Really? Remind me where Leicester and Northampton are?

Believe it or not I have been saying that for years.

However, as someone who is running their own university's rugby league team in the Midlands I can categorically state the huge problems we have recruiting players every year. We currently have just 17 players signed up. Two of whom I'm pretty sure thought they were signing up for "proper rugby" as they put it. At the beginning of the year we had people coming up to us saying they didn't know the difference between the two sports, with some insisting wrongly that both sports were virtually the same.

On top of that, thanks to the kind people in the RFL Midlands offices, we displayed the Challenge Cup for a while at our freshers fair and not one person was seriously interested in "that huge trophy." Me? I was buzzing off the wall when it arrived. But no one else gave a toss.

Have you seen the amount of miles that have to be travelled by CC1 supporters already? You have got to be having a laugh with some of these ideas. why not set up a club on the moon? We'd be better off helping the Blackpool supporters trying to get a new backer for getting a sustainable new club off the ground that would live within its means.

thats a good idea,we could call them the clangers

Is Jason Robinson still playing for Fylde RU side.
If I am right this is where Blackpool played,can he not get involved and try and help them out or is he now too deep in the union way of thinking,in other words fook them.

that would be good if it comes to fruition - hopefully there is enough desire and enough willing backers in the area - maybe use the Dons as a model to get restarted ?

I would make Ian Holloway Blackpool coach...........

Could you imagine the interviews after the game.

I don't like football but they would be fantastic,he comes across as a very funny and passionate fella.

Basically that puts them out of the running , what they actually want is a club that doesn't currently exist , thats called ' expansion '

How many former players actually get involved in running clubs ?

Only Mark Aston and Carl Hall at Donny come to mind , players , even the football millionaires are not stupid enough to get involved in putting their money back into the sport that paid them for years

I noticed tonight that Mike Fords son was in the Leicester Tigers RU team playing at Bridgend , the former RL players involved in union push their offspring where the money is

Id much prefer the Soup Dragon i/c....

he's a breath of fresh air to a sport full of overpaid prima donnas etc etc

pity RL or the RFL couldn't find someone with the same passion to promote our great game...

I wonder how much actual ' marketing ' the Panthers have done in the fylde area ?

Perhaps we invite the best French team to Championship 1?

Instead of spending £ 250 grand a year doing that , why dont we just give that money to a Blackpool club ?

Just a bloody suggestion.

why fight the inevitable ? COME ON YOU FROGGIES !!

Yes , a poorly thought out one

I think what the demise of Blackpool shows again is that we desperately need a link either by promotion / relegation or franchise between the Championship league 1 & the National Leagues (both Summer & Winter versions).

I am trying to post a response to this but am struggling , yes it would be an ideal situation , but just how it would work , I dont eally know

Starbug: From my involvement in the Summer Merit League it seems that RFL people involved in the Summer National League are trying to pull the clubs in that league into a Semi pro structure with regards to for instance home grounds being able to take a gate etc.

I assume the RFL's vision is that if a Club like Blackpool goes under it can be slotted into another league at say NW Conference level ( as the FA did with Chester City FC) & replaced them by say Underbank playing out of say Glossop as 'Glossop High Peak RL' but still based in the 'Last of Summer wine' town or Warrington Wizards playing out of say Northwich or Witton as say 'Cheshire Cats RL'

A very very sad loss to the game, just as on the pitch the club was really looking good!

Funny how that tends to happen quite often when clubs go ' tit's up '

Probably something to do with spending money you dont have

amazingly logical eh ?

Once you lose a backer at this level then you are screwed as Blackpool had no ground, no marketing, limited supporters and were even playing out of Blackpool.

The team couldnt commit to next season as there was no one there to run the club. Shame that the ru club didnt take over running the club and going dual code.