Quite. To suggest that the club should be aiming for a demographic that is the same as for a team in a northern post industrial town is nonsensical.

One might as well say that Catalan Dragons should be aiming for an English supporter base.

It gave me a pretty good laugh too.

I'm sure Dagenham would be open to a groundshare.

I agree with Mark! Just as there are predominantly middle class areas exist (see Twickers) there are also working class areas in London. Newham, and Barking and Dagenham to pick two for example. It is usual today to deny classes exist but the economic reality cannot be denied. Neither can the working class origins of RL be denied, and that is the perception of the population who are aware of our game. There are a number of reasons why the Stoop has not worked and the games perceived class basis is one of them. Wherever we end up, roots have to be relaid, and I am convinced that football supporters are a more natural fan base to target than Union fans.

Of course as you say there are working class areas in London, not sure what world some are living in, if they deny that!

I'd disagree. Rugby league always had a decent middle class following in its heartlands. The club owners tended to be industrialists. The game would never have got off the ground without investment from mine / factory / mill owners.

Whilst there is an overlap between league and soccer in terms of origins and supporters social class, I don't think it has any meaning in terms of likelihood to follow both games. Rugby league is equally alien to middle class and working class folk outside the heartlands, few people are brought up with the game.

There is no reason to think that Dagenham folk are more open to league than Twickhenham people.

No but Twickers folk already have a rugby team and see no reason for another one!

Upper, middle and working class?
What year is it again?

There are the have's, the wanna have's and the chavs.....especially in London. Without going down a socio-demographic channel, Newham and other so called "working class" areas of London are predominantly a melting pot of multiple ethnicities, with a very high proportion of unemployment and are disproportionately a massive drain on the resources of the NHS (or whatever it's now called) and the benefits departments.

Rugby League, like soccer, Union, basketball, cricket, etc is a BUSINESS in this Century.....it makes little difference where you play games so long as you create demand for tickets. Saracens have shown how it is done......it makes little difference that they are now in Barnet as opposed to Watford.....they have shifted the extra 5,000 tickets for each home game through creating demand.

there is an underclass now of a generation that doesn't know what work is and who expect everything to be given to them on benefits...this is the new 'LOWER" OR "WORKING CLASS" and they are not the target audience any business should be looking at!

I can understand that but I've never understood the argument that working class Londoners would have more of an affinity for rugby league than their posher brethren. If anything you might argue that middle class folk might be more open to new experiences.

Lower Classes go dogging...middle classes go Swinging...the upper classes just enjoy f**king the other 2

You don't understand it because that argument is a fallacy. We have surely played at enough places in London to know that location does not make much difference to how many fans we attract. What does make a difference is having a team that gives a and doing a bit of marketing.

It's 2013! thought you would know that!



There are classes still, and it can be seen by property, many are proud to be working class, and they do work! but they will always live in a council property or rented, there is no shame in that. Middle classes tend to own their own property! they are both that appeal more to football and rugby league. Of course this is not always going to be the case, there will be some upper class, but not many.

What impressed me at that first game at Fulham, was how it was working class and mainly Families, not just children and parents, but grandparents, it felt as if the club was part of the community. I wonder if we had continued to play at Fulham what our attendances may have been now? with a good fan base, would the team also have been better, no one will ever know that answer.

I don't agree completely with jbuzza, yes what happens on the pitch is most important, you can spend all the money in London, but if the product is not right, fans will not come back over and over again. Fans in the North are 95% from that community, they have grown up with the game and club, we will not have that for a long time and we have to stay in one area if we are going to achieve that, but I know it will never be Twickenham.

@jaybs

I don't know that these working class communities really exist any more. Fulham RLFC was the early 80s - since then we've had the loss of traditional jobs plus gentrification; further mass migration and white flight.

I remember reading Nick Hornby's book on soccer. On moving to Highbury, he had expected it to be full of Arsenal fans loyally making the pilgrimage every Sunday, instead he found that Arsenal fans travelled in and the local community viewed home games as an inconvenience. And that was a book written in the early / mid 90s.

Broncos need a base to create a community but the community needs to be created, it does not exist naturally. Even if Fulham had stayed Fulham, there would have been a need to keep recreating the community of support.

My point is that it is no more likely to be successful in any other place in London. Remember we had some good crowds at the Stoop first time round. By focusing on location we are simply trying to solve the wrong problem. It is a smokescreen for all the other failings at the club. Frankly ridiculous that our future is dependent on this. Makes you wonder if David Hughes wanted an excuse to get out when he saw what a failure things had become.

Don't know if you will remember, but first time around we always did well with corporate boxes all full every game, there was also a time when we did a promotion with Capital Radio, who at that stage were the Number 1 Radio Station, also we had a fair team, think of some of those big names.

Seriously David Hughes could have got out at any time, he never needed excuses, you just cut off the tap! be fair the personal money pumped in has been way above what any owner has put in any club in Super League virtually. Wakefield is in a mess for £400,000, David Hughes put in just over £2 million a season.

I didn't intend to start a class debate but its funny how these forums go on here. An argument between posters always results! Ha.

Anyway, here is the piece your comments helped inform: [urlhttp://markillsport.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/should-we-be-worried-about-london.html[/url

Good luck to the Broncos for 2014 and the long term. Keep supporting Rugby League and your team and don't keep the Rugby League secret to yourselves like many northerners want to!

You would have to be a total simpleton to want to return to Fulham.

Anyone who has visited the ground will know it's not particularly accessible by car for visiting supporters and has a lot of parking restrictions in the area so even less 'away' fans will bother coming. Even from a home supporters perspective the nearest tube station is a good 10 minute walk.

Griffin Park (Brentford) was in a not particularly nice area with only on street parking for away fans (as far as I can remember), a 10 -15 walk to the nearest tube station and the ground itself was nothing special.

Loftus Rd (home of QPR) has been mentioned on other forums and might be a reasonable option. Parking in selected streets nearby to the ground is free at weekends, Shepherds Bush is the nearest tube and is a 10 minute or so walk. There is a large Westfield Shopping centre in Shepherds Bush )about 15 mins walk) with an underground car park if you don't fancy parking on the streets around the ground.