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Newcastle Thunder back to Gateshead

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Toby Chopra

Toby Chopra

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I'm not sure this move portends anything worse than has happened already. ie Kurdi washed his hands of the club, and it very nearly folded, but a rear-guard action by the fans has saved it, for now at least.

But the big money backer has gone, so the club is reverting to it's previous "pre-Newcastle" identity as a much smaller fan/community run club.

Paying market rent on a stadium like Kingston Park isn't going to be necessary for the foreseeable future, so returning to Gateshead fits with returning to the club's previous status, and hopefully they can rekindle some of the roots that were there before.

In the same way that Salford is not the same as Manchester, Gateshead is not the same as Newcastle, so there's a new (old) set of fans to access.   

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gogledd

gogledd

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Best of luck to Thunder....what a tremendous set of supporters you have; very much involved in there being a rugby league club still playing in League 1. Very best wishes from North Wales Crusaders.

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Gomersall

Gomersall

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44 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

I'm not sure this move portends anything worse than has happened already. ie Kurdi washed his hands of the club, and it very nearly folded, but a rear-guard action by the fans has saved it, for now at least.

But the big money backer has gone, so the club is reverting to it's previous "pre-Newcastle" identity as a much smaller fan/community run club.

Paying market rent on a stadium like Kingston Park isn't going to be necessary for the foreseeable future, so returning to Gateshead fits with returning to the club's previous status, and hopefully they can rekindle some of the roots that were there before.

In the same way that Salford is not the same as Manchester, Gateshead is not the same as Newcastle, so there's a new (old) set of fans to access.   

That’s all well and good but they now have to survive on the very basic income L1 clubs receive and generate as opposed to being propped up by Kurdi.

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Damien

Damien

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44 minutes ago, Toby Chopra said:

I'm not sure this move portends anything worse than has happened already. ie Kurdi washed his hands of the club, and it very nearly folded, but a rear-guard action by the fans has saved it, for now at least.

But the big money backer has gone, so the club is reverting to it's previous "pre-Newcastle" identity as a much smaller fan/community run club.

Paying market rent on a stadium like Kingston Park isn't going to be necessary for the foreseeable future, so returning to Gateshead fits with returning to the club's previous status, and hopefully they can rekindle some of the roots that were there before.

In the same way that Salford is not the same as Manchester, Gateshead is not the same as Newcastle, so there's a new (old) set of fans to access.   

Well change the name back then too. Also that Gateshead club was beset by problems and financial issues so it's not like this was all fine before.

Even in that statement it is clear that a new operator can renegotiate any terms that have just been agreed. There is little security in that.

Again I realise this is all out of necessity but none of this is good and this move is not a good sign.

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Eddie

Eddie

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2 hours ago, Mathius Hellwege said:

very very bad sign

Not necessarily, it sounds like the athletics stadium actually want them there, and I expect it will cost the club less to be tenants there than at Kingston Park. 

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Toby Chopra

Toby Chopra

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2 hours ago, Gomersall said:

That’s all well and good but they now have to survive on the very basic income L1 clubs receive and generate as opposed to being propped up by Kurdi.

Sure, but we knew that already.

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Toby Chopra

Toby Chopra

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2 hours ago, Damien said:

Well change the name back then too. Also that Gateshead club was beset by problems and financial issues so it's not like this was all fine before.

Even in that statement it is clear that a new operator can renegotiate any terms that have just been agreed. There is little security in that.

Again I realise this is all out of necessity but none of this is good and this move is not a good sign.

Oh indeed, the club's future is very unsure indeed, I just feel this move is a logical part of a survival plan once Kurdi called it quits. 

I'd certainly favour a name change in the off season.

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Phil W

Phil W

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I attended the meeting the other week so just wanted to give a summary of what we were told. 

There's no axe to grind with anyone at Falcons, that has been made very clear since the news was announced at the end of last season.

Personally was very sceptical about any potential move back to Gateshead and there's no perfect scenario for us at the moment. But what I do know is guys like Keith Christie, Jordan Robinson and Chris Thorman care massively about the club and rugby league in the north east. They're good people who are most certainly not in it for the money! 

At Gateshead we have an opportunity to make more money commercially and from sales of food and drink. Straight away that makes sense.

Chris Thorman has spoken about the difficulty of trying to find places to train. We haven't had a permanent training base which has meant training as far afield as Sunderland and Durham with no one really knowing till the last minute. Everyone wants Tuesday and Thursday night training slots and Chris himself has been trying to organise things. So from a playing staff point of view we have somewhere to train it gives stability and again makes sense.

We will have an office at the stadium. Chris has somewhere to speak to players that doesn't mean sitting in a car or stood in the street! 

Am I massively keen on going to a stadium with a track around it, well no. But do I want rugby league to succeed in the north east, sure as hell I do. There are compromises and these were discussed. Personally I think a rebrand to North East Thunder wouldn't be a bad thing but as has been said that's an off season discussion.

I live near Kingston Park and would have liked to had stayed but financially and from a fan experience it wasn't working. As I've said previously on Thunder, if you are in the area come and support us. There's no money man, we rely on income we can generate and any help is appreciated! 

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Damien

Damien

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2 minutes ago, Phil W said:

I attended the meeting the other week so just wanted to give a summary of what we were told. 

There's no axe to grind with anyone at Falcons, that has been made very clear since the news was announced at the end of last season.

Personally was very sceptical about any potential move back to Gateshead and there's no perfect scenario for us at the moment. But what I do know is guys like Keith Christie, Jordan Robinson and Chris Thorman care massively about the club and rugby league in the north east. They're good people who are most certainly not in it for the money! 

At Gateshead we have an opportunity to make more money commercially and from sales of food and drink. Straight away that makes sense.

Chris Thorman has spoken about the difficulty of trying to find places to train. We haven't had a permanent training base which has meant training as far afield as Sunderland and Durham with no one really knowing till the last minute. Everyone wants Tuesday and Thursday night training slots and Chris himself has been trying to organise things. So from a playing staff point of view we have somewhere to train it gives stability and again makes sense.

We will have an office at the stadium. Chris has somewhere to speak to players that doesn't mean sitting in a car or stood in the street! 

Am I massively keen on going to a stadium with a track around it, well no. But do I want rugby league to succeed in the north east, sure as hell I do. There are compromises and these were discussed. Personally I think a rebrand to North East Thunder wouldn't be a bad thing but as has been said that's an off season discussion.

I live near Kingston Park and would have liked to had stayed but financially and from a fan experience it wasn't working. As I've said previously on Thunder, if you are in the area come and support us. There's no money man, we rely on income we can generate and any help is appreciated! 

I think everyone understands the reasons and hopes this works out. However based on that statement they are a change of operator from this all changing again. There are plenty of obvious concerns when it comes to a move like this and the precedents aren't good. Also lets not forget what was said when they moved in the first place, it was hardly working out great before and the move happened to better the club:

Thunder chairman Bill Midgley said: "With the purchase last year of the club by Newcastle Rugby Ltd, the proposed move to Kingston Park and the support of the city council for rugby league the name change is both logical and the next step in our evolution.

"We have retained the name Thunder as this recognises the history of the club. The International Stadium is a fine venue but we have struggled at times over the past couple of seasons to secure the facilities there for playing and training.

"The move to Newcastle means that every training session can be on the 3G pitch at Kingston Park. We will be looking to host games not just for the Thunder first team but our junior squads as well.

"With the Super League Magic Weekend coming to St James Park in Newcastle, it promises to be a high profile year for the sport in the north east."

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/12196/9653495/rugby-league-league-one-club-gateshead-change-name-to-newcastle-thunder

Again I wish Thunder well but the direction they are going since Kurdi withdrew his support isn't good. It's a huge blow for the game as it was developing nicely prior to this. I certainly think the RFL have a huge role to play to ensure all of this isn't just allowed to slip away.

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