Deadcowboys1:Mark_P1973:
i'm pro London, in terms of the game having a presence / team in the capital, however, with Woods in charge, this just stinks of jobs for the boys if Bradford and London both fast track promotion back into SL
IMO, both should earn their places based on performance on the pitch, but equally having the right infrastructure / finances in place to be sustainable in the long term. At this moment in time, i dont believe either team is there
On a wider point of discussion too, is the increase in number of overseas players allowed in a team. I personally would prefer to see Scholarship, Academy and Reserves mandatory for any club in Super League, so they produce their own players (i know not all will make it either at that club or within the game) and not rely on Wigan, Saints, Leeds to produce most of the talent spread across the league. Having potentially 14 sides awash with average overseas stars, isnt what we want to see as fans
It is hard to see what Bradford have done since liquidisation to warrant a place in SL. At least in London's case, they have twice been promoted on merit in the last few years. To follow your thoughts on finance, you might need 3 clubs if Salford go totally belly up.
It is probably true for all non heartland clubs that attracting finance to a club outside of SL is extremely difficult. If we go to 14 teams, it should be London & Toulouse as that would benefit the game both here & in France. That may be the only chance Hetherington has of getting his new ownership group on board.
i completely agree re Bradford. They have done nothing for the past 20 years or so, apart from have financial issues off the pitch, sold their ground to the RFL and virtually given it back with Woods at the helm
Onto London, i think they were the unlucky last time you was in SL and feel the relegation was pushed through to get Wakey back into SL. Admittedly with your owner moving on, and being like hobo's for a few years, your position hasnt been ideal, but IMO the game needs a presence in London to extend the profile beyond that of the M62. Most of the national media is London based, but the game needs to let the club build in a similar way to how Catalan were introduced a few years back with no threat of relegation for x number of years
i was chatting to a fellow Wigan supporter a few years back, who is involved in the amateur game / school teacher. He was saying that the game in London was growing with amateur clubs / schools getting involved. It would be a shame to waste all the grass roots type work that has been undergone over a few years, and not have an end product / target for them to aspire to in terms of a professional club at the top level. There have been quite a few players produced who have moved onto bigger and better things, and the catchment area if it can be tapped into will be enormous
