Brian McDermott

[Stag Fan]

I suspect we'll be fielding Skolars' reserve thirteen next season with you as coach.

What Skolars have a reserve team?. Oh yes the ones that have blob games this year.

[RP London]

It would have to be an arms-length type of arrangement rather than the governing body itself running the club. A bit like a government/quango set-up.

Or would that be a quingo?

Sorry...

i'm assuimng that that was all a set up for quingo.. if so then fair play

if not then i dont agree

[Lobbygobbler]

Any chance they'll be out of the Stoop next year and change back to London RLFC?

I really hope so otherwise next year will be a disaster. Complete failure at the Stoop as it was last time

[RP London]

Any chance they'll be out of the Stoop next year and change back to London RLFC?

I really hope so otherwise next year will be a disaster. Complete failure at the Stoop as it was last time

surely it will depend, as always, on if there is a better offer out there. ie does anyone want them, cost, rebranding costs etc etc etc etc etc same old argument.. yes quins may not be great but what else is on the table for them (yuou will of course speculate on where they should go etc without any knowedlge of whether said ground/team would even be interested!)

[gingerjon]

What Skolars have a reserve team?. Oh yes the ones that have blob games this year.

Harsh words.

[Lobbygobbler]

surely it will depend, as always, on if there is a better offer out there. ie does anyone want them, cost, rebranding costs etc etc etc etc etc same old argument.. yes quins may not be great but what else is on the table for them (yuou will of course speculate on where they should go etc without any knowedlge of whether said ground/team would even be interested!)

Anywhere is better than the Stoop. Sub-1.5k crowds will be the norm next year if they stay

Better to go back to being London RLFC, pay more rent and cut player costs by fielding an entire London team. Even if they come bottom (like this year) it doesn't matter

[RP London]

Anywhere is better than the Stoop. Sub-1.5k crowds will be the norm next year if they stay

Better to go back to being London RLFC, pay more rent and cut player costs by fielding an entire London team. Even if they come bottom (like this year) it doesn't matter

there may well be no one who will have them no matter what the rent..

oh and no its not better if it sends you totally bust never to be seen again.. if they need to stay at the stoop for the year to get them something sorted long term then so be it.. but you are intelligent to know that it very much does matter the balance of the finances, another short term (one year)change etc.. their next move/re brand has to be long term etc a short term move again would pretty much kill it stone dead more so than staying at the stoop for a year while sorting the long term future out.

Edited August 18, 2010 by RP London

[Lobbygobbler]

there may well be no one who will have them no matter what the rent..

oh and no its not better if it sends you totally bust never to be seen again.. if they need to stay at the stoop for the year to get them something sorted long term then so be it.. but you are intelligent to know that it very much does matter the balance of the finances, another short term (one year)change etc.. their next move/re brand has to be long term etc a short term move again would pretty much kill it stone dead more so than staying at the stoop for a year while sorting the long term future out.

Find it hard to believe that not a single stadium in London would be possible. Must be plenty of soccer clubs who are not that flush

[RP London]

Find it hard to believe that not a single stadium in London would be possible. Must be plenty of soccer clubs who are not that flush

its not necessariloy about being that flush and having them desperate to have you in there.. you need something in return and also some clubs just dont want the extra possible expense, the extra usage onpitch etc.. we have had this discussion so many times before.

[Lobbygobbler]

its not necessariloy about being that flush and having them desperate to have you in there.. you need something in return and also some clubs just dont want the extra possible expense, the extra usage onpitch etc.. we have had this discussion so many times before.

But many RL clubs have tiny soccer clubs playing on their pitches up north, so I'm sure that a few extra quid is worthwhile. Prob not at premiership clubs but there are many other stadiums in and around London

Also I'm sure Quins RL will go bust anyway if they stay at the Stoop as crowds are so dire (and will get worse)

[burke]

Rumour doing the rounds at Trinty v Warrington game last Sunday was that Quins have applied to move to Milton Keynes for next season, Quins backer wants to move the francise out of London but Brian felt that this would be letting down all those people who have done such a great job at ` grass roots` level in London. Backer fed up of running club at huge loss. Players do not want to relocate to MK and there are arguments re whether it makes their contracts null and void. There is also some sort of SL rule saying that you can only move a francise 12 miles ( sounds daft to me , why 12 miles ? ) so the Quins owner / backer is saying to SL either allow me to move to MK or I pull out, precedent set with Crusaders. Terrace rumours are normaly rubbish, has anyone else heard of a proposed move to MK. Would hate to see London not represented in SL. A good friend of mine coaches at one of the London academies and often reports how fantastic junior RL is in London, it would be a disaster if these very talented young London based, recent RL converts, did not have a SL club to sign for.

[Wolford6]

it would be a disaster if these very talented young London based, recent RL converts, did not have a SL club to sign for.

In fairness, that would be no different to the situation in Cumbria and South Wales.

I think Brisbane Road would be the best solution, though the pitch looks a bit short ... a tie-in with Barry Hearn would be good for the sport.

[Big Picture]

In fairness, that would be no different to the situation in Cumbria and South Wales.

I think Brisbane Road would be the best solution, though the pitch looks a bit short ... a tie-in with Barry Hearn would be good for the sport.

According to the information here it's 115 yards long and 80 wide, or 105 by 73 metres. The uncertain part is whether that's the length between the soccer goal lines or not, and how much room there is behind the soccer goals though it looks tight from the pictures they have there. Capacity's low too, under 10,000.

[THE RED ROOSTER]

Rumour doing the rounds at Trinty v Warrington game last Sunday was that Quins have applied to move to Milton Keynes for next season, Quins backer wants to move the francise out of London but Brian felt that this would be letting down all those people who have done such a great job at ` grass roots` level in London. Backer fed up of running club at huge loss. Players do not want to relocate to MK and there are arguments re whether it makes their contracts null and void. There is also some sort of SL rule saying that you can only move a francise 12 miles ( sounds daft to me , why 12 miles ? ) so the Quins owner / backer is saying to SL either allow me to move to MK or I pull out, precedent set with Crusaders. Terrace rumours are normaly rubbish, has anyone else heard of a proposed move to MK. Would hate to see London not represented in SL. A good friend of mine coaches at one of the London academies and often reports how fantastic junior RL is in London, it would be a disaster if these very talented young London based, recent RL converts, did not have a SL club to sign for.

Its a reasonable assumption that if rumours of a move to MK Dons were true it would have leaked on the MK Dons forum. It appears not to have

http://www.mkdonsforum.org/

Considering the position Wakefield are in perhaps someone has an ulterior motive for starting this rumour

Two other points

Why would the rent at MK Dons be less than that currently being paid at The Stoop?

Who at MK Dons would want a Rugby League club on site ?

As I have said before on this forum. if starting a league from scatch Milton Keynes would be an option but not as a venue for relocation unless someone in MK is buying Ian Lenargan's stake.

[Blind side johnny]

Would losing Quins/London RLFC be such a disaster for the sport (as against for their fans)?

[RP London]

Would losing Quins/London RLFC be such a disaster for the sport (as against for their fans)?

disaster no

bad yes...

disatster is a strong word, supre league would have to learn to cope without the possible extra tv money that arguably london brings in.. the presnece in London at the moment would not be missed but the if they were to get the next incarnation right or they were to get quins right then the presences and what they can add s huge.

It would potentially be a disaster for RL in London which in turn would be bad for the sport as a whole and would mean it taking a big backward step. It would need to be very very well managed in london without a super league club and with only skolars as club for players to aspire to.

the junior work at Quins/London RLFC is truley aout 8-10 years old.. when you look at the quality of junior coming torugh at the moment from a non RL area that has only had 8-10 years of proper youth development going for it then it is doing fantastically well and shows what could happen. Michael Worrincy at Bradford, Rob Worrincy at Halifax, Will sharp going to HUll, LMS arguably one of hte best props in the country, Tony Clubb England international, Jamie O'Callaghan, Olsi Krasniqui, Lamont Bryan all looking far from out of hteir depth in the super league. None of these kids would be playing if it wasnt for hte junior work being done throughout London and then the Super league club to take them under their wing. All of these kids will help underpin Super League sides they are not just tokens.

disaster is a strong word but it certainly would cause issues, it would also possibly cause the loss of a very good possible region for future players which opens up a large potential pool..

It may well not if properly managed but it is a huge risk, and if Quins or whatever they would be called got it right it would be huge..

[Agbrigg]

Its a reasonable assumption that if rumours of a move to MK Dons were true it would have leaked on the MK Dons forum. It appears not to have

http://www.mkdonsforum.org/

Considering the position Wakefield are in perhaps someone has an ulterior motive for starting this rumour

.

This was all started by players and their agents. They are using this as a contract get out clause and touting their services to M62 clubs.

[The Future is League]

Would losing Quins/London RLFC be such a disaster for the sport (as against for their fans)?

just a word of warning here. its already been said by someone at Red Hall that without a Super League club in London the last TV deal would have been less. if fans of Super League clubs are prepared for their clubs to take a cut in TV money because they don't want a Super League in Club in London then so be it. if fans of Super League clubs think they will get a good a deal without a Super League club in London they are deluded.

[gingerjon]

Would losing Quins/London RLFC be such a disaster for the sport (as against for their fans)?

Given that we're not overflowing with clubs at any level of the game the demise of any team is a disaster.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

It seems that no-one here apart from me watched 'Boot 'n All' last night where Stevo said that he'd rung David Hughes yesterday afternoon and asked him if he could guarantee the Quins would be around in 2011 and he replied 'no'. Thing are looking more than a little grim in London now.

[EastLondonMike]

i think a move to brisbane road would be a good one, although not sure about the pitch size. Barry hearn would be a good person to be involved if it was doing well, but is the type of person to walk away at the first sign of trouble.

the olympic stadium would no doubt be the most expensive to rent, but could maybe put any new London RL club bases at brisbane road in a position to take a few of the big games there (you can actually see the stadium from brisbane road).. and west ham will only be renting the stadium. West ham might not want to portray this to their fans, but i know it to be true.

so it would be possible to use it for RL games.

[gingerjon]

It seems that no-one here apart from me watched 'Boot 'n All' last night where Stevo said that he'd rung David Hughes yesterday afternoon and asked him if he could guarantee the Quins would be around in 2011 and he replied 'no'.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Why don't they use the Crusaders model? (OK, it's hardly a model, but here me out...)

Move the franchise to another ground, and leave a semi-pro club in its wake. So if they move to Oxford, than Harlequins Rugby League could start again like South Wales Scorpions and build from there. It's a way to keep the interest that was generated (however small) and if there is potential, then no doubt it can grow from there.

There doesn't need to be a pro club in London IMO. There needs to be one in the south to take advantage of the player development going on there, but it doesn't have to necessarily be IN London.

[thirteenthman]

It seems that no-one here apart from me watched 'Boot 'n All' last night where Stevo said that he'd rung David Hughes yesterday afternoon and asked him if he could guarantee the Quins would be around in 2011 and he replied 'no'. Thing are looking more than a little grim in London now.

Yeah I saw that. It follows on from Stevo's near weekly piece alluding to this in his LE column. I would imagine David Hughes wouldn't have said something like that to a TV presenter, even off the record, unless he was serious. The biggest worry if the Quins go under is what would happen to the development programme. The RFL could carry on, but what incentive is there for young London lads without a top level team to play for? The RFU would be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of all those juniors suddenly looking for somewhere to go.

Stevo was bang on about people in the north who wouldn't care if London was lost to SL. There's enough of them on here. But still, as long as it gives another team from the Championship a chance at SL, who cares? Unbelievable.

[Agbrigg]

Stevo was bang on about people in the north who wouldn't care if London was lost to SL. There's enough of them on here. But still, as long as it gives another team from the Championship a chance at SL, who cares? Unbelievable.

I for one feel that a London club is very important. Also from what I hear the financial situation at Crusaders is not that good either and there could be doubts about their future also. I don't think the RFL can financially back both clubs but they should do all they can to stick by a club in the capital. However thats where it should be located and not in the Midlands.