David Hughes

[Gav Wilson]

2 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

Crowdfunder now in place. After 200k!

That's rarely a good sign... 

[The Blues Ox]

24 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

How could they do that without knowing what their budget was?

So I guess they will wait till they have sold season tickets? That will give them a better idea.......
If they were not planning for this season coming very early then if anything it just gives another reason why they should not be anywhere near SL. 

[Gav Wilson]

1 minute ago, The Blues Ox said:

So I guess they will wait till they have sold season tickets? That will give them a better idea.......
If they were not planning for this season coming very early then if anything it just gives another reason why they should not be anywhere near SL. 

Well... yeah. 

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, The Blues Ox said:

it just gives another reason why they should not be anywhere near SL. 

I think everyone knows that London shouldn't be anywhere near SL. Not sure who you're arguing with at this point.

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Archie Gordon said:

Crowdfunder now in place. After 200k!

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-london-broncos

Can't fault the passion but some detail - and some rewards - would make sense given how much is being asked for.

[Deadcowboys1]

This has not been enacted by the club just one of the remaining fans which isn't quite  the same thing. Really no different from what we did many moons ago to generate funds to sign Dave Bullough during hard times. No social media then of course.

[The Blues Ox]

3 hours ago, gingerjon said:

I think everyone knows that London shouldn't be anywhere near SL. Not sure who you're arguing with at this point.

That was not the original discussion.

[Londonbornirishbred]

On 13/10/2024 at 04:32, preid said:

I meant that, south of London, Cornwall were the nearest club on the basis that radii are circular. So, for example, Kent, Surrey, Sussex etc. Based on what Toronto did in no time and from a smaller population, averaging 8,000+ should be a reasonable target to aim for.

find me anyone fron Canada who actually paid for a ticket to Rugby League. I have family in Hamilton who attended 5 games as guests of a brewery and paid nothing for entrance or beer. 2 of them have Wolfpack shirts that were thrown into the crowd.

im not knocking Argyle or Hughes, but at least Argyle knew how to get bums on seats. Hughes is a perfect example of someone who should not run a sports club.

The London Monarchs burnt bright, then burnt out and they spent in a season what hughes has spent on 27 years. There is a lesson there and maybe, just maybe, London doesn't need a third football code?

[preid]

1 hour ago, Londonbornirishbred said:

find me anyone fron Canada who actually paid for a ticket to Rugby League. I have family in Hamilton who attended 5 games as guests of a brewery and paid nothing for entrance or beer. 2 of them have Wolfpack shirts that were thrown into the crowd.

im not knocking Argyle or Hughes, but at least Argyle knew how to get bums on seats. Hughes is a perfect example of someone who should not run a sports club.

The London Monarchs burnt bright, then burnt out and they spent in a season what hughes has spent on 27 years. There is a lesson there and maybe, just maybe, London doesn't need a third football code?

Imagine if Perez bought London. He would surely apply the same modus operandi as at Toronto. Long lease in place on a similar-sized stadium (Wimbledon, 9,215, Lamport, 9,600). Would be fascinating to see how transpires if it occurred.

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

19 hours ago, Deadcowboys1 said:

This has not been enacted by the club just one of the remaining fans which isn't quite  the same thing. Really no different from what we did many moons ago to generate funds to sign Dave Bullough during hard times. No social media then of course.

Ah yes, the Bullough buckets - my word that's going back nigh on 40 years, I remember standing with my one just inside the turnstiles to the main stand one match day. Talking to then club secretary Tim Lamb later and he said that with hindsight if we'd just sat on our hands and done nothing we'd have got him a lot cheaper!

[JonM]

14 hours ago, Londonbornirishbred said:

The London Monarchs burnt bright, then burnt out and they spent in a season what hughes has spent on 27 years. There is a lesson there and maybe, just maybe, London doesn't need a third football code?

You could make a strong argument that even a second football code is a stretch. Wasps, London Irish being among a list of RU clubs that have gone bust even after moving out of town, and the remaining 2 teams burning their owners' money at quite a rate.

OTOH, 3 NFL games in London this month I think and I assume all of them have ticket prices at £100+ and are sold out.

[gingerjon]

59 minutes ago, JonM said:

You could make a strong argument that even a second football code is a stretch. Wasps, London Irish being among a list of RU clubs that have gone bust even after moving out of town, and the remaining 2 teams burning their owners' money at quite a rate.

OTOH, 3 NFL games in London this month I think and I assume all of them have ticket prices at £100+ and are sold out.

No normal person talks about 'football codes'. That's for anoraks like us on a messageboard, and Australians.

[Deadcowboys1]

9 hours ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

Ah yes, the Bullough buckets - my word that's going back nigh on 40 years, I remember standing with my one just inside the turnstiles to the main stand one match day. Talking to then club secretary Tim Lamb later and he said that with hindsight if we'd just sat on our hands and done nothing we'd have got him a lot cheaper!

Don't think he had a very auspicious start after signing by being sent off in his first game if I recall correctly. 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/shaun-edwards-on-london-broncos-future-and-why-keeping-key-man-is-absolutely-vital-98181/

[Bull Mania]

Really hope London pull through and get to the start line. Just feel it's gonna take A LOT of money, to even get there. Just recruiting players is going to be a nightmare. They're at such a disadvantage being part-time as it massively reduces the players they can recruit. Having a team of local players isn't good either, I've been there having to watch a young squad get battered every week. 

The RL media have irritated me with this as well. For the reasons I've mentioned above, it's not as simple as just a fresh start. They live in a world of fantasy and unicorns that they think it's as simple as that or even that it's an attractive investment just because they're debt free. It needs someone who loves RL, and has a lot of money to burn through just to keep them going. Unfortunately there's not many of them about. Too many report the story differently depending on the club it is. 

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

14 hours ago, Deadcowboys1 said:

Don't think he had a very auspicious start after signing by being sent off in his first game if I recall correctly. 

Yes, not one of our better signings!

[Ivarr the Boneless]

https://www.londonbroncosrl.com/a-message-from-london-broncos-chief-executive-jason-loubser

 

£350k needed in a month to start the season. Another £550k then needed to finish the year (roughly.)

We will be told in more detail what the plan is tomorrow. Having devastated their support base, I think the idea of the fans raising £350k in that timespan is unrealistic. A benefactor is needed urgently I fear.

[gingerjon]

57 minutes ago, Ivarr the Boneless said:

https://www.londonbroncosrl.com/a-message-from-london-broncos-chief-executive-jason-loubser

 

£350k needed in a month to start the season. Another £550k then needed to finish the year (roughly.)

We will be told in more detail what the plan is tomorrow. Having devastated their support base, I think the idea of the fans raising £350k in that timespan is unrealistic. A benefactor is needed urgently I fear.

Fans launch a Crowdfunder and two days later, along comes the club to say there will be another one for a different amount.

FFS.

[Archie Gordon]

£200k, £350k, £900k - these are sums far beyond crowd funders and the sale of 300 memberships plus some hoodies.

It's a bit of a distraction.

[gingerjon]

2 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

£200k, £350k, £900k - these are sums far beyond crowd funders and the sale of 300 memberships plus some hoodies.

It's a bit of a distraction.

Sell 1,000 memberships and you might just be able to start to leverage in more funding.

Until then, I just don’t see how it becomes possible. And even then, it still needs someone who won’t mind losing a million or so pounds to step in and keep it going.

[Archie Gordon]

4 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Sell 1,000 memberships and you might just be able to start to leverage in more funding.

Until then, I just don’t see how it becomes possible. And even then, it still needs someone who won’t mind losing a million or so pounds to step in and keep it going.

As noted by Ivarr, the support base has been decimated (in some cases on purpose). The LBSA - who wanted to plan for this very occasion - were rebuffed. I do think a lot went wrong around 2020-21 in particular. 

It would be lovely if someone did pull a rabbit from the hat.

[gingerjon]

9 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

As noted by Ivarr, the support base has been decimated (in some cases on purpose). The LBSA - who wanted to plan for this very occasion - were rebuffed. I do think a lot went wrong around 2020-21 in particular. 

I have a special contempt for the handful of posters on here who seal clapped the move to Plough Lane because it fitted their own narrow world view and who simply did not care that it was very likely the straw/camel back for most of the Broncos “faithful”. You can’t keep pushing people away, pulling rugs from under people’s plans, destroy their connection to the club, and then expect enough of them to come back.

Looking at the numbers, it seems a lot of those involved in the attendance figures this year, were at a “superficial” rather than “committed” level.

[Tommygilf]

 

[Gav Wilson]

16 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

I have a special contempt for the handful of posters on here who seal clapped the move to Plough Lane because it fitted their own narrow world view and who simply did not care that it was very likely the straw/camel back for most of the Broncos “faithful”. You can’t keep pushing people away, pulling rugs from under people’s plans, destroy their connection to the club, and then expect enough of them to come back.

Looking at the numbers, it seems a lot of those involved in the attendance figures this year, were at a “superficial” rather than “committed” level.

TBF I thought it was a good move. A brand new ideal sized stadium on a relatively long lease - all good.

It obviously came at the expense of a lot of other good things at the club and didn't take into account the prospect of the owner taking his ball home after two seasons there - very not good.

[gingerjon]

11 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

TBF I thought it was a good move. A brand new ideal sized stadium on a relatively long lease - all good.

It obviously came at the expense of a lot of other good things at the club and didn't take into account the prospect of the owner taking his ball home after two seasons there - very not good.

It was too expensive - and London, owing to their unique take on managing things, ended up renting three grounds that year.

The issue, and why I think it killed off the last remnants of goodwill in most of the long term fan base, was always that every equivalent move had failed and there was no reason to believe that setting ablaze all the foundational work at Ealing would be worth what would happen at Wimbledon.

And so it turned out.