Wholly Trinity

Can you give us a link to these "minimum" standards set at any time during the superleague era? Starting from 'framing the future' there have been SL standards, eg min 2.5k seating, but afaik there have never been minimum standards. Even pitch size has exceptions as they backed away from enforcing full-sized pitches to accommodate those who play on soccer pitches. I believe Wakefield receive reduced central funding because the stadium doesn't meet SL standards, and lost points on licencing bids because of it. However, the stadium is but one of the criteria. If SL was to adopt meaningful minimum standards there would not be enough teams to form a league.

That's so it looks good when lifting trophies

https://www.facebook.com/174947885886159/posts/4352329624814610/?app=fbl

I'm pretty sure it was all accidental. If the development company had fulfilled their legal obligation to build a community stadium 10 years ago we would have been playing in the middle of a bunch of warehouses next to the M62. Perhaps not exactly like Salford as I believe it would have been owned by a Stadium Trust with Trinity as anchor tenants with peppercorn rent and access to matchday revenue, but there would have been nothing stopping other clubs in the area playing there too. (The site is half-way between Belle Vue and Wheldon Road ). It wasn't really that much out of town (3 miles and a continuous conurbation), but it would have been a big change in match day experience. Easier to get to for away fans, perhaps the opposite side of the city to the core support, but within walking distance of Stanley/Lofthouse/Outwood with a population of 22k. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_West_Yorkshire Anyway, that's all (mostly) in the past now and planning will hopefully be passed in November and development will begin on BV shortly after. It still relies on the 'same' developer and the council showing some determination to push it through, but this is definitely the closest we've ever been. Since the change of leadership in the council they have facilitated a loan to buy back the ground and even some surrounding land. The darkest days of losing ownership of the ground and going into administration following the financial crisis of 2008 and then being bought by a hobby owner who almost sent it back into admin after realising it was going to cost him £500k a year seem to be behind us. Next year could well be one of the most significant in the club's 148 year history.

Were they the club's artists impressions? Were they a con? The drawings were generally from whoever was promising the moon on a stick at that particular time - and then failing to deliver. Each scheme was believed by the club (perhaps naively) to be true. A con would suggest that the club knew each project would fail. Do your have any evidence at all that the club lied about their intentions?

That seems to be the perception of some other clubs' fans. The reality is that if they could have moved they would have. Living on death row for 20 years is no fun. Do you really think that Wakey & Cas said to the RFL, "we're staying put, try and kick us out if you can?" A suitable stadium is an important part of being a successful club but not the only thing.

And what makes you think Wakey and Cas weren't told the same thing? Do you really think that they deliberately ignored these existential threats and thought, nah, we'll be fine where we are, let's just spend all the money we've saved on something else?

Who is having a pop at Salford? Other than demonstrating how difficult finding a suitable home can be. No-one considers Belle Vue SL standard. The club even gets reduced central funding because it doesn't meet those standards. Basic maintenance is expensive. It restricts any potential growth and deters new fans and sponsors. Income is squeezed from all sides. Even player recruitment is made more difficult. So, where is this big advantage of 'deliberately' staying in an outdated, not fit-for-purpose 'stadium' ? A new stadium (or upgrade) costs proper money - not SL squad kind of money. Wakefield have endeavoured to source such funding by any means from many sources over a few decades. Other clubs have had more luck in getting projects completed. There is always some element of luck in procuring a suitable RL facility and compromises are often required. If a refurbishment/rebuild of BV had been seen as remotely feasible 20 years ago, perhaps it would have been done by now? But again, it comes down to ££££

A little off topic and apologies for being repetitive, but do you know off hand how much of Salford/Leigh/Widnes' playing budget was spent on their ground upgrades? The Moor Lane ground looks up to the buffers already from looking at google maps. It would need to be a temporary move (any port in a storm) if they have long-term SL ambitions. (irony overload ) https://www.google.com/maps/place/53°30'49.1"N+2°16'36.4"W/@53.5136068,-2.2762233,211m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d53.5136306!4d-2.276775?hl=en Prior to purchasing the superbowl land etc., Belle Vue was similarly land-locked and difficult to develop, which is why a new build stadium was the only feasible option. Even so, the current footprint of the stadium is significantly bigger than that at Moor Lane. https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6697979,-1.4788495,250m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Apologies if the points have been made before, but I haven't had time to read all 1.2k replies. Why don't we turn it round on them? Imply that the Aussies are running scared of losing their status as world rugby's top team (sic). They may have passed off losing to NZ in 2008 as a fluke and forgotten how close they were to losing last time out and getting beat by Tonga in 2019. #FearOfLosing Also, how silly will their covid excuse look if we're down to a handful of cases by the start of the tournament. While clearly this may not be the case, as it's too early to tell whether the government's big vaccine gamble will pay off, it is a possibility. The number of cases has suddenly dipped in the last few days, but it could be temporary; a new variant could be just around the corner.

There seems to be a slight change of emphasis on their reasons for crying off. From 'it will disrupt our preseason' to 'the risk of catching covid in the UK is too high'. Surely they have time to get all participants vaccinated before then (3 months?) Even if they have to pay for them. Assuming they are not just looking for excuses

I just made up a python joke: !==≠

I'm similar. Although a mere whipper-snapper at 53, my current job is my longest at 4 years. It's also the lowest paid job I've ever had. My CV says, "always seeking new challenges" which translates as "gets bored quickly.

Well, blow me! I never realised that.

It's witchcraft a tell thee. Mind control from over th' Pennines

In the Indonesian language, number bond pairs up to 10 begin with the same unique letter. Satu 1 + 9 Sembilan Dua 2 + 8 Delapan Tiga 3 + 7 Tujuh Empat 4 + 6 Enam Lima 5 + 5 Lima (obvs)

?? prac is not a real word. It's short for practice.

Wakefield's equatorial suburbs ☺ I used to like bananas until I had real bananas ripened on the plant. There's such a wide variety of shapes, sizes and flavours, but supermarkets seem to insist on the same old Cavendish cultivar from sunny Derbyshire. Again, picked unripe and shipped from the carribean, compared to others, they taste like polystyrene. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35131751

There's an avocado tree directly outside my office door. (out of season) You can't beat the sweet/nutty flavour of a fresh, ripe avocado. The problem is in the UK they're picked and imported massively under-ripe, so they're generally taseless (like bananas). If it's ripe it should be easy to indent the skin with your thumb and the stone/seed will probably rattle. The flesh should be soft and quite yellow. Top Tip: If it's not ripe yet, put it in a bag of dried rice for a day or two. Once it's ripe you can store it in the fridge for about a week. Once opened, if you want to save half, put the stone back in place to prevent it going black.