Have you had a go at trying to find a 50% increase yet Buzz? Seems a little unlikely unless everyone else has gone up in bucketloads.

The only thing different to my previous posting, where I thought we might increase to around 10.5 points, is that in today's press release the club highlighted that they announced this year it would take sole responsibility of ‘The London Rugby League Foundation’. I had assumed they would already be getting the 1 point available for this. If they weren't, then maybe that gets us to around 11.5 points.

Does anyone else think it’s really odd that we bust a gut, financed by David Hughes, to get our points score up (except for strengthening playing squad) and then, in essence put the front door keys through the letter box at the 11th hour and walked off. Surely getting the points score up was either part of a long term strategy or an enticement to bring in new owners. Hopefully it will work in terms of the latter.

Do we gain any points for being apparently now debt free?

Not that I can see. You do get rewarded for either an equity injection (i.e. share capital) or long-term loan to the club of greater than £500k (averaged over three previous accounting periods). I assume we already gained the full 0.5 points for that.

So we are 14th as was predicted and Wakey step.up.
Back to M62 plus one,

So we were awarded a grading of B with 12.65 points. That moves us from 24th to 14th. More than I expected even factoring in we must previously have not been awarded the point for the foundation. The RFL article confirms our rise was 'helped considerably by the launch of the club’s first Community Foundation in the last year'. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/63 ... s-for-2024

So we were awarded a grading of B with 12.65 points. That moves us from 24th to 14th. More than I expected even factoring in we must previously have not been awarded the point for the foundation. The RFL article confirms our rise was 'helped considerably by the launch of the club’s first Community Foundation in the last year'. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/63 ... s-for-2024

Is there a central breakdown of everyone's scores in the various metrics?

Be interesting to know what level of independent verification goes into the data provided by clubs. I though Cougars were too much of a basket case to make those strides.

I've not seen any breakdown. Maybe that will come later or perhaps clubs can decide whether to communicate or not.

Oh for a 14 team superleague, eh?

Couldn't agree more & not because we're 14th. It just validates the competition with no daft loop fixtures & a way out of the magic less weekend. Sure the SL clubs will get a bit less but if IMG are about increasing revenue, let the clubs get out there & secure it. But of course self interest wins again as it's easier to wait for your handout than source it yourself.

Let's hope those people who were waiting for the grading to come out are interested enough to get involved.

firstly, congratulations to all at the club who have contributed to achieving this 50% hike. I'd temper this with a nod to IMG who it would seem have dragged the sport and its club owners to the trough that is "21st Century CRM & Marketing".
Secondly, I would ask how do make the next step up without investment......which dovetails nicely into

thirdly.....IMAGINE IF THEY HAD DONE ALL THIS LOCAL ENGAGEMENT ,MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY BACK IN 2009????



Sorry, but the bit of the clubs statement that makes me angry is;
.

Fxxx Off Loubser. You stole a wage for a decade and if anone gives you a job after this one, I hope they fully investigage exactlynwhat it is you achieved through "hard work" over the first 9 years before IMG essentially forced Hughes' hand.

If theyd done all thia in 2009 we would he a grade A club and in Superleague!

You aren't wrong GF. But are you like me debating if you go full menbership, 40-20 or write the club off ? I am undecided at present. For instance, what does £350k get us ? If the target is not reached then what ? Too many qs.

I bought a ST last year and my daughter or her friends used it occasionally. I would have bought a quartered shirt but am at the risk of divorce if I add to my increasingly NZ Warriors themed wardrobe, but this year they get nowt from me until I know EXACTLY what the money will be spent on. I will not pay a cent towards Loubser's' wages should he remain and in reality believe he should pay back 9 years wages where he essentially took what Hughes gave him and acted as a payroll clerk!

40-20 Memberships aren't a bad idea for expats like me, but I suspect 20% off selected merchandise means those black T-shirts or an infamous bobble hat and not a playing shirt.

On that topic. The club will need to have found £350k or a new sugar daddy by November 10th to have any shirts in the shop by xmas......or does anyone believe that will happen before Loubser secures his salary?

That's it, orangeman. Outside now! Bobble hat is the best thing at the Broncos since McLinden

.

More seriously, I wonder if we'd been placed 14th in the IMG rankings last year, rather than 24th, whether the club might have approached this season differently.

And then I sober up.

Of course they wouldn't.

It's a hypothetical question because we got the provisional rating we deserved but I think it could have been very different.

Hughes didn't invest in the squad because relegation was predetermined. If we'd been ranked 14th we would have had every reason to recruit more quality into the squad and had a fighting chance of staying in SL.

Eccles seems like a decent bloke and, with what he was given last year in SL, a more than decent coach. Try to keep hold of him.

Best wishes from someone in the (much maligned) M62 belt.

Ps: there are no railway stations anywhere on the M62 either.

All the Best!

Cake is doing his best to sell the club to investors and makes a good point that it is probably now or never for someone to come in. He is without doubt the best asset the club currently has. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl-LKAjZfK4

Cake is doing his best to sell the club to investors and makes a good point that it is probably now or never for someone to come in. He is without doubt the best asset the club currently has. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl-LKAjZfK4

Agreed he has more than stepped up both as coach & spokesperson.

It would have been so easy for Mike to just walk away. I understand that there were offers out there and he chose to stay.
If Broncos do survive and thrive, a big part of it will be down to Mike.

If we ever set up a London "Northerners" Hall of Fame, Cakeman would be in there along with Danny Ward, Rob Purdham, Roy Lester & Harry Genders.

Edit: My heart won't let me include David Hughes.

and Bongser! For services to breaking down tribal barriers in the rugby league community.

He really has. By the looks of things he’s also had to get up to speed on how to be an executive in a company as well which really is probably something he didn’t see coming. Love to have been a fly on the wall to conversation between Mr H and staff on how this was all going to go. We read things into it that are probably not far off the mark but suspect it’s a bit more complicated.

Must have been quite tough for Jack as likely he knew what was coming before anyone else.

One would hope so as club ownership is actually in his name.