Got out of the wrong side of the bed did we?

celtic were hardly pullin up trees!!!! They came from somewhat obscurity to SL in absolutely no time!!!! given the time and chance to build a side, like le catalan and celtic, cumbra could put together a SL side. It always seems like that area has been out of favor with the RFL - which is a shame. Dont forget, SL has been played in cumbria before....!



If a cumbrian set up was considered, perhaps it should be a 'Cumbria and North East'...to include the cumbrian areas, Newcastle, Boro etc....whilst soccer is on the downturn up there it could be a fantastic chance for the RFL have another go with RL....ok, the gatehead thing fell on its backside, but so did PSG all those years ago...and French RL is now stronger than ever! There are plenty of stadia in the area where games can be played

I think some people are a little blinkered when it comes to Cumbria and the north east in general. Im not saying the game shouldnt be promoted in scotland, but in cumbria and the north east, the foundations are already there.

They could have a team in the next lot of franchises, they won't though. They will never get it together unless the three teams agree on a combined team playing in SL, there isn't enough support for a single team as Workington found out.




And name me a soccer team that will allow seven games of RL to be played on their pitch over the space of two days at the pointy end of their season...

I think you have got some good points there, Cumbria already have the seeds planted there and the North East is sports mad. Also they are not all that far away from the superleague heartland.
It took 21 years for "London" to get into professional status, Cumbria and the North East would probably only take about 5 years with the correct marketing and development.
The RFL should also look at the midland areas, Im sure there are are 2 amateur leagues operating there around the Dudley-Wolverhampton areas.

Graham's concern over player burnout is very fair. English test players are all overburdened by an excessive schedule list where they play on average 5 more games a season than NRL players, and then get blamed when they lose test series and tournaments. Unfortunately the players get the blame icon_rolleyes.gif , yet the major flaws in the schedule list remain.

One solution is this - hold next year's Magic Weekend in Paris. Play the England/France test then - i.e. not in a Mediterranean summer, nor in France's off season icon_idea.gif . As a curtain raiser, hold a Nines weekend featuring the SL clubs (minus their test players) and some emerging nations.

It's a myth that one. The North East is football mad.

Sir John Hall failed with his 'Newcastle United Sporting Club' idea...while the barcode fans come across as muppets, he couldn't convince them that ice hockey, basketball and union was worth their time and money.

So, putting aside that the time spent on the Magic weekend makes money, what exactly in Cumbria should we be spending time and money on?



So no problem then. It is a spectator sport and they are paid to entertain us. If playing in Edinburgh was dangerous they would have a point, but if f they just want to be able to play the game at their own convenience then I am sure they are many amateur clubs who would be happy to let them.



Crikey. When you put it like that, it really does put it into stark contrast. And I thought soccer fans had it tough when every year they hope that their teams will fail to qualify to play in Europe.

Michael.

There was some crazy talk of a soccer European Champions League at one point, but I believe it was rightly laughed out of court when the players' rep expertly advised that if you added such a comp on to the Premier League, FA Cup, internationals etc. all the poor loves would "burn out".

As for the risible plan of travelling for games in places as far afield as France, there and back in mid-week, well, you only have to say it to know how absurd a plan it was.

And apart from all that, if (say) Chelsea were to play (say) Barcelona on some random wet Tuesday, it is stating the obvious that not a single fan would travel, the game would be playd in an empty stadium.

You have to wonder at the mentality of the people who come up with these weird plans. No, a maximum of 5 games a year, against teams no more than 20 miles away, [ithat's[/i how you'll get quality.

I think he is on to something you know.

I mean, why would you want to take the game to a new area? Why would you want to promote the competition in a place that hopefully one day will have its own team?


I say we stop this rubbish and get back to the way it should be! Play St Helens vs Wigan 15 times a year, don't take the game to new areas, we want more Castleford vs Wakefield damn it!


Sure, sure, the growing profile of the game and the money that flows through the sport from these new areas pays for the wages of players like Graham, who would probably be digging ditches of he couldn't play footy, but all that is beside the point!


What we need to is contract the sport entirely. I have to say, I'm a bit annoyed that we went beyond the limits of Huddersfield 113 years ago. What was wrong with just playing exhibition games in the field next to the George Hotel, thats all we really need.


So yeah, Graham is right. Stuff Magic Weekend. Its all just a waste of time that generates money, exposure, that opens doors and helps the game grow.


I for one want all that to end!

That's easily the best post you've ever written!

Noone is suggesting such a fixture list. The real concern should be Graham having to play 35 games last year, and his captain Jamie Peacock having to play 39 matches in 2008 - yet their Kangaroo opponent Petero Civoniceva and Kiwi opponent Nathan Cayless each only played 29 games in 2008, in effect getting 6 and 10 weeks more rest & recovery time.

Wahey, only took 6 pages until someone realised what Graham actually meant.

why did he not say that then?

why say it now?

what has a trip to Edinburgh got to do with that?

why did he not say whether he is he willing to take the requisite pay cut?

I must admit, when Graham said about time and money being spent in Cumbria I was too stupid to realize he was actually referring to the number of games players have to take part in in the NRL.

Michael.

WHy should he take a pay cut?

Less games?

Hmmm.

Tough one.

"[iBoss, I want to play 10 or 12 games a year less, like that Civoniceva chappie. But I want to be paid the same wage. I won't play for what he is paid.[/i."

No, I can't think of any problem with that. Can anyone help me?

less games = less revenue

I worked it out before that SKY pay around £518k per round of SL - if you reduce the number of games, you are going to reduce the amount of money coming into the game - or are you assuming that SKY will be happy to pay the same for a lesser product?

Hang on.....they cover wendyball in divisions 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8,9 etc.....so why not

wow, I can't even begin to articulate how irrelevant that is!

Read all three posts above and then please begin to articulate........

Because the time and money being spent on Graham could be better used developing Cumbria.

Michael.

Nope, still irrelevant.

Unless you think that the fact that Sky screen lower division football is proof that they would pay the same for less televised games than they currently get.