RP London

no it wasnt.. it was the same as anyone playing younger players agianst older players.. remember the NL3 was not the standard it is today.. when we played them we knew the age and treated it as such..

you misunderstand/i didntmake it clear.. its not playing for one then the other iunderstand that dont like it but understand it.. its about when you can change.. there was some rule about world cup cycles.. you couldnt change within a world cup cycle.. as such qualification re started at the final whistle of the last world cup, after that you played for one you couldn play for another until the final whistle of the 2013 world cup final.. stupidy you could play in that world cup final for one team then turn out for another the next day.. as such playing in 2009 would rule him out.. (i have no issue with people qualifying to play, justnot when they have played for anyone else ever IMO)

many of those people are not on this board to defend themselves and i for one will not speak on their behalf as i only know their bit of the story... however, you have made some quite disparagine remarks with limited knoweldge yourself and these people do not deserve that.. being called #### for instance is not on.

i agree with that but as the OP said he did in the 2008 world cup

if he played in 2009 then he cannot change oversurely.. is it no longe the case that if you play for somoen in an world cup cycle you cant play for anyone else?

nigel wood will be after them

how much of this is down to things that happened pre nigel wood though... how many are due to chasing P and avoiding R?

franchising has only been around for less than 3 years now.. so i thikn that is a harsh call.. what we can see happning is the teams in super league having their focus changed to the stadiums (this would not have happened without it) and on youth set ups.. Championship clubs setting up youth teams that they did not have before. yes there are better stadiums but as is alwasy said it isnt a stadium contest there is more to it.. Huddersfield... what happens if many benefactors die.. its not a valid argument around franchisisng. Thy may rather spend it on aussies but this is where the quotas come in as well they spend money on better aussies.. youth get more of a chnce (some of hte youth academies are still in their infancy so you cant expect them to churn these players out in the same way but the move towards it is there) At the moment there is movement in these areas that was not and would not hae been there before.. ad that is all you can expect in such a short space of time. i know a lot of people that like it.. whos the better side the one that wins loads of matches but gets humped in just as many or the team that wins a few less but is in contention in all the matches they play?? debatable surely.. not only that but you play to the system you have featherstone could have done the same if htey hadn got humped in a couple of games.. you ply to the system.. but the system has generated ome fantastic games in the past couple of years that would have trailed off with 10 to go without it.. IMO it works but in your it doesnt.. no problem but the job of hte governing board is if the split is 50-50 ish, to chose the best option, he has to make the decision rightly or wrongly and then deal with the issues of fans being annoyed.. i am sure you would notwant to make that decision knowing you are going p*ss off half the fans and have to deal with the ramificatons of moanng clubs day and night (he will be called at night by plenty of people and on the weekends etc).. and that is partly where the wage is based. the RFL may think "the visa might not be right" but as long as the paperwork is sent to them is ok then surely innocent till proven guilty? i am sure people do hate the way crusaders were treated.. but it doesnt mean that for the good of the gae in the long term it wasnt perhaps the right thing to do to get a team in wales and develop the game there.. they gave them a massive advantage in a way.. but htey were also at a huge disadvantage becuase they ahve to attract players to bridgened from their home towns, they have no real local kids to pick (that arent contracted some how to the biggest game in their area RU) and they dont have the resources that ost heartland clubs have.. the lee way is given while these things get put in place.. otherwise expansion clubs are at a huge disadvantage meaning the growth in that area is less.. look at melbourne (yes they broke the rules horrifically) but the game in the area is now growing hugely becuase of that success.. success normally breads interest (though i am not saying they should all do a melbourne but that a bit of leeway is not neceesarily a bad thing for hte game as a whole) yes that was an ###### up of hte highest proportions IMO and that is a fair comment, i think he is doing a good jo, whether he is the right man i dont know, who else is there that is prepared to do it.. maybe he is the right man from the options available.

the funding that is being cut is the funding that has been ringfenced for the move to Saford and the Digital switchover.. as such once done they will look at it and say.. right you dont need that cash.. it wont affect anything if we take it off you as that is purely what the cash was for.. so apparently it would not change anything in the service offered.. apparently.

firstly just want to say it does seem an obscene amount of money to me pre him taking over there were more clubs in worse financial positions.. lonon and gateshead were strugling along then too.. they are clubs that will strugle for some time and there is little/nothing that can be done about it by people at the top of the RFL.. they cannot magic supporters/sponsors/fantastic rent free stadiums out of the air there are/were certainly issues with it, IIRC he wasnt in charge of it first time around Lewis was still the top active honcho at the time (thoughi may be wrong) maybe we should wait till the next round before judging wood on this point surely that contradict the first point of it not being transparent.. if they did start to get promoted it would be odd.. it is a 3 year liscnece, these championhips allow the clubs to apply for a liscnece next time around these are the rules and they are well known. fans also got fed up with their clubs going bust when they got relegated or pushed for promotion also, and when they were merged with other clubs, and whn they get relegated, then promoted then relegated etc becuase the gap was too large.. you cant please everyone all the time i dont believe the RFL have been charged with any wrong doing over this, nor anyone at the crusaders.. so at the moment it is the players at fault, unless youhave proof at whih point i suggest handing it to te CPS. Yes the Crusaders were given help by the RFL in he way they were allowed felxibility on the quotas but thi is done for all expansion teams.. the move is contraversial granted but to bring someone in for 2 years at short notice etc.. how easy was that? if crusaders works it could be great for all clubs in RL and may well be worth it.. though understand both sides of hte agument on this one. you often find things being experimened with at different levels of all games.. i would say that the Bonus Point system is controversial but i woudl debate the word "stupid" as personally i like it and would keep it and i would add i to super League as i think it has made for some great gaes that would have been rubbish at the end without it. i believe it is.. its lookingat the amateur game heavily and how best to get more kids involved with the move to summer. It has added things to try and make the championship exciting (Bonus point etc) It has added a syste of franchising that will help to stabilise afew clubs and change the thinking of others from spend everything on the team to spending money on th grounds, juniors etc.. it will hopefully raise the standard off the field of championship clubs etc which will give more chance for the step up to be less painful if and when they bring people up/reintstate P&R They help expansion club to try and open new areas of talent up tothe country which will hopefully give us a better chance ofbeating the aussies and winning world cups.. They have put in place a system where by they can build clubs from the bottom up They are trying to help develop the game below super league (there is also a game outside of the lower leagues too) and they are doing this whilst balancing umpteen balls. IMO he doesnt have an easy job and he is doing it pretty well.. its a huge amount of money though but if he is pretty much the one man think tank then maybe he deserves it.

we are not defending them but i know a few people who were involved at the time. i had lifts back from Essex with Hoggy when we played essex and i lived in Blackheath and chatted to him a bit about things.. i have spoken to umpteen people there when we played them at theirs and at ours during the days of NL3 and their issues within it.. You are being almightily disparaging to people about calling them #### etc. it was not done for ego, it was not done for money, they did a lot there for the right reasons and it didnt work, they got it wrong and it failed. but there is no way you shuld be saying the things you are about the people involved its disgusting to be frank. you have no idea what went on behind the scenes or what was said between the RFL and the club and what arguments were being had.. leave it alone as you are showing that you dont know any of this and you are making some quite frankly nasty remarks about people you have probably never met and certainly do not know.

sadly i will have to reply one more time to bowes as its not fair on some of the peope i knew at essex for mhim to get away with it.. sorry however back to the topic for this post.. brain storming sessions you hear some bloody awful ideas, however, sometimes an idiot idea originally ends up being a good one with a couple of tweaks.. itsthe start rather than the end... give me a bit of leeway i've used my yearly quota of team names up already this year it was just an idea of something unique to be honest.. i see and agree with not necessarily tying into aother club too quickly.. but you never know what sort of deal may need to be struck and i dont hate the idea too much.. I certainly wouldnt just go with "London RLFC" as "London" doesnt really pull in the people.. you cannot appeal to the whole of London, best idea IMO is to pick an area and appeal to that as mcuh as possible and hope that you appeal to the rest by being the closest RL team in the area.. you then build the relationship which i saw in the 30's in the research i didbetween club and area building etc.. i honestly think dropping "london" is a good way to go but make it distinctly the "capitals club".. Thinking ahead also that you may have more than one club in London over time.. and this leaves the door open to smaller clubs coming through the leagues not needing to use ever more stupid names tacked on to the end of "London" to diferentiate.. just myu little thoughts on it.. badge wise doesnt really bother me too much as its only a badge.. but i would go back to the colours used inthe away kit of quicns this year as they were distinctive.. (or the fulham ones which were also if Hull change their copycat kit back t what it should be!!!!)

So its only NRL players that can make a difference to the team??? FFS which is it the coach or the players? Saints get a new cach this year.. surely that coach could be someone who will get that team even better and destroy the rest.. How about if Richard Agar gets binned and a new coach goes in there?? stranger things have happened.. Mick Potter this great coach at catalans goes to Bradford and totaly changes them around.. That is th coaching analogy if you believe that Catalans can be turned around by the coach.. all the above can too especailly Bradford and Saints who we know are getting two new coaches let along anyone else who changes in the summer.. Players wise.. is it only the NRL players that can change a team around??? not a chance.. there are some great talents that can move and make a huge difference in the summer.. LMS would make a big differene to saints who seem to have little behind their 2 main front rowers.. Shenton, Westerman may leav cas and could fill in the final missing peices in jugsaws Mathers if cas can keep a few other players could pull them up a few places.. a challenging cas could cause some upsets upsets that change the look of the top 6 Hull only need 1 or two good players in depth to cause major issues same with KR all of which can be found int he super league.. the NRL is not the holy grail. there are a good few clubs that just need depth of talent and that is in the super league already that can be moved around.. leeds have faltered becuase they have been a bit poor but also due to injuries and those below the first team not being ready or good enough, good enough can be solved with a couple of signing, ready is being solved as they play more.. It s not a done deal by any strecth.. these players MIGHT make the team stronger if they gel well, if they are fit and if they want to play (all big ifs.. what if one gets injured at the end of hte NRL season for the year?) teams with top players dont always win championships.. look at melbourne who lost grand finals.. Yes they should be stronger but they are by no means a shoe in for a place in the grand final let alone a championship.. lets see what all teams look like at the starting gun of next season before making stupid predictions otherwise it will be a long 5 match + play offs + offseason on this board

so you believe that leeds cannot get any better even though they have had a reched season with injuries and just poor form.. yet you believe a new coach will make les cats better and so you can only see them improving.. how does that work are the french the only people who can improve?? leeds are 3 times champs in a bad season.. why can they not pck their form back up with the same coach that won them 3 titles.. and you havent covered fact that we have no idea what players will be signed by other clubs int he comp yet.. or has the draw bridge been pulled up?

what has that got to do with it.. your quote: My point, which seems to have gone over your head, is that the three Storm signings will make Wigan even stronger than this year, and near certainties for the Grand Fnal next year. my reply: oh no it doesn't, not anywhere near.. for all the reasons in my post..

i would like to think so

i agree with that.. although cas and wakefield are under threat becuase they cannot get things sorted in the alloted time given that other clubs have been able to.. and they really should have got up there by now really.. other clubs that are at a similar stage have managed it or have other strengths..

it doesnt matter if they are higher away from the stoop.. its all about relativity.. are they higher so the rent is the same or less.. what about sponsorship etc.. not only that but if we say went to orient it is an area the club hasnever been to before so you have no "always away from the stoop" to go on. 1. i dont think your right "it doesnt wash with londoners" i dont think it matters that much to be honest there is more to the issues of popularity and fans though gates than that IMHO.. however i would still stick with a more localised name 2. depends on the cost of opening the full stadium, staff numbers etc compared to the number thorugh hte gate.. if the cost is not outweighed by the increase in bums on seats then it would be idiotic in the extreme to do this. 3. stupid not to no one would stop this 4. IMHO this is your little pet hate but it bothers no one else and has no effect on anyone.. the kids we took never gave a sh*t 5. depends on what gets most people through the gates but i am sure the club would always pick he best kick off time they can have with regards to what the club whos ground it is is willing for them to have, the police are happy with etc etc..

i've filled in quite few of those questionaires.. think there was a period i felt like i was doing one a week.. probably one every month at the moment give or take.

is that it then? are no other clubs going to sign anyone for next year? is the transfer window firmly shut? FFS! so many other clubs have players to buy.. Leeds have had a dreadful season but are still there or thereabouts and i wouldnt rule them out getting it together next season.. Sains under a new coach could well get their act together Bradford may well sort themselves out with potter after what he did with catalans i wouldnt rule anything out.. they are not a bad team they just cant seem to play together.. Warrington may well get a couple of nie signings, they are doing pretty well at the moment and nother year playing like this and who knows.. there will always be abolter as well.. Wigan have signed 3 players.. they will be letting 4 possibly go from their foreign list.. so how will these 3 fit in.. will they be disruptive to the dressing room, how will they gel? they may get on with Mcguire but will they get on with the other players.. will they be fit or get season ending injuries in the first match? the signings Bradford made this season made people stand up then they did nowt.. same with Warrington over the season past.. 3 great signing do not necessrily mae a championship.. that is what people are saying..

would crusader have got less points? not sure if they would have or if they would have ended on the same. yes true i agree that the liscence grades are there for this.. i should rephrase my post to "as long as the 14 with the highest liscnece grade get in" your right that there should be a certain amount of flexibility including weighting on certain aspects ie aspects that can be fixed quicker in one club that those tha are letting down another club etc to a certain extent i expect that widnes could finnish equal with acouple of the bottom graded clubs in SL and the deciding factor being "you've had 3 years to sort all this out and you failed lets let someone else have a go".. i could see a few go on this matter as well if they arent careful.

problem is as always.. its a lot of "coulds" and "i believes" and "i'm sure" with no real basis except what you think/hope could happen.. with money being a major worry can clubs really risk a higher rent for an "i hope" bigger crowd etc? there has to be a lot of things which include the club who owns the ground being actually interested and the exact raise in rent vs rise in crowds vs rise in other income etc.. will more sponsors come on board, will you lose some sponsors becuase of the move, more corporate will any corpoate be lost etc etc.. so much more thanjust crowds have to be thought of in the move.

hes got a point bowes... you want the RFL to step in but the RFL encouraged essex in before they wanted to go in from my understanding... there was a lot behind the rise in numbers including birmingham and essex ealrier than the original RFL plan and perhas the plans of the clubs.. its a complicated scenrio but to blame essex and anyone connected with it for all of this is way off the mark. (and off topic for that matter)

NIMBY