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Batley Bulldogs


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4 hours ago, DOGFATHER said:

And yet Bradford, York and Newcastle would be welcomed in? 

How many of the U19's at Salford, Wakefield, Catalans made it into the first team as regular starters over the last 5 years?

As for being soundly beaten in most games, is that not true about most of the current incumbents and the teams likely to be promoted?

Off top of my head Tom Johnstone, Max Jowitt, James Batchelor, Jordan Crowther, Lee Kershaw all regular 1st teamers. Jack Croft, Yusuf Aydin, Connor Bailey, Ollie Greensmith made 1st team appearances.

 Up the Trin 

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1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

I'm pretty sure the Batley chairman is on the record as saying they don't want to go up. Or they didn't when in the Middle 8s a few years back.

No, 2010 when they were eligible to apply after winning the NRC. So only ten years + ago. But of course things change. Using your logic we won the Challenge cup in 1897 so should be a shoe in for SL now.

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13 minutes ago, WakefieldCityLoyal said:

Has any team been denied promotion due to facilities after winning championship GF?  Dewsbury and Hunslet late 90s? thought they decided against it in the end.  

Keighley?

Sure Dewsbury wanted to go up but were refused, happy to be corrected.

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30 minutes ago, WakefieldCityLoyal said:

Has any team been denied promotion due to facilities after winning championship GF?  Dewsbury and Hunslet late 90s? thought they decided against it in the end.  

Batley, the same season as Keighley that Harry points out above.

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1 hour ago, WakefieldCityLoyal said:

Off top of my head Tom Johnstone, Max Jowitt, James Batchelor, Jordan Crowther, Lee Kershaw all regular 1st teamers. Jack Croft, Yusuf Aydin, Connor Bailey, Ollie Greensmith made 1st team appearances.

 Up the Trin 

Sorry, it wasn't meant as a pop at Trinity. 

I'm sure with £2M a season from central funding, Batley could field an U19s academy.

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28 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Keighley?

Sure Dewsbury wanted to go up but were refused, happy to be corrected.

Maybe wrong but did Dewsbury say they didn’t want to go up after winning gf 99?  Hunslet think I remember a planned rebrand to South Leeds Buffaloes maybe wrong either way whatever reason they didn’t go up after winning GF 

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52 minutes ago, WakefieldCityLoyal said:

Has any team been denied promotion due to facilities after winning championship GF?  Dewsbury and Hunslet late 90s? thought they decided against it in the end.  

Can of worms now open 🤔😀

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8 hours ago, DOGFATHER said:

I am more than a little biased on this subject, but why exactly would it be "mildly embarrassing on and off the pitch"? If Batley completed the impossible and earned the right to promotion... again!

Are the Premiership embarrassed by the likes of Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and Wigan's of the game getting in to the top division? Were they faced with the same small minded parochial thinking by football fans when they earned the right to get to the top.   

Most people in the country love an underdog story. Although our bubble is likely to burst, possibly as early as Saturday, our club is probably better run than most in SL, we have better facilities and a better ground than a lot of them too.

The big question is, why as a sport, do so many people think the likes of Bradford, York or Newcastle should be welcomed in to SL unequivocally, when one has been mismanaged by several owners to biblical proportions, one's best achievement is a single 3rd placed finish, and the other was not even good enough to gain promotion from the bottom tier, despite spending several times what all of their competitors had?

Yet a well run club, with no history of financial issues, like Batley, that has won the NR Cup, been to a Grand Final, and finished in the top 3 on two occasions in very recent history is an embarrassment to the game and top flight?

Could it be, this type of thinking is what is truly holding the game back from becoming the national sport it should be?

A sport where success is not dependent on what happens on the pitch, but rather on the say so of a group of self interested, small time business men, looking to ensure they remain unchallenged at the top of the game.

How attractive is that to potential sponsors? A sport decided by a committee. 

The same people that think Batley are an embarrassment, are the people that wonder why the game can only get sponsorship in the form of a free pizza, and a few pictures on the back of a couple of wagons and wonder why the game is a laughing stock.

How many fans were up in arms over the recent Super League proposal in football, yet, could not see the irony that the self same thing happened in RL all those years ago, and still think it was good for the game?

 

 

👏 absolutely, spot on 👏

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8 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

It would be mildly embarrassing because Batley is a part-time outfit without an U19 Academy, and even if they went FT in Super League would be highly likely to be soundly beaten most games.

The Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and Wigan comparisons aren't really valid. In Batley's case, it would be more like non-league Stockport County being in the Premier League.

Batley are probably closer financially to Wigan than Bournemouth is to Manchester United, the comparison is reasonable to make.

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8 hours ago, DOGFATHER said:

I am more than a little biased on this subject, but why exactly would it be "mildly embarrassing on and off the pitch"? If Batley completed the impossible and earned the right to promotion... again!

Are the Premiership embarrassed by the likes of Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and Wigan's of the game getting in to the top division? Were they faced with the same small minded parochial thinking by football fans when they earned the right to get to the top.   

Most people in the country love an underdog story. Although our bubble is likely to burst, possibly as early as Saturday, our club is probably better run than most in SL, we have better facilities and a better ground than a lot of them too.

The big question is, why as a sport, do so many people think the likes of Bradford, York or Newcastle should be welcomed in to SL unequivocally, when one has been mismanaged by several owners to biblical proportions, one's best achievement is a single 3rd placed finish, and the other was not even good enough to gain promotion from the bottom tier, despite spending several times what all of their competitors had?

Yet a well run club, with no history of financial issues, like Batley, that has won the NR Cup, been to a Grand Final, and finished in the top 3 on two occasions in very recent history is an embarrassment to the game and top flight?

Could it be, this type of thinking is what is truly holding the game back from becoming the national sport it should be?

A sport where success is not dependent on what happens on the pitch, but rather on the say so of a group of self interested, small time business men, looking to ensure they remain unchallenged at the top of the game.

How attractive is that to potential sponsors? A sport decided by a committee. 

The same people that think Batley are an embarrassment, are the people that wonder why the game can only get sponsorship in the form of a free pizza, and a few pictures on the back of a couple of wagons and wonder why the game is a laughing stock.

How many fans were up in arms over the recent Super League proposal in football, yet, could not see the irony that the self same thing happened in RL all those years ago, and still think it was good for the game?

 

 

Absolutely superb post 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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8 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

It’s just my personal view but I’m increasingly of the opinion that only FT clubs with U19 Academies (or, in the case of Catalans and Toulouse, feeder clubs in the French system) should even bother trying with Super League.

Having Batley in Super League would be a sort of waste of everybody’s time, not least Batley themselves.

There is a thread on this forum   "The RFL needs to help save Salford".

I have never seen a thread where it says the RFL need to help save Batley.

Which in your opinion is the most embarrassing?

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Maybe a substantial minority of fans and even possibly several administrators of the game seem to be more concerned with Batley (insert any other club) as a name and as a settlement size than what Batley can do on the pitch, that's not sport is it? It's more geography or demographics than sport........its a mentality people need to snap out of. 

Hoffenheim what an absolute humiliation for the Bundesliga. Could go on and on.........La Liga ...... yep, how embarrassing to have clubs from 'Batley' sized towns......

What can promoting Batley bring to SL ....hmmmm let me think, erm crucially, integrity to the sport would be a biggy.........just for starters. 

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9 hours ago, DOGFATHER said:

I am more than a little biased on this subject, but why exactly would it be "mildly embarrassing on and off the pitch"? If Batley completed the impossible and earned the right to promotion... again!

Are the Premiership embarrassed by the likes of Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth and Wigan's of the game getting in to the top division? Were they faced with the same small minded parochial thinking by football fans when they earned the right to get to the top.   

Most people in the country love an underdog story. Although our bubble is likely to burst, possibly as early as Saturday, our club is probably better run than most in SL, we have better facilities and a better ground than a lot of them too.

The big question is, why as a sport, do so many people think the likes of Bradford, York or Newcastle should be welcomed in to SL unequivocally, when one has been mismanaged by several owners to biblical proportions, one's best achievement is a single 3rd placed finish, and the other was not even good enough to gain promotion from the bottom tier, despite spending several times what all of their competitors had?

Yet a well run club, with no history of financial issues, like Batley, that has won the NR Cup, been to a Grand Final, and finished in the top 3 on two occasions in very recent history is an embarrassment to the game and top flight?

Could it be, this type of thinking is what is truly holding the game back from becoming the national sport it should be?

A sport where success is not dependent on what happens on the pitch, but rather on the say so of a group of self interested, small time business men, looking to ensure they remain unchallenged at the top of the game.

How attractive is that to potential sponsors? A sport decided by a committee. 

The same people that think Batley are an embarrassment, are the people that wonder why the game can only get sponsorship in the form of a free pizza, and a few pictures on the back of a couple of wagons and wonder why the game is a laughing stock.

How many fans were up in arms over the recent Super League proposal in football, yet, could not see the irony that the self same thing happened in RL all those years ago, and still think it was good for the game?

 

 

Well said that man!

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11 minutes ago, Smudger06 said:

Maybe a substantial minority of fans and even possibly several administrators of the game seem to be more concerned with Batley (insert any other club) as a name and as a settlement size than what Batley can do on the pitch, that's not sport is it? It's more geography or demographics than sport........its a mentality people need to snap out of. 

Hoffenheim what an absolute humiliation for the Bundesliga. Could go on and on.........La Liga ...... yep, how embarrassing to have clubs from 'Batley' sized towns......

What can promoting Batley bring to SL ....hmmmm let me think, erm crucially, integrity to the sport would be a biggy.........just for starters. 

Let's face it Smudger ,these arrogant SL fans are happy to say "what would Batley bring to SL". But they either are unwilling or incapable of saying what half of the SL clubs bring to SL.

At least from your point of view,they are leaving Fev alone.

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59 minutes ago, Smudger06 said:

Batley are probably closer financially to Wigan than Bournemouth is to Manchester United, the comparison is reasonable to make.

If we must make football comparisons then Batley are probably closer to a National League North non-league club than anything. Part-time semi-pros etc. Helluva jump…

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3 minutes ago, gittinsfan said:

Let's face it Smudger ,these arrogant SL fans are happy to say "what would Batley bring to SL". But they either are unwilling or incapable of saying what half of the SL clubs bring to SL.

At least from your point of view,they are leaving Fev alone.

Truth. 

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5 minutes ago, gittinsfan said:

Let's face it Smudger ,these arrogant SL fans are happy to say "what would Batley bring to SL". But they either are unwilling or incapable of saying what half of the SL clubs bring to SL.

At least from your point of view,they are leaving Fev alone.

I have asked before, what is it Clubs like ours have to bring to SL?

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In a couple of weeks Manchester United will play Villarreal in the Europa League cup final , the second highest European club football competition 

The population of Villarreal is 50,000 , similar in size to Leigh , and not dissimilar to Batley 

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