Quote: Derwent "To be honest its a chicken and egg situation. I honestly believe that there is a groundswell of opinion that Town and Haven should get together and look at forming a West Cumbria club (forget Barrow for geographical and logistical reasons). The problem is that nobody wants to put their head above the parapet and lead it, for the fear of it failing and them being branded as the person who tried to kill off Town or Haven. The biggest problem though is money, or rather the lack of it. Once upon a time we could have looked to the nuclear industry for large scale funding for a stadium and infrastructure etc but since that industry was privatised the tap has been turned off somewhat. I do actually believe that, done properly, a SL team could succeed around here as there is a lot of interest in RL - its the thousands who don't currently attend either Town or Haven games that should be polled rather than the diehards of both clubs. But without the money to start it up then its a non-starter and I just don't see where that money is going to come from in the current economic climate.
Personally I would like to see the RFL act as facilitators and lead a study to determine once and for all whether its a goer or not. They could start by inviting all potential stakeholders - both clubs, both borough councils (Allerdale & Copeland), Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Tourist Board, University of Cumbria, Lakes College, major local employers etc - to a meeting to gauge opinions and explore the pros and cons. They could even have it in secret somewhere to protect the innocent ! I think if you got all of these organisations around a table then you would at least get a decent basis to say yes lets do a proper feasibility study or no its a complete non-starter and lets put it to bed once and for all. At the moment nobody actually knows and everybody just works off assumption, and in some cases pure fantasy. It'd be nice to have some reality.'"
Where would such a club play, in order to satisfy the fans of both clubs?
The history of mergers in RL is pretty disastrous. I just can't see it working. I'd love to see a club representing Cumbria in Super League, but it has to be viable. That would need more than you suggest above. It needs a new stadium, a large and measurable fan base, and a man with an awful lot of money. As it stands, there is little evidence of any of this. Without any of this in place, it is a complete non-starter and likely to just go the way of the Celtic Crusaders. In fact, anecdotal evidence would suggest, that there is a great deal of hostility to any merger.
Therefore, if the RFL or anyone tries to force through such a club, with the offer of a guaranteed SL spot, it could backfire dramatically. There needs to a lot more than just sentiment behind the inclusion of any club into SL. A club needs to be rock solid all round, with a bullet proof bid. Can you seriously see any likelihood of such a strong Cumbria club emerging any time soon?
There isn't even one in the offing at the moment.
