Moscow01

Two social media posts in the past month…. And probably more telling is the fact they haven’t made any announcements on player retentions or any new players coming in. A matter of time before they go the way of pretty much all the other expansion clubs?

There’s a cost of living crisis. Why would any person want to spend £15-£20 on a ticket, to be sat in a tired old empty stadium watching a game? As sad as it is, League 1 is not going to be around much longer and some very famous old clubs will be gone. One of the biggest mistakes teams in league 1 make is to call their league ‘the professional ranks’. A new supporter turning up in front of a few hundred fans will not consider that ‘professional’. League 1 should be what it was set out to be a decade or so ago - a development league.

Teams that don’t own their ground, and have no way of getting an income from match days are completely done for. In a few years most of the current teams in League 1 will cease to exist, it’s as simple as that. 15 grand a year funding is not enough.

Crikey - they’ve just announced their first signing…… Anthony Mullally! Fair play

The thought that lads can just turn up for trials and then play against seasoned professionals in League 1 is laughable. They might find a few players, not a whole squad. Even locals who have played to a good standard in rugby Union will struggle. This is all coming across very naive and rushed.

West Wales have also lost all their best players. I really don’t like to knock them - I’m like most rugby league fans in hoping they do well - but their media output is atrocious. Website looks like it was created in the 1990s and a lot of their social media output is things like ‘which of our old kits do you prefer’. It’s almost like the club can’t quite believe they are in League 1 and still believe they are in the amateur league. On the playing side of things they will do very well to put together a 20-man squad for their first league game. I really wish them the best but I’ve got a bad feeling about their prospects.

Not a single player announced. No head coach either. Most teams are starting their pre-season training now. Have I missed an announcement on incoming players?

I’d be very surprised if many players in the Championship were on 20 grand contracts. Obviously the lads at Toronto are handsomely paid and there would be players at Toulose, Widnes, Leigh on good money. For most of the part-time teams the players get paid when they play - I know at some of the less glamorous Championship clubs some players are on £250 a game.