there, it does have RL history. At the end of the day its up to the club, players and fans, oh! and SKY of co.