Could I be Vice President for Sanitation and Bog Rolls, got a lotta experience watching Crap over the years.

Talking it as well

Interesting comment "Leigh said there should be a London-based NRL side. I agree with him. See Discord's sister column, Travels, over at RLfans.com." Read more: www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-l ... z2ahseoyN7

Interesting comment "Leigh said there should be a London-based NRL side. I agree with him. See Discord's sister column, Travels, over at RLfans.com." Read more: www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-l ... z2ahseoyN7

Would be interested in contributing if anything came of this

As I said before I'm really heartened by the positive attitude of most people on this thread. Talk to people at the game tonight about it and see what reaction you get. I'll get the game over first then resurrect the website rlhttp://rllist.wordpress.com/rl and post some initial thoughts on what I think the Trust could achieve, and a method for making a pledge.
If we get 5 pledges then its dead, but if we can gain some momentum then who knows? If it shows promise perhaps we can hold a meeting around the Huddersfield home game. The hook line I came up with was "£1,000 a year from a 1,000 people" - lets see how we go and pledge what you can.

This is a good initiative, but can't we wait until the present incumbents have walked away?

Pledges mean power. I would think it would be best for an orderly handover to whatever succeeds David Hughes' reign; if this is a goer we need to be in position.

I genuinely can't see you getting 1000 people to pledge £1000 each. £200-250 is sensible for the average fan.

OK. I'll be up for it.

Happy to get involved if we have a clear understanding of exactly what it is we are trying to achieve.

Back of a beer-mat plans are all well and good, but in reality, if we were to make an effort to Engage DH and the RFL I a meaningful discussion about taking over all, or even some of the responsibility, then a clear and documented plan and process need to be devised.

Keen to hear feedback from any who attended the match tonight as to what was discussed.

I'd strongly recommend not doing that. One reason the Shots Trust bid fell to bits was they all but had to start from zero the day the club went into admin and they didn't have the necessary time.

If, and it is a huge if, this looks viable a Trust could put forward its vision this winter and ask for initial donation, possible putting most into an escrow account? Next season could see another appeal. Build up a cash base and you'll be in a much better position if suddenly needed to run the club.

I doubt the club will generate 1000 donating £1000. Key donors would be needed. Realistically there us more chance of funding a Championship outfit than a SL one. Both may well prove beyond us, remember Shots Trust only got to £82k. What is certain is that we won't be in any position to assist in keeping the club alive if no-one tries. Also if there are other investors out there a motivated fan base willing to share sine of the financial burden might just tip the balance and bring them out of the woodwork.

OK. rlhttp://rllist.wordpress.comrlWebsite is updated and ready for pledges! Will be developing a quick "Manifesto" over the next few days, and hope to kick off a publicity drive. Spread the word!

Twitter @rllist

Personally, I won't invest a brass farthing into any scheme based on the statement on that site.

I would need to see a plan that identified where we would look to be based, what management structures would be required, what support we would get from the RFL (if any) and a set of key goals with timescales attached.

You're working on the premise that the club would continue to need a million a year....I would rather pare back the finances and see if we could save that Million before I looked at "investing".

1 x Office Manager was essentially running the day-to-day business of the club up until Gus arrived. I see no need for anyone else, other than a CEO who is responsible for the high level discussions with the RFL and suppliers. The Suppliers would include a marketing agency engaged on a small retainer, but with a high level of reward available based on increased attendances.
If needs be, an assistant to the office manager can be engaged, but that's it for the non playing staff at the club to start with.

The Luxury of age group teams would need to be seriously considered.....the main focus on the park has to be a competitive and well looked after first team squad and training group. Rooster Booster would be better placed to identify these key roles.....but a playing group of 30 with 5 coaches would be about it to begin with.

The thorny issue of where we play would need to be addressed quickly. If we are realistic, we will be in the middle 8 section of this new scheme....the Hive might just be OK for the first 5 years of our existence with the aim of averaging 5k by the 3rd year of existence.

Income would be based purely on SKY/RFL grants and whatever we can raise ourselves....I see no benefit from continuing to plough cash into a failing model. If we are on 650k a year from SKY and we can retain 1,500 at 20 quid each in ticketing, we have a budget of 1.1 million based on 11 league games with 4 home play-off ties.

That's all we should be looking to spend! If we need to field a team of Londoners and journeymen to start with, then so be it....trying to buy a winning team has cost David Hughes an estimated 7 million over the last 5 years.....not a chance of me investing 5k going down the same route. Sorry.

I would suggest submissions on ideas as to a business plan would be a good place to start. Contacting the club and letting them know what the fans are trying to achieve, asking for as much info as they are prepared to release, permission to contact Brentford, Barnet, Orient etc...get an idea of what is causing the club to continually fail

If 1,000 people just donated 1,000 all you have is a million quid, but no plan as to how to make it work.....you'll never get 1,000 people to agree on how to spend their money after they've donated it, so better to have a plan first for people to buy into!

I would also look at opening dialogue with Mr Hughes directly. He has gone on record as saying he can't afford to prop up the club indefinitely, but if he were to buy into the idea of this ownership model, he may invest say one last payment of 2 million over the first 10 years, giving the club an extra 200k a year to play with?

I know I go on about him being part of the problem (he is), but if he was to invest as a fan and not as an outright owner, then he may see the benefit of this, especially if there is a documented plan as to where the club would be heading...self sufficiency!

I'd make him a lifetime member of the club and a non executive chairman, but with no say in the day to day running of the club. If the club became a viable entity and we looked at developing or sharing a part owned ground, by all means call it the David Hughes stadium, but no control over the running of the club.