Joined: Apr 03 2002 Posts: 4958 Location: North West
Can you see a queue for buyers If David Hughes decided to sell? and though he comes in for criticism, how many other clubs owners have invested their own money to the value he has? St Helens owner only did what he has done with a loan from an Hong Kong businessman, as a club we were treated badly when the now Wigan owner pulled out.
What is the solution, RFL have always wanted a London Club but seriously what have they done to help, many years back when they considered a London RFL office, I said to them they should have looked for someone to come in and invested, and they should have put funding in to build a stadium, with it also being the RFL base, it was at the time artificial pitches first started, in the plan I said the ground could become a RFL Centre of Excellence, used most days of the week, amateur finals played there, but when has the RFL ever done anything right. A later close friend of mine Peter Deakin and myself did an Australian Sports Management Course, we put so many ideas forward, but no response, look what Peter did for The Bradford Bulls, but in the end if was Rugby Union who took him before his sad death and he did the same for them.
Talking with one of our ex players on Sunday we agreed the number of our ex produced players who have mad it in the North, would make a fine team in Super League, add on to that the players who joined the club and made it big in the North.
Time for the RFL and Super League to decide do they want to be simply a M62 corridor sport, and perhaps go back semi professional, we wait with interest what the decide about Toronto, Bradford were relegated when they went bust!
I have not agreed with all David Hughes has done, but I do respect that without him we would not be here now.
In truth, Broncos need to be a fixture in SL to have any chance of success (however that is measured). So new investment/owner would have to go hand in hand with changes to the SL structure. There is no point in Broncos being a Championship team.
So lets say a new owner comes in with very deep pockets, with ability to buy a squad that can compete in SL, why should SL or the RFL change the structure to allow the London team in! What makes london any different from say Toronto who had to work up the ladder. Catalans could be used as an example of how that could work, difference with Catalans is they have a core of supporters that are Rugby League through and through Thats not the case for london or Toronto or the other areas of expansion in recent history. Maybe its time to accept, unless there is someone willing to step up with a fat wallet that part time is the only real way that the club will survive. That would not necessarily mean the end of the club, would be intersting to see how many of the current support base would continue watching though. SL will and does cope quite well without a london based team, the m62 corridoor fans will keep watching those coridoor teams!
Said it before, the only way RL will ever have any chance of real expansion it would need a total shake up with regional teams, that is not going to happen in a long time if ever at all. London has lasted probably 39 years longer than lots expected, can it make it to 50? Is RL ever going to expand to become a national sport? Not in my life time. But on thread, exciting news! Would a new home and owner in leyton be such a bad thing? Might be best the only thing to ensure survival
The question to ask is. Can Super League survive as it is currently? With the TV deal being up for renegotiation, what form the competition will take depends on the outcome. With little interest apparently, from broadcasters it may be a tough sell and the resulting financial fallout might be severe. The possible return to a semi pro sport, is a possibility.
wire-quin wrote:Maybe this is the end of the road for the club
Time to resurrect the London Phoenix idea again? Long term plan, start small and build up. Out of the ashes of the Broncos........
Hope not but the future isn't looking too bright for the game in general is it?
Rise like Lions after slumber In unvanquishable number-- Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you-- Ye are many -- they are few.'
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