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Trevor Woodward was completely correct back in the late 70s to early 80s when he said a new ground at the yet to be developed land around what is now Pugneys. Unfortunately and like many clubs at the time, Trinity were a members club run by a committee of small time business men with limited imagination and ambition. They rejected Woodward’s proposal and diminished him in the eyes of the members so much so that he lost the Chairmanship and not long after had nothing to do with Trinity. If his vision had come to fruition, Wakefield Trinity would have emerged as one of the giants of the game. Wakefield would have had facilities as good as anyone, they’d have been attractive to new signings, the best juniors, sponsors, advertisers and hospitality. The location would have been accessible being straight off M1 junction 39 and just 2 miles south of the M62/M1 intersection. Better facilities and improved accessibility would have seen greater numbers of home and away fans, all money flowing into the coffers of Wakefield Trinity. Instead we’ve had Scaif, Ingram, Richardson, Pearman ect as Chairmen and we’ve played out of an uninviting dump that attracts no one but especially not big sponsors or advertisers. 40 years of missed opportunity and who knows how many finals etc. Sliding doors eh?

I’m not desperate anything! The game is shrinking at an alarming rate and it was long before Covid-19s effect. We've lost huge numbers of amateur teams and in some cases whole amateur clubs have disappeared. The latest Sport England participation numbers were dire and well down on 10 to 15 years ago. Viewing figure have fallen drastically over the same period of time and with that fall we’ve lost coverage and magazine shows like SL Extra Time, Boot n All, Championship coverage has pretty much disappeared and NRL coverage is well down. We can’t attract headline sponsors for our Top Tier Competition and have basically given Rights away. The international game has all but vanished apart from the World Cup! We no longer have Full Lions/Kangaroo/ Kiwi Tours, we no longer have Tri Nations competitions and we have to beg The NRL to play the WCC every year. Now believe it or not I’m not a doom monger and I’m not ringing the bell for the demise of the game but the above are all facts and we can’t afford to ignore the direction of travel the games been following for well over a decade. Something has to change and it needs to be something big and meaningful that will reinvigorate the game and help it arrest the decline.

And my mate directed that movie! Actually though it’s a good comparison, the route taken those years ago has hamstrung Wakefield ever since, another reason why I would love to see some stadium progress there, if only to see what potential still exists.

Why the Germans do it Better: Notes from a Grown Up Country by John Kampfner. The title is a little misleading in that it is not really a comparison with anywhere, although Johnson's UK does get mentioned on occasion, more in sadness than anything. Instead the book covers the political development of Germany from the second war world to the present liberal democracy. It is safe to say that the author is a fan of Angela Merkel, but it is remarkable how there has not really been a poor post-war chancellor. Only Gerhard Schroder gets a bit of a kicking and that is because of his post-chancellorship crawling to Putin. The book reads like a long form magazine article, but it is none the worse for that as it provides real clarity to issues such as the economic miracle, grundgesetz, reunification, foreign policy and the 2015 opening of borders rather than being of a more academic bent. Although I last lived in Germany over 27 years ago, it chimed with my impressions from that time.

York's stadium saga lasted a good 20 years, but we got there in the end. These things need a lot of luck with timing. I supported Wakefield's application on the WMDC planning portal anyway, every little helps.

Let’s be totally honest then! The sports with whom we compete closest may have declining participation but they start from a level of participation which dwarfs ours and they’re not at the critically low level that Rugby Leagues at. Also they are immeasurably stronger and richer in other areas of their sport. The new magazine programme was welcome but it wasn’t on a par with those of other sports not even past programmes that Rugby League once enjoyed. NRL coverage was at a high because the Super League was put on hold, as soon as we started playing games again the NRL coverage was pared back to almost nothing. The 2019 Lions Tour was I’ll conceived and thrown together but I admit prior to the Tour I was excited to see a Lions Tour again. The experience of it didn’t live up to the expectation largely due to the ramshackle way it was thrown together and the disrespect shown by some toward the Lions traditions. The fact that I and so many were excited to see a tour surely shows that they are something we sorely need back on a regular calendar. I really hope we can get regular 4 yearly Tours by the big 3 back on the Rugby League agenda. I’d love to see some club games as part of those tours though I recognise 13 or 14 games is a thing of the past but who could forget the unofficial 4th Test Vs Wigan and the amazing spectacles of Leeds, St Helens & Hull giving it to the Ausie midweek team. Likewise getting up at 5am to watch Great Britain take on Manly, St George and Parramatta. Im glad to hear that Bet Fred are paying more for their sponsorship, let’s hope we can get the CC, Test matches and the lower divisions sponsored again. Ive become the profit of doom in this thread which is far from my usual position.

I’m not advocating anyone being thrown out, I said if Wakefield improve and modernise their stadium then Castleford might find themselves under added pressure. This could be especially so if the RFL & SL decide that the outward image of the sport needs to look more vibrant and modern to the casual sports fan. To be honest though, we’ve used ‘other metrics’ to justify a teams continued inclusion for as long as I can remember and it isn’t achieving the results we desire. I’d love for us to be in a stronger position as a sport and for promotion & relegation to be the only deciding factor in who plays in what league. Unfortunately the world has changed and we are competing in a sport/business that is ruthless. The strong will survive and the weak will fade into oblivion, that’s Rugby Leagues fate if we don’t find a way to arrest the decline. I’m straying away from the OPs intended message, I apologise for that but this is one natural line of discussion when talking about new stadiums, Castleford, Wakefield and the health of the game.

Pretty much nailed it there.

With no disrespect to Oldham, Championship 1 or even The Championship they aren’t the face of Rugby League that we present to the world at large on a weekly basis. Its just my opinion but driven by the falling participation numbers and viewing figures I think the RFL and broadcast partners will realise they need to make big changes and be ruthless! A rebrand is needed across the game but in particular through the top tier clubs and both the BBC & SKY presentation of the game. I don’t think late 19th and very early 20th century dilapidated stadiums will fit the rebrand.

At some point in the future, not sure if it’ll be sooner or later, the RFL and Super League will grow some testicles and get serious about stadium standards. When they do the clubs that can’t match their requirements will be served a notice of demotion which will allow them a short period of time to complete the necessary building work or prepare for the Championship. Currently that would mean Wakefield Trinity closely followed by Castleford Tigers, however, if Wakefield complete the improvements currently under planning review then Castleford may well find themselves on a fast track out of SL. Why a fast track? One of SLs conundrums with Wakefield and Castleford is they have by far the worst stadiums but they have arguably the richest catchment area for talent and youth development in the whole game. If you removed both from SL then you risk shrinking the talent base for young players as there is no top tier club to isnpire the kids to pick up a rugby ball, no local community work and no local heroes who went to their school or lived at the end of their Road. If (IF) Wakefield (or Castleford for that matter) build a stadium that’s fit for purpose then they solve that conundrum for the RFL & SL leaving the other WMDC SL club under more pressure as the game tries to improve its media image. It was a fact not lost on former Wakefield Council leader Peter Box who blocked, schemed and prevaricated over all of Wakefield Trinity’s stadium plans at every opportunity! For those who do not know Box was/is a Tigers fan and shareholder.

Well they will have exclusive rights to the local artists.

I honestly don't think that would have made a blind bit of difference.

Several thousand books in the house, which I've decided is too many, so I'm slowly working my way through the shelves trying to decide which books will never be read again. Quite a bit of science fiction & fantasy that I haven't looked at since I was a teenager, and I've been re-reading before they go to the charity shop, post-lockdown. Asimov & Heinlein era stuff has held up better than I expected, couple of Simak books coming up soon.

You have mates ?