I doubt Quins add anything to the viewing figures. The name Harlequins never makes a game a must-see. I think you're overstating your importance, and being dismissive of a highly-populated part of the country where rugby league is big. And it isn't the fault of rugby league that you can't get people through the gates, and so I'm not sure why the game "deserves to suffer".

I wish you luck, but don't be so dismissive of your northern cousins.

He =#FF0000is one of our northern cousins.


Or brothers even.

www.sportexec.co.uk/descriptions ... 473351.doc Interesting read.

www.sportexec.co.uk/descriptions ... 473351.doc Interesting read.

"In preparation for the 2009 season...."

mmmmm... I was thinking that as well, bloody waste of 40 grand if someone was appointed and has sat on their all season

If it comes to it.........we should form a collective, collect £100,000 and take it to the Skolars with a view to an investment in 3 good players and some marketing. We could get the Skolars into the Championship and then build for SL three years later.

NIL DESPERANDUM

This may well be the job that I sent in an application for and heard nothing back. To put it into perspective, I submitted my CV to both the selection agency and the club directly and received NO COMMUNICATION AT ALL.


Regardless of whether I was aptly qualified or not is neither here nor there......I have applied for jobs in the past and always had a response, regardless of if I was suitable or not.....but Quins must have had thousands of people applying



The job went unfilled until after PB was selected as GM.

As it is, I believe the current Marketing person has worked with Paul Blanchard in the past (at the Brit Oval I think) and therefore, no search and selection fee would have been paid. Nothing like a bit of nepotism to fill a roll.......even though the particular role that needed filling is probably one of the hardest jobs in sports marketing and if I am honest, I am not that upset that I didn't get a look in. Thankless task with people having a pop 24/7 on RL Forum sites









So, there was nobody sitting on theit booty twidling their thumbs in 2009.

2010 on the other hand is a totally different matter

Looking at the role, responsibilites, environment and the remuneration it is definately one of the harder roles going aroind in sports management...

As for Blanchard bringing an ex colleague, I think nepotism might be too harsh a word. Its a common practice to bring ex colleagues and usually they are head hunted for a reason. That being said, the club hasnt exactly been kicking goals off field (or on) over the past couple of seasons

You don't say

And yet they pat themselves on the back for getting a local hotel and a 2nd rate SMS company on the shirts and getting a BELOW average gate for the St Helens game which was a double header. I seem to recall that the double header with saints was forced upon the club, yet the marketing manager actually felt ot was a success and warranted a DPS in RL world







I also pointed out when PB joined us his "colourful" CV........and tha fact he didn't hang around for too long in his previous roles........but was shouted down by the usual people. Anyone care to comment on his role in all this?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh

I dont see the problem as long as there was a proper business plan in place for the club to be financially viable. We might win more games, still play some good historic clubs and be able to build.

Avg Att 2009 Avg Att 2010 (so far)
Barrow 2,280 1,805
Batley 895 1,018
Halifax 2,325 2,255
Widnes 3,808 3,061

Widnes and Halifax average league attendances look quite impressive given they are playing in the Championship.

Rugby League in London outside Super League is pointless.

So what is the answer if there is a problem ?

RFL central funding ?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh f()cking what?

The club you and I support is close the edge and like it or not, it is close to the edge because of the inability to understand the need to market, then the inability to act on the recommendations of either the RFL or the RFL's representative on the best way, or at least one of the best ways forward.

Don't blame me for pointing this out Paddock. You were the one that told me to waste $7 on RLWorld.......and all I saw was a PR piece that did zero for the club but gave the marketing manager a pat on the back for getting a less than average crowd for the saints game.
I repeat...the saints game WAS NOT A MARKETING EXCERCISE BY Quins RL....it was forced on the club by Quins RU!

Let's say that interview etc took 1 hour...that hour would have been better spent melting the phones or trying to get some press that wouldn't be preaching to the converted........

96 home games since I started posting my marketing ideas on here in 2003..........if the club had managed to get 100 new fans to each of these games and 5 of these had become regulars we wouldn't be in the position we are now! Just 5 new regulars a game......would have added 500 to our average this season. If 20 had become regulars we would be averaging 5,500..........but hey, it's not something "we can" influence, so let's go back to "if I were the coach" posts



Last chance saloon and last orders paddock...and like it or not, it's been coming for a long time.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I would imagine all those clubs would expect to at least double those figures if they happened to be in Superleague. By the same logic I think we'd do well to retain half our current average of not much more than 3,000. I watch several NL games a year as a neutral and think it's cracking entertainment on the whole, but a lot of people who watch SL clearly think otherwise to judge from respective attendance figures.

I personally hope you guys pull through this the game needs a Superleague presence in London and I hope you are still in Superleague next season.
Good luck guys.
After reading the comments on this thread I have to say there are a lot of decent Quins fans on here and you can tell the passion is there for the club so just for that reason I hope you are still with us.

As someone who followed Fulham from their origins in my days of living in London, carried the posts from Craven Cottage to Chiswick Poly, and did my best to support the club's sundry financial crises over it's first 13 years, I'm sending my sincere hopes for your survival and revival. As a Wire I'll be there on Friday hoping to reverse last season's Stoop score, but that's just one day out of 365. We all know that only success will bring in the crowds needed for Quins to thrive, but the club has done a sterling job ( along with Skolars ) of grass-roots development and I predict you'll still be here in 20 years to gain the fruits of it.

I've just seen the announcement about Friday night's programme. I was at that first Fulham game and remember the tremendous sense of optimism about RL in London - plus the Pies were put to the sword which is always pleasant viewing for a Wire. Let's try and revive some of that optimism on Friday night.

Good post. But the development will bear fruit in the next 3 years You can quote me on that in 2013.

well said fella. london rugby league can and will play a big part in the shaping of the future of the sport as a whole, and quins are the flagship of that. at the moment its listing a bit, but it will come right. it will take time and effort but it will be worth it. the shoots are there. they just won't grow overnight

incorrect on so many fronts.

i went to university in twickenham for the sole reason of playing rugby union (and possibly to get some sort of bit of paper which may or may not have served me in the future). I ended up playing for the rugby league team, having never played rugby league in my life. the fact that i went to school in the boro of warrington is neither here nor there. our university league side went from nothing to winning busa in 4 years. it was made up totally of southern lads. they were all introduced to the game at university, and all now try and get down to quins when they can. many are lapsed, myself included but its inside them all, and none of them what the club to fold.
two of these players (that i am aware of, there may be more)have gone and set up amateur clubs. not just gone and played, but gone to a part of the country where league isn't played and set themselves up a club. between them they now have c60 other league players who watch, play and take interest in the game. one of these clubs is the only purely rugby league playing club in the south. ie they are not tennants of a union club. they are purely a rugby league club. thats progress. try telling any of these people that what they are doing is pointless, or for that matter players in devon, anglia, kent etc. The development that is happening will bear fruit. its now up to quins to tap into this market. if they can do this, then league in london can be big. someone is missing out on a massive opportunity, and a fair chunk of money.
i used to be a season ticket holder at the stoop. yes im a wire fan, but rugby league does need expansion. it won't die in the north, it just won't progress. the infrastructure has to be challenged. more players have to play the game, and have to have a pathway to take it as far as they can.
attendances are an issue, no one is arguing that. im guilty because i didn't renew my season ticket. quins are guilty as they didn't ask me why i didn't. there is a choice of things i could be doing on a sunday afternoon, and if i don't fancy going to quins, there would be many other places who would gladly take my 20 quid gate money. quins have to target the apothetic. there are so many who only need a gentle push. who at quins is going to give it?

I don't think anybody can argue with the previous post by Teddington Wire. It was also quite interesting to read his experience and view of Rugby League. I am sure there are many people in the South of England that have similar experiences too.

Couldn't agree more.