Re: Centurions / Newcastle Application for SL 2021 : Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:24 am
Ste100Centurions wrote:
While I generally get most posts of yours & what you are trying to convey, I feel this example is disingenuous.
You've taken Bradford games from their heyday *when they were spending way beyond their means & charging buttons for tickets* against top drawer opposition & West Yorkshire derbies.
While I agree that Toulouse attendances may be on the low side & subject to some *creative accounting* , you have picked some of the least attractive Toulouse fixtures & pitted them head to head against Bradfords most attractive fixtures, hardly fair !!!
If you are picking Toulouse fixtures then you pick TO13 v Leigh, Toronto, Bradford, Featherstone for example, not Batley, Barrow & Hunslet !
I am reasonably sure that a Super League fixture of Toulouse Olympique v Catalans Dragons could realistically draw 6,000 +, however, even in Super League I find it hard to believe they would be better supported (on average attendances) than say Huddersfield & Wakefield, maybe better supported than Salford though.
Toulouse have for my money, something to offer Super League, eventually & if supported to do that, but are just not quite ready, in a similar way to Toronto, their inclusion must be planned for, NRL style, not hung on a wing & a prayer !!!
You've taken Bradford games from their heyday *when they were spending way beyond their means & charging buttons for tickets* against top drawer opposition & West Yorkshire derbies.
While I agree that Toulouse attendances may be on the low side & subject to some *creative accounting* , you have picked some of the least attractive Toulouse fixtures & pitted them head to head against Bradfords most attractive fixtures, hardly fair !!!
If you are picking Toulouse fixtures then you pick TO13 v Leigh, Toronto, Bradford, Featherstone for example, not Batley, Barrow & Hunslet !
I am reasonably sure that a Super League fixture of Toulouse Olympique v Catalans Dragons could realistically draw 6,000 +, however, even in Super League I find it hard to believe they would be better supported (on average attendances) than say Huddersfield & Wakefield, maybe better supported than Salford though.
Toulouse have for my money, something to offer Super League, eventually & if supported to do that, but are just not quite ready, in a similar way to Toronto, their inclusion must be planned for, NRL style, not hung on a wing & a prayer !!!
Well fair play to you Ste I put my hands up to a point.........But
In 2019 Toulouse got an attendance of 3560 against Bradford, a great crowd probably due to them playing erm..... Bradford.... so why give TO the credit and not Bradford and their travelling fans?. Despite being in the doldrums Bradford got a great crowd against Leeds of over 10,000 for a saturday RL cup game. That was impressive.
But I must remind you that the criteria for clubs to be in Superleague isn't crowds Once again Toronto's entry to the game here was based on their potential to bring to the game paying North American TV deals and to develop North American players who could perform at Superleague level. Even Eric Perez admitted that and promised that. Same at Toulouse when they met Ian Lenegan and several other SL bosses. The SL bosses said, and Toulouse accepted that what SL wanted from Toulouse was a paying French TV deal and a French player development system that would spawn quality French RL players. Mate they can do neither
What happened as regards Toronto was that when they could not get any Canadians to play the game or Canadian TV to pay to broadcast their games they were sunk. Both these things Perez promised failed miserably. So they switched to claiming they were a massive success because they won games and attracted 10,000 crowds.
But they only won games because they massively outspent Championship clubs and they only got "alleged" big crowds because............ Well the idea was that they actually let loads of fans in for nothing, that many who came to the games came for the Beer Festival, and that they just announced a big crowd even if it wasn't because they could hardly boast they were developing Canadian Players and had a Canadian TV deal.........
Toulouse offer no Pro player development and probably no French TV deal. What their inclusion offers is the ommission of an English club who do develop players and who do have fans who buy into SKY sports.............
