Might be the 28 day funding that the RFL are talking about.

Sorry? Where do you live? In the WF6 area? If not then you wouldn't have an idea about how much RL has had an effect around this area.

what an awful argument.

Crowds aren't exactly poor though are they? For the size of towns/cities around this area I would say crowds are amazingly high.

unfortunately for you, the relative size of the crowds to the town you are in matters not one jot to the bank manager, nor to the wage demands of players, nor to the cost of suppliers.



In fact, in all but petty attempts at point scoring it is a meaningless and useless bit of trivia.



And relative to other clubs, your crowds arent 'amazingly high'.



A merger would give the club the opportunity to target another 6k RL fans we know exist in Wakfield, plus all the prospective fans Wakefield would be targeting, it means you dont have competition which is literally only one junction down the motorway cannibalising your market, it means you get about £2 million, and it pretty much guarantees you a license.

How about the "meaningless" bit of triva as Cas were one of only 3 teams last year to make a profit?

How about it?

That might matter to the bank manager and suppliers etc (the suppliers know they will get paid and what not), it also shows that out of 14 teams in the league - only 3 are run well enough to make a profit and one of those are supposedly one of the "weaker" teams.

one who doesnt spend the full salary cap.



Do you have any evidence of their profit, a cursory google doesnt seem to bring anything up, and in a franchise year you would expect them to be shouting it from the roof tops.

It does though doesnt it? We have no problems financially and when we get that stadium up we will be guarenteed a licence. Rugby League doesn't have a lot of money in it, so therefore I have no worries whatsoever.

I honestly dont know if smokey just wants to provoke an argument or he just doesnt get it,the people of castleford and wakefield (and fev for that matter) want to support there team in the top flight but not as much as they want to support there own team. Smokey seems to think that since we share a (innept and universally despised) council we feel some affiliation towards each other, even though anyone who lives or has spent much time in that district know that isnt the case. The people of cas feel no more affiliation to wakey than they do leeds, bradford, huddersfield or anywhere else in the county, and i've never met someone from wakefield that feels any affiliation to cas. No merged team can work unless it has the fans support and there is no support for the idea. Some people seem to think that a merge team would make rl stronger in the district, when everyone who is from the district knows that it would make it weaker, so many fans that rl cannot afford to lose would be lost to the game for ever and the damage to one of rl's strongest nurseries would be all but irreversable.



Anyway this argument has been done to death a thousand times and i cant be bothered getting into one of smokey cut and paste-athons

There was a thread on here listing what every team posted, Cas were making a profit of around 20 grand.



Not spending the full cap is good business sense no? they still made the playoffs 2 years ago and just missed out on a crap decision against Hull KR last year, building a stable club with a profit is far more important than spending the full cap, doing nothing and making a loss (half the teams in the league).

rugby league has a lot of money in it at some parts, and very little in others.



The fact that some clubs still arent spending the SC which was set 10 years ago and hasnt risen since highlights very clearly just how far behind some clubs are.

Really? Why we get around 7,000 for an International and RU clubs get 80,000 and the Union club game getsa full 2 page spread when they play and we get a tiny little bit at the bottom. You want RL to expand, it isn't going to, sorry but it's not because no-one cares for it that much.

So there is no actual evidence for it.



It is good business sense, but it shows the huge difference in size between Cas and some other clubs.

Im not arguing some clubs in SL arent been run in an unsustainable manner, they are.



And im not arguing Cas should spend more than they have. Im saying they are quite a way behind the other clubs, and playing catch up, and not in a position to be turning down growth opportunities. They have to do something or be left behind.

No, its because the game was run for a long time by people who got caught in meaningless personal battles between parishes and ignored the greater good of the game, thankfully an end was put to that and we have seen almost unfettered growth since.



And we dont get 7k for an international, we (as in england) generally get between 12k and 40k depending on the opponents.

So spending more money each year building up to the full cap isn't good, but merging with a bankrupt club with no fans is a good idea, when said merger WILL lose more fans compared to what it would gain?





And as for being quite a way behind "the other teams" what other teams are they then? Bradford? Hull FC? both of them do brilliantly spending the full cap don't they?



And they're hardly being left behind are they? consistently mid table without spending as much as the teams above them? how good will they be in a year or 2 in a new stadium spending the full cap? Cas don't need a merger, Wakefield do - so it wont happen because both parties will not gain from it.

they do have fans, they have about 6k fans, we know this to be true because they turn up most weeks, its not one of your made up facts, its actually true.



And are you really saying that more than 50% of each clubs fans would quit the game altogether than watch a merged club, and there isnt enough potential in the district to attract more new fans for the merged club?



A huge amount better than Castleford on the field and in most other areas yes.



Except Cas will get the chance to target the 6k fans we know exist in Wakefield, they will lose a competitor, they will gain about £2million from the RFL, and pretty much guarantee themselves a license. Along with the fact that when they do open their new stadium their wont be another one opening 1 junction down the road fighting for the same fans. Apart from that they wouldnt get anything.

So how have Bradford and the far superior on field performances fared the last 2 years in comparison to Cas? yeah, worse



So, let me get this straight, you think that the 6,000 Wakey fans (who mustered 500 season ticket sales this year, how loyal) would come watch a merged club in numbers - when as shown they wont even help their own club in hard times?



I know, while we're at it lets merge the 2 Hull teams so they aren't competing for the same fans, Leeds & Bradford, Wigan & St Helens, Warrington & Widnes





Simple fact is, as sad as it is - if they can't survive then "for the greater good of the sport" as you put it earlier - let Wakefield die and start again from the bottom, the league will be stronger without them, and with your thinking those 6000 Wakefield fans will become Cas fans over night meaning the average attendance for Cas games would be 13,000+.

Why would we be so ridiculous as to only compare the last two years? And then why would be so ridiculous as to only compare one of the two clubs you mentioned.



Since the advent of SL and since Hulls merger, both Hull and Bradford have been superior to Castleford in pretty much every facet.



I think some of them would yes, i think it would be niave to think otherwise. I have been to games at Wakefield, and Castleford and Bradford when Leeds arent playing because I enjoy RL. If Leeds ceased to exist for whatever reason I wouldn't stop enjoying RL. I would simply go watch one of the other clubs in the area.



The two hull teams may do in time, Leeds, Bradford, Wigan, Saints, Warrington are all superior to Castleford and Wakefield.



The league would be stronger with an amalgamation of Cas and Wakefield than it would to lose wakefield and add nothing to Cas. As i said i dont believe all 6k of Wakefields fans would move over, but i dont doubt that if marketed and sold properly within 5 years we would see at least 70% of them do so. With likely around 30-50% immediately, moving to the merged club and seeing attendances of around 9-11k

I don’t believe he is trying to provoke anyone.



The gist of his argument is that Castleford as a separate entity will never be able to match the ‘big boys’ of the game.



A club under the district banner could achieve both the required attendances and also harvest what is obviously a hot-bed for future talent.

exactly.



I want to see a club in the district that is really pushing the big boys, year in year out.

Which could also be done by the club WITHOUT being merged, this has happened bother in the past and starting to happen now, Cas are able to pick up the best juniors in the district ahead of Wakefield, have a larger fan base and are a more financially viable business.



The fact is Smokey, as usual is just trying to bore people into agreeing with him, Cas are doing fine without Wakefield, and have been for 70 odd years, and with the new ground WILL be up with the "bigger" teams, it's just a common and crap thought that fans of other clubs (usually Leeds, not surprisingly) that Cas & Wakefield should merge, when in fact they shouldn't, especially when you consider they never work.



What I fail to understand is why people THINK and BELIEVE that Cas NEED a merger

they have no need (nor desire for that matter) to do it and are quite capable of being financially sustainable in a ground that's falling to pieces, new stadium will bring in more fans and revenue without losing the clubs history.









No you don't





Some simple things for you here, Cas are spending close to full cap this year, with a new stadium 18 months away being able to spend the full salary cap will be available every single year, WITHOUT the help of Wakefield, simple. A few additions to an already talented squad (along with one of the best junior set ups in the country) they will be up there "year in year out" and don't be shocked to see them top 5 this year.

You may believe that, but it simply hasnt happened in the professional era. We are getting on for 20 years of a fully pro game now and neither of the clubs in the district have achieved anything of note. Castleford have been relegated twice and Wakefield have bombed along the bottom.



Castleford may have been doing just fine before, but just fine isnt good enough anymore. It isnt the 1960's anymore.

ive thought long and hard of the pros and cons of a merger with wakefield.



my take on it is that its probably a non starter,rugby league is more than a game to the people of castleford its our identity and a way of life and to rock the boat would potentially cause greater dammage than people think,all the talk is of wakefield fans wouldnt follow a team based at glasshoughton but i also believe some castleford people wouldnt watch a wakefield district team based at glasshoughton.



most supporters see winning a grand final or getting to wembley has the pinicle of their club and whilst thats what every cas fan would love to see i think the majority are happy to follow a team that provides a career for local juniors and thrives on seeing our own on the field "something we are doing now" and im not too sure where wakefield fit in with this.



for my money wakey need to start a fresh and re-build in the championship and hopefully progress from their,clubs like eastmoor,stanley and crigglestone are good providers for wakefield and this where they need to concentrate and get a team full of local lads and the supporters will stand by them and they may also be very suprised by the standard of rugby in the nl,teams always bang on about super league but lets be honest the rfl are turning it into a circus where the colour of the seat and location on the map are far more important than the game and in the long run this will dammage the sport.



only my opinion.