fearnowt

Stadium Solutions, well worth a look at their website. https://www.stadiumsolutions.co.uk/ The new 156 seat stand at Rushden and Diamonds FC cost £30k, so about £200 per seat. I phoned them a couple of years ago to ask about the cost of a turnstile building, (I was thinking at the time about suggesting we put one up at Queensway), I was told they cost about £7k fully installed, with two turnstiles. Also worth a look on twitter. I think these people could do a good job for any Championship/League 1 club looking to improve their facilities. https://twitter.com/stad_solutions?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

This year, we were knocked out of the Challenge Cup in the 4th round at Thatto Heath. It's obviously a result we want to forget. For Thatto Heath however, it was a huge occasion and achievement. A bigger than average crowd, the challenge cup on display, the Mayor of St Helens in her chain of office watching from the clubhouse balcony, and the game watched live by thousands on television (BBC red button I think). Thatto Heath didn't just beat a League 1 team, they beat a league 1 team in the 4th round of the Challenge Cup. That makes it special. There's no harm in discussing ideas on how to increase the attendance at the final, or making the competition more interesting, but I think that any idea that denies the Thatto Heath's of this world their well earned special moment, is a bad idea.

It has been covered by Wales Online. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wild-scenes-welsh-rugby-team-16625190

No complaints about the result, as you say, up and down all season. I heard the crowd announced as 272, which would be the third lowest since we moved to Queensway. The ground is clearly holding us back now, the directors are keen to move so it will be interesting to see where we play next year. We're limited for choice and we'll almost certainly have to leave Wrexham, but it's obvious we need to try somewhere else.

A great result for West Wales, a chance to celebrate at last after all the hard work and perseverance of the last few years. Also the response from Coventry CEO Alan Robinson is pure class. Both clubs are a credit to rugby league.

Queensway has been good for us in that it's been available and it's cheap, allowing us to get out of the financial mess we found ourselves in three years ago. The problem is the lack of facilities, especially hospitality for sponsors, also the design of the ground for athletics with the stands so far from the pitch has had quite a negative affect on atmosphere. Worst of all, is that people in Wrexham generally don't want to go there, even some of our long standing fans have stopped going because of where we are. Another problem we have is trying to be noticed in the shadow of the football club. Just take a look at the Leader online today, if you know where to look in the sport section, you will find a match report from Sunday's game against Workington. But look on the front page and, today alone, there are no less than ten stories relating to Wrexham FC and it's fans, and the football season hasn't started yet. https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/ I'm only a 20 minute walk from Queensway myself, and I'd love to see the club stay in Wrexham, but we're not welcome at the Racecourse, and the other ground where we are welcome has a pitch unsuitable for rugby. Ultimately, it boils down to money. We have the lowest playing budget in the league, even West Wales pay more than we do. It's fair to say we are more dependant on central funding than any other club, and that might disappear at the end of next year, so we need to find ways to improve income through things like hospitality and sponsorship, bigger attendances and growing the supporters trust. Our community set up is largely based in Deeside, our A team play there, the wheelchair teams play there, and Wales Rugby League have a training centre there. Flintshire council also appear to be very supportive of both rugby codes. If we can find a suitable football club willing to take us in next year, we might as well give it a go. At least the conversation has started now, it's important that we all talk about this, everyone's opinion is important. I just want to add that the presentation from the coaching staff at the forum was outstanding. I've never played rugby, but Anthony Murray's talk about how they prepare for games was one of the most interesting I've ever heard. We might have the lowest paid squad in the league, but they are extremely professional. For us fans, the game against Oldham is on Sunday, for the players, it started on Monday. With the good run of results we're having, there's a good feeling around the club at the moment, despite the uncertainty about the ground and the future of league 1, so let's enjoy it while we can.

You are entitled to your opinion and very welcome to it. There's no point trying to change it here, we can only hope that in the next couple of years, all the hard work going on behind the scenes will have paid off, and maybe that will change your mind.

Hi, I've sent you a message about the venues. Don't want to name any here as the club has not made any approaches yet. The Racecourse is ruled out because it is too expensive and the football club don't want us there. Cefn Druids are keen to have us back, but their synthetic pitch is not suitable for rugby so we can't go there. If we do leave Queensway, we will be leaving Wrexham, but we will be staying in North Wales.

Hi guys, always a pleasure to have you at Queensway. We're going into the game an the back of 2 really good wins, against Whitehaven away and Keighley at home, so the team is starting to show a bit of confidence. Should be a good game. There are some roadworks in progress in Wrexham over the weekend which might affect your journey. If you are following satnav, you will probably be directed off the A483 at junction 6, which is being resurfaced over the weekend and may be closed (there is some confusion here as to whether it will be closed all weekend or just at night). If it is closed, carry on to junction 5, and take the exit for Wrexham (A541). There are brown signs for Queensway after the football ground, also follow the signs for Nantwich (A534). After leaving the roundabout in front of Tesco, the next right turn into Montgomery Road leads to Queensway (signposted). For the return journey, go back along Montgomery Road and turn left at the end of the road. Follow the signs for Mold (A541) until you pass the football ground, then follow the signs for Chester. If you follow the signs for Chester too soon, you will end up at the closed junction. Also, please be aware that we now have a deposit scheme for beakers at the bar, doing our bit to cut down on plastic waste. There is a deposit of £2 on a pint and £1 on a half pint, when you've finished your drink, you can exchange for a fresh beaker for your next pint. When you're all done just go to the bar and ask for your deposit back, or keep your beaker for a souvenir. See you Sunday, have a safe journey.

I expect that most Cru fans who post on here will already be aware of this, but just in case it's passed you by, there will be a fans forum at the Maesgwyn Hall on Mold Road, Wrexham (opposite the Uni and the Racecourse) at 5:30 pm on Saturday, 6th July. Anthony Murray will be there to talk about the season so far, and there will be discussions on how to progress the club such as increasing revenues and improving the match day experience. It will be interesting to discuss what options, if any, we have regarding our home ground. I'm sure most of us would love to move from Queensway, but where can we go? We hope to encourage more people to join the supporters trust, which can make a difference. We don't have a benefactor at the moment so the only investors we have are the fans. Everyone who joins the trust has an equal share and a say in how the funds are spent. Since the AGM two months ago, the supporters trust has spent or is committed to spending about £2,500 for the benefit of the club. We are sponsoring our head steward to qualify as a ground safety officer, we have introduced recyclable beakers for the bar to cut down on plastic waste, and we have started to bring in new merchandise. Our latest merchandise has arrived this morning, and will be available at the forum. The new mugs are priced at £5 each. Hope to see you there.

Just to repeat last weeks message, for any Workington fans travelling to the game at Wexham on Sunday, regarding possible traffic disruption. If you are following satnav, you will probably be directed off the A483 at junction 6, which is being resurfaced over the weekend and may be closed (there is some confusion here as to whether it will be closed all weekend or just at night). If it is closed, carry on to junction 5, and take the exit for Wrexham (A541). There are brown signs for Queensway after the football ground, also follow the signs for Nantwich (A534). After leaving the roundabout in front of Tesco, the next right turn into Montgomery Road leads to Queensway (signposted). For the return journey, go back along Montgomery Road and turn left at the end of the road. Follow the signs for Mold (A541) until you pass the football ground, then follow the signs for Chester. If you follow the signs for Chester too soon, you will end up at the closed junction. See you Sunday, have a safe journey.

Nice to read this in today's Leader. https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/17736072.alyn-and-deeside-mp-supports-wheelchair-rugby-team/

Loved the Bulldog Bitter on our visits to Batley.

A word of caution for any Kighley fans travelling on Sunday, regarding possible traffic disruption. If you are following satnav, you will probably be directed off the A483 at junction 6, which is being resurfaced over the next two weekends and may be closed (there is some confusion here as to whether it will be closed all weekend or just at night). If it is closed, carry on to junction 5, and take the exit for Wrexham (A541). There are brown signs for Queensway after the football ground, also follow the signs for Nantwich (A534). After leaving the roundabout in front of Tesco, the next right turn into Montgomery Road leads to Queensway (signposted). For the return journey, go back along Montgomery Road and turn left at the end of the road. Follow the signs for Mold (A541) until you pass the football ground, then follow the signs for Chester. If you follow the signs for Chester too soon, you will end up at the closed junction. See you Sunday, have a safe journey.

My mum is from St Helens, and I had a brief spell of watching Saints with my grandad in the late 60's and early 70's, including my only challenge cup final in 1972. I used to watch Wrexham FC as well at this time, my dad was football mad., and with Wrexham enjoying their golden age in the 70's, it was football only for me until Crusaders moved to Wrexham in 2010. When Crusaders arrived, I was so impressed by the commitment of the players, who had only been together for about six weeks that I was instantly hooked. I know several ex-Wrexham fans who switched to rugby league on that cold night in January 2010, and we'll be celebrating 10 years of supporting RL next year. I have to mention as well our second home game against Hull FC. The pitch was covered in snow and we had struggled to get more than a dozen or so people to clear the pitch for the football, so what chance did we have of clearing it for rugby? Well, within two hours there were 200 people there, including both teams and quite a few Hull FC fans and the game went ahead on time. That was it, no more football for me, I realised what I had been missing and walked away from the money obsessed sport I had followed for 40 odd years. My nephew summed it up quite nicely at the time, he said that football is all about the team, but rugby is all about the game.

Also pleasing to see another 12 from Welsh clubs, including 3 from North Wales Crusaders and 4 from West Wales Raiders.

Fair assessment from yourself, as usual. Yesterday was a simple case of being beaten by a far better team and the Newcastle fullback played a blinder, give him the ball and he was going to score. We've been on the wrong end of some close results this season, and if we were a bit more ruthless, we could quite easily have another six points to our name in the league table. On the pitch at least, we seem to be just on the wrong side of the line between success and failure (yesterday excepted). For the past three years or so, Thunder have been building up momentum, they have investment and have moved to a good stadium with decent landlords. We on the other hand, have spent the last three years paying off debts, and it showed yesterday. The only consolation from yesterday is that Thunder and their wonderful fans are finally getting to see the progress they deserve, and good luck to them.

North Wales Crusaders.

League 1's downfall has been the constantly changing format as an afterthought to the constantly changing format of the Championship. When we joined this league in 2012 there were 10 teams, 4 were promoted to expand the Championship. 2013 there were 9 reams, with Oxford, Gloucestershire and Hemel joining (all three have since gone). 2014 after being promoted the previous year (before we were ready), we were relegated by another restructure, along with four other clubs. 2015 there were 14 teams in League 1. 2016 there were 15 teams, with Toulouse added, and the mid season split introduced. 2017 there were 16 teams, with Toronto added, with the mid season split still in place. 2018 there were 14 teams, playing each other home and away, we finally get a decent format that's simple to understand and works just fine. If only we could keep it for a few years and have some stability. 2019 Here we go again, down to 11 clubs to accommodate another Championship restructure.

If the Championship expands to 16 clubs and Superleague to 14 and we are left with just 8 clubs in League 1, then I would settle for complete loop fixtures so everyone plays each other 4 times. This would give us more home games, which is essential for growing support. We also desperately need a settled format for a few years instead of constantly having to put up with changes as an afterthought whenever the Championship is restructured.

I'm only correct if Warrington is in Wales so no need to apologise. Your original post is closer to the truth, I just stumbled across the squad in the link (which mistakenly shows several players to be Welsh) and thought it would be amusing to reply with it. Sorry if I mislead you. Whitehaven were very solid in defence, Chronicler of Chiswick has summed up the game pretty well and Haven were worthy winners.

All but seven if you believe this http://www.itsrugby.co.uk/team-squad-northwalescrusaders.html Edit: actually make that eight, just noticed the "scotsman" in the squad.

Understand what your saying, and just looking at the table you make a fair point. However, if this game was 75 minutes long instead of 80, we would have beaten Keighley and Skolars, . Joking aside, we have been far more competitive this year than we have been for perhaps three or four years. A win by just one point yesterday would have put us in sixth place, which also shows just how open league one is this year.

Thanks for the idea!

They will be "logo'd" up with the club badge.