It would have to be London Rugby League Football Club as RFC is the standard for any rugby union club. Any possible move should avoid confusion, helps if we can market the club on the front foot rather than having to explain what sport we play, then yeah we're not them, and then tell them about ourselves.

We could have a terrace and everything.

I'm sure you will be delighted to know that the school nearest to RFU HQ plays League and not Union. It is prejudice like yours that really doesn't help.

Is Twickenham (the geographic area) steeped in union? Twickenham RUFC don't exactly set the world alight. Whilst I personally grew up in the midlands two generations of my family grew up in Twickenham / Hampton. The only way RU crossed their radar was as a total nuisance when there was a big game on. (Traffic / parking issues etc.) When we played at The Stoop first time around we got bigger gates than Quins RU. So, have 12000 people from Twickenham started to support them or does that support come from somewhere else? Judging by the number of Quins RU shirts I see around here / on Clapham Junction on match days I suspect a large chunk of their support lives a lot more than your quoted 3 miles from the ground. (The nearest radio station to Aldershot carries Quins RU results in their sports news as it happens.)

London is a football city. When I moved to London, 1991, you had Quins,London Scottish, London Welsh, London Irish, Richmond, Wasps, Saracens, Blackheath and Rosslyn Park amongst the top 20 teams in England. Only Quins survive at the top level in London. Saracens, Wasps and Irish moved out. Richmond and Scottish hit serious financial issues. Blackheath hit financial issues whilst Rosslyn Park chose to remain amateur and Welsh hang on in at level two. Several of those teams play close to Twickenham suggesting it may not be a quite the centre of RU many imagine it to be given their fates.

You may associate Twickenham with RU but I'd suggest a large chunk of those people living there do so as it has a large number of good schools for their kids in the vicinity. (House price rises will have forced out many of the 'traditional' Twickenham families too). The fact that RU is played there is probably irrelevant to the vast majority of local residents.

Wakefield used to have a rather good RU team too. Should we have stopped play RL there too?

Well said, sir.

I am happy that Quins have been good hosts to us.

At the risk of using the M word on this board, but until we get our own stadium and a broad range of sponsors/donors then we are always likely to move stadium and owners. So any marketing spend on an identity linked to stadium/owner will be a waste of money long term. Don't see how the RFL (or David Hughes) can spend their money promoting 'Quins', 'Broncos' or any other linked brand, and we do need their money.

What is this obsession with putting our club in a 'working class' area? I find it insulting. The working class in London, i.e. New Cross, would lap up RL would they? Would they balls - they're no easier or harder a sell than anyone else in London. Football is king down here, just accept it.

I'm not working class and would never pretend to be. Did I get into rugby league because it was the game of 'the people'? No. Emphatically no. I got into it because its a fast, free-flowing, entertaining spectacle. We should be marketing on that basis, not some mythical class-based system. Its ludicrous. My favourite sport is cricket, traditionally seen as a middle class sport. Class is irrelevant and anybody basing our future 'identity' on this is an idiot.

I couldn't agree more with the previous post. The club needs to be inclusive, not looking to pigeon hole themselves.

Halfdan of t'wide embrace and PP are spot on about Twickenham as well. I see the return to the Stoop in many ways as an opportunity squandered, but I am optimistic things can be turned around with patience and effective decision making.

PTB, I agree whole heartedly, and the letter I wrote to RL Express in their issue this week just ending says pretty much the same thing.

I think that they have been good hosts to us and I would imagine that a more successful Quins RL could only benefit Harlequins RU, they can't be happy so be their shirts failing to make tackles, or the ground looking empty.

I believe we pay rent now, which is speculated at £200k a year, which seems reasonable.

It would have been interesting to see how close the partnership might have got had our money stayed around.

Quins RU could have been alot worse to us, they do seem broadly supportive and that is a stance that may alienate some of their fans who distrust rugby league.

It really is up to them what happens three years down the line as £200k isn't that much, they can kick us out and we would have to find somewhere of our own.

The point about The Broncos getting more fans in then Quins RU, is a poor argument, in my opinion. RU is fairly new to most people and there was an obvious boom in the sport in 2003 when England won the RUWC. That elevated people like Jonny Wilkinson into houses across the country and more people started watching and playing the game as a result. I was in school in 2003 and kids who were football fans soon started playing with an egg shaped ball and joining local RU teams as a result.

I see Salford's gate against the mighty HKR on Friday was 2,000! Rovers would have brought a few so next time an M62'er quotes our gates refer them to this one!

Hmm... https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ty_Stadium

Hmm... https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ty_Stadium

Ok firstly, what are the transport links like?
And secondly would you still keep Quins or return to London ......
?

Wimbledon would be good. Train, tube and bus links.

and a league football team now!!

Maybe we will end up in MK like the original Wimbledon did!!

So Twickenham, with its affluent catchment and general air of rugby union, we don't like, but notoriously gritty, working-class, league-friendly Wimbledon is?

Good to know.

Doesn't even say exactly where the stadium is, but the transport links to the whole borough of Merton are good, as it doesn't say where the stadium could be beyond that it could be good or bad.

It would be just like us to actually go and build a stadium and then put someone else's name on it.

We don't know, but there'd be no point in keeping the Quins name.

London Wombles? Only slightly more silly than Skolars.

London Penguins, named after one of the only posters speaking any sense on this thread.

Probably because AFC Wimbledon haven't announced exactly what they are up to meaning the article is likely to be a mish mash of guess work and gossip.

Dons have intentionally not named sites yet to avoid the price of the land shooting up. It is an open secret they are working on a plan, and three or four sites are widely whispered. In April 2010 their Chairman said that if all went well they may put forward a planning application in late 2011 so we may know more before next season.

There are also some interesting goings on behind the scenes at a Merton based non league football club who have quite a good ground (not Superleague standard though). It hasn't escaped some people's attention that at least one Merton Councillor had already mentioned this as a possible home for Dons. If that were to happen there won't even be a new ground.

Having said that if there is a new ground I wouldn't be totally surprised if we are involved. A dual sport ground opens up routes of funding not available to a one sport stadium.

i have a suggestion!!
lets try and find a stadium thats ideal for rugby with a good playing surface
Good stands with an acceptable capacity for super league
reasonably easy to get to with good road link to the m25 for away (and some home) supporters
tell you what lets try and find a place thats got a train station pretty close
Somewhere that can cope with the parking issues, if people have to drive
a stadium with decent bar, or a couple of bars if we get the folk through the door open em both
somewhere with decent clean toilets
oh yes and maybe the ability to have corporate boxes for those that want to pay the money
Maybe a purpose built rugby stadium! ith the realisation that our home support id not congregated in a small area around the club like wigan/saints/Huddersfield etc
we cant really afford to build our own stadium so we probably will have to share or rent somewhere we could have team/squad events if the need arises with an events room

Anyone think of anywhere?
maybe the Stoop would be good

What the London Penguins, are you sure?

The person who dares to suggest that RL league is not working class. And fails to see that moving to a working class area is the answer to all are problems. In these difficult financial times we all know the working class are falling over themselves to spend the 50 quid for 2 hour entertainment/ humiliation for family of 4!

At least we now all know what the really problem with RL is in capital, it's all Maggie’s fault if only she hadn’t driven the working class out of London !?!

Vote Penguin!

I'm surprised that on one has pointed out yet that Wimbledon is home to that other great sport of the people: Tennis.

It's really the perfect candidate.