Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 9:10 am  

If this turns out to be true then I'm finally done with the club. It's not the location as such, that's actually pretty easy for me to get to as I live near Ealing Broadway, but more what this decision says about the club.

My very first game was against Keighley at Hendon FC's old ground on Clairmont Rd, in fact it was the first home game under the Broncos moniker in 1994. It would seem that after all these years, and a litany of business / playing / staffing decisions that generally veer from bad to atrocious, David Hughes has returned us to a worse condition than when I first rocked up.

Playing at Ealing Trailfinders tells me that not only is the club in a terrible state but that everyone involved, from Hughes to the RFL, has actually given up on us every being anything other than a small, badly run Championship club. A rich man's plaything. Then you see Wigan, with the RFL's and Broncos' blessing, bringing games down here and already wooing big name sponsors. The community clubs are in a terrible state, after the RFL withdrew almost all of the funding down here. Add this to the fact that there will only be 8 Academies from next season, and our record suggests we won't be one of them but instead a centre of excellence, and the future of Rugby League in London is abundantly clear. There isn't one.

What a disastrous, pathetic state of affairs.

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:02 am  

nadera I fear you took the words out of my mouth. Its a big if though obviously so let's see (and I don't mean we just sit and wait and hope for the best)!

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:17 am  

nkpom wrote:

nadera I fear you took the words out of my mouth. Its a big if though obviously so let's see (and I don't mean we just sit and wait and hope for the best)!

Mine too!
Maybe your original idea of a Phoenix RL wasn't such a bad idea - at least we might be moving forward as a club! Can't see how a groundshare with Ealing RU is anything but a massive backward leap unless 1) we are buying in and 2) we have plans/ funds to build new stands on the site. Otherwise we will be playing at what is one step up from playing in a park!
Presumably this story is filtering out as we aren't going to make the top 8's?

[Jimmythecuckoo]

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:35 am  

Great. Just get interested in going as Barnet is easy access from the North of London and this happens.

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:48 am  

Jim Pooley wrote:

This is opposite the main grandstand...I believe there are 120 seats here on match days, either side of the dugouts. No treelines apparent to block the view from the houses at the rear, so planning could prove tricky

That one is a beauty.

If daftdad is correct, and I believe that he does have reliable contacts, this would be one move too far for me. Started watching, and later supporting, the Broncos so that I could watch SL. Not here, I won't.

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:13 am  

Not ideal for me, not a very good journey for me.
We do seem to be going backwards as a club. I did hope that we were going to build something at The Hive, but it probably comes down to money.
Will we ever get settled permanently?
So for now we must move on and start all over again !!!!!

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:23 am  

Maybe your original idea of a Phoenix RL wasn't such a bad idea - at least we might be moving forward as a club!

As you know I've always held the belief that a supporter owned club was the best way to deliver a stable and forward thinking Broncos - maybe a topic for discussion at the LBSA meeting on Thursday night?

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:37 am  

I will wait until we get all the Facts, on paper (if true) it's not a very good prospect, ironic when Leeds Rhino's are so keen to play Wigan Warriors in London this breaks?

Supporter owned club, is there any real evidence there is there is a real thirst for this? would those involved be able to really raise the funds needed, where would the club be based then? how would you replace the real money Hughes has and is putting in? why we have never been able to break through with other investors I can't understand, when a man with money goes from London to Bradford to buy into rugby.

It is only the last few seasons that we kept hearing here how The Skolars was the future, what are they doing currently? perhaps the game will only ever be amateur in the South do we have to accept it? seeing Oxford beat as they were at the weekend with a record score, one journalist said straight after the match, Swinton break records Great, is it great.

As a sport we have been fed and so many believe we The Greatest Game, one that attendances are still dropping, a Challenge Cup that attendances are a disgrace and a top semi is taken to a ground that holds 13,024? just to make it look good on TV, play it on a Friday night kick off 7.45pm a time that fits BBC TV, try getting across the M62 at that time on a Friday. The Academy League is rumoured to be reduced to 8 teams? many clubs joining together? who does a real talented player sign for, which club? The game itself so predictable with the kicking on the last tackle, scrums which are a joke, last Friday night watching Sky I turned off with 15 minutes to go I was bored.

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:11 pm  

On reflection,I doubt anything will be announced until after the Sheffield game. Just got to hope it is not true.
Been down this road too many times. Couple of years here, couple of years there, The Valley, off to The Stoop, back to The Valley, Stoop again, Brentford too must not forget that, The Hive, getting to be a bit tiresome. All the time we seem to be losing fans. We are on a downward spiral.
Dare I mention the lack of marketing throughout the years as a major contributing factor. In addition to some atrocious managerial appointments.

Re: Ealing is the new venue : Tue Jul 14, 2015 1:25 pm  

jaybs wrote:
Supporter owned club, is there any real evidence there is there is a real thirst for this? would those involved be able to really raise the funds needed, where would the club be based then? how would you replace the real money Hughes has and is putting in?

I indeed have first hand knowledge that there is a thirst for this; you'll be surprised how many people would be willing to stand up and be counted on this, and how much support there is in the wider game for such a venture.

The whole point of a professional football club as I see it is that it generates enough income to pay its way! If a successor regime were simply to continue to pour money in to the steadily declining club then your point would be a good one. For me the task of a successor regime, whether supporter led or not, would be to stop doing what has not worked; review what the club is for and where is should go; plan for this, then execute.

rugby League is best when embedded in a community. Let's find one, settle in and commit to stay there in a facility that generates income and engages on a daily basis. Perhaps then in ten years time we'll have a sustainable tilt at a Super League Grand Final!