: Wed May 13, 2009 9:00 am  

no doubt there figures will be bumped up by us on sundy , after barrow our closest away game(but easier to get to then barrow), i expect about 300 haven fans making the trip ,

so to me the increase is mainly due to bigger away followings rather than loads more locals going

Re: Gateshead Chief Exec talks a load of tosh... : Wed May 13, 2009 9:05 am  

mapleyther wrote:

"However, Findlay is confident the club is making progress both on and off the field.

"Our average crowd is probably about 700 this season, which is up almost 100%, and we're bringing in new commercial sponsors," he said.

"To do that in a recession is a pretty good sign.

"I have always thought there was potential here and I think Super League here would have been a success had the merger with Hull not gone ahead.

"We have quite a long way to go but we've seen some good progress. We're competitive on the pitch and off the field we're slowly but surely getting there."

Although Findlay was not involved in the original Super League club, there are links between the two.

Captain Neil Thorman, one of three brothers playing the game, and full-back Kevin Neighbour were both ball boys in 1999 while assistant coach Chris Hood performed the role of mascot Captain Thunder."

What a load of tosh this article contains. They are clearly not competitive on the field based on their current league position. Their average crowd proves that they are not competitive off it. An increase of 210 on 490 is nowhere near 100%. And worst of all what the heck does being the mascot of a SL team, or a ball boy for that matter, have to do with the price of cheese?!!

If this club was from the heartlands there is no way there would be such a positive slant..

Mr Findlay was previously employed by the RFL before he took the CEO job at Gatehead. I wonder if teh RFL are looking at Gatehead for Super League in 2012

[Dick Jones]

: Wed May 13, 2009 9:34 am  

You dont say..............



Theyre the 2nd behind Toulouse in the queue though

Re: Gateshead Chief Exec talks a load of tosh... : Wed May 13, 2009 11:42 am  

mapleyther wrote:

"However, Findlay is confident the club is making progress both on and off the field.

"Our average crowd is probably about 700 this season, which is up almost 100%, and we're bringing in new commercial sponsors," he said.

"To do that in a recession is a pretty good sign.

"I have always thought there was potential here and I think Super League here would have been a success had the merger with Hull not gone ahead.

"We have quite a long way to go but we've seen some good progress. We're competitive on the pitch and off the field we're slowly but surely getting there."

Although Findlay was not involved in the original Super League club, there are links between the two.

Captain Neil Thorman, one of three brothers playing the game, and full-back Kevin Neighbour were both ball boys in 1999 while assistant coach Chris Hood performed the role of mascot Captain Thunder."

What a load of tosh this article contains. They are clearly not competitive on the field based on their current league position. Their average crowd proves that they are not competitive off it. An increase of 210 on 490 is nowhere near 100%. And worst of all what the heck does being the mascot of a SL team, or a ball boy for that matter, have to do with the price of cheese?!!

If this club was from the heartlands there is no way there would be such a positive slant..

as usual the rugby league will put these in super league even know they won't pass anything and forget about the heartlands clubs who do pass the criteria.

: Wed May 13, 2009 11:52 am  

What happened to the original merger with Hull? Surely if a team mergers with another, then can't be allowed back in SL as a separate entity a few years later?

: Wed May 13, 2009 11:52 am  

mikeefreedom wrote:

What happened to the original merger with Hull? Surely if a team mergers with another, then can't be allowed back in SL as a separate entity a few years later?

In that case, why would the 'new' Hull club have been allowed in?

: Wed May 13, 2009 12:27 pm  

mikeefreedom wrote:

What happened to the original merger with Hull? Surely if a team mergers with another, then can't be allowed back in SL as a separate entity a few years later?

So you write Sheffield off as well? even though both mergers (Sheff/hudd and gatesh/Hull) were 'forced' on the two clubs who came out worse.

: Wed May 13, 2009 8:12 pm  

Leyther_Matt wrote:

In that case, why would the 'new' Hull club have been allowed in?

It was just a question... when did Hull-Gateshead cease to be Hull-Gateshead? Technically are the two clubs still merged?

: Wed May 13, 2009 8:15 pm  

imleythbenter wrote:

So you write Sheffield off as well? even though both mergers (Sheff/hudd and gatesh/Hull) were 'forced' on the two clubs who came out worse.

Yeap. I'm sure someone at Sheffield and Gateshead did very nicely out of the deals.

: Wed May 13, 2009 9:17 pm  

mikeefreedom wrote:

It was just a question... when did Hull-Gateshead cease to be Hull-Gateshead? Technically are the two clubs still merged?

To be quite honest, I don't think it could ever be called a merger in the true sense - Hull basically absorbed Gateshead, taking the RFL money for the 'merger' and the Gateshead players who, at the time, were a better side than Hull.