Swinton at Home

[RoryBel]

7 hours ago, The Lad said:

It's funny that the Swinton chairman seems to be pushing for the game to be called off and the points given to the Lions, I thought as a chair of a rugby club rugby would be a priority and making sure the fans see as many games a possible, so helping Hornets find a suitable place to host the game instead of moaning on twitter would be a start. But I suppose points on the board are more important even if you get them underhandedly.

Shows what kind of 'Chairman' he is, ranting on Social Media. Quite embarrassing for Swinton I think, not to mention very unprofessional. 

I bet if you asked the players on both teams what they want, the answer will be to play it. I've always said theres too many big dogs and political nonsense involved in this sport that is spoiling it. 

Looking forward to the game tomorrow 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

5 hours ago, DiddyDave said:

Why do these problems only seem to affect Dale and Hornets? You don`t hear the same things happening at other football/league shared grounds. Wigan,Hull and Huddersfield are three I know of and they don`t have these shambolic episodes. 

They go through groundsmen like no other club. Most clubs groundsmen have been in place for years, at the football club they don't seem to last a season. So there's no continuity of treatment of the pitch.

A cynic could complain that none of this really affects the football club directly and if Hornets suffer, they think so what, maybe they'll go somewhere else. This problem seems to have got much worse since the shares in the ground were sold back to them funnily enough.

[Heywood Tiger]

2 hours ago, RoryBel said:

Shows what kind of 'Chairman' he is, ranting on Social Media. Quite embarrassing for Swinton I think, not to mention very unprofessional. 

I bet if you asked the players on both teams what they want, the answer will be to play it. I've always said theres too many big dogs and political nonsense involved in this sport that is spoiling it. 

Looking forward to the game tomorrow 

Lost a lot of respect for Andy Mazey after reading his comments on Twitter. As a senior club official I don’t expect to see him commenting negatively so publicly like that. 

[ormskirknet]

Get on with it!

Spotland not being available isn’t Hornets fault, but I do get the frustration this didn’t come out sooner.

Mayfield is a more than suitable one-off alternative for this game and the two teams involved, let’s be honest there’s not going to 1000’s crammed in is there? It’s held pro games in the past after all and will do again when required, is it as good as Spotland or Sale, no it’s not, is it suitable? Course it is, the RFL has approved it, what’s the issue?

Hornets have problems for sure, but there working on these on and off the pitch, I’m not sure how sustainable sharing Spotland is these days but it is what it is.

With the many problems Swinton have had over the years with finding a home, surely they can sympathise with what Hornets are faced with over this weekends game? Hornets have tried to get a game on is about all they are guilty of.

Having said that some folk always want a moan, some of the comments about cancelling the game and giving the 2 points up are laughable, we’ve already played away at Swinton so it can’t be reversed, the AJ Bell would cost a fortune, playing at Mayfield really is the best compromise at such short notice. Leaving a postponement as the only real option or Unless Swinton have genuine, specific H&S non compliance issues at Mayfield then just refuse to turn out and we’ll gladly take the points

Don’t get me wrong health, safety and welfare should always take precedence despite my own view that Mayfield is an acceptable alternative, but other than actually stating specific issues it just sounds like sour grapes over previous RFL guidance on where Swinton can play. Let’s see what they make of it when they arrive, this saga may run and run, until we see both teams on the pitch at kick off time who knows......

Good game on paper, Lions will want to rub it in and further secure there Championship status while Hornets desperately trying to get a win in what’s proved an awful season. Two old rivals on a sunny Sunday afternoon playing the game we all love.....let’s just get on with it eh? Not perfect but hey whenever has RL been perfect; game on let’s play.

God help us if Hornets win......

[glemiln]

From Twitter - Swinton’s Chairman

”Denied access to carry out an health and safety inspection this morning of a non complaint (compliant - spelling error I presume?) facility sadly so we just have to roll with it now”.

I am sure the players and most followers were only too pleased to roll with the enforced situation, without the noises off,  and what should be an engrossing game.

[Athleticgrounds]

10 hours ago, DiddyDave said:

Why do these problems only seem to affect Dale and Hornets? You don`t hear the same things happening at other football/league shared grounds. Wigan,Hull and Huddersfield are three I know of and they don`t have these shambolic episodes. 

Because Rochdale Football Club have a total disrespect for Hornets, we are a necessary inconvenience to them, we are treated with utter disdain. Unfortunately we also have a CEO whom when he is not on holiday, rarely seems to standup to the powers that be at RAFC.

[Athleticgrounds]

59 minutes ago, ormskirknet said:

Get on with it!

Spotland not being available isn’t Hornets fault, but I do get the frustration this didn’t come out sooner.

Mayfield is a more than suitable one-off alternative for this game and the two teams involved, let’s be honest there’s not going to 1000’s crammed in is there? It’s held pro games in the past after all and will do again when required, is it as good as Spotland or Sale, no it’s not, is it suitable? Course it is, the RFL has approved it, what’s the issue?

Hornets have problems for sure, but there working on these on and off the pitch, I’m not sure how sustainable sharing Spotland is these days but it is what it is.

With the many problems Swinton have had over the years with finding a home, surely they can sympathise with what Hornets are faced with over this weekends game? Hornets have tried to get a game on is about all they are guilty of.

Having said that some folk always want a moan, some of the comments about cancelling the game and giving the 2 points up are laughable, we’ve already played away at Swinton so it can’t be reversed, the AJ Bell would cost a fortune, playing at Mayfield really is the best compromise at such short notice. Leaving a postponement as the only real option or Unless Swinton have genuine, specific H&S non compliance issues at Mayfield then just refuse to turn out and we’ll gladly take the points

Don’t get me wrong health, safety and welfare should always take precedence despite my own view that Mayfield is an acceptable alternative, but other than actually stating specific issues it just sounds like sour grapes over previous RFL guidance on where Swinton can play. Let’s see what they make of it when they arrive, this saga may run and run, until we see both teams on the pitch at kick off time who knows......

Good game on paper, Lions will want to rub it in and further secure there Championship status while Hornets desperately trying to get a win in what’s proved an awful season. Two old rivals on a sunny Sunday afternoon playing the game we all love.....let’s just get on with it eh? Not perfect but hey whenever has RL been perfect; game on let’s play.

God help us if Hornets win......

It's going to rain....

[ormskirknet]

13 minutes ago, Athleticgrounds said:

It's going to rain....

That’s Hornets fault too! Outrageous....RFL  are a joke

[Mark]

On another note, I’m coming on the train from Swinton, do I get off at castleton and are there any decent pubs on the way in 

[Athleticgrounds]

25 minutes ago, Mark said:

On another note, I’m coming on the train from Swinton, do I get off at castleton and are there any decent pubs on the way in 

Yes get off at Castleton five minute walk. One or two pubs but wear an iron hat

[moorside roughyed]

As an outsider looking in I can't see the problem tbh. It's just one game and as was mentioned in a previous post it's not as though they'll be hundreds watching. They should just get on with it and get the game played. Simple. But that's just me. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, moorside roughyed said:

As an outsider looking in I can't see the problem tbh. It's just one game and as was mentioned in a previous post it's not as though they'll be hundreds watching. They should just get on with it and get the game played. Simple. But that's just me. 

You see, I  told you they're not all daft in Oldham. Words of wisdom from over the hill.

It's pretty obvious that now we've served our purpose and relinquished the shares we are more of less surplus to requirements as far as the football club are concerned. I don't find that surprising given who we're dealing with.

When they've sold all the paintings off the wall in terms of the dosh from the Keith Hill signings normal service will be resumed and maybe things will change. Without that recent financial input they'd be in the same boat as Bury and Bolton.

[ipods4ever]

7 hours ago, Mark said:

On another note, I’m coming on the train from Swinton, do I get off at castleton and are there any decent pubs on the way in 

There's the blue pits to left and the Midland to the right blue pits probably the best 

[RoryBel]

54 minutes ago, ipods4ever said:

There's the blue pits to left and the Midland to the right blue pits probably the best 

To be fair, I'd wait until I got to Mayfield

[Anita Bath]

Club on ground does great food and beer.

[Mark]

Cheers everyone, we will try them both out and have a few drinks. If we survive I’ll see you at the ground 

[clifford]

For me Mayfield's ground may be not spotland or the athletic ground but it has more cover than whitbank and its not plastic 

[moorside roughyed]

46 minutes ago, clifford said:

For me Mayfield's ground may be not spotland or the athletic ground but it has more cover than whitbank and its not plastic 

Only been once but what I can remember it's a decent little ground. 

[wayne_r]

Couldn't fault Mayfield's ground today - not that I would look for faults - perfectly adequate as I think there were 600 odd spectators, good pitch and on the day plenty of room to stand or sit. All the staff around the ground were helpful and polite, I think Rochdale missed a trick not charging for car parking though.

A close match today with some good rugby played by both teams...……………..

[glemiln]

Appears to have been a very closely contested derby and I guess in a great local atmosphere. Well done to everyone involved in getting the game played and especially Mayfield for hosting it a short notice. The ground was looking good in the few images seen today - certainly better than in my visits too many years ago and thankfully not held at Salford!

It seems that we are getting closer to Matt’s aims and the recent aquisitions providing us with more bite -  and no dual reg for Hornets today?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Good game today, both sides gave it their all. I thought a draw would have been a fair result but we just came up a bit short. Our game management needs to improve. We need to respect the ball more and stop trying to score on every set of six and be content to build up pressure gradually.

Being pulled up for 3 forward passes inside the Swinton 25 in the first half killed our momentum. The ref spotted every one of our forward passes and he was right to do so but he seemed to miss any forward passes Swinton made. You couldn't fault the effort of all our guys, some of the lads from amateur rugby are starting the look the part now. 

The new French lad looked handy and scored a couple of good tries until Scott Moore pole axed him with a shocking tackle that only merited a yellow when a red was well deserved . Nothing new from Scott though, he always was a penalty machine.

I was encouraged today with our commitment , we made grievous errors on several occasions that cost us points but we never looked downhearted and always came back for more. I can see Matt's starting to have an effect now and a win can't be far off.

Can I also thank the Mayfield Club for their sterling efforts in enabling the game to go ahead and getting us out of a mess that wasn't of our choosing. It was a pleasure to be there. Thanks again from a Hornet. 

[Athleticgrounds]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Good game today, both sides gave it their all. I thought a draw would have been a fair result but we just came up a bit short. Our game management needs to improve. We need to respect the ball more and stop trying to score on every set of six and be content to build up pressure gradually.

Being pulled up for 3 forward passes inside the Swinton 25 in the first half killed our momentum. The ref spotted every one of our forward passes and he was right to do so but he seemed to miss any forward passes Swinton made. You couldn't fault the effort of all our guys, some of the lads from amateur rugby are starting the look the part now. 

The new French lad looked handy and scored a couple of good tries until Scott Moore pole axed him with a shocking tackle that only merited a yellow when a red was well deserved . Nothing new from Scott though, he always was a penalty machine.

I was encouraged today with our commitment , we made grievous errors on several occasions that cost us points but we never looked downhearted and always came back for more. I can see Matt's starting to have an effect now and a win can't be far off.

Can I also thank the Mayfield Club for their sterling efforts in enabling the game to go ahead and getting us our of a mess that wasn't of our choosing. It was a pleasure to be there. Thanks again from a Hornet. 

I couldn't agree more with your observations. Plenty of positives, with a little less referree bias to our opponents, we could have won the game. Mayfield were an absolute credit to Rugby League, their bar staff and catering frankly put RAFC to shame.

[RoryBel]

32 minutes ago, Athleticgrounds said:

I couldn't agree more with your observations. Plenty of positives, with a little less referree bias to our opponents, we could have won the game. Mayfield were an absolute credit to Rugby League, their bar staff and catering frankly put RAFC to shame.

I agree. Great hospitality from Mayfield. I've watched the open age up there on a Saturday and it's a great atmosphere. Sunday mornings are also great with all the youth games on. Very good family centred club, let's not forget, the youth section there is top notch. Worth a visit definitely. 

[Robthegasman]

As a Swinton Lions fan I understand where the Chairman comes from because we at great expense have had to switch venues once or twice but time to move on from that.

And I read the comments about RAFC and the relationship which from what I gather sounds strained or is broken down.

So I wonder if Mayfield’s ground could end up being a suitable venue for Hornets?granted yes it would need refurbishing which though I don’t know the place(didn’t go today)to Championship standard but surely this might not be too expensive to do and perhaps via Lottery funding,Sport England,Rochdale Council And others perhaps money could be found so it could become a home for both Hornets and Mayfield along with the local community?

[DiddyDave]

Good idea,it may well be that it`ll end up that way,but of course the usual parochialisms will no doubt intervene to the detriment of both clubs and that`ll be the end of it. Certainly Hornets are not wanted at the football club,that`s very clear,the RL have let Hornets away with it twice now,but it I can`t keep happening for whatever the reason.