That's your view, however, you are just as wrong about that as you are about everything else.

Sky money.....?

Development officers.....?

However much he got for the club, it would have been more with Crusaders in SL than in CC. Essentially he sold a SL place and little else. Where did he get the SL place from?

You really do like being obtuse, don't you? The move to Newport was to facilitate a new stadium being built in Bridgend and it was part of the licence application. That means Crusaders had to be either in a new stadium by the three year deadline (max) or in another stadium until a new stadium was built. However, had the RFL eased off on its ridiculous demand for new stadia, especially at a time of quite awful recession, then the Crusaders could have stayed at Bridgend until such time as a new stadium was actually imminent, just as Saints are staying at Knowsley Road until their new stadium is imminent (although slightly different since Saints' stadium is being built at an entirely different location from Knowsley Road, hence logistically things are easier). However, the RFL have not backed off and the Crusaders' hand has been forced.

Quote ="SaintsFan"You really do like being obtuse, don't you? The move to Newport was to facilitate a new stadium being built in Bridgend and it was part of the licence application. That means Crusaders had to be either in a new stadium by the three year deadline (max) or in another stadium until a new stadium was built. However, had the RFL eased off on its ridiculous demand for new stadia, especially at a time of quite awful recession, then the Crusaders could have stayed at Bridgend until such time as a new stadium was actually imminent, just as Saints are staying at Knowsley Road until their new stadium is imminent (although slightly different since Saints' stadium is being built at an entirely different location from Knowsley Road, hence logistically things are easier). However, the RFL have not backed off and the Crusaders' hand has been forced.'" www.islandfarm.tv/ Are you reffering to this ? , if so this is not on the site of Brewery field therefore it does not give the Crusaders any problem staying at Brewery field until it is built , the RFL accepted Brewery field last year and until the Crusaders outgrow Brewery field there is no reason they cannot continue there

Quote ="SaintsFan"You really do like being obtuse, don't you? The move to Newport was to facilitate a new stadium being built in Bridgend and it was part of the licence application. That means Crusaders had to be either in a new stadium by the three year deadline (max) or in another stadium until a new stadium was built. However, had the RFL eased off on its ridiculous demand for new stadia, especially at a time of quite awful recession, then the Crusaders could have stayed at Bridgend until such time as a new stadium was actually imminent, just as Saints are staying at Knowsley Road until their new stadium is imminent (although slightly different since Saints' stadium is being built at an entirely different location from Knowsley Road, hence logistically things are easier). However, the RFL have not backed off and the Crusaders' hand has been forced.'" www.islandfarm.tv/ Are you reffering to this ? , if so this is not on the site of Brewery field therefore it does not give the Crusaders any problem staying at Brewery field until it is built , the RFL accepted Brewery field last year and until the Crusaders outgrow Brewery field there is no reason they cannot continue there

If you read the RFL's notes on Crusader's licence, it said that it expected them to upgrade Brewery Field not to move.

Point being though that if they were drawing in 3/4,000 home fans at brewery field by 2012 with another 1,500/2,000 away fans then they would still be worthy of another licence , but Brewery field would still be big enough to accomodate them , if that was to happen the RFL would have to be daft to refuse them

Completely wrong. Backwards, in fact.

~What? Hull were sacrificed to save Gateshead? You on drugs or something?

[urlhttp://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/rugby-league-news/2009/11/26/rugby-league-kevin-ellis-calls-crusaders-plan-a-tragedy-91466-25253709/[/url

Quote ="Kosh"Completely wrong. Backwards, in fact.'" This article seems to disprove your statement archive.warringtonguardian.co.uk ... 26530.html

Quote ="Kosh"Completely wrong. Backwards, in fact.'" This article seems to disprove your statement archive.warringtonguardian.co.uk ... 26530.html

Quote ="Aldy"This article seems to disprove your statement archive.warringtonguardian.co.uk ... 26530.html'" I'd say it proved his statement actually.

Quote ="Aldy"This article seems to disprove your statement archive.warringtonguardian.co.uk ... 26530.html'" I'd say it proved his statement actually.

Where does the quote

But the merger has meant we have saved Hull, one of the oldest and most traditional clubs in the game, from going into liquidation.
prove his statement?

It is commonly said that the merger was Hull buying Gateshead's SL place and forcing them out of business into the bargain.

What happened was that the sides merged and the new company was to run two sides; one being Gateshead in the SL and the other Hull FC in the NFP.

Then the other clubs objected to Hull FC's inclusion in the NFP (for reasons that I don't really understand) and the upshot was that Hull took Gateshead's slot in SL as a (theoretically) merged "Gateshull".

this is getting off topic a bit but it was hull who was skint at the time of the merger so how did they buy gateshead's place and if they did, how come the new company's board of directors were pretty much all of the gateshead clubs board from the ceo down.

saints fan is right, as most people know gateshead's owners baled hull out and moved to hull as they saw a far more lucrative and long term future in running an established club with a big support rather than flogging a dead horse of trying to establish RL in the football mad north east.

I said it would all go wrong in south wales.It a hot bed for union and cardiff and swansea doing well in the championship. Got no sympathathy bring back promotion and relegation.Make fair on all teams.We are no closer to the aussies without bringing on youth.We bring too many aussies.

cardiff and swansea in football popular aswell?

Yes, well. Being commonly said does not mean it is true! It is not true. Ask Shaun MacRae. He was the coach of Gateshead at the time. He has spoken openly about his disappointment with the RFL over the Hull-Gateshead merger because it gave HULL something stupid like 45 players for their squad and left zip in Gateshead. Hull were on the brink of bankruptcy and Gateshead were sacrificed for the heartlands cause, which is a damn shame because Gateshead had a good crowd attending matches at that time. Had they been allowed to develop naturally who knows what might have happened?

I do.

They would have lost even more money.

Have heard today that the Crusaders look like moving lock stock and barrel to Wrexham where the money man there is Geoff Moss who heads up Elegant Resorts in Chester.
Newport could not raise the cash however they are looking to play three or four games in South Wales however it stills needs Leighton Samuels to sell the shares and the problem is Wrexham are willing to take most of the debt but not pay for doing so
Two are in the frame for a new Championship 1 side in South Wales one being a former director of the Ospreys who has fallen out with them.

Of all top down sides they had the best chance of successding as they got higher crowds than Newcastle Falcons then got (who since grew theirs massively) and their debt wasn't much more than the Sky money they weren't given. They still might not have succeeded though, although if they got half the stuff thrown at them that Crusaders get or Paris got and London used to get they'd have succeeded in my opinion

Steve Fox,

As with your unsubstantiated opinions, I have one too.

You are an utter =rededit – watch the language. tb An arrogant stupid one at that.

Of all the pork-pie-eating, pigeon-fancying, ferret-worrying, clog-stomping, strike-breaking, coal-industry-betraying, flat-capped, backwards-looking, change-resistant, incest-afficianados that frequent this site, you are one of the most ignorant in a highly competitive pool.

I will miss the sport. I will miss the great supporters of all sides I have met (except the two punchy Hull FC fans and Evil Solly who plagues Salford) and the forward thinking supports I've met on here.

Hell I'll even miss Starbug and Barry McKenzie.

But I won't miss Glorious League Freak and I won't miss you Steve Fox. Don't die horribly or anything!

I disagree. I think it was a ridiculous decision to put them in there based on little more than a handful of decent attendances at representative matches and I don't see the point of a comparison between them and a RU side that was built on much firmer foundations.

I don't think that the north east has the same potential for hosting a pro-rugby league side that, for example, South Wales has. They don't have same traditional links with RL that Wales has because of the RU converts and, though there are a handful of amateur clubs, they don't have the same level of participation that exists in Wales.

In the absence of some investor with serious money I can't see RL ever thriving in Gateshead.

I don't necessarily think it was right, so much as the least bad trial (I exclude Catalans as they moved up from the French league and thus were an existing club). I don't see things taking off now though, gone wrong too many times.

This is signature material and ban worthy. And untrue.

Crusaders till I die eh Grendel? You wouldn't know the meaning of the word even though I've seen YOU far more negative about CC on your own board than ANYONE here. You are a hypocrite. An abusive one.