crashmon
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Posts posted by crashmon
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I really think at least this season they should give Dons ST fans free access to all broncos games up to end of July, and then include all Broncos home games from August onwards in the 2022-2023 Dons ST offer. I have no skin in this, as I don't watch football, but it seems to me if there are some Dons fans wanting to watch summer rugby, letting them and family in free if they are Dons ST holders will hopefully encourage them to attend if the performances on the pitch are painful to endure.
For me I'd much rather see London 44 - 24 Fev at Ealing (2018 score), rather than the likey battering we will get a PL next year (if we match the 28-48 score from 2021 I'll be amazed, more likely be 6-60 or something). The results on the pitch matter to me, not the place we are playing in. Now if we are in Super League that would be different, but considering the RL Championship is at a similar level to at best the Vandarrama conference in football, I'm really not fussed where we play, as long as we are winning and challenging for promotion-
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Its also interesting how selective they are on who they now contact via email. I've been critical of the club this past year as I would rather have a squad challenging for the super leage, than be playing in a expensive white elephant (I really hope PL works, but I just can't see it unless you have success on the field as well).. However considering I've been a gold ST holder since the Charlton days in 2000, (apart from last year, when we just took advantage of the 4 games for 60 offer), I've not had one email from them since making my views known about PL earlier this year.
I really hope that I am wrong, and @Man of Kent is correct, and the move will be a success, but for me the jury is still out right now, and I don't see enough in the strength of the Squad for me to get three full memberships this year, although we will probably pop down to a couple of games.
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I think @Man of Kent is best positioned to answer this, as he is a Dons fan and goes to PL frequently, but I don't think you will have much trouble getting to the ground, its easy to get to
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3 minutes ago, Ivarr the Boneless said:
I agree, 10% is ambitious.
I would add that, with the exception of a bit of a token effort at Quins, Broncos didn't really seem to try to convert fans at the other clubs.
I'm assuming there is going to be a properly thought through and funded fan engagement strategy aimed at the core Dons support.
If not, a 1% conversion rate is more likely...
What I would do is basically include all LB home games for free to Dons ST holders. (however on the proviso that Dons ST holders would not get their designated seat if a Paying Broncos ST holder has chosen that seat)
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8 minutes ago, Leonard said:
Their best bet for that would be to give free entrance and go for a Toronto style experience. Try and get the money through food, drink and merchandise. Apparently the Wolfpack did $30k in merchandise each home game.
The ST is still the same price as next year, so I don't see 5k paying £240 a head or £22 each on the day.
That money would not allgo to the Broncos though, some of it would go to the Dons (I again could be wrong apologies if I am). So would that get funds for London to improve the squad to challenge for getting back into SL (which has to be part of the 5 year ambition)
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So a better yardstick would be the cumbrian games / dewsbury / sheffield / york to view how much impact the move has. We never played widnes at trailfinders so can't really do any sort of comparison.
So the first yardstone will be on feb 13th vs Haven. In 2020 we had 735 fans for this fixture, so will be interesting how this fixtures compares.
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So what we are saying is we are relying on away fans to make up the gates? You would expect London to have more home fans vs away fans at every game, if progress is to be made?
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Was those games in regular season or super 8's. I went to pretty much every Trailfinders home game, and I can't remember seeing more than 1K in a regular season game (could be wrong however)
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These are SL games. so not applicable
More relevant question, what is London's top attendance in the championship. I don't think we have ever got over 1K for a champ game, and our squads from 2015 to 2019 much stronger that the WWR \ Skolars mix we have now.
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1 minute ago, Man of Kent said:
Leaving aside you're potentially writing off a 10yr plan/3yr target after six games, I think you're being rather pessimistic by translating Ealing crowds to Plough Lane.
If Widnes isn't a four-figure crowd, I'll eat my hat.
People are not going to turn up and watch a side get battered every week. If we have more fans in the final game of the 2022 season vs the 1st game of 2022, I'll eat my hat.
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2 hours ago, Man of Kent said:
But surely this kind of short-termist idiocy is exactly the kind of thinking Hughes is trying to address?
Let me try to explain my point
I am expecting around 500-600 hopefully for the first game,owing to the novelty experience, and some Dons fans turning up to see what all this RL malarky is all about, hopefully with some special offers and good match day experience.
However if we lose several of the initial games by large scores, and get completely smashed, how many will be attending the widnes game on 30th Jan, vs say the Thunder game on may 13th...
That will be the first marker to see if Dons fans and the local area really come to watch.. If we get 600 vs Widnes, then only 350 - 400 for Newcastle, then it will be obvious you will not be getting any where near 5k by 2030 let alone next three years.
You have to have success on the pitch to drive increased attendances. Having a squad losing 75% of the games will not acheive that -
Yes I know but its a pain
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7 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:
I am genuinely delighted with the squad we have assembled on the budget we have allocated him
8 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:5000 fans in 3 years has to be the target. That is where we need to be and we have got the best chance of achieving that in the Wimbledon area and with AFC Wimbledon Football Club as partners in my opinion.
The problem is that you need a winning team to generate fans, that is more key than a shiny stadium. I don't see 5K in three years, but lets wait an see how many fans we have first 5-6 home games in the new season.
Also this
12 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:We could have played at a non-league football club in recent years with the low numbers coming through the gates due to a mixture of Covid and poor displays on the field.
The reason for the poor gates was not covid, it was
- Stupid season ticket hike of over 200% for some people
- Worst squad we had in my memory which caused the poor performances on the field (and last year we had Danny Ward and Jaimie Langley)
So with our 2022 squad being pretty much 75% ex Skolars \ WWR players, plus a few other potentials from Aus coming in, I don't see this years squad doing any better than last year (and considering most of the other champ squads are stronger). If we get early injuries then we will really struggle.
Also why are we playing 5 games away in a row in the football off season, when there is little other live sport on, when this would be the ideal time to have special offers to draw in fans. This does not work, and its been proved to not work at other stadiums we have rented, having 5 games on the road breaks up any runs we might have going.
I'll probably attend one or two games, but sorry David, I'm not coming to watch us lose to 60 points to Fax,when the squad budget is so low, even if we was playing at Arsenal or Spurs swanky new stadiums. Your not going to get 5K fans as a bottom half champ side
When you tell us your plans on how you you will get a squad competing for promotion to SL, then let us know.
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2 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:
What London & SE doesn't need is another semi-pro team. The Broncos are currently hollowing out the Skolars to the detriment of both clubs. It is tragic.
There is a very real chance both London clubs could finish bottom of their respective divisions next year. I'd even go as far to say there is a also a slight chance both London clubs may not be even to finish the season next year
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1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:
Skybet first up with betting for the 2022 Championship (regular season)...
Featherstone Rovers 6/5
Leigh Centurions 2/1
Halifax Panthers 10/1
York City Knights 12/1
Bradford Bulls 14/1
Newcastle Thunder 16/1
Widnes Vikings 20/1
London Broncos 25/1
Batley Bulldogs 40/1
Whitehaven RLFC 66/1
Dewsbury Rams 80/1
Barrow Raiders 100/1
Sheffield Eagles 125/1
Workington Town 150/1
Initial thoughts...really it's too early to accurately state Fev and Leigh's odds until we know how many more each club have to add, and who. As things stand, Fax and York should probably be a shade closer to them in the betting...but equally signings in the next couple of months could have the inverse impact and see one or other of the top 2 quoted go odds on.
Otherwise, there's no way London should be shorter than Batley, that's the really obvious error.
I'd actually have London on level with Sheffield and Barrow. I'd say looking at our squad plus first time PT (So have to adjust), completely new squad (so no real cohesion) and new manager with no Championship management experience would put us below Haven and Dewsbury in the betting
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1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:
No London games yet
No London games on Premier first half of season.. I'm actually pleased about this, seeing them get tonked by 60 in front of 300 fans in a 9k Stadium won't look good at all, and very few london fans (20 max) would be able to get up north on a monday night considering most people have to work.
Probably have one game in the 2nd hald of the season vs one of the cumbrian clubs in a relegation decider -
The other issue is that they need to rebuild the fan base, and the only way you do that is by a winning team playing good rugby. You dont by having a weak squad getting hammered most games
Widnes will be interesting yardstick for London. Not one of the top 4 teams, but in the 2nd group challenging for the playoffs. If London can get close to them, season might not be as big a disaster as we forsee, but if they ship a score like 40-16 or something, then I don't see many Dons fans converting
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57 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:
Too often groundshares create an Us vs. Them situation (Hello, Wigan!) so a bit of enlightened self-interest through collaboration bodes well.
Its not Wimbledon or the dons fans that any Broncos fan blames for the mess London are in right now. We know exactly who has put us where we are, Part time and fighing to avoid relegation with the weakest squad in the 30 years of London history. So I would not expect any bad blood between London and Wimbledon when it comes to supporters or to the respective clubs.
I still think 200k rent is far too much for a struggling part time team, but again thats not the fault of the dons, but the leadership of London agreeing to that in the first place.
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19 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:
More on this from the Broncos, including a 'tour' of the ground for fans https://londonbroncosrl.com/2021/11/12/broncos-and-dons-best-brains-to-face-off-for-annual-challenge/
Yep, any good / positive news coming out of the Broncos right now is to be welcomed
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2 hours ago, Cowboy said:
Where on earth did I say any off that peanut
All I said was,the jibberish been said is not accurate in the slightest. Now where am I wrong with ANY thing I've said pal?
They were dog #### last year and they'll be the same this season coming,but you caring on like they've lost world beaters is bonkers,because they haven't.
I don't think they have a team to challenge at all,I said that earlier.
I don't think they'll be massively different to last season,slightly worse probably.
Again,time will tell.
Who we have lost vs last year is irrelevant as last year we where abysmal.
The LB Leadership have moved us to a shiny new stadium for the reason that they have ambitions to play in the Super League. Thats the stated ambition of the London Broncos owner and Leadership.
The 2019 LB team was not good enough to survive in SL (yes we came very close, and yes we won 10 games, but at the end we still did not make the grade)
So if we are meant to have super league ambitions, then the recruitment is absymal and not one player we have signed this year would even get into our 2019 squad let alone starting 13.
If we are not planning to recruit to get into SL, then why are we moving to a SL stadium and paying 200k a year for 200 fans to watch Bately put 60 past us.
And you wonder why London fans are unamused by the players we are hiring. Compared to say Fev or Fax or Thunder-
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10 hours ago, Cowboy said:
They've only signed one player from WWR 2021 team? An Aussie import at that and it clearly says in the media post,he's a depth signing.
The other two,played a handful of games and jumped ship...in 2019.
Bayley Liu,played 2020 with WWR,finds himself at Sheffield now.
They've always had fairly good imports but they are an absolute shamble ,because the local welsh lads,are just not upto the standard of L1 and when you have a squad of a couple imports and 20 locals,it just doesn't work.Christ,a Lions international and a former Man of Steel couldn't help WWR ffs.
Does anyone on here do any research or just ###### int wind and moan like
So are you seriously saying that the London squad of this year is stronger than last year. Reminding you that the london squad of last year was the worst London squad ever, and the main youth prospects from that squad have all gone, plus the proven championship players.
And out of the London 2021 squad, probably no more then 2 or 3 of them would have been in the London squad of 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 etc
Its the worst London squad ever to be assembled.
Are you saying the squad we have are better than the other PT time squads in the Champ ie Fev, Fax, Bradford, York, Batley. Please note from 2014 to 2018 we was beating these teams or at worst level with these teams, now they put 60 points plus on us
And you wonder why London fans (those not chased away by the club) are negative and very pessimistic for next year
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any ambitions Broncos had for SL disappeared when they went Part Time. Paying 200K for a shiny stadium means no money for unimportant things like players.
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Part Time players from the north cannot afford to live in London playing Part time, unless they are students, so would have subisided housing as part of being at Uni
So your looking at Aussie students or players already in the south, its probably easier moving from South Wales than it is from Leeds \ Hull \ Lancs.So it leaves you skolars \ WWR from your talent pool, seeing most of the acadamy squad who made the team last year have left and gone up north.
So yes, its a L1 squad we are building for a tilt at the L1 shield in 2023
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35 minutes ago, Cowboy said:
Adebeyi might be considered a loss,he is raw but plenty talented.However ,if I had to choose between him and Wellington Albert,I'm going with the latter.
I do agree pal,the yearly turn over is bad,the Harlequins/Broncos have always had high player turn over,that's why success is generally never sustained for long in the capital.My point was,who they have lost and who they have been replaced with,I don't see it as a big deal,not alot would separate, if any.
The other factor nobody seems to be considering is we have lost Danny Ward who is one of the top coaches in the Champ, and IMHO is better than 50% coaches in SL. He almost performed a miracle in 2019, and nobody who is relegated from SL in the future will match the Bronocs performance in SL that season. We now have a PT coach who has only managed lower level L1 teams, he also has another job as Jamica coach so won't be able to provide the attention to the Bronocs that Ward and Langley did.
So whichever way you paint it, we are much weaker than last year which was a shambles in itself, and we will be in the relegation mix, even if we avoid it, its only going to be by 1 or 2 places.
HOW popular is your club?
in The General Rugby League Forum
Posted
considering A) the weakness of the Broncos squad, and B) 90% of the stadium empty considering it would be a monday night game so very few away fans could make it, makes it not very attractive to show.
I'd expect only one Broncos game all season on Premier, and that away in a relegation 6 pointer towards the end of the season