Pfft, you're comparing apples to oranges. They play less games, mainly against very local sides and the cost is far less, especially for kids. (It would be more if WE weren't subsidising them)
2 top flight clubs combined attendances were more than 1 second flight club. Let's see if they will beat 1 club playing in the top flight next season, eh? Same with Wigan. Renowned for rugby league, won more trophies in a nine year spell than FC and Rovers put together in their whole history and a true rugby league hot bed, according to Gwillam. And yet every single year Wigan Athletic have competed on equal terms,ie being in the top flight,they have had larger crowds despite most seasons being a struggle. Of course Lloyd, Tingle and all the others connected with rugby league in this city have never let reality intrude into their little world.
"Super" League - what a joke - there is no relegation so if you are sh1t it doesn't matter cos you aren't going down anyway! Really super competition eh?
The game in England is urgently in need of a major overhaul and I believe at this moment options are being considered to improve the situation. The game overall is mired in debt and like many other businesses and countries is not coping with the economic conditions. In Australia the game is booming with record crowd attendances. Going to one in a couple of weeks which will fill the Olympic stadium in Sydney (over 83,000). Finally, Wigan Warriors are the undisputed Manchester United of English Rugby League and it is Wakefield Wildcats!
A big part of their problem is their reluctance to see anything beyond the deluded propaganda of the RL 'world'. ('Their' being mainly FC fans). The mods on that forum don't allow debate. When the posters try moving somewhere like here they get shown up for the one trick ponies they tend to be. Discussion in the real world is similar as they just repeat the same rubbish and get upset if you question it. They even try to compare a rl trophy with a football one. I've nothing against RL. If people enjoy it, good for them, but the attempted comparisons and belittling of football betrays their insecurity and insularity. They've more to gain working with us. Trying to compete is doomed to failure. I know some of the RL site are reading this. Don't hide behind the mods on there, they do you no favours. Get on here and have an open, robust debate. We've done it with others, and it's amazing to see people reach a common ground when they have the opportunity for free debate. We don't have entrenched views, but they are considered views so we will be convinced by facts. They do need to be more accurate than the guff trotted out on the RL board though.
Hull is known for having two very good rugby league teams, they are big fish in a very small pond, I have no problem with that. We also have a team in the prem which makes us a small fish in a huge pond, and people all over the world now know about Hull and its football club. There are a lot of people that like both sports that go and see Hull FC and City every week or Rovers. I never did get the in fighting between the clubs fans. I wouldn't open the curtains to watch a rugby game if they played it in front of my house but I still hope one of them wins the league or cup this season. Football is obviously way bigger than rugby league, leave the egg chaser fans alone if they enjoy it good on them. Maybe Gwillam does go on about his beloved rugby a bit too much on Humberside but we are premier league tigers now and that shouldn't bother us
Yeah, its the RL fans who are small minded and insular and arses for not supporting their local football team, even if they can't stand football. Naturally the football fans aren't like that at all, and don't take delight in baiting the rugby fans, taking the piss, belittling their sport and teams and generally acting like cocks exactly the same as the rugby fans do... You summed my views up perfectly John. In fact thats probably the best post I've seen on this subject. I can't see why anyone wouldn't think that post was anything other than reasonable, but sadly, it's probably more fun for some snide posters on the subject for some more sneering.
So, FC fans looking in. Care to see if we can find the common ground? Here's some food for thought. Assuming what some of you claim is accurate and the Allam's see ownership of the KC as the key to easy money. Why haven't the current owners done it instead of watching a major development (the KC) devalue the land it stands on and doing little to develop the local area? The current value of the land associated with the Stadium is probably less than if the stadium didn't exist.
I'm with johnfirth on this one. Let the Hull FC fans get on with their close minded bitching, who cares? They have nothing to fear from us. Their worry should be their sport declining, which isn't caused by City pinching their fans. I watched both City and FC until the late 80s when the whole Rugby system started getting a bit silly and the game started stagnating. Even then FC slagged off us rubbish football fans (there weren't many of us) compared to the might of RL. Now the power balance has turned it's embarassing to see us all with these petty squabbles. The FC forum is an embarassment of small minded insularity. Sadly, this is a reasonable definition of RL in England in general today. Having said that, all the Rovers fans I speak to from the dark side are very pleased and supportive.
Ignoring them is akin to burying your head in the sand, given some of them make public comments and decisions that affect us all, such as Geraghty and the Mayor. Letting their twisted version of the truth run unchallenged has held the City and the football club back for years. The current situation needs a full airing, not just a 'pat the FC fans on the head' attitude. The more the lies are repeated unchallenged, the more people believe it's true. We can't rely on the local newspaper or radio, so this is one way of encouraging a search for common ground instead of issues festering in the background. If you don't want to join in a discussion that's fine, it's your choice, but that's not a reason to discourage others from open debate.
Open debate is fine. I'm not sure how "Whoosh" helps propogate that though, but lets move on. To create a place where open debate can happen, we need to put aside "media bias" comments and "Rugby Councillors" and look at their concerns and how they can be assuaged without coming across as patronising. So, what are the real issues: Ground security? They think Allam is a threat to their use of the KC Stadium. Anything else? After that, how are we to engage some RL fans to debate with them. I'm not convinced inviting them to this board would work.
I said from the off that I've nothing against rl. If people enjoy it, good on them. The shame is people get defensive and simply assume it's a them and us, RL v football issue. I reckon it goes deeper than that, but putting an agenda to the debate, in my opinion, would railroad the discussion back to the usual pissing contests. That's where I saw the 'whoosh' thread going. There's already a discussion on a number of stadium related issues on the FC board. The problem is their mods stifle debate. I've not bothered registering on their because I've seen too many banned for not following the party line. I feel exploring that debate on here openly, not between us as such, but with the FC fans that have the issues would be beneficial to us all. I'm going into it with an open mind. Both sides represent the City and are not rivals. There's no need for the sillyness that tends to hinder these discussions.
Simple response - top division vs 2nd division. What do you think the comparative average attendances would be if City were in the top division and both rugby teams were in the second division?
But that isn't comparable either, the second division of RL is part-time, so obviously the crowds would fall through the floor. Attendances at all three clubs this season have been disappointing, pretending otherwise is just daft, and the attendances at cup games in both sports are always poor in the early rounds, I haven't seen anyone who claims to have been happy with the crowd on Friday night.
