To be fair Gotcha and I am not having a go at you, you need to know more of the facts before making a call like that as it is not just that simple... in fact it is really complex. The Newmarket scheme would be the one I would back and the one I think Wakefield Council want to back and will back! I am happy to tell you why, but it would be a long post and to be fair many might not be interested on this board.

My gut is telling me that the talks are really all about Cas dropping there plans and moving into the new community stadium at Newmarket, alongside Wakefield, whom have already agreed a deal with the Community Trust and the developer.

I also think that a merger is not the right way to go (Ground share fine though) and that Cas might be faced with, and possibly chose to stay put and drop out of SL and still play as Cas in the National League.

Unlucky bewildered, your well thought out post got stuck in the middle of a bunch of gompers trying to be funny.

IIRC haven't the RFL already made reference to sides needing to be further on with new stadia than just outline planning permission when the next round of licence applications go in?

While not disagreeing with your satement (edited) above, although we have not had to consider a ground share with the Bulls, we do have to do exactly that with Leeds Carnegie & just look at the arguments/debate that rouses on here. Sadly logic, common sense & financial realism don't figure highly in most fan's thoughts.
Remember that he who pays the piper calls the tune so it will be the politicians in Wakefield who will make the final decision. Both sets of fans will then have to like it or lump it.

Indeed it did.



Yes they have, but suspect that as long as they can demonstrate they have things sorted contractually then the RFL are likely to accept that as sufficient to grant one of both of them another 3 years... BUT if still not sorted by the time after next, they are both chocolate ducked!!!

Pretty much agree with all of that.

I know I've been a bit naughty in the past saying that they should merge but even ground sharing seems unreasonable to the two sets of fans.

It's a shame because one ground, two clubs halves the cost doesnt it? Makes both clubs stronger straight from the off.

Don't worry I take no offence from it. You are from that industry, and will know a damn site more than me on it.

I have seen your posts previously on it, and can understand why they council would prefer the Newmarket site. Personally though, I don't think that will go through without time wasting oppossition. And I don't think the RFL should wait that long for assurances.



I do think it would work though, and I think the RFL should enforce it. I notice how you only mention Cas in that statement though. In all honesty I think Cas bring more to the game, and would be better for the game, than Wakefield do. Of course that's my opinion though.

A true merger would result in more than 50% of the fans of each club walking away rather than watch a merged side IMO, leaving the new club with a shiny new stadium and nobody sitting in it.

How many true mergers have their been in RL over the last 20-30 years, rather than what have in effect been takeovers?

Wests is probably the only one that springs to mind where the identity of both teams was retained. St George was in effect a takeover with the sop of retaining a couple of games at Illawarra and the name, likewise Hull FC-Gateshead and Huddersfield-Sheffield.

We had this a couple of months back. It's all opinions. What you have with Cas and Wakefield is nothing like Hull -Gateshead, or Huddersfield-Sheffield. It is a completely different scenario.

And yes, you are right to say initial opinion would be against. But I am 100% convinced that if enforced by the RFL it would prove a success. It certainly would be an improvement on what we have now.

Which was my point - in the other two cases you had a bigger team effectively taking over a weaker one and retaining its own identity, ground, fanbase etc with a couple of cosmetic changes.

If you're talking about a true merger of Cas and Wakefield to create a brand new "third party" club such as Calder, then (IMO) it won't carry any of those things from either Cas or Wakefield and will be starting again almost from scratch having alienated a large percentage of its potential target audience (rugby league fans in the Five Towns area).

Which is the bit where opinions are all subjective.

If the RFL enforced a merger and gave no membership to any offsprings, there is no doubt in my mind that it would work. They love their RL down in Cas, and despite it been a minority in Wakefield the diehards love it there too. They may give initial oppossition but they would go in the end.

Neither club as it stands is doing anything more than making up the numbers, yet Cas fans especially continue to go. The game would be far better with the one merged club. I see no benefit in either as a singular club in super league.

There will be no enforced merger by the RFL, IMO.

It's a matter for Castleford and Wakefield to sort out between them and merger, I imagine, would be low down both club's lists.

An agreed site for a groundshare appears the logical way forward.

The RFL wouldn't want the publicity that would ensue from effectively closing two businesses and making people redundant