Last player out, please switch off the lights.

It’s shocking isn’t it. We really are going to do it again, blame some nebulous circumstances that appear to apply to no one else and hire a few players about 5 minutes before season starts having compounded our failure to recruit by losing some players we simply didn’t need to lose.

Sky pretty clear that Leyland off to Warrington

Some black clouds over Plough Lane then.

Realistic next year team of...

Walker

Macani
Bassett
Storey
Boafo

Monk
Campo (ambitious?)

Bienek
Davis (maybe also ambitious?)
Butler
Adebiyi
Lovell
Stock

Williams
Davies or Tison
Hughes?
Err dunno

Needs a few to add in but looks not quite as bad as you might think. Pack is basically what controlled Cats a few weeks ago, shouldn't struggle in Championship and outside backs better than expected?

It’s all guesswork but I assume Storey to a northern Championship side.
Campo I don’t think will be picked up by a SL club so move back to Australia or France.
I suspect Bienek will have suitors but London a good fit for him. He is a key retention. I can’t think of any excuse why we haven’t got that business wrapped up.
Butler might also get interest but I think not from an SL side so another season with us would help him to get back to where he was before he left for Wolves.
I wonder if Williams might go to another Championship side. We loaned him out to Widnes which suggests we didn’t think he’d make the 17. Unfortunately he got injured within a quarter of an hour but being dropped can concentrate the mind when your club refuses to put a deal on the table until the very last minute.
Davis move to York didn’t work. He could go to another Championship side but I’d guess not. If we lost him that would be a totally avoidable mistake.
Adebiyi might go. He went on a jaunt around quite a few northern clubs before returning. Again a mistake by us if we lost him.
Lovell I think will stay.
Tyson I assume will go to TO- everybody seems to.
Basset I think could go to any Championship or Elite 1 club but Aussie in London with good side job- that seemed the ideal Situation to be in.
The rest I think stay.

Just watched this Eccles post match interview on you tube. I tell you he’s not talking us up for next year it sounds a bit existential. Could all be brinkmanship but if we take at face value that we go down not hull come what may, and they be right to sue if goalposts moved at this stage, then unless they decide to make it a 13 club SL-and rugby league is anything but fleet footed when it comes to change then I fear we are heading for another half ars** season in the Championship where half the season goes by before we get a few in and achieve some kind of reasonable standard. This all seems grim. The ‘tell’ is if more players get picked off by Championship sides. There really is no excuse for that and suggests we have given up.

agreed. there's no reason why we should be getting outbid/ out-organised by other Championship/ French league sides. Can't see why we can't at least offer optional contracts, dependent on which league we'll be in to keep those who want to stay. You look at the team after we score or win and they look so together- amazing when you think of how much we've lost- and that must make them want to stay if it is made financially viable for them.

Agree with you both, which only leaves the one big question, what bonkers plan is Hughes working to if there is one?

The tenor of the interview did make wonder whether we are in a ‘I think we should be in SL. It’s not fair I’m off’ scenario. That would be unfortunate.

It does sound a bit like that. But, if you go back to old boy Sylvan's Sky interview of a couple of months ago, he makes the point that Toulouse can't generate sponsorship, tv deals, money or grow fans in the Championship but can in SL. I would venture the same is true for London or indeed any new non heartland club.

Just reading what Mike Eccles said to Total Rugby League. "At this time we are not retaining nor recruiting for next year".
I find that a bit concerning , to say the very least.

The very best that can be said of this approach is that is a recipe for disaster. Let’s say the IMG/SL clubs persuaded by our arguments allow us to remain in SL. We have no squad. That means we come last. As it stands only those players whose alternative to waiting and seeing is leaving the game will be left when we finally decide what to do. I have to say I’ve no desire to see the youth team play in 1st team shirts whether it’s against SL sides or Championship ones. This is bizarre.

Yes very bizarre, but if that situation arose, I would expect Hughes to fill the gaps in the squad or completely new squad from the Southern Hemisphere. We've been called a team of Aussies even when we weren't particularly so why not? As any of the old timers will tell you, it was fun going to watch Fulham wondering who was the latest Aussie or Kiwi kipping on Roy & Barbara Close's living room floor.

Maybe Brisbane will buy us again!

Someone who usually talks sense has suggested on the other forum the Broncos are offering match fees not contracts next season and that only a handful of players have accepted to date. They also suggested Broncos are looking to leave Plough Lane, probably for one of the RU grounds already used.

How accurate it is remains to be seen, but it does seem plausible.

In the context of being bottom of the league, most of what is going on now is fairly positive. Decent performances, crowds reasonable (especially when one considers we have been a decent bet for a heavy/Heavy-ish loss for most of season), social media quite perky……but if this is true then things are very bleak indeed. I don’t know the ins and outs but isnt pay per match what the lesser teams in L1 and ‘amateur’ teams do. That would appear to be our aim a competitive L1 side. Wow!
On move from Plough Lane then we’ve gone thru the pros and cons but the only pro really is it’s SL standard if we don’t think we’ll ever be in SL then it makes sense although it isn’t good news as Roslyn Park is…we’ll less said soonest mended and I suppose we could pay for some 20th century style seating and dispense with hospitality as a concept.

I have to say it is all a bloody mess. Strangely it is not all of the clubs making this time.
Mostly but not all.
Do you think David Hughes will come the end of the season, hand over the keys to IMG and RFL and say here you are, now get on with it. I would not blame him if he did.

I had a look at the other site. I just don’t know what to think but if this is the approach that we are taking then it would leave us with a team that wasnt really competitive for the Championship let alone SL. I can’t see that doing anything but leading to lower gates than when we first came to PL and an inevitable drop to L1. Basically it looks bad. IMG et al capitulate and we have a non competitive SL side weaker than this season - difficult to see that as a win or we free fall into oblivion. Really chaotic way to do business.

what's the other site lads?

Absolutely, I could not agree more.

It’s the totalrl site run by the people who produce league express. It’s not split up into teams but general chat on issues. Page 64 of general rugby league Thread on Leigh’s rebrand “Leigh changing their name” has, in my view, not been bettered and is a recommended read.

How on earth can the management expect these players, many of whom left a couple of seasons back when we (seemingly) late doors decided to go part time, will stay on these terms. As for going forward Northerners and Aussies are very unlikely to bite on a pay as you go deal. This really only works for the couple of players we have who have a main job in London and fancy a bit of pin money playing rugby and the kids who haven’t established themselves. I wonder if we’re even going to bother next season. I wonder if I am. I have no fond memories of the Coleman days and we seem to be setting ourselves up for worse than that.

Do you think that next weeks game will be our last at The Cherry Red stadium. I think so.
Off to Rosslyn Park next season. That is if we still have a club next year.

I think so too Victor and expect to hear confirmation from the club about mid November. I think that could be that especially if only 4 players take up the pay for play offer (I’d be surprised if many more did) but think it’s a fair bet we get L1 ready by moving to RP. Ebbsfleet isn’t in London that would be taking the pxxx a bit too much. Hopefully Mr Hughes will put in a couple of quid to have the main stand fixed and possibly a small upgrade to the plank of wood style seating opposite. Im. not precious about it but RPs main/only stand is well below the standard. As for hospitality, that I think has had its day.