Generally I'm against mergers because they usually only benefit one club and one set of fans but if what you say is true, surely there is a very strong case for a club representing the whole of Cumbria to be put forward for SL.

Don't get me wrong I appreciate the tradition and history of the Cumbrian clubs, but if what you say is true and fans of the sport would rather watch a SL side over their own, surely there can't be too strong an argument against it?

One good team in a central location, could work in cumbria, cant be worse than the Quims can it

Any game where one of the top clubs announces a deficit 10 times the amount that drove another club to the wall and dosn't bat an eyelid is on a downward spiral.

But hey it'll all turn out right in the end.

Don't forget another sport has a new sponsor , is on another subsciption channel, and is getting bucket loads of media intest except probably from the previous broadcaster ( NRL anyone?)

If a broadcaster decides it dosn't want to pay the same amount for a product but less for more ( M& S were/are renowned for doing that) then the game will survive but no way in its' current form.

The next 12-18 months are crucial to the state of professional RL in this country.

As things stand at the moment I am not sure that the foundations are that strong and the edifice could come tumbling down.

We shall see.

Workington to Barrow is 60 miles down the A595 - which is still single track in places. If you're going to drive an hour and a half or more to watch rugby, you might just as well go down the M6 to Wigan or Saints?

When this happened at Keighley at the end of last season, our former chairman, Neil Spencer, was not allowed to have anything to do with the club as it came out of administration as he's failed the "Fit and Proper person" test on the grounds that an executive director of a club that goes into administration can't be on the board of a Rugby League club for 5 years (I think).

So I'd assume that the RFL wouldn't allow executive members of the Whitehaven board to buy the club out.

The game below SL level is in a pittifull state. Utterly Pittifull. Dwindling crowds and two clubs every season getting points deductions for going bust. Widnes, Rochdale, Gateshead, Doncaster' Whitehaven, Blackpool, all broke at some stage in the last few years. Salford had to borrow a 100k loan of the local council to keep them afloat this season, Quins in dire trouble. My own club York has seen average crowds dive from 1500 to 1200 + last season, down to to about 900 this season and that's with us finishing 3rd after a lackluste but non that bad a season. Workington Gateshead Swinton Rochdale Blackpool and London Skolars all have very very poor crowds sub 400 at times God knows how they keep going, it's so sad but it has to be said outside SL the game is on it's . The only bright spots are Widnes ( Widnes are still on a roll because they are probably going to get a SL license ) Halifax, Sheffield ( Bold move to Bramhall Lane seems to have upped the crowds a little ) Leigh seemed to have steadied the ship a little. Barrow and Toulouse both seemed to have a huge nosedive in crowds this season. Whoever get's the boot out of SL will really really struggle for years.

Workington Town were a great success weren't they 15 miles away from Whitehaven so 2 big "clubs" within a 15 minute drive and they managed a lower fan average than any other team in SL that year...with 2 wins and a draw...as well as shipping 1021 points in 22 games.....that's 46 points a game
I have no doubt that the people of the area would flock to this "central" location you mention as well as have no issues with merging with their local rivals.........they welcomed the opportunity in 1995/96.....

As for Harlequins Rugby League..........idiots like you have no concept of success unless it's your club. The London club have never received funding from the RFL, never finished in a relegation position, never broken the salary cap and now have the most british SL team with 11 cockneys on their books.....yeah, that's failure They have for the last 3 years been operating at a loss due in part to the RFL not enforcing the Wigan Chairmans commitment to sell his shares, so therefore, if anything, the RFL have hindered the possibility of Quins being a "success" in your eyes.
As I have said before speedy....calling us quims only makes you look like a c()nt

If the NL clubs are going to survive they need aligning to a SL club. They will be able to use the spare players not being used and paid for by the SL clubs. There administration costs should also be reduced by economies of scale i.e. one set of groundsmen doing both grounds coaching through the SL. They might also get better crowds if their sides had players from the SL clubs?

Stand alone on <1000 spectators makes no sense to me. As for Cumbria - the strength is in the National Conference which gets bigger crowds than the NL - SL in Cumbria no way.

Hmmmmm!

Usual considered reply - what happened to Keighley, they would have been better being aligned to Bradford especially when Bradford were at their best

History of Rugby League, it foundations and development.

You mean they should become the SL clubs reserve side , how many fans watch reserve RL ? , you seriously think what few fans are left would actually pay to watch a SL clubs reserves masquerading as their once proud club

The current Whitehaven BOD did not create the mess. They took over when Haven were already in deep financial trouble to try and prevent this from happening. Unfortunately for them HMRC have lost patience and demanded their cash immediately which has tipped them over the edge. I think Haven's BOD have made a lot of mistakes, such as their extension of Ged Stokes' contract, but they can not be blamed for Haven's overall financial state as the damage was done before they assumed control.

If Keighley ever alligned with Br*dford I (and I reckon 3/4 of all Keighley fans) would never go to watch them again.

We hate everything about the city, the club and the council.

What we need is a system that treats all clubs fairly. Right now there is effectively a glass ceiling between the Super League and the championship.

Fans are deserting in droves because there nothing for them to aspire to. My Dad is one of them, he barely missed a game for 10 years, now he only bothers to turn up a couple of times a year. Why? Because ever since Keighley got screwed out of a Super League place the game's been more about what goes on off the field than on it.