London Broncos Moving Update

[gingerjon]

2 minutes ago, Ivarr the Boneless said:

A statement has emerged from the club. It doesn't add much to the known picture TBH.

https://londonbroncosrl.com/news/plough-lane-update/

A free trial of Grammarly should be next on their To Do list.

[welshmagpie]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

A free trial of Grammarly should be next on their To Do list.

Barely a comma in sight! My poor eyes. 

[Man of Kent]

3 hours ago, Ivarr the Boneless said:

A statement has emerged from the club. It doesn't add much to the known picture TBH.

https://londonbroncosrl.com/news/plough-lane-update/

'Partnership' and 'community' are encouraging words. If the Broncos can tap into the (award-winning) community work AFC Wimbledon does in Merton, Kingston and Wandsworth, that can only be a good thing.

[gingerjon]

6 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

'Partnership' and 'community' are encouraging words. If the Broncos can tap into the (award-winning) community work AFC Wimbledon does in Merton, Kingston and Wandsworth, that can only be a good thing.

How do you propose they do that?

[Ivarr the Boneless]

I hope it does turn into a genuine partnership, frankly that may save the Broncos. However; with the club seemingly downsizing behind the scenes who will be there to put the hours in that requires? Not to mention the damascene conversion that would be required.

I'm long enough in the tooth to remember the partnership we launched with Carcassonne the day we played Wire there...

[Man of Kent]

15 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

How do you propose they do that?

Nothing stopping Broncos doing community work with DLAG (Dons Local Action Group). I can picture stories of Broncos players getting involved. This sort of thing: https://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/2021/february/dons-players-deliver-the-goods/

[gingerjon]

33 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Nothing stopping Broncos doing community work with DLAG (Dons Local Action Group). I can picture stories of Broncos players getting involved. This sort of thing: https://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/2021/february/dons-players-deliver-the-goods/

So, join the dots for me, that looks like excellent work, but how does it get more people through the turnstiles?

[Man of Kent]

21 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

So, join the dots for me, that looks like excellent work, but how does it get more people through the turnstiles?

Maybe they'll slip a ticket in food parcels!!!

On a more serious note, it generates visibility and goodwill in the community (and among Wimbledon fans). Done well, Wimbledon fans could take Broncos to their hearts and increasing numbers turn up to watch them in the new ground - particularly in summer when there's no football.

What must be avoided is an Us vs Them situation like the Wigan clubs.  

[Hopping Mad]

7 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

What must be avoided is an Us vs Them situation like the Wigan clubs.  

Pretty much the position at Halifax.

[Man of Kent]

6 minutes ago, Hopping Mad said:

Pretty much the position at Halifax.

The difference, I hope, is - frankly - the Broncos will know their place. There won't be any 'We're the biggest club in the town' stuff like you get at Wigan. 

Similarly, if AFCW fans see the Broncos as an asset - not a threat, or a nuisance - then the 'partnership' should flourish.

[ATLANTISMAN]

I am really going to miss the community feel of Ealing nice hospitality bars all in all a great day out.

As much as I understand the need for a larger ground for Super League aspirations personally I prefer nowadays the Championship.

For me rugby of either code is a West London thing.

Paul

[THE RED ROOSTER]

I was in a good mood before I logged into TRL....

The significant part of the Dons statement, is what it does not say, Unlike the previous minuted meeting there is no mentioon of free admission for Wimbledon fans or the Yellow and Blue strip.

It also makes it quite clear that August is the first time London Broncos will be playing at Plough Lane. That they will be paying a minimum of £ 200,000 in rent and a percentage of bar takings and ticket sales. That's not to mention the rental agreements with Rossyn Park RUFC and the Richmond Athletic Trust With the money coming to Championship Clubs being cut, as with Brentford, rental payments will soon exceed revenue. Even a chimpanzee would be able to work that out.

In the last, successful championship season in 2018, London Broncos Home average attendance was 896. If you assume 300 away fans and a further 200 former attenders at Ealing no longer going for a variety of reasons, that leaves you with around 400 fans. So I would expect matchday attendances between 450-550 at Plough Lane. Tha's not sustainable and the sporting economics of the madhouse.

The departure from Ealing was an amicable one with the rental agreement expiring on 31st October 2020. The London Broncos felt they could maximise revenue away from Ealing by increasing season ticket numbers, match day attendances, commercial partners and hospitality. The club also claimed it had been told by Super League that it would need an alternate venue should they be promoted 

Jermaine Coleman has mentioned London Broncos looking at New River Stadium which is in no way Super League standard, but does fit in with the Commercial managers original wheeze to make the club part-time as is the case with his favourite team Featherstone Rovers (true). New River is still an option for Broncos now pending taking up residence at Plough Lane, though I think it will be Richmond.

As for getting promoted to Super League, The Broncos have a good coaching staff and a reasonable starting XIII at championship level which should make the top four with the caveat that this is all dependent upon remaining injury free. While the desire to use locally developed talent in the first team squad is laudable. there is more than a whiff of the London Poundland sides from over a decade ago at The Stoop.

Fair play to the Dons for being far more open with their fans than London Broncos are as the Official Supporters Club has said nothing. I expect the Dons to go from strength to strength but I do not think London Breoncos will be around as a club by 2023 or at least not the cloub as recognised today.

[Man of Kent]

13 minutes ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:

In the last, successful championship season in 2018, London Broncos Home average attendance was 896. If you assume 300 away fans and a further 200 former attenders at Ealing no longer going for a variety of reasons, that leaves you with around 400 fans. So I would expect matchday attendances between 450-550 at Plough Lane. Tha's not sustainable and the sporting economics of the madhouse.

I don’t think that’s a fair assessment given the Ealing facilities vs Plough Lane. 

[Click]

"As we have done throughout this process we will continue to allow the Dons to lead the media output as a matter of courtesy to their Football Club and Supporters."

To lead the media output? It wouldn't have taken much for them to put out a statement or two following one of the Dons output. You know, to give the impression they care about existing supporters.

I am losing more and more love for the Broncos with every time I see any communication from them, so may be it's good that they're not communicating much. 

It is becoming more and more of a joke with every passing day. 

And still no word on where we will be playing next weekend. I know fans aren't able to attend, but it's a bloody awful that we don't know where our first game of the season is going to be.

[ATLANTISMAN]

1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

I don’t think that’s a fair assessment given the Ealing facilities vs Plough Lane. 

Guys I dont want to start an argument here and will just try to give a balanced view.

My own opinion as a massive fan of the Broncos is that moving away from Ealing is not a good move (I completely understand MOK being a Wimbledon and Broncos fan of wanting it to be a success) however I personally (I hope I am 100% wrong) do not see fans flocking to Wimbledon (In reality Merton) Rugby of either code is best in West London and with the right promotion the Broncos can build the crowds back up again.

If we end up attracting 450/550 fans and have to pay all this rent then its pretty pointless IMHO maybe we would be better doing a deal with Richmond Rugby and investing in their stadium upgrade seating etc the CEO there Jimmy Wallace is a super guy and I am sure would be open to a long term deal, remember Richmond were in the RU Premiership in the early days of professional RU a small amount of investment could easily upgrade it to a nice round ground, and with great transport connections to Richmond not too mention pubs restaurants etc for me its the perfect place.

Lets get real here 5000 would be a success and a simple upgrade at Richmond could easily handle this. 

 

Paul

 

Paul

[ATLANTISMAN]

1 minute ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Guys I dont want to start an argument here and will just try to give a balanced view.

My own opinion as a massive fan of the Broncos is that moving away from Ealing is not a good move (I completely understand MOK being a Wimbledon and Broncos fan of wanting it to be a success) however I personally (I hope I am 100% wrong) do not see fans flocking to Wimbledon (In reality Merton) Rugby of either code is best in West London and with the right promotion the Broncos can build the crowds back up again.

If we end up attracting 450/550 fans and have to pay all this rent then its pretty pointless IMHO maybe we would be better doing a deal with Richmond Rugby and investing in their stadium upgrade seating etc the CEO there Jimmy Wallace is a super guy and I am sure would be open to a long term deal, remember Richmond were in the RU Premiership in the early days of professional RU a small amount of investment could easily upgrade it to a nice all round ground, and with great transport connections to Richmond not too mention pubs restaurants etc for me its the perfect place.

Lets get real here 5000 would be a success and a simple upgrade at Richmond could easily handle this. 

 

Paul

 

Paul

 

[THE RED ROOSTER]

1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

I don’t think that’s a fair assessment given the Ealing facilities vs Plough Lane. 

MOK - Shiny Stadium theory does not work, I go to grounds to wtach Rugby League, facilties don't matter as much, I am sure I am not alone in that - The Hive home of Barnet FC was a shiny stadium with an Underground station nearby and a business arrangement much like the one that the London Broncos are about to enter into. The average attendance of the London Broncos for championship rugby in 2014 was just 645 and remember its championshuip rugby that's on offer. and the Broncos are a club that sheds fans every time it moves.

In another sign of the Stalinism sweeping the club, I can confirm that the person in charge of the club website is indeed deleting posts critical of the move and season ticket price rise on Twitter and Facebook. The rumors are true, for I have witnessed perfectly polite postings dissapear within hours.

I should add this is not something that I personally have done, not being on Twitter or Facebook, but as you might have gathered from my postings on here I would have been a bit more expressive in my views and propably broken the user policy...

[Man of Kent]

2 minutes ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:

MOK - Shiny Stadium theory does not work, I go to grounds to wtach Rugby League, facilties don't matter as much, I am sure I am not alone in that - The Hive home of Barnet FC was a shiny stadium with an Underground station nearby and a business arrangement much like the one that the London Broncos are about to enter into. The average attendance of the London Broncos for championship rugby in 2014 was just 645 and remember its championshuip rugby that's on offer. and the Broncos are a club that sheds fans every time it moves.

The Hive is a drab municipal stadium. I don’t expect huge crowds in the Championship at Plough Lane but it’ll be better than you expect. Shiny stadium theory does work, actually. 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

9 hours ago, Ivarr the Boneless said:

A statement has emerged from the club. It doesn't add much to the known picture TBH.

https://londonbroncosrl.com/news/plough-lane-update/

Ok, so just to clarify, we’ll know whether or not the Wimbledon fans will accept us as tenants for our new home ground 11 days after our 1st home match? Great news! Classic Broncos

[ATLANTISMAN]

2 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

I don’t think that’s a fair assessment given the Ealing facilities vs Plough Lane. 

 

I personally think that everyone at the Broncos is doing their best (Its not easy in London) we all have opinions and many on here I agree with.

Over the years at the Broncos there have been some really decent people Nic Cartwright Tony Rae as CEO,s its a really difficult job in London.

I do think though that we are fast approaching the end game and David Hughes (Who needs a medal for his services to Rugby League) needs to group together those that really know about London Broncos, what it needs and listen to take on board different opinions to take things forward.

Main thing is to create multiple revenue streams on a long term basis .

It can be done 

Old Northern Soul saying KEEP THE FAITH:)

 

Paul

 

 

[Stuff Smith]

I've said this on here before, but many many years' ago, my girlfriend regularly asked me why I supported a team that was so ****. (And she was talking about their performance on the pitch.)

It's a penance was always my answer. But I'm beginning to think I've atoned enough: it may well be just Elite One and NRL for me from now on in.

 

 

[Stuff Smith]

So to respond to ATLANTISMAN's post, you can't KEEP THE FAITH when there's no faith left.

[ATLANTISMAN]

2 minutes ago, Stuff Smith said:

I've said this on here before, but many many years' ago, my girlfriend regularly asked me why I supported a team that was so ****. (And she was talking about their performance on the pitch.)

It's a penance was always my answer. But I'm beginning to think I've atoned enough: it may well be just Elite One and NRL for me from now on in.

 

 

AHH SS one can change your missus but never your football/rugby league/cricket team for me Beckenham Town/London Broncos and Kent

 

P 

[ATLANTISMAN]

7 minutes ago, Stuff Smith said:

So to respond to ATLANTISMAN's post, you can't KEEP THE FAITH when there's no faith left.

SS (I am a bit uncomfortable referring you to SS:)so from now on STUFF:)

I fully understand it can be frustrating however what is needed is engagement with the powers to be in a nice practical way.

Everyone is doing their best DIPLOMACY Is the best way forward.

 

P 

[Man of Kent]

23 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

 

I personally think that everyone at the Broncos is doing their best (Its not easy in London) we all have opinions and many on here I agree with.

Over the years at the Broncos there have been some really decent people Nic Cartwright Tony Rae as CEO,s its a really difficult job in London.

I do think though that we are fast approaching the end game and David Hughes (Who needs a medal for his services to Rugby League) needs to group together those that really know about London Broncos, what it needs and listen to take on board different opinions to take things forward.

Main thing is to create multiple revenue streams on a long term basis .

It can be done 

Old Northern Soul saying KEEP THE FAITH:)

 

Paul

 

 

Well said.

The self-indulgent negativity bordering on fatalism from some fans is understandable but LB should be applauded for recognising there was no future at Ealing and acting quickly to approach AFCW.

It’s an ambitious move but potentially a great one. Just don’t expect miracles from day one.