: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:13 pm  

RhinoNeil wrote:

All the stick you guys are getting is out of order. These so called 'fans' of the game going round spouting their mouths degrading fans because something that the club has done is out of order.

No doubt about it questions need to be answered by the RFL and Celtic board about this mess.

There is a definately a place for RL in Wales. Its a brillaint game and the longer it hangs around the more numbers it will catch. But imo it was done 3 years too early. In my opinion Celtic got desperate to sign these Aussie players, they were under pressure to be ready for SL and not to get a hiding everyweek. The pressure forced these decisions to be rushed as they had no choice.

They have had these players for 3 years , these problems stem from the desperation to get promoted into NL 1 in 2007

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:14 pm  

Not trolling here but what sort of a side is it going to be on Saturday, not knowing your squad?

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:16 pm  

Starbug wrote:

They have had these players for 3 years , these problems stem from the desperation to get promoted into NL 1 in 2007

perhaps you lot could try it next year??

tip........better documents!

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:17 pm  

Starbug wrote:

They have had these players for 3 years , these problems stem from the desperation to get promoted into NL 1 in 2007

But yet again didnt the laws change in November 2008 which has brought all this on??

Thats what i heard anyway. Remember Meli couldnt get back into the UK after going home for the off season? He arrived into SL 2 weeks late. Celtic couldnt afford for that to happen to them

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:25 pm  

Wembley71 wrote:

Oh grow up.

Let's get this luddite nonsense out of the way once and for all. This 'it'l never work in Wales/London/anywhere outside the M62 valley bu11sh1t.'

Now I have been critical of CC's acceptance into SL, mostly because of the way it was done, and partly because I felt a premature franchise would harm the growth of RL in Wales.

But to suggest it can never work it just rubbish. The status quo is just that, it doesn't go on forever.

Who, in 1895, said 'don't bother setting up on your own, London's too powerful, the Northern Union is bound to fail'. (answer: I'll bet quite a few did, but luckily there were no fans' forums then).

In the 1920's when the Northern Union said they were going to take their cup final to Wembley, I'll betchya almost everyone said it was a ridiculous idea.

In 1930, when the first soccer world cup took place, European sides said it would never catch on. Same happened to the kick and clap world cup in the late 80's, in that it was dismissed as a mismatch which only a couple of teams could win. Union will never catch on in Japan, Argentina, Samoa, said the critics. Well dont you wish we'd had the courage to back our own international expansion and had faith in a four-year, expansive tournament of our own.

Wales has little or no grassroots history of RL, but there's absolutely nothing at all to stop it happening. CC have done their best work in youth development. The colts team that won the championship last year weren't illegal ozzies, but local lads. One of the centres at my team is from the valleys.. he says that the cream of welsh rugby is playing at the three pro union clubs (maybe 90 players), but that the next tier of players are all playing league.

Development is a very long term thing, and most fans live from weekend to weekend, or at most season to season. On the one hand, that's why I criticised the rush to get CC in SL. On the other, that's why there is no reason whatsoever why there can't be a massive hotbed of RL in Wales within a generation.

In the 1870's, a guy called John Houlding was a director at Everton FC, and the leaseholder on their ground. He fell out with them and they quit his turf. Bad move, you'd think. But he started his own team. Of course, Liverpool FC are (still) the most succesful English soccer team ever.

CC have suffered enormous problems, most of them entirely predictable (which is a shame, or a travesty, or a tragedy, or all three). But to deny the possibility of expansion is just plain stupid.

Everything was new once. The Beatles were a group of mates and scallies with wide-eyed dreams. Newton Heath FC were a collection of working lads with no visions of Old Trafford at the outset. England was a tiny, insignificant quarter of our islands until the 16th century, from which point it gradually built the largest empire ever seen on this earth... and then lost it again, melting into the middle distance. Nothing is writ in stone, as Osymandias might have said.

Or, as Zig Ziglar puts it, nobody just wanders about a bit and finds themselves at the top of Everest.

Anything worth doing needs a plan. Anything new will meet nothing but scepticism. Nothing that's here, now, has always or will always be here. RL can thrive in Wales. The success, or failure, of CC will influence the when and the how, but it makes no damn difference to the possibility that it can become the national sport. Yep, you heard me.

Hey, if you'd have told Bridgend fans 20 years ago that by 2010 there would be no Bridgend RFC, no Swansea RFC, no Cardiff RFC, no Newport RFC, but there would be a professional league side at Brewery Field playing host to Harlequins Rugby League, you'd have been laughed over the severn Bridge. If you've have told a Leeds United fan 7 years ago that they'd be playing league matches at Exeter and Yeovil while Hull City and Burnley took on Man United, you'd have received similar treatment. So go figure.

Whether RL in Wales will work is down to individuals and their efforts. Whether it CAN work in Wales should be beyond question.

RL in Wales!!!! flogging a dead horse!
RU is part of the welsh religion. Tell me how a Welsh s/l club will stop the likes of Llanelli, Cardiff etc.. just using it as a feeder club.

look at the the millenium stadium on 6 nations RU home game, then tell me RL will work in Wales! NO CHANCE!

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:27 pm  

wereutherein1987? wrote:

RL in Wales!!!! flogging a dead horse!
RU is part of the welsh religion. Tell me how a Welsh s/l club will stop the likes of Llanelli, Cardiff etc.. just using it as a feeder club.

look at the the millenium stadium on 6 nations RU home game, then tell me RL will work in Wales! NO CHANCE!

come on starbug mate!

you gotta admit its pretty easy this spot the league game????

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:29 pm  

Not a lot of Celtic voices on here, i think that says it all?
Or do we need to lend them computers aswell as players, money and places in leagues

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:30 pm  

justthebasicfax wrote:

Not a lot of Celtic voices on here, i think that says it all?
Or do we need to lend them computers aswell as players, money and places in leagues

and another one!
easy! easy!

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:32 pm  

wereutherein1987? wrote:

look at the the millenium stadium on 6 nations RU home game, then tell me RL will work in Wales! NO CHANCE!

Stupid comment...

Look at Twickenham when England RU play....then compaire that to an England RL game. Again there is no comparison, does that mean RL in England aint working?

: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:35 pm  

ajhcrusader wrote:

Quinny was already leaving. Duggan and Van Dijk were both allegedly on their way already, which I was gutted about, and I would have been very surprised if Hannay stayed.

Devastated about Mapp. He very possibly could have been Captain next season if Jace really was going. Dalla's a bit of an enigma, but I rate him personally, and am gutted he's gone.

Your club has plenty of time to recruit for next season. Your present players will be missed but next year you could find yourselves with even better players who will become a meaningful part of the club.