cpwigan wrote:I would not even consider merging the clubs PM. Instead I would let both clubs remain as dual contract/loan feeder clubs to a new separate Cumbrian SL entity. Town / Haven / Barrow would play away when Cumbria have home games and at home when Cumbria are away. Even then I am not sure Cumbria can attract sufficient crowds.
If Town, Haven and Barrow continued then I think a Cumbrian side would stand much less chance of being successful as the local team fan bases, albeit limited would remain to some extent.
Take those local teams out of the equation and supporters are forced to watch a separate team if they actually wanted to watch professional rugby league.
I could see a fan base of 5k to 6k on average at best which isn't strong enough to justify a top flight SL team.
cpwigan wrote:I would not even consider merging the clubs PM. Instead I would let both clubs remain as dual contract/loan feeder clubs to a new separate Cumbrian SL entity. Town / Haven / Barrow would play away when Cumbria have home games and at home when Cumbria are away. Even then I am not sure Cumbria can attract sufficient crowds.
If Town, Haven and Barrow continued then I think a Cumbrian side would stand much less chance of being successful as the local team fan bases, albeit limited would remain to some extent.
Take those local teams out of the equation and supporters are forced to watch a separate team if they actually wanted to watch professional rugby league.
I could see a fan base of 5k to 6k on average at best which isn't strong enough to justify a top flight SL team.
Could a Cumbria SL team be the next Catalan with the geography of the lakes would visiting supporters make a weekend of it .?
cpwigan wrote:I would not even consider merging the clubs PM. Instead I would let both clubs remain as dual contract/loan feeder clubs to a new separate Cumbrian SL entity. Town / Haven / Barrow would play away when Cumbria have home games and at home when Cumbria are away. Even then I am not sure Cumbria can attract sufficient crowds.
If Town, Haven and Barrow continued then I think a Cumbrian side would stand much less chance of being successful as the local team fan bases, albeit limited would remain to some extent.
Take those local teams out of the equation and supporters are forced to watch a separate team if they actually wanted to watch professional rugby league.
I could see a fan base of 5k to 6k on average at best which isn't strong enough to justify a top flight SL team.
I personally do not see a sufficient fan base full stop re Cumbria. However, I disagree with your argument regarding having a Cumbria and keep the pro clubs at a lower tier. We already know that works because Cumbria have played games under that scenario already. We also know that asking clubs to merge no matter how rational is a recipe for disaster.
Ultimately, I think Cumbria shows you can have a healthy RL area without an elite professional club and that is the biggest lesson.
cpwigan wrote:I would not even consider merging the clubs PM. Instead I would let both clubs remain as dual contract/loan feeder clubs to a new separate Cumbrian SL entity. Town / Haven / Barrow would play away when Cumbria have home games and at home when Cumbria are away. Even then I am not sure Cumbria can attract sufficient crowds.
If Town, Haven and Barrow continued then I think a Cumbrian side would stand much less chance of being successful as the local team fan bases, albeit limited would remain to some extent.
Take those local teams out of the equation and supporters are forced to watch a separate team if they actually wanted to watch professional rugby league.
I could see a fan base of 5k to 6k on average at best which isn't strong enough to justify a top flight SL team.
I personally do not see a sufficient fan base full stop re Cumbria. However, I disagree with your argument regarding having a Cumbria and keep the pro clubs at a lower tier. We already know that works because Cumbria have played games under that scenario already. We also know that asking clubs to merge no matter how rational is a recipe for disaster.
Ultimately, I think Cumbria shows you can have a healthy RL area without an elite professional club and that is the biggest lesson.
Keep the lower tier clubs running and the supporters stick with the identity they have, and reluctant to move onto Cumbria RLFC as a new identity. If the lower tier teams were to fold and Cumbria created then the option to support the new club maybe isn't so extreme.
cpwigan wrote:
Ultimately, I think Cumbria shows you can have a healthy RL area without an elite professional club and that is the biggest lesson.
Is it healthy though. Crowds are hugely down over 10-20 years ago. They didn't even get a big crowd for the Wigan friendly.
Seems like interest is waning to the point where even the semi-pro clubs will struggle to survive once they have to meet ground up keep bills that will arrive at some point.
cpwigan wrote:I believe the true heart of Cumbrian RL is in the amateur scene. Junior RL is still producing professional RL players.
The lesson IMO is that RL or any sport can be popular in an area without a very successful professional RL club or union or football club.
As is the case with the London area amateur clubs are booming even High Wycombe High school won the schools trophy at Wembley against a seasoned Castleford school side. High Wycombe won very easily their loose forward had a field day.
cpwigan wrote:I believe the true heart of Cumbrian RL is in the amateur scene. Junior RL is still producing professional RL players.
The lesson IMO is that RL or any sport can be popular in an area without a very successful professional RL club or union or football club.
As is the case with the London area amateur clubs are booming even High Wycombe High school won the schools trophy at Wembley against a seasoned Castleford school side. High Wycombe won very easily their loose forward had a field day.
Like I have said, shows what a good job London Bronco's are doing in the London area despite their position in the League.
cpwigan wrote:I believe the true heart of Cumbrian RL is in the amateur scene. Junior RL is still producing professional RL players.
The lesson IMO is that RL or any sport can be popular in an area without a very successful professional RL club or union or football club.
As is the case with the London area amateur clubs are booming even High Wycombe High school won the schools trophy at Wembley against a seasoned Castleford school side. High Wycombe won very easily their loose forward had a field day.
If I remember rightly that loose forward and most of the team were junior RU players with the RL team put together for the competition. Slightly embarrassing for our sport in a way. He was also twice the height of anyone on the opposition as were several of his team mates.
