Pot / Kettle / Black

Thursday 30th September 1999, [i"The Sharks are deeply in debt, and after the merger a club with Hull's name is likely to play in the division from which they escaped relegation, the Northern Ford Premiership. The newly-merged club are likely to play on in the north east rather than East Yorkshire" [/i

[i"The Association of Premiership Clubs blocked proposals for the newly merged company to enter a separate Hull-based team in the Northern Ford Premiership and so the new club would be called Hull FC and play all its home games in Hull. This was widely seen as a takeover simply to allow Hull to remain in Super League."[/i

Tuesday 16th November 1999, [i"Super League clubs yesterday gave their unanimous backing for a merger between Gateshead and Hull Sharks. The move brings to an end Super League rugby in Gateshead as the newly-formed club will play in Hull. The merger's acceptance means the new club will receive £1.25m over two years."[/i

i like that

Quins are doing a fantastic job. They deserve every beat of help the RFL give them. The work they are putting in on the ground over a geographically massive area is superb.

Its a shame and I dont like to see anyone out of work, but I think its time to just let Harlequins go. Professional rugby league in london is never going to work

Lets just go back to the M62. Hmm lets see what Murdock thinks!!! Stick to your village fate mentality

I am still to be convinced by this SL need a team in London otherwise the Sky TV deal goes down. The people who have sky subscriptions in the south that are linked to RL, are most likely to be supporters of heartland clubs teams who have relocated to London, or Aussies. There cannot be a large proportion of subscriptions for Sky sports based on the existence of Harlequins for two reasons (1) They only average c3k fans and (2) they are hardly ever on Sky Sports (so people purchasing a subscription to watch them say 4 times a season - can't see it myself.

I suspect far more subscribers would be lost from the Northern area, if Sky reduced the income, thus in turn forcing some of the traditional heartlands clubs out of a smaller SL, or if a broadcasting deal was done with someone else. I know quite a few who only subscribe to Sky Sports because of SL.

If Sky want a london team so much, the simplest solution is that they should increase the sponsorship deal so that we can accommodate Widnes with the existing 14 clubs without each clubs share of the money being affected. The only problem with this is that Harlequins seem to be struggling with the share they get at the moment, and whilst undoubtedly clubs like my own (Wakey) aren't exactly rolling in cash, we are certainly not being supported by the major shareholders to anyhting like GBP 1.5m a year.

The bottom line here is whatever anyone thinks about the benefits or otherwise of a SL team in London, it woul be plainly wrong and possibly lead to a legal challenge if the RFL were to kick out either Wakey or Cas, if in a clear and transparent franchise process, they both scored more points than Harlequins (or Harlequins could only continue with significant cash being stumped up by the RFL)

The numbers don't lie - the interest for Quins in SL just is not there in terms of attendances, no Quins fan can honestly say that 2000-3000 is anywhere near good enough for a Super League team.

Right then. Feeding time is it? OK.
HullKingstonAustraliaforever....you need to lie down matey. What, with Quins RL asking for clarification on who is allowed own what and who is responsible for what, you seem to think the club have asked for a handout. They haven't. They have asked that the IL situation be cleared up. David Hughes is currently propping up 100% of the club he owns 35% of and that is unacceptable. As it is, Harlequins Rugby League, as of this moment in time have no overdraft, no banc or commercial loans and are self sufficient. David Hughes has had enough of the RFL lingering on the 65% owned by the chairman of the Wigan Warriors and has decided to ask for a resolution of this.
I repeat, Quins RL have no debt......just a chairman with the patience of a saint.
Roofs.......you know mw better pal. I have always said that, IMO opinion the club was badly run and what is happening now would seem to prove me right. I still say, if we step down, we will do so with no debt. Widnes will replace us and they will be a credit to SL......but let's not forget the other clubs in SL with debts....real debts by the way, owed to banks. Let's not forget how these debts were run up.......chasing the ellusive SL dream.....at the expense of youth development.
Lastly on this point I would like to point out this little factoid....Harlequins RL and the Broncos before them ARE responsible for the growth of RL in the capital and the south east. The RFL opened an office in London in 2006........who do you think employs the most community coaches in London in 2010...the RFL or Quins RL?
As I say, in my opinion, the club has been badly run for many years, but the losses that DH is currently taking are in some part down to work being done by the club that is really the responsibility of the RFL.

It really is a sad day for the sport when certain people, who are supposedly fans of RL take some form of pleasure in picking over the bones of a club in trouble. As is happening in Cumbria, the game is facing an uncertain future and yet these "fans" seem to take pleasure in it not being their club in trouble........well, I for one hope that the uncertainty in London and Cumbria never befalls your clubs. Not because of you, but because of the 99.99% of decent fans who it will affect.

You couldn't be more wrong - I like the Cumbrian clubs, it's a great RL area, and I honestly hope that Haven manage to sort themselves out.

GF obviously in reality you won't be kicked out of SL. Like I said before, according to the Hull Daily Mail Crusaders, Quins & Cats are all safeguarded from the boot because of the expansion campaign, so you'll almost certainly get another franchise.

You miss the point roofs.
Like it or not, in the modern era, League needs to be seen as more than a local sport...it needs to be national. London RL are a badly managed business, but they are key to the growth of the game. I have said, if Quins need to step down, then so be it, but if they do and the RFL are left with 12 community coaches wages to pay in the south east, together with equipment, transport etc...I think you will see the RFL's profit drop by a few quid next year.
Haven and all the other clubs that are in trouble (some of the in the top league) are all suffering as a result of the economic downturn. Quins are in trouble for a whole different set of reasons, most of their own making, but some, outside their control.

DH wants the IL share issue sorted. He isn't looking for anything other than a chance to attract an investor/investors who at present are not interested due to IL's stance on his investment in the club to date.

I repeat.....the picking over the bones and the nad rubbing are in bad taste foofs....regardless of who the club is and I hope that financial strife never hits East Hull...........oh, hang on



As for being bolted on for a licence.......the Hull Daily Mail may have a source at Red Hall who knows something we don't, but if Quins RLgo under, even though it won't be administration, they would not be able to compete in SL next year...and would therefore have to drop down to CH1 and try to build from there.