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Thread: Congratulations Leigh

  1. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lion Saint View Post
    Unlike Wigan, Leigh are the main residents of their stadium
    Still don't own it!

  2. #27
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    It was built for them though. Unlike DW which took in a homeless bankrupt club.

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    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Belgian Saint's Avatar
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    I find it a bit strange that they state the selection of Leigh and Newcastle were both unanimous decisions. Either their applications were exceptional, or the committee are load of sheep.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyprus View Post
    It was built for them though. Unlike DW which took in a homeless bankrupt club.
    Oh the Pie Eaters are definitely more homeless than the Lobby Gobblers but it is a good retort when they start crowing about having two clubs... two clubs, no stadium.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Heretic View Post
    Oh the Pie Eaters are definitely more homeless than the Lobby Gobblers but it is a good retort when they start crowing about having two clubs... two clubs, no stadium.
    I'm not sure they would.

    My girlfriend is from Leigh & she isn't exactly fond of Wigan

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Fridge View Post
    I'm not sure they would.

    My girlfriend is from Leigh & she isn't exactly fond of Wigan
    I was thinking more of Wiganers crowing about it.

    To be honest, I hadn't even thought about Leigh being in the borough of Wigan until someone pointed out further up the thread that Wiganers would be claiming they had two teams in SL (being absolutely frank, not being from the area, I'm pretty sure that before this morning I didn't even know Leigh was in Wigan lol).

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Heretic View Post
    I was thinking more of Wiganers crowing about it.

    To be honest, I hadn't even thought about Leigh being in the borough of Wigan until someone pointed out further up the thread that Wiganers would be claiming they had two teams in SL (being absolutely frank, not being from the area, I'm pretty sure that before this morning I didn't even know Leigh was in Wigan lol).
    Don't tell anyone in Leigh that they are from Wigan.

  8. #33
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    To be fair, I think we would have gained promotion 'on the field' next season, or in 2022. Yes, I'm amazed we have got the nod, thought Toulouse were nailed on for it, or maybe Bradford Bulls or York as a 'long shot'. As for playing squads alone, ours Toulouse and Featherstone's are the strongest, not much between them really. We will be favourites go get relegated obviously, but I'm still looking forward to the ride anyway.....

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    Quote Originally Posted by Budgiezilla View Post
    To be fair, I think we would have gained promotion 'on the field' next season, or in 2022. Yes, I'm amazed we have got the nod, thought Toulouse were nailed on for it, or maybe Bradford Bulls or York as a 'long shot'. As for playing squads alone, ours Toulouse and Featherstone's are the strongest, not much between them really. We will be favourites go get relegated obviously, but I'm still looking forward to the ride anyway.....
    Congratulations. I worked in Leigh in the late 1970s and early 1980s and I know it isn’t Wigan. I’m pleased for you and the other Leigh fans. Just remember not to beat us this time round.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Belgian Saint View Post
    Don't tell anyone in Leigh that they are from Wigan.
    No doubt.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Suttoner View Post
    Congratulations. I worked in Leigh in the late 1970s and early 1980s and I know it isn’t Wigan. I’m pleased for you and the other Leigh fans. Just remember not to beat us this time round.
    Thanks very much....I think your squad is a lot better than it was in 2017.

  12. #37
    Learning All The Songs sinkers89's Avatar
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    For no other reason than selfishness, I wanted York to be brought in.

    Planned right, you could have their home games at the weekend and created an all weekend situation with going to watch the game there.


    I think the safer choice was Leigh and I cant really argue with the decision tbh.

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    Imagine Salford go to pot next year without Watson (wouldn't be entirely surprising), get relegated and replaced by Featherstone (one of if not the strongest Championship squad on paper) for 2022.

    60% of our elite division based in Hull, Wakefield and Wigan. Try polishing that turd of a competition.

  14. #39
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    For me it was a 2 horse race between Toulouse and Leigh, the other contenders in Bradford, Featherstone, London, Newcastle and York maybe not quite there on the criteria parameters. The RFL mentioned stadium and fan base in respect to Leigh.

    It will be good for the game for Newcastle Thunder to go up a few notches and challenge more for that future Superleague spot, playing and further developing league in the Newcastle area is a win, win for our game. I think we need the Magic Weekend to be back there for a couple of years to accelerate the exposure.
    Last edited by STIDDY; 15th December 2020 at 09:48.

  15. #40
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    A very disappointing decision, I can understand the logic and I made a similar argument to people before hand.

    1. The license is for 2021 so there is no point being long term about it. What team provides the most for 2021.
    2. The award is a poison chalice, given the short turn around and lack of central money. Chances are the club comes straight down and will then spend 2022 in the championship. In the medium term it could actually be damaging.

    That being said, swapping Toronto for Leigh on the grounds Leigh provides more to Super League is a pretty damming refection of the sport. The Toronto announcement hurt in regards to the future of the game and only a positive replacement could have made a lot of us feel better about the situation. Leigh just confirmed that in an era where sports are growing Rugby League is shrinking.

    The announcement was pretty poor, it sounded like it was done in the back of a bar and Sky Sports couldn't wait to get away from it to get back to talking about football. Beaumont's interview after was cut off mid-sentence after 4 minutes because they had "run out of time", obviously the fear is that if they spent 5 minutes talking about Rugby League people will start turning over. Given that Sky are our biggest contributors, it is sad that the event was such an unconvinced to them. If they had sound effected they would have had the announcement, then toilet flushing noise, then "right, back to the football news". Who knows if the announcement had been a historic moment that a Toulouse or York success would have been but I seriously doubt it.

    A very sad and underwhelming day. But not a surprise given what the sport is doing at the moment.
    I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Noel Cleal View Post
    The award is a poison chalice, given the short turn around and lack of central money. Chances are the club comes straight down and will then spend 2022 in the championship. In the medium term it could actually be damaging.
    This is how I see it - my hope is that Toulouse spend the year preparing for SL and with a bit of luck win the Championship GF and make it impossible to ignore them.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Noel Cleal View Post
    ...Beaumont's interview after was cut off mid-sentence after 4 minutes because they had "run out of time", obviously the fear is that if they spent 5 minutes talking about Rugby League people will start turning over. Given that Sky are our biggest contributors, it is sad that the event was such an unconvinced to them...
    Maybe the producer had just found Leigh on Google maps?

  18. #43
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    I can see the positives of Leigh being promoted although I don't think it was the best decision. I think they're probably the sacrificial lamb for this season if I'm honest while everything is a bit up in the air. However, this being sport, if by some way they manage to stay up then good luck to them, I've always had a soft spot for them, even though they cost us the league years back.

    I know we all have a downer on the game most of the time, myself included but I think we need to have a look at the good work being in the championship, there's some good clubs really getting their houses in order London, York, Toulouse, Newcastle all sound like a decent weekend away to me then the more traditional clubs like Featherstone, Halifax, Bradford and Widnes. I think most of these clubs are heading in the right way, developing players, most have decent grounds and to be honest the likes of Wakefield and Hull KR need to be looking over their shoulders.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Heretic View Post
    Yes, people who want to grow the game are palpably stupid and those who are parochial to the extreme are geniuses lol!

    The decision is the decision but if anyone thinks Leigh are in a better position to battle the drop than London who almost stayed up in 2019, they must have something very keeping it in the family going on to be so myopic lol.
    I feel London have missed the boat. Over the years they have been content to move grounds on numerous occasions without considering "putting roots down". Like the northeast, we should encourage growth in these outpost areas, even though it may take a good few years for a team to prosper. At least grass root development would happen instead of "on the road" instant success.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by superarch View Post
    I feel London have missed the boat. Over the years they have been content to move grounds on numerous occasions without considering "putting roots down". Like the northeast, we should encourage growth in these outpost areas, even though it may take a good few years for a team to prosper. At least grass root development would happen instead of "on the road" instant success.
    I think certain areas are important for the game in terms of developing players and giving them a start on the ladder, but those areas don't necessarily need a successful top flight side for it to be valuable. RU is a great example of this. There are many many amateur clubs in counties like Kent, Hampshire, Essex, Cornwall, etc but none of those counties has a top club side. Yorkshire has many amateur RU players and only for a relatively short time did Leeds make it to the top-flight then disappear. Players get good coaching, there is a good amateur scene and if players are good enough they join established clubs in the professional game.

    If we can give local RL players good facilities down in London and have the London Broncos as a viable championship club willing to give them their start they will want to come and play for Saints, Leeds, Wigan etc down the line. They won't have got into RL without knowing who the best teams to play for are, and provided the structure and facilities are good down there we don't necessarily need London in Super League.

  21. #46
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    Budgiezilla if you know anyone with any say in the Leigh club have a word with them about getting some young Leigh lads in to start an Academy because i know it is really a town that is mad on Rugby League but Leigh lads keep going elsewhere , without Academy teams you and any team will strugle , get your own lads in.

  22. #47
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk DD's Avatar
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    Like Boris Johnson, everybody assumes those in charge of the game are thick, but you don't get so far in life by being a complete vegetable.

    If Toulouse had been awarded the place then the chances of them making a real go of getting a support base could well be ruined by Covid. Also, the award is a poisoned chalice. With only two thirds of the funding that the established Super League clubs get and with virtually all players now tied to contracts for next year, it is absolutely certain that Leigh will get relegated. That would have been the same for any of the teams 'lucky' enough to have got the nod.

    In reality, Leigh get relegated in October and one of the others will by-pass them in a much stronger position to recruit, build and then survive in Super League. I suspect the RFL knew that they would have given Toulouse a death sentence by choosing them and that Leigh, with an established support base and a good all round set-up are just about the only club that won't be damaged beyond repair by being given a Super League place they are not ready for.
    THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football

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    Im happy for Leigh to be in super league but i just wonder where the talent will come from for them to even compete. They’re gonna need a quality coach and a good few top signings to stay up imo.
    screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies

  24. #49
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    It was only 2 years ago they couldn't afford to pay their players and name enough players to have substitutes in a game.

    It's hardly the striking professional image the sport is looking for, especially after the Toronto issues this season.

    I do wonder what guarentees they have given that no similar events happen.

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    Quote Originally Posted by DD View Post
    Like Boris Johnson, everybody assumes those in charge of the game are thick, but you don't get so far in life by being a complete vegetable.

    If Toulouse had been awarded the place then the chances of them making a real go of getting a support base could well be ruined by Covid. Also, the award is a poisoned chalice. With only two thirds of the funding that the established Super League clubs get and with virtually all players now tied to contracts for next year, it is absolutely certain that Leigh will get relegated. That would have been the same for any of the teams 'lucky' enough to have got the nod.

    In reality, Leigh get relegated in October and one of the others will by-pass them in a much stronger position to recruit, build and then survive in Super League. I suspect the RFL knew that they would have given Toulouse a death sentence by choosing them and that Leigh, with an established support base and a good all round set-up are just about the only club that won't be damaged beyond repair by being given a Super League place they are not ready for.
    There's definitely a lot of truth in that.

    Leigh will find it hard to stay up and it's like drinking from a poisoned chalice as chances are they will be back in the Championship at the end of next October.
    Toulouse, Bradford, York, London, or whoever will be in a much stronger position coming up at the end of next year and will have a bit more time to recruit.

    From an expansion point of view Toulouse or York even would have been a better fit than Leigh but until the Covid pandemic is over there is too great a risk of fixture disruption if Toulouse had come up this time.
    It's very easier to sort out the logistics of fixtures when the 12th club is only a stones throw away from four other SL clubs.

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