Dr Marwan

[Toby Chopra]

On 14/10/2019 at 14:23, fighting irish said:

 

Your comments are interesting. I'm surprised though at the finality of your conclusion that London will never have a big club.

I take your point that London doesn't need a big club to host massive events or to develop players but I think the game would benefit, by a big club in London and its ability to host (and fill) massive events would be enhanced by the existence of a big club there. The same goes for the development of young players. I don't believe the game has ever invested in the development of the game in a professional manner, in London or anywhere else for that matter and the growth which has come about has been as a result of the ad-hoc, random efforts of plucky enthusiasts unwilling to take ''no'' for an answer.

Thankfully Newcastle are demonstrating that it is possible to spread the game in virgin territory, with the right approach. We just need to model what they are doing and treat it with the respect it deserves and replicate the model elsewhere (London especially).

As a salesman, I believe you can sell an excellent product anywhere.  Even in the harshest and most hostile environment, if you are skillful at what you do.

I'm not prepared to accept that the game will ''never'' have a big club in London, but the seeds have to be planted far and wide, tended to and nurtured till its possible to harvest everything the club needs from London.

 

Not criticising at all the Geordies' current fantastic efforts, but what does Newcastle have that London as a whole doesn't already? The capital has two professional teams, a fair number of community clubs and programs, and a functional pathway that links the two that has produced Superleague players.  Outside the northern heartland, it's the best area for RL in the country. 

What London doesn't have is a commercially sucessful SL team pulling 8-9k+ a week - and despite being a southerner I'm afraid I agree with the previous poster here, I don't think it's ever going to happen as the London sports market in general, and the 'professional club rugby' market in particular is saturated. Marwan should spend his money elsewhere. 

[fighting irish]

18 hours ago, Toby Chopra said:

Not criticising at all the Geordies' current fantastic efforts, but what does Newcastle have that London as a whole doesn't already? The capital has two professional teams, a fair number of community clubs and programs, and a functional pathway that links the two that has produced Superleague players.  Outside the northern heartland, it's the best area for RL in the country. 

What London doesn't have is a commercially sucessful SL team pulling 8-9k+ a week - and despite being a southerner I'm afraid I agree with the previous poster here, I don't think it's ever going to happen as the London sports market in general, and the 'professional club rugby' market in particular is saturated. Marwan should spend his money elsewhere. 

What Newcastle do and have been doing for decades is introducing school children (in greater numbers each year) to Rugby League. More than a generation later they are, I believe, approaching a critical mass, at which point the game may grow spontaneously. I can't predict, if that will happen, or how long it will take, but what's interesting to me, is they don't see it as a job with an endpoint.

They see it as an ongoing (never-ending) part of their marketing processes, one which will embed the game in the local community and provide not just some Super League quality players but eventually, hundreds of them. They will also produce new amateur clubs, local leagues, all the spectators that a Super League club will need, all the local ''good will'' that local businesses will be keen to associate themselves with and contribute to its growth. They will play their part in the ascent of the club, through the leagues, to the top and increase the interest in the club (and the super league) from further afield, thereby increasing television revenue.

The second law of thermodynamics, simply put, says you don't get something for nothing, or if you prefer, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Newcastle recognize this natural law and their seeding the process to ensure that a happy, healthy and prosperous future is secured.

Their not leaving it to luck, like almost everyone else in Rugby League, their taking responsibility for a fully integrated approach to establishing the game in the North East. I admire their realism and their willingness to shoulder the burden rather than just hope. Good luck to them. 

 

[DiH68]

I don’t think Newcastle’s success and having Mick Hogan as their chairman is any coincidence. He started his career as the North East’s RL development officer - I did a bit of work with him at the time as part of my sports studies degree at Northumbria Uni - and he knows the region’s union and league development inside out. He’s also gone on to have top jobs at Wigan and in union, so he knows his stuff. He’ll know exactly what needs to be done to make things work up there 

[fighting irish]

1 hour ago, DiH68 said:

I don’t think Newcastle’s success and having Mick Hogan as their chairman is any coincidence. He started his career as the North East’s RL development officer - I did a bit of work with him at the time as part of my sports studies degree at Northumbria Uni - and he knows the region’s union and league development inside out. He’s also gone on to have top jobs at Wigan and in union, so he knows his stuff. He’ll know exactly what needs to be done to make things work up there 

I don't know why the RFL haven't asked him to create a written model (plan) based on his experiences, which could be rolled out right across the country, either by the RFL using employed development officers, or by Super League clubs, willing to invest, or even by (for example) the Welsh, Scottish or Irish Rugby Leagues. The purpose of the document is to capture what works well (and what doesn't) so that the user gets the maximum return on their efforts rather than wasting a lot of time and effort trying to re-invent the wheel.