The Phantom Horseman

I think we're all at St Thomases at this stage, praying.

Well I'll agree with one thing in this post, that would be controversial

Yes, I think we discussed that previously when Chris Hamilton replaced Mark Campbell both as director and person with significant control just before Christmas last year. The question I was asking was, if the RFL presumably knew that all along, why did they ask for a bond?

Martyn Sadler on the main forum: "I'm being told to expect some positive news on Monday."

Yes, but even then, there seemed to beat least a pathway to acceptance - remember that Abi Ekoku, who at the time was the RFL CEO, confirmed that they had asked for a bond, and when asked whether it was offered said "Not in an acceptable form", which suggests that they were at least considering their application rather than denying it outright on the basis of the rules. https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/rugby-football-league-ceo-explains-featherstone-rovers-rejection

Given we have no concrete information about what Mr Ellis's intentions are towards the Featherstone situation, if any, we don't need in-depth discussions about Walton Lane, who wants to do what to Walton Lane, whose dog might do a dump there etc. Take that to a different thread, please.

If people want to talk about Wakefield's training base, or have a difference of opinion between Wakefield and Cas supporters, please can they set up a different thread as this has now gone a long way away from discussing any potential interest Matt Ellis may or may not have in Featherstone Rovers. Thank you.

It's over 3 years ago that I first highlighted this, amongst other things that I thought people hadn't quite grasped at the time, on here.

Possibly, though you can apply for an exemption to that rule. "Any person who is subject to a Disqualifying Condition has the right to ask for an exemption from the prohibition on becoming/remaining an Influential Person at a Club. Any application for an exemption shall set out the grounds for such application. The Board has absolute discretion in granting any such exemption (and shall take into account such factors as it considers appropriate) and may make it subject to such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate. In determining whether to grant such an exemption, and the terms of any such exemption, the Board shall consider the Fit and Proper Purpose."

Journalist John Davidson has published an article today on rugbyleaguehub.com stating that the process is now down to two bidders but confirming via an interview with RFL Commercial director Rhodi Jones that as Jones states "It's not simple; it's complicated, it's complex", because of the difficulties in marrying up ownership of the land and running the club. I think people shouldn't underestimate the complexities of sorting out the land ownership, every indication we have, including from both of the administrator's previous updates, suggest that it's that rather, than whether or not we have a suitable bid for the club, that has been holding things up. He names "Paddy Hanley" (sic) and "Dean Chumley" (sic) as the two leaders/frontpeople of the bids. Dean Cholmondeley is the head of XTL security who I believe have been in charge of security etc at Fev in recent years and also have been sponsors, notably of the women's team (who they continue to sponsor). There is some other interesting stuff in the article but it's behind a paywall and thus not considered acceptable to cut and paste, but I'll post the link anyway in case people want to subscribe. https://www.rugbyleaguehub.com/fev-license-down-to-two-bidders/

Jeez. I saw that post and it was exactly as Maureen stated and the original poster explained why he had deleted it. Given you don't seem very impressed with this forum, why don't you go and post all this stuff on the Fev Facebook pages instead? Let us know how you get on.

The Man answered this very question (presumably on behalf of Barrow) on page 444 of this thread.

The clock is ticking on Featherstone's very existence, and you think he's prepared to launch a bid that he might not even go through with, which would probably mean the end of a club with over 100 years of history? Ellis has a really good reputation around RL and seems a genuine good guy, there's surely no way he'd make such a douchebag manoeuvre at this critical time in Fev's history.

Matt Ellis has always come across as a decent guy to me. Are you really suggesting he'd feign an interest in a club facing an existential crisis and for whom any delay in proceedings might mean that club disappears forever?

Sam Smeaton plays in his second Championship Grand Final today. The first was 15 years ago when Featherstone beat Sheffield. He would have played the following year against the same team but suffered a terrible injury which caused him to miss the game and had a big impact on the outcome, as his replacement struggled against Menzie Yere (to be fair who wouldn't have done).

Talking of Wakefield - and many congratulations to them on a fabulous season and Grand Final win - here's a poignant reminder of how fast things can change in RL. This happened the season before last...Jowitt, Walmsley, Lino, Pitts, Vagana, Uele all playing for Wakefield...talk about contrasting fortunes since then.

I think part of the reason things look from the outside like they have gone cold is that there have been virtually no leaks. This probably isn't surprising when you consider that the Administrator's only responsibility is to his creditors and NDAs and a desire for confidentiality are probably hindering disclosure of interested parties. There's also the fact that the likeliest intended buyers of the land pulled out a couple of months ago and there are also possibly complications because of the nebulous situation between the company and RVL developments, which the Administrator stated might be necessary to resolve prior to the sale of the land to any third parties. I think there are a lot of moving parts in the whole situation and I doubt it's been a straightforward one to resolve, and there was never likely to be a running commentary. There are a few people who post on this forum who are very well connected and often get to know the ins and outs at the club, but even they seem quite unsure about how this situation might end up.

The council is certainly discussing the future of the club, at the very least. All it specifies at the moment is "For Cabinet to receive a report on the future of Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club." We'll have to wait and see the nature of their involvement, if any. https://mg.wakefield.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=98471&Opt=0

I think a lot of people will agree with this, providing the bolded bit is a key and well-delineated component. As an aside, I would make the league leaders the team promoted (assuming only one goes up). That's usually the sign of the strongest, most SL-ready team, and IIRC the main reason we started having a Grand Final to decide the team going up when P & R returned was because Sky wanted it, but they don't show the play-offs any more.

I hear you, I fully understand the issue. Whether being unable to promote London because Barrow rank higher than them, and thus potentially jeopardising major NRL investment, counts as "improving the standard" might be open to question though.

Well yes that is absolutely true, but I would say one of the drawbacks of the system is that it isn't able to take account of relatively sudden massive changes in clubs' circumstances.

John Davidson in his "Chicken Wing" piece today on rugbyleaguehub.com states that one thing that needs to be done before the NRL investment offer comes into fruition is that "the RFL needs to support the changes of promotion and relegation, including blocking Barrow Raiders' promotion" - ie Barrow are ranked more highly via IMG than London. Barrow are an admirable and likeable club in many ways, but I don't think anyone connected with them thinks they're in any way ready for SL and although the problem is presumably the fact that they're rated higher than London, rather than that they actually have a lofty IMG score themselves, it's another example of the drawbacks of the IMG system - once you have it, any deviation can be seen as grossly unfair.

From the ever-reliable Fevarchive website Australian youngster John Strange arrived early in the 1997 campaign with very little weight of expectation on his shoulders, as he was largely an unknown quantity. He turned out to be a useful acquisition though, seeing off challenges from both Steve Lay (signed from Halifax) and Lee Maher (signed from Leeds) to establish himself as first choice full-back throughout the year. He did a sound job during a difficult phase for the club, playing 23 games, and scoring seven tries, but his contract was not renewed and he left for York, and then later Sheffield. https://www.fevarchive.co.uk/players/john-strange/954/

Only rumours really. It looks likely that the land and the stadium will be sold, with a possibility of the stadium being leased back - there is definitely at least 1 interested party (and possibly more than 1) who have applied to the RFL to run a team in 2027. There don't seem to have been many leaks (hence why few journos have discussed Fev much), there are a few rumours flying around but concrete info is thin on the ground. One group that has put its head above the parapet is a consortium led by long-time Fev fan Ged Connolly-Thompson, they put a few posts on LinkedIn, my understanding is that this group is putting in a bid just to run the club and lease the stadium, not buy it and the land. https://www.linkedin.com/company/featherstone-rovers-phoenix/posts/?feedView=all It's quite a complex and murky situation, am not going to try and interpret it all on here but if you're interested there are two quite detailed reports from the Administrator on the gov.uk website at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03165021/filing-history

Nah, I don't know any Fev fans who would want Cas to beat Wakey. The other team apart from Cas that Fev fans tend not to like is Bradford, not Wakefield. There were a couple of threads on the FB pages recently that illustrates that, one was a debate over whether the fans disliked Cas or Bradford more, the other was a bunch of people saying how pleased they were Wakey had made it to the final. As for Jill H's question - a fair number of Rovers fans will have watched Fev Lions this year especially with Gaz Gale/Josh Hardcastle/Johnny Davies/James Lockwood/Luke Cooper, all massive fan favourites, playing for Lions. There have also been a fair number of social events organised by the True Blue fundraising group which have been a rallying point for a lot of fans. Hard to say how many will have walked away from the game and obviously to a degree it will depend on whether the club comes back, and also how that looks if it does happen and who ends up owning the land. There's a lot of disillusionment about a lot of things, as you can imagine.