Re: Excitement on the 26th maybe not! : Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:24 am
bren2k wrote:
All fair points, but is that last one strictly true? My recollection is that Castleford and Featherstone refused the merger, whereas Wakefield were willing; did they refuse it because of a supporter movement, or for some other reason(s)?
Sorry, I was referring to the mergers as a whole and not just the "Calder" merger. There was a huge amount of negativity from the fans that was directed at the RFL which caused them to abandon the plans wholesale.
bren2k wrote:
I'm not sure how I feel about the merger idea myself to be honest - if I wasn't intimately involved in the situation, I'd probably say yes, it's the only sensible thing to do. Because I am however, I can't see how I'd support the team. It's a head says yes, heart says no kind of scenario.
Having said that, given 10 years or so for all the bitterness to dissipate, would a merger create a WMD super-club that could dominate the sport? Given that the rhubard triangle is a fertile production ground for RL players and that there is massive latent support for the game all over the district, I'd say yes - I imagine that a few SL titles and a challenge cup or two would persuade most of those people who might walk away in disgust from a merged team to come back.
Having said that, given 10 years or so for all the bitterness to dissipate, would a merger create a WMD super-club that could dominate the sport? Given that the rhubard triangle is a fertile production ground for RL players and that there is massive latent support for the game all over the district, I'd say yes - I imagine that a few SL titles and a challenge cup or two would persuade most of those people who might walk away in disgust from a merged team to come back.
See my reply to coco's post (above)
