This club is like the Cheshire Cat's smile, rapidly disappearing. I count we have 8 regulars who are signed for next season, the website seemed to have gone into hibernation, Buck & Dusty are going, the fans are wondering whether there is any future. Maybe we have been taken over by the Khmer Rouge faction, Year Zero, we may have to start from scratch

The players certainly didnt turn up for the Catalan game.

Seem to have this obsession that we're going to be kicked out and not last the full 3 years? Must say something is your best players are jumping ship and joining Wakefield. You'l be the same as every season next year, doing nothing in the league. Trinity are on the up!

No obsession I can assure you just Facts, still the RFL need to inform everyone why Halifax when they played by the rules did not get a place, when Wakefield clearly broke the rules. the new ground, I hope you get one but I will believe it when I see it. If I had an obsession I may feel the need to visit your board which I have never done, but many of you come here?? LOL

FFS

I thought we might struggle to convince big names to turn up next year, but I didn't think we would struggle to keep hold of our existing better players. Hope it is a case of players wanting to go home, because I can't take much more of this news.

You need to grow up son and deal in facts. Wakefield are in by merit unlike yourselves who have been a parasite club for years.

I do feel a bit for Fax who are a real RL club. However there application was flawed and was rejected by Savilles )the franchise company), KPMG (the RFL's accountants) and the RFL.

As for this rule that Wakey broke what is it exactly...fool?

Wakefield continue to play in a Stadium that was entirely paid for by Wakefield Athletic Club back in 1895 and was originally designed for a variety of purposes including cycling and athletics and over 116 years the Stadium is clearly not of a modern standard.

One of the main reasons is that a high proportion of supporters are left uncovered in all weathers, something that club recognized in their application several years ago in which they cunningly employed an imaginative architect to draw a modern stadium despite the fact that the club had none of the resources to deliver this 'castle in the sky'.

Surprise, surprise, once it became clear that the licence was probably the 16th strongest and behind all the other 13 SL clubs, Widnes and Halifax there was suddenly a panic to start to deliver some of the empty promises made.

In a borough of less than 77,000 people it is clear that Wakefield Council could not on its own invest in a substantial new development and the private backers in the ground could not afford to upgrade whilst still providing a competitive squad.

Perhaps the best 13 players in the Wakefield squad at the start of 2010 were:

Morrison, George, Newton, Moore, Gleeson, Brough, Blanch, Millard, Jefferies, Tronc, Ferguson, Obst and Leo-Latu.

Of these only Morrison and George remain.

Despite systematically stripping out all the quality players, the club still went into administration.

The club has a support base of under 5000 as shown by home games against the likes of Crusaders and Salford and is able to attract crowds of only 5000-6000 against the likes of Warrington, St Helens and Hull with only two strong gates a season against Castleford and Leeds.

For the only show in town and for over 100+ years in the same location, that is around 100 supporters for every year in existence.

Harlequins RL, which is privately backed by an oil trader whom has been in situ since the last Millennium as had the majority of its off-field problems caused by the RFL allowing the majority share owner to join Wigan Warriors and then allowing him to neither invest further funds in the club nor forcing his hand to sell the shares. This state of near suspended animation was getting close to three full years until last year when David Hughes finally forced the issue.

It is also true the playing squad has disgracefully declined to a non SL standard during the past three years, although we have not finished bottom in any of our 16 years in Super League, so have not been at real risk of relegation, save for 2005, when the clubs voted we could shed the debts - remember, the other clubs VOTED. We did not vote, nor did the RFL.

In terms of the RFL investment, this is part of the £30 million Sport England grant, in.... England! There are two halves of England. The entire south of England needs support.

It was well recognized by the RFL that there mere tokenism, e.g. one development officer per county across large counties was not going to really deliver the participation levels necessary to get a grant, so the money is being invested to grow the game.

It is perhaps unnoticeable in the North, as the market has matured and the support is not appreciated, but for certain it also exists.

I find Wakefield internet commentators to be rude, angry and obnoxious people on the internet, and their kids worse in the ground, but do believe the adult population is reasonably well balanced on a match day and wish them well in developing and modernizing their club.

I am sure they will be chuffed that they have signed Andy Ellis and Oliver Wilkes, but it is also obvious that Rob Powell and the Harlequins did not want these players, after all there are only four games to go, and these players would not have waited for a deal with a club whom benefitted from freak luck and were unbackable favourites to be removed.

Like us in 2009-2011 you are scrabbling around, looking for out of contract players and cast-offs, so we wish you will.

Your enemy, should you need one is the RFL.

We simply support our club. Should it be in 2014 you have a stronger licence application then we wish you well. We will be behind London Rugby League no matter what the name, colours, ground or league.

You will note with some horror that we have averaged over 4000 for four of our last seven home games this season (despite only 6 home wins in two years, of which two were against Wakefield) so we are not quite moribund, in fact I remain confident we will have as many hardcore supporters as you next season (4500-5000) although not benefitting from the geographic locality as you do with away fans.

Cheers
Mark

Parasites live off others, so perhaps you could explain this statement and use some facts if you can?

Agree Halifax are a real RL club but again perhaps you could clarify what constitues a real RL club?

1. Fans.
2. History.
3. RL being in the blood and cultural identity of the community.
4. Being located in the NORTH of England.

All reasons why we are flogging a dead horse supporting your franchise.

1. How many do you need to start to qualify? Batley, Dewsbury do they qualify
2. Yesterday is history please define the date this apparently takes effect? pre 1954, pre 1921, only the original few from 1895?
3. Thats okay its in our blood and the identity of the London RL community
4. Is that so you can cycle? Assume there are no real RL teams in Australia, France, New Zealand or PNG then

Without us mate, your club and many others would be in the s*it!!!!
Sky only renewed the contract because a London club will be in it.
No one is interested about the North of England, in any way

1) So much so you rely on the patronage of your local bigger neighbours away fans to make you look like you have decent gates. You really are well supported, lol.

2) Granted

3/4) Maybe, but answer me this fool, why is participation in rugby league up north on the decline ? Why do we need to take internationals and semi finals of cup competitions to small stadia (unlike even 10 years ago) ? Why cant northerners be bothered travelling short distances to support their clubs or the international team, games that are on the door step ? Blood and culture maybe, but translating that into something meaningful, I am afraid not.

Go back to your grim existence and breath another huge sigh of relief.

As a Wakefield fan I would like to offer my support to London RL / Quins. I think the most impressive fact is the trmendous growth in the numbers of people playing the game in the London area. I am told that there are now more people playing RL in London area that in Yorkshire, Lancs and Cumbria put together, Numbers palying the game in London continues to grow whilst numbers drop in the North. Who knows the way things are going RL will be a game of the M25 corridor with the M62 an expansion region within a couple of generations. Good luck to London / Quins, RL needs you more than some of us in the North understands.

We didnt break the rules take a chill pill oh and didnt London go bankrupt (thats going bust not administration) I am sure that when and if anything is released on the franchise applications people will be surprised how good ours was. Everyone goes on about our ground without background knowledge, other aspects of the bid puts us light years in front of many clubs around youth set up and community work.

Please remind me what grade license you got? ours was a C