RL in Liverpool

[Damien]

40 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

There very nearly was had the proposed Swinton Lions rebrand have gone through.

Swinton Lions calling themselves Manchester and playing in Sale is not a Manchester team.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

5 minutes ago, Damien said:

Swinton Lions calling themselves Manchester and playing in Sale is not a Manchester team.

They may have moved to Manchester eventually. The Lions have a nomadic recent history.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

Would require a lot of funding and a long-term commitment to making it work. There are a lot of players accessible from the heartlands that can help prop it up for a while, unlike further projects that find it difficult to get the players to get to a standard to compete.

I think it's a bit defeatist to just say "it's 100% football and always will be." If someone is willing to invest, we should support where we can as a sport (not necessarily financially). Look at Newcastle. Could take decades, but investors could eventually look to jump in.

[Robthegasman]

14 minutes ago, Damien said:

Swinton Lions calling themselves Manchester and playing in Sale is not a Manchester team.

Sale is not the city of Manchester,that is true(nearly was though like Swinton)

But Manchester United do not play in the city of Manchester either.

But whether people like it or not Sale and Swinton are part of the Greater Manchester urban area.So had there have been a rebrand it would not have been wrong to use Manchester.

 And Manchester Storm I believe play in Altrincham which again is not the city of Manchester and is in the same borough as Sale.I don’t think many are too fussed about that.

[idrewthehaggis]

"Everyone" knows Swinton is in West Manchester, not Salford.

Before my time, but when anyone says RL in Liverpool, I think Huyton.

There is no comparison between Liverpool and Newcastle.  The latter has long had a surviving rugby heritage, as in Gosforth/Falcons and the Thunder. The former hasn't.

[Damien]

25 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

Sale is not the city of Manchester,that is true(nearly was though like Swinton)

But Manchester United do not play in the city of Manchester either.

But whether people like it or not Sale and Swinton are part of the Greater Manchester urban area.So had there have been a rebrand it would not have been wrong to use Manchester.

 And Manchester Storm I believe play in Altrincham which again is not the city of Manchester and is in the same borough as Sale.I don’t think many are too fussed about that.

When people talk of a Manchester team it is not Swinton rebounding as Manchester and playing at Sale. It would do no more to develop the game in Manchester than what Swinton Lions currently do playing at Sale, which is diddly squat.

 

[Gerrumonside ref]

7 minutes ago, idrewthehaggis said:

"Everyone" knows Swinton is in West Manchester, not Salford.

Before my time, but when anyone says RL in Liverpool, I think Huyton.

There is no comparison between Liverpool and Newcastle.  The latter has long had a surviving rugby heritage, as in Gosforth/Falcons and the Thunder. The former hasn't.

I agree there’s not even the foundations unless somebody with deep pockets was prepared to develop grassroots.

Seeing as expansion is actually a really hard thing to do and get right, I don’t think we should lose focus on Newcastle and the NE just yet.

But there’s a natural tendency to be attracted to something new or to presume things can be left to their own devices too soon.

 

 

 

[Wigan Riversider]

2 hours ago, Henson Park Old Firm said:

still waiting... whatever happened to that idea?

Wasn't it the April Fool in the Liverpool Echo newspaper?

[Guest]

5 hours ago, johnh1 said:

Great idea. Call them Liverton or Everpool, play in red shirts and blue shorts and it’s sorted. If they need bigger stadium, they have two close by.

Magic Weekend sorted then. 

[RayCee]

9 hours ago, GUBRATS said:

No where near as many Liverpool and Everton fans in Manchester

After last weekend's 0-5, some fans may decide to switch though. Nothing like following a winner.  

[Bob8]

10 hours ago, Eddie said:

It’s about time the game got it’s act together and a pro team formed at the Western end of the M62, we can’t truly call ourselves an M62 sport until this happens. 

What we would need is a wealthy market, which might be receptive to rugby league and has an underdeveloped market for professional sport. I do not think that is Liverpool.

[RayCee]

11 minutes ago, Bob8 said:

What we would need is a wealthy market, which might be receptive to rugby league and has an underdeveloped market for professional sport. I do not think that is Liverpool.

Toronto tick the first two no problem. Start in League 1 and work up to SL. It could take a few years but the game day experience will be fun and the fans will gladly embrace a new sport from what I know of Canadians. Worth a punt provided SL is prepared to support the initiative. I'd do it before Liverpool as the chance of success will be so much higher.

[Number 16]

Rugby League in Liverpool? What a ridiculous idea! Everyone knows that the sport is a poor spectacle and that no one outside of its current, and diminishing, fan base could possible take an interest in it. 

[JM2010]

I think rather than create a professional club in Liverpool just by spreading out existing players to play for them expansion should be concentrated on getting junior clubs set up. Both Warrington and St Helens are close by. This would open up a new player pool which would then benefit the pro clubs. If enough junior clubs could be set up and established then maybe Liverpool could eventually start a professional club 

[Saint Toppy]

There will never be a successful professional RL club in Liverpool. Saints have been working with the amateur game in the city for decades and there just isn't the interest from the public. Its a football mad city and thats never going to change

[Damien]

1 hour ago, Saint Toppy said:

There will never be a successful professional RL club in Liverpool. Saints have been working with the amateur game in the city for decades and there just isn't the interest from the public. Its a football mad city and thats never going to change

To make something work in a major city takes rather more than Saints doing bits and pieces every blue moon when it suits. It takes going into schools, setting up clubs and full time dedicated development officers over a sustained period. That is way in excess of anything that Saints have ever done or indeed should be expected to do.

With resources being very limited there are far better places in which to direct those resources and where the game will get better bang for its buck.

[The Daddy]

2 hours ago, Saint Toppy said:

There will never be a successful professional RL club in Liverpool. Saints have been working with the amateur game in the city for decades and there just isn't the interest from the public. Its a football mad city and thats never going to change

Saints have done nothing in Liverpool 

[JonM]

12 minutes ago, The Daddy said:

Saints have done nothing in Liverpool 

Apart from playing a couple of super league fixture there and providing support for over a decade to Liverpool Lions through their community development foundation?

[Eddie]

14 minutes ago, JonM said:

Apart from playing a couple of super league fixture there and providing support for over a decade to Liverpool Lions through their community development foundation?

And providing a local team for the few who do like RL (like myself) to support. 

[Saint Toppy]

1 hour ago, The Daddy said:

Saints have done nothing in Liverpool 

Really !!!

The Saints Community Development Foundation undertakes events across Liverpool almost monthly;

In September they held a RL Schools Festival in Knowsley with 1/2 a dozen schools attending,

In August they ran a School Holiday camp at the FireFit club in Liverpool for kids across the city,

In July they held a RL fun day in Fazakerley in partnership with the Liverpool Lions (a club they've been working with for a long time)

should I go on !!!

[Richard de la Riviere]

I'm hoping to speak to Ray Ashby soon. I appreciate this is a long shot, but does anyone here remember him playing for Liverpool City?

[Gerrumonside ref]

14 minutes ago, Richard de la Riviere said:

I'm hoping to speak to Ray Ashby soon. I appreciate this is a long shot, but does anyone here remember him playing for Liverpool City?

My Dad (who is not really an RL fan but did see Liverpool City at least a couple of times in the 1950s as it was near where he lived) reckons he might have seen him play.

I think we still have Liverpool City programmes so I will check.

He has talked about Ray Ashby in the past.

[Richard de la Riviere]

thank you!

[Niels]

On 27/10/2021 at 09:30, Saint Toppy said:

There will never be a successful professional RL club in Liverpool. Saints have been working with the amateur game in the city for decades and there just isn't the interest from the public. Its a football mad city and thats never going to change

I remember Huyton in the 1970s and 80s.

No one could have worked harder than Geoff Fletcher who kept the team going against all the odds.

There just wasn't the interest. As you say, it is a football city with 2 top sides. That's why the major rugby team is based in St Helens instead. 

[The Daddy]

23 hours ago, Saint Toppy said:

Really !!!

The Saints Community Development Foundation undertakes events across Liverpool almost monthly;

In September they held a RL Schools Festival in Knowsley with 1/2 a dozen schools attending,

In August they ran a School Holiday camp at the FireFit club in Liverpool for kids across the city,

In July they held a RL fun day in Fazakerley in partnership with the Liverpool Lions (a club they've been working with for a long time)

should I go on !!!

Like I said. Saints have done nothing in Liverpool. 

You think fun days make an impact?