rlhttp://www.redpassion.co.uk/forums/wrexham/46040-crusaders-move-wrexham-full-time-2.htmlrl some interesting posts

The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth


I almost feel soiled replying to you.

There really is there.
They said the merch is already in the Wrexham shop so there's your answer kids.
Some positive talk though and you never know...

Bookmark that site and go back a few months into the ground-sharing arrangement and see how different the tone is then!

Quote: bowes "Ideally you'll be right, though the rumours are that they're letting in a South Wales Crusaders side based in Neath and turning away an independently backed (by a consortium, not just 1 man who'll run both Crusaders clubs) side based in Bridgend. Still until tomorrow it remains just rumours'" www.google.com/hostednews/ukpres ... TptpELSiXA looks like we'll have more info on the Sth Wales team but the Wrexham move appears to have hit a 'snag'

Quote: bowes "Ideally you'll be right, though the rumours are that they're letting in a South Wales Crusaders side based in Neath and turning away an independently backed (by a consortium, not just 1 man who'll run both Crusaders clubs) side based in Bridgend. Still until tomorrow it remains just rumours'" www.google.com/hostednews/ukpres ... TptpELSiXA looks like we'll have more info on the Sth Wales team but the Wrexham move appears to have hit a 'snag'

The only good news there was that the Neath team were referred to as "South Wales" rather than "South Wales Crusaders".

rugby league in wales wont now or ever work so wh not just admit it .

salford wakey and what ever they are called at the time crusaders need to be worried at the franchise time

There you go then, pity no-one listens to your ramblings

Leigh will be able to sleep soundly though

It took 3 seasons to build up to the mess that was a SL Crusaders, now the club are going to relocate and ... succeed? OK then.

I've avoided posting on this thread, quite content to watch the entrenchment occur without any interference from me. As usual the "Flatcap Brigade" (which sadly consists mainly of (other) Leythers) post on here are showing their narrow minded and parochial approach to the game, while the expansionistas are digging in for the long haul by the usual tactic of selective quoting and sarcasm.

'Plus ça change plus c'est la même chose' as I'm sure TB would say on the Sinbin.

I'm in a bit of an unusual position... I'm an expansionist, but never believed that a South Wales club was viable for many reasons, most of those touched on by the FC'ers here. I believe the game WILL die if it remains embeded in the heartlands, but I also don't think that you can grow by sticking a pin in a map and saying 'OK, new club.........HERE!'.

It just doesn't work like that, we should have learned from the PSG debacle and taken lessons from Les Cats. Catalonia has an RL tradition that we have run with, South Wales - no matter how often we've tried to set a club up there - hasn't.
North Wales on the other hand, as I've said over and over going back to the days when Celtic Crusaders were first mooted, DOES have an RL fan base, and is a natural 'organic' growth area.
Granted 95% or more will be fans of other clubs already, but there is a burgeoning RL base in North Wales, and particularly in the Liverpool/Chester/Widnes commuter belt that is the Wrexham/Mold area. I grew up round there and know even back then that there was an RL following among the local English - I used to go and watch Leigh with a few locals at the time!
The relative success of the Coasters in surviving also shows that there is some interest there, even if it is among what is primarily the RU community. Remember, in North Wales, RU doesn't have the entrenched hatred of RL that is found to this day in the south of the country, even though there are many excellent RU clubs in the area, and many RU fans will happily watch RL in their clubhouse.
Finally, the Racecourse ground is a natural ampitheatre for RL, or at least was the last time I went - England v Wales RL, ten years ago or so? - and as long as it isn't costing the club anything to hire then I see no reason why it sholdn't get good attendances, certainly on a par with those achieved by the football club on the same ground.

Time will tell, and unlike all the anti expansionists on here, I'm not going to even pretend that i can tell the future, I'll leave that to Starbug and LittleRich, though I suspect they're really only guessing really!

Scooter Nick,

and what was the attendance at Wrexham when you watched England v Wales 10 years ago? How many were Welsh supporters?

I can confidently predict that the Toiletboys will struggle to turn out as many supporters as we in South Wales did. Remember we had shiite results, shiite management but still managed larger average crowds (and results) than some of the more trad heartlands teams last time they were in.

Now it looks like the Toiletboys management have shafted Nobby's recruitment campaign, we can expect rubbish results which will at least allow us to compare home supporter numbers on an equal footing.

With 3-4 years buildup the Celtic Crusaders averaged about 3500 home supporters. Let's see if the Gog Idris-come-latelys can turn out in the same numbers to Toiletboy home matches in order to save Wrexham FC.

Toiletboy?

Lost me there.

As to attendance, I fail to see your point, but I'll bet it will regularly surpass that of Harlequins after the first season. It's not too far off the M62 corridor, and as i said, is in a largely English part of Wales. FTR though, as you ask, I went to the game with friends from the area, about 15 all told, and all Rugby fans. Not RL fans, not RU fans, but Rugby fans, a common enough occurance in some parts of the country.
Not many of them were Welsh, but then what has nationality got to do with following your LOCAL side?

Acronym of Wrexham Crusaders is .....

and they shaat on us. Hence toiletboys.

As to your last question. you were at a Wales v England match. Wales were the "local" team. I'd imagine nationality plays a large part.