Clubs on the up vs clubs on the slippery slope

[The storm]

Clubs on the up

1 York- best young coach in british rugby league and momentum building with some strength added fir 2022. Could easily hit 2000 averages or more

2 Halifax Panthers- New branding and a feel good factor about the club. 

3 Newcastle thunder- Must be aiming for a top 4 with a full time squad and i think it could be close. 

4 North Wales Crusaders-if they can keep the momentum up at colwyn bay, they could have a fantastic future. 

5 Leigh Centurians - Despite going down leigh have made some top class signings and will be hards to beat at LSV. 

6 Bradford Bulls- seem to be getting it right off the field and cam again be a force 

7 Widnes Vikings- with significant investment from fans they have made some great signings for 2022.

8 Hull K R. Probably have the best CEO in rugby league and if they buy their own ground will have a massive advantage 

9 St helens-continue to set tge standards of rugby league in the UK 

10 Keighley Cougars. Lots of excitement surrounding the cougars and andrew Henderson will habe an impact. 

Barrow. - a vibrant club who along with whitehaven, workington and rochdale are my clubs on the up 

 

And now a few clubs who need to sort some things out 

1 Hull FC. The sacking of Lee Radford on sky was a big no no for me, and pearson has allowed Hull to go stale

2 London Broncos - Going part time could be the end of the broncos in the big time and mostly uninspiring signings for 2022. 

3 Wakefield Trinity. We all know they have a poor ground, but what can they do about it 

4 Coventry Bears. A silly and unnecessary rebranding 

5 West Wales Raiders - remain very much out on a limb with maybe the Badham brothers some light at the end of the tunnel

 

[ATLANTISMAN]

1 minute ago, The storm said:

Clubs on the up

1 York- best young coach in british rugby league and momentum building with some strength added fir 2022. Could easily hit 2000 averages or more

2 Halifax Panthers- New branding and a feel good factor about the club. 

3 Newcastle thunder- Must be aiming for a top 4 with a full time squad and i think it could be close. 

4 North Wales Crusaders-if they can keep the momentum up at colwyn bay, they could have a fantastic future. 

5 Leigh Centurians - Despite going down leigh have made some top class signings and will be hards to beat at LSV. 

6 Bradford Bulls- seem to be getting it right off the field and cam again be a force 

7 Widnes Vikings- with significant investment from fans they have made some great signings for 2022.

8 Hull K R. Probably have the best CEO in rugby league and if they buy their own ground will have a massive advantage 

9 St helens-continue to set tge standards of rugby league in the UK 

10 Keighley Cougars. Lots of excitement surrounding the cougars and andrew Henderson will habe an impact. 

Barrow. - a vibrant club who along with whitehaven, workington and rochdale are my clubs on the up 

 

And now a few clubs who need to sort some things out 

1 Hull FC. The sacking of Lee Radford on sky was a big no no for me, and pearson has allowed Hull to go stale

2 London Broncos - Going part time could be the end of the broncos in the big time and mostly uninspiring signings for 2022. 

3 Wakefield Trinity. We all know they have a poor ground, but what can they do about it 

4 Coventry Bears. A silly and unnecessary rebranding 

5 West Wales Raiders - remain very much our on a limb with maybe tge Badham brothers some light at the end of the tunnel

 

Can argue with that really not too sure about Widnes though but I stand to be corrected.

Would be nice to see West Wales do better this season.

 

P

[MZH]

3 hours ago, The storm said:

Clubs on the up

1 York- best young coach in british rugby league and momentum building with some strength added fir 2022. Could easily hit 2000 averages or more

2 Halifax Panthers- New branding and a feel good factor about the club. 

3 Newcastle thunder- Must be aiming for a top 4 with a full time squad and i think it could be close. 

4 North Wales Crusaders-if they can keep the momentum up at colwyn bay, they could have a fantastic future. 

5 Leigh Centurians - Despite going down leigh have made some top class signings and will be hards to beat at LSV. 

6 Bradford Bulls- seem to be getting it right off the field and cam again be a force 

7 Widnes Vikings- with significant investment from fans they have made some great signings for 2022.

8 Hull K R. Probably have the best CEO in rugby league and if they buy their own ground will have a massive advantage 

9 St helens-continue to set tge standards of rugby league in the UK 

10 Keighley Cougars. Lots of excitement surrounding the cougars and andrew Henderson will habe an impact. 

Barrow. - a vibrant club who along with whitehaven, workington and rochdale are my clubs on the up 

 

And now a few clubs who need to sort some things out 

1 Hull FC. The sacking of Lee Radford on sky was a big no no for me, and pearson has allowed Hull to go stale

2 London Broncos - Going part time could be the end of the broncos in the big time and mostly uninspiring signings for 2022. 

3 Wakefield Trinity. We all know they have a poor ground, but what can they do about it 

4 Coventry Bears. A silly and unnecessary rebranding 

5 West Wales Raiders - remain very much out on a limb with maybe the Badham brothers some light at the end of the tunnel

 

Agree with most of it, although I wouldn't really describe Saints as a club on the up, they are the bench mark and have been for a long time. They seem like the odd one out in your list.

Also, I know you don't really like Hull, and I don't dispute that we need to sort a few things out. But why select Hull over say, Wigan, who are underperforming on the pitch, looking for cheap options in their recruitment, and are barely getting half the crowds they were a few years ago? And Radford's sacking was over 18 months ago now. Hardly a recent development.

[DI Keith Fowler]

3 hours ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

Can argue with that really not too sure about Widnes though but I stand to be corrected.

Would be nice to see West Wales do better this season.

 

P

We're definitely back on the up after a couple of lean seasons post administration. We've been run on a shoestring in that time and what's promising aside from 1st team signings is the backroom staff roles we're filling now, becoming a proper outfit again. 

[Eddie]

Very harsh on Coventry. 

[Eddie]

1 minute ago, DI Keith Fowler said:

We're definitely back on the up after a couple of lean seasons post administration. We've been run on a shoestring in that time and what's promising aside from 1st team signings is the backroom staff roles we're filling now, becoming a proper outfit again. 

Good, the sooner Widnes (and Bradford) are back in SL the better for me, and even better if it’s a 14 or 16 team comp. 

[OriginalMrC]

4 hours ago, The storm said:

Clubs on the up

1 York- best young coach in british rugby league and momentum building with some strength added fir 2022. Could easily hit 2000 averages or more

2 Halifax Panthers- New branding and a feel good factor about the club. 

3 Newcastle thunder- Must be aiming for a top 4 with a full time squad and i think it could be close. 

4 North Wales Crusaders-if they can keep the momentum up at colwyn bay, they could have a fantastic future. 

5 Leigh Centurians - Despite going down leigh have made some top class signings and will be hards to beat at LSV. 

6 Bradford Bulls- seem to be getting it right off the field and cam again be a force 

7 Widnes Vikings- with significant investment from fans they have made some great signings for 2022.

8 Hull K R. Probably have the best CEO in rugby league and if they buy their own ground will have a massive advantage 

9 St helens-continue to set tge standards of rugby league in the UK 

10 Keighley Cougars. Lots of excitement surrounding the cougars and andrew Henderson will habe an impact. 

Barrow. - a vibrant club who along with whitehaven, workington and rochdale are my clubs on the up 

 

And now a few clubs who need to sort some things out 

1 Hull FC. The sacking of Lee Radford on sky was a big no no for me, and pearson has allowed Hull to go stale

2 London Broncos - Going part time could be the end of the broncos in the big time and mostly uninspiring signings for 2022. 

3 Wakefield Trinity. We all know they have a poor ground, but what can they do about it 

4 Coventry Bears. A silly and unnecessary rebranding 

5 West Wales Raiders - remain very much out on a limb with maybe the Badham brothers some light at the end of the tunnel

 

You may consider it a silly and unnecessary rebranding for Coventry but increased investment and the chance to play in a top class stadium facility says otherwise. Time will tell of course but this was a necessary rebranding in light of everything. 

[The storm]

18 hours ago, MZH said:

Agree with most of it, although I wouldn't really describe Saints as a club on the up, they are the bench mark and have been for a long time. They seem like the odd one out in your list.

Also, I know you don't really like Hull, and I don't dispute that we need to sort a few things out. But why select Hull over say, Wigan, who are underperforming on the pitch, looking for cheap options in their recruitment, and are barely getting half the crowds they were a few years ago? And Radford's sacking was over 18 months ago now. Hardly a recent development.

With regards to Hull, i just think they should be a major rugby league force. 

Im not a big fan of Adam Pearson even though a lot of hull fans see it differently

 

I know for a fact that he creates negative situations and the current ground crisis is somehow not his fault. 

But hull need to have a good season 

[gingerjon]

21 hours ago, The storm said:

Clubs on the up

1 York- best young coach in british rugby league and momentum building with some strength added fir 2022. Could easily hit 2000 averages or more

2 Halifax Panthers- New branding and a feel good factor about the club. 

3 Newcastle thunder- Must be aiming for a top 4 with a full time squad and i think it could be close. 

4 North Wales Crusaders-if they can keep the momentum up at colwyn bay, they could have a fantastic future. 

5 Leigh Centurians - Despite going down leigh have made some top class signings and will be hards to beat at LSV. 

6 Bradford Bulls- seem to be getting it right off the field and cam again be a force 

7 Widnes Vikings- with significant investment from fans they have made some great signings for 2022.

8 Hull K R. Probably have the best CEO in rugby league and if they buy their own ground will have a massive advantage 

9 St helens-continue to set tge standards of rugby league in the UK 

10 Keighley Cougars. Lots of excitement surrounding the cougars and andrew Henderson will habe an impact. 

Barrow. - a vibrant club who along with whitehaven, workington and rochdale are my clubs on the up 

 

And now a few clubs who need to sort some things out 

1 Hull FC. The sacking of Lee Radford on sky was a big no no for me, and pearson has allowed Hull to go stale

2 London Broncos - Going part time could be the end of the broncos in the big time and mostly uninspiring signings for 2022. 

3 Wakefield Trinity. We all know they have a poor ground, but what can they do about it 

4 Coventry Bears. A silly and unnecessary rebranding 

5 West Wales Raiders - remain very much out on a limb with maybe the Badham brothers some light at the end of the tunnel

 

Halifax Panthers is an amazing rebranding but Midlands Hurricanes is "silly and unnecessary".

Ace list this. Lot of thought behind it.

[The storm]

10 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Halifax Panthers is an amazing rebranding but Midlands Hurricanes is "silly and unnecessary".

Ace list this. Lot of thought behind it.

Are you being sarcastic lol

 

Hard to tell 

[gingerjon]

3 minutes ago, The storm said:

Are you being sarcastic lol

 

Hard to tell 

I think it's an amazing list with a lot to think about as a result of reading it.

[OriginalMrC]

23 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

Guess Halifax is to try and generate publicity but is still Halifax, midlands is not really an identity I prescribe to and I´m from the West Midlands. If you are in Birmingham call yourself birmingham. I wish Hurricanes all the best but the Alexander stadium is another ground oversized, nowhere near the actual city or with transport links played behind an athletics track. 

Again, it´s not the location, it´s the lack of infrastructure.  

Alexander Stadium is literally just off the M6, it has 2 train stations within 5-10 mins walk and is 15-20 mins in an uber from New Street. You couldn't get a better connected stadium! Maybe they should have built the commonwealth stadium in New street station 

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

12 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

Alexander Stadium is literally just off the M6, it has 2 train stations within 5-10 mins walk and is 15-20 mins in an uber from New Street. You couldn't get a better connected stadium! Maybe they should have built the commonwealth stadium in New street station 

Looking at the location of Birmingham & Solihull Bees, if Midlands Hurricanes do move to the Alexander Stadium in 2023, then it looks to be completely the other side of Birmingham and around an hour's travel away. Is that not going to be a bit like starting from scratch again? Seems a bit like London Broncos moving to Wimbledon from Ealing. 

[OriginalMrC]

7 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

Not talking about it being fit for a massive one off event but weekly use for a unestablished rugby league team. It´s a 25 minute walk and my point is about Public transport , not uber. Maybe you should read posts before you respond to them or not lie.  

You said 'Alexander stadium is another ground oversized, nowhere near the actual city or with transport links played behind an athletics track. 

Again, it´s not the location, it´s the lack of infrastructure.' 

I pointed out that your talk of lack of infrastructure was wrong. Nothing I said was a lie. 

 

[OriginalMrC]

2 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Looking at the location of Birmingham & Solihull Bees, if Midlands Hurricanes do move to the Alexander Stadium in 2023, then it looks to be completely the other side of Birmingham and around an hour's travel away. Is that not going to be a bit like starting from scratch again? Seems a bit like London Broncos moving to Wimbledon from Ealing. 

Next year is a stop gap and it's about 40/45 mins drive. Both venues are fairly equidistant from Coventry 

[RigbyLuger]

19 hours ago, Eddie said:

Very harsh on Coventry. 

Especially when Keighley are "on the up" with terrible kits and publicity stunts like the Captain Tom gates.

[RigbyLuger]

Athletics tracks = bad.

Speedway circuits = good.

[OriginalMrC]

11 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

It isn´t 5-10 minutes from the train stations it´s 25. So you are either wrong or a liar. Secondly uber is not a transport link, it´s a private hire company. Transport links are buses trains and trams which the ground is at best 25 mins from. And clearly it is not appropriate infrastructure for Midlands hurricanes team which anyone but a deliberately evasive pedant would know. 

If people can show me a successful club in the UK stuck behind an athletics track I´d love to see it.  

Yeah you got me, I clearly lied about it. And I agree now its a terrible stadium

[The storm]

4 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

On the original question, I´d add Eagles to clubs on the up and take out Bradford, we´ve effectively found our level and have stagnated. Whether we can maintain crowds as our fanbase ages will be the big question. 

I thought about sheffield but they are heavily invested in mark aston, and if he left the club would suffer very badly 

[OriginalMrC]

5 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

If you are too stupid or disengenous to see that a commenwealth sized stadium even with reduction built for athletics will not be suited for a unestablished rugby league team I can´t help you. 

Look, we can agree to disagree or not but quit it with the insults. Had enough of this discussion now 

[Bearman]

4 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

If you are too stupid or disengenous to see that a commenwealth sized stadium even with reduction built for athletics will not be suited for a unestablished rugby league team I can´t help you. 

Perhaps you could suggest a venue in the West Midlands that would fit the bill?

 

[The storm]

9 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

True of many clubs but at least the infrastructure is in place to actually generate revenue and make it more likely people stay get involved. 

I was also uncertain about their new ground and when it would be ready and/or if they were just tennants to a female football team 

[MZH]

1 hour ago, The storm said:

With regards to Hull, i just think they should be a major rugby league force. 

Im not a big fan of Adam Pearson even though a lot of hull fans see it differently

 

I know for a fact that he creates negative situations and the current ground crisis is somehow not his fault. 

But hull need to have a good season 

Fair comments. I aren't Pearson's biggest fan myself if I'm honest. He has done a lot of good things for the club, but he is prone to saying things in the heat of the moment when he really ought to keep his thoughts to himself. Also some of his comments about the running of the game in general make him come across as overly negative and bitter. Which is a shame because I think they probably come from a good place. I think he does have the future of the game at heart.

When you say about a ground crisis, I assume you are referring to the relationship with the SMC? Well you may or may not be aware that Hull City are currently in the process of being sold, and the SMC is included, meaning it will be under new management. So hopefully that's a good opportunity to wipe the slate clean and get a good working relationship again. Whether Pearson himself was partly responsible for the problems is up for debate, but the Allam's were pretty much universally hated even amongst Hull City fans. There are loads of examples of pettiness and hostility shown by the SMC, and not all were even aimed at Hull FC necessarily.

I agree we need a good season, or at least an improved season where we are able to compete with the top sides. I do see it as a transitional period though. A number of high earners who have been around for a long time are likely to leave at the end of year. Sneyd leaving early is the start of it. It will be a very busy year for recruitment I imagine. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

I am sad to say that athletics stadiums for watching rugby are awful as any club that moves into one will find out ,they are soulless.

Ask any West Ham fan about the olympic stadium and that's even after the seating has been moved closer to the pitch seating is also flatter than in a proper football/rugby stadium.

I remember Fulham/London Crusaders at Crystal Palace there was more atmosphere down the road at Beckenham crematorium on match days:(

Paul

[Stirlin]

20 minutes ago, ShropshireBull said:

If you are too stupid or disengenous to see that a commenwealth sized stadium even with reduction built for athletics will not be suited for a unestablished rugby league team I can´t help you. 

Lose the argument and resort to insults.