Am I right about the game?

[bobbruce]

5 minutes ago, Arran Graham said:

Rugby League is a Northern Sport, a heartland sport. It is run by incompetents, fixated by "expansion".

Ever since 1933 when Wigan Highfield were transferred to White City in London to become London Highfield, expansion has been an abject failure. Off the top of my head, here is a list of failed clubs;

Liverpool Stanley, Liverpool City, Huyton, Runcorn Highfield, Highfield, Prescot Panthers, Cardiff Blue Dragons, Bridgend, Bramley, Fulham, Blackpool Borough, Blackpool Panthers, Blackpool Gladiators, Trafford Borough, York Wasps, Ryedale York, Carlisle, Nottingham City, Mansfield Marksmen, Scarborough Pirates, Bramley, Kent Invicta, Southend Invicta, South Wales, Springfield Borough, Chorley Lynx, West Wales Raiders, South Wales Scorpions, London Skolars, Toronto, Newcastle, Hemel Stags, Oxford, Gloucestershire All Golds, Gateshead Thunder, Sheffield Eagles, Paris St Germain, Celtic Crusaders.

Hardly inspiring stuff is it ? My tuppence worth is two leagues with promotion and relegation and evenly distributed funding for all. If Super League clubs are so good and so well supported they won't need that extra money will they?

That list just tells me northern clubs are just as likely to fail. 

[Damien]

46 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

That list just tells me northern clubs are just as likely to fail. 

And that random people with little money, in some cases just looking for a quick buck or to prop up a football team, setting up clubs in random places invariably fails.

[Coco]

I would love to see BARLA reformed and made into the power it was. What BARLA does not understand it has 2 million sleeping members, that have been lost to the game. Lots of clubs in championship and league 1 need Financial and Administrative support. 

There is a power in our sport, which the ruling corrupted have silenced. We need BARLA to return. Their are individuals in BARLA, who understand the game. BARLA have all the knowledge about the game. They can help all these clubs to sustain themselves. They also have a large supply of players that help these clubs survive. They used to have so many feet on the ground to help the sport function and grow.

They were in contact will all of those that used to follow the sport, families that provided children to play the sport. They did everything. They organised fans to travel abroad to watch England play. They did everything. We need our fans to return to the game we all love. BARLA is the body that needs to return to save our game and our family.

The only way the sport can survive and grow is that BARLA has a lot more say on the game. BARLA is not corrupted and also understands the those involved in the sport are part of a family. I would love to see BARLA take full control of out sport. It's an absolute disgrace what Super League and the RFL have done. I personally have no trust in them. 

 

[Damien]

9 minutes ago, Coco said:

I would love to see BARLA reformed and made into the power it was. What BARLA does not understand it has 2 million sleeping members, that have been lost to the game. Lots of clubs in championship and league 1 need Financial and Administrative support. 

There is a power in our sport, which the ruling corrupted have silenced. We need BARLA to return. Their are individuals in BARLA, who understand the game. BARLA have all the knowledge about the game. They can help all these clubs to sustain themselves. They also have a large supply of players that help these clubs survive. They used to have so many feet on the ground to help the sport function and grow.

They were in contact will all of those that used to follow the sport, families that provided children to play the sport. They did everything. They organised fans to travel abroad to watch England play. They did everything. We need our fans to return to the game we all love. BARLA is the body that needs to return to save our game and our family.

The only way the sport can survive and grow is that BARLA has a lot more say on the game. BARLA is not corrupted and also understands the those involved in the sport are part of a family. I would love to see BARLA take full control of out sport. It's an absolute disgrace what Super League and the RFL have done. I personally have no trust in them. 

 

What evidence have you got to back up this 2 million sleeping members lost to the game? It sounds fanciful at best.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Damien

[hunsletgreenandgold]

31 minutes ago, Coco said:

I would love to see BARLA reformed and made into the power it was. What BARLA does not understand it has 2 million sleeping members, that have been lost to the game. Lots of clubs in championship and league 1 need Financial and Administrative support. 

There is a power in our sport, which the ruling corrupted have silenced. We need BARLA to return. Their are individuals in BARLA, who understand the game. BARLA have all the knowledge about the game. They can help all these clubs to sustain themselves. They also have a large supply of players that help these clubs survive. They used to have so many feet on the ground to help the sport function and grow.

They were in contact will all of those that used to follow the sport, families that provided children to play the sport. They did everything. They organised fans to travel abroad to watch England play. They did everything. We need our fans to return to the game we all love. BARLA is the body that needs to return to save our game and our family.

The only way the sport can survive and grow is that BARLA has a lot more say on the game. BARLA is not corrupted and also understands the those involved in the sport are part of a family. I would love to see BARLA take full control of out sport. It's an absolute disgrace what Super League and the RFL have done. I personally have no trust in them. 

 

I'm sorry, Coco - I'm sure you feel like I just keep shooting you down and i'm all for people having opinions/debate, but this is utter nonsense. Yesterday you were musing whether BARLA even had a foothold in the game at all anymore - now they're the saviour and should take full control of the sport?! I can tell you they're not. They do still exist BTW, running cup comps and jolly boys outings every few years masqueraded as a 'tour'. There are a lot of great people involved in Community RL, from the junior regional leagues to the National Conference Leagues, so that's not where we need to be looking, as far as issues with the game go. I'd also like to hear more about these 2 million sleeping members? 

Edited November 14, 2023 by hunsletgreenandgold

[fighting irish]

2 hours ago, Coco said:

I would love to see BARLA reformed and made into the power it was. What BARLA does not understand it has 2 million sleeping members, that have been lost to the game. Lots of clubs in championship and league 1 need Financial and Administrative support. 

There is a power in our sport, which the ruling corrupted have silenced. We need BARLA to return. Their are individuals in BARLA, who understand the game. BARLA have all the knowledge about the game. They can help all these clubs to sustain themselves. They also have a large supply of players that help these clubs survive. They used to have so many feet on the ground to help the sport function and grow.

They were in contact will all of those that used to follow the sport, families that provided children to play the sport. They did everything. They organised fans to travel abroad to watch England play. They did everything. We need our fans to return to the game we all love. BARLA is the body that needs to return to save our game and our family.

The only way the sport can survive and grow is that BARLA has a lot more say on the game. BARLA is not corrupted and also understands the those involved in the sport are part of a family. I would love to see BARLA take full control of out sport. It's an absolute disgrace what Super League and the RFL have done. I personally have no trust in them. 

 

I'm convinced the Sports Council smackdown of BARLA caused a lot of resentment amongst the amateur ranks. (No-one on here is prepared to acknowledge that but I feel that it's obviously true).

BARLA as an administrative body seems to have just shut up shop. I remember when they were a thriving, bustling body which seemed to be going places, making things happen. I say it's time to bury the hatchet, set aside any resentment, grasp the nettle and take control of that part of the game which only they can succeed at - growing our participation numbers. Bring back the ''pride'' in our game amongst the amateurs.

In my opinion the relationship of the RFL to Rugby League in general is akin to the relationship of the Circus to the sport of gymnastics.

They are not really concerned about growing the sport (and even if they were, they don't know how to do it and don't have any resources to devote to long term investments of that sort).

They are all-consumed with balancing the books, filling the Circus tent by selling cheap tickets.

They know inwardly that they need a steady stream of acrobats to replace their aging trapese artists but just assume there will always be ''enough'' because they need so few.

We are seeing the demise of our supporter/participant base due to the RFL's failure to nurture the games grass roots.  As I said earlier they are too busy darning the holes in the circus tent and nothing they are doing, (NOTHING) has any hope of changing this trend. 

I believe BARLA or a similar band of energetic and capable enthusiasts is our ''only hope'' of securing the games future and of growing the rugby league ''family''. It's happening (slowly) in Wales, it's happening in Kenya, for god's sake. 

Step forward, the talented, the proud, the lovers of our precious game and build your amateur infrastructure. Stop looking to join a crumbling, decrepit ''pyramid'' which does nothing for the sport but consume every penny available on a pitiful relentless, poorly managed decline, of this ''the greatest game''. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by fighting irish

[Griff]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

What evidence have you got to back up this 2 million sleeping members lost to the game? It sounds fanciful at best.

Blocks is the word that immediately struck me. Two million is about 3% of the UK population.