Ignoring the boring dig at the end...

They are a club in a huge city not too far away from the RL heartlands, have performed well in the CC, have been getting admittedly smallish but respectable crowds in a stadium with no atmosphere and poor views (1.1k average I think I read), have a good youth system in place from what I've read and have now moved to a superb facility in Bramall Lane.

They have all the makings of what the RFL want as a SL club. They aren't there yet, but could be in 5 years time.

I have a lot of sympathy with Sheffield after they were raped by Huddersfield. The only right and moral thing would be for Sheffield to take Huddersfield franchise for the next 3 years.

Said this for ages, cumulatively the National League is not that far away from having better stadia than SL.

Next Season

Halifax
Widnes
Leigh
Oldham
Blackpool
Doncaster
Sheffield
Gateshead

as lower league clubs will ALL be playing in better grounds than Super League Counterparts St Helens, Bradford, Leeds, Hull KR, Wakefield, Castleford, Celtic, & Salford





So in effect half of the national league clubs will be playing in better grounds than more than half of super league!!!! Can you imagine that happening in other sports?! Its time for the abovementioned clubs to pull their thumb out their harrises

To be fair - a lot of those Championship clubs have backing from the Council. Halifax certainly wouldn't be finishing the East Stand early next year without the local council's intervention. That said, SL clubs who got a criteria point on the back of a promise last time should have that expunged until they actually get the bloody thing finished. No more promises !!

The shay is only better then 2 of the SL teams stadiums you mentioned
Have you seen where Blackpool play now? it isn't the football stadium
Gateshead's stadium isn't that good and is miles away from the stadium
Boundry Park is a tip, just because it has seats it doesn't mean it's a good stadium.

I'd take the Jungle & Knowsley Road over most of the teams stadiums you've listed there, proper RL stadiums which if it wasn't for the RFL's ridiculous idea that everyone should have a brand new stadium matters more then the on field product nobody would be talking about how "bad" they are.

I'd go along with that. Each to their own but i HATE sitting at a match. Forever having to stand back up to let the weak bladdered go and have a p[iiss[/i - really hacked me off that did at the Championship GF. Yes, these old stadiums "cosmetically" look bad for the game but i love them. The atmosphere is proper and true and my flat cap seems to fit better in these "hell holes". I love them.

You are clueless.

Agree with every word.

hmm but Leeds is an old dumpy ground yet suitable.
I think it's more to do with the facilities and creature comforts more than anything.

Never been to Bramall Lane so looking forward to my visit.

Better stadium and good for the fans, not sure it helps the Eagles though, they still dont have their own stadium and their finances are partly in the hands of a rival sport. This doesnt strengthen their super league prospects for me unless the Blades have given them a 20 year guarantee on a minimal rent.....which I doubt they have somehow.

Sharing with football clubs and not having their own staidum killed the Broncos, it's not the way forward imo. At least the DVS was council owned (?) and the Eagles had some security there.

What ever your opinion is off me is irrelevant. I have a valid point and don't like it.

If you don't like it..why make it?



As the owners of the Eagles (Thompson/Adams etc) wanted the merger there was consent so no 'rape'

occured.

Somehow I think other SL clubs will be relegated before the Giants.

The eagles are a VERY well run club with NO overdraught or debts, how many other clubs can say that, they could get respectable crowds and Bramall Lane meets the required standards ok, so why not Eagles for SL?

I think the main gripe for people is the crowds they get. Little over a thousand, which would probably translate to Salford-sized crowds in SL at best. If they can get them up to about 2,000 in CC then it might give them a better standing.

Could swap em for Salford and get a better run club with a better stadium then

I'm kinda liking Salford at the moment.


I like that we have a team based in an area where you can film a series based in 1973 and not need to use movie props to get the effect.

Or you could swap them for an even better club?

I think that maybe one out-of-season match on the road would be the way to do this. SL play an away friendly while the local Championship side plays in the first match of the double-header.

As it would not be SL the rights could go to the BBC and it could get promoted as a national thing.

(Just this weekend I saw a "this is how the NFL works" show on ... 5? ... in the buildup to the match in London, why not have the on-the-road matches be with a view to being on TV, with a build-up show to explain to novices?)

I dont really see this as making the Eagles any more of a potential SL entrant , Both stadia are far too big and neither will generate atmosphere with the crowds they get at the moment or even if they did get a SL place

If they could find a 5,000-10,000 capacity stadium they might start to get somewhere

DVS is not council owned. It's owned by Sheffield Internation Venues, who seem to think that it's appropriate to play rugby league on a pitch covered in broken glass.

There isn't one in the area AFAIK. I know that Chesterfield are currently building a new 10,000ish capacity stadium, but apart from football & darts theres not really much sport in Chesterfield. (I know this, having lived there for 17 years)

Doncaster has it's own team, with the stadium. Perhaps it would be for the best after all for Sheffield & Doncaster to merge. Sheffield's squad with Doncaster's facilities would help the game survive in the area IMO.

Maybe you are right, but you just can't force a merge on two teams, they have to do it themselves.