I believe the RL did once have an office in London until quiet recently and it was closed. I may be wrong, I am sure Gutterfax would know or be able to find out.

2 staff apparently based in an office on the Thames ,,,,,,down from as many as 25 development people last year. Interestingly, the development work in London was sponsored by sports cafe........ Big bad nasty lenagan at his self serving worst again??????

Really don't get your thrust here. I remember Widnes being given £900,000 by the RFL in the mid 2000's when they got into bother. I remember Hull being given £1M to merge with Gateshead, and I remember all the assistance given to Bradford last year. The one club that has never been on the receiving end of such largesse (despite all the myths) is London

What gets the RFL into disrepute is that they make lots of nice sounding statements about having a club in London, but have never backed it up with action or practical help.

Don't think I'm asking for the RFL to just lob money at London now, the current management of the Broncos couldn't run a bath and wouldn't know how to use the funds effectively. But if all those statements about the importance of SL in London had not been such hollow words, it would never have got to be such a mess.



Anyway, the original question was why we shouldn't be stripped of our franchise? And I'll go back to my original post, until such time as we're not able to honour our fixtures.

And if you weren't clamouring for Bradford to be stripped of their franchise last year, I suggest you hold your tongue. I'm not asking for special treatment for London, I'm asking for the same treatment that others have received.

But the point is, why should the RFL have to give London financial help? Why did they help Bradford? Why should they help any SL club?



SLE is very fond of telling everyone "We are an independent company, the Sky money is ours, not the RFL's, and it is up to us how it is distributed."



Fair enough. So why is it left to the RFL to bail out SL clubs whenever they are in the financial mire? Why don't the rest of the SL clubs help out the failing club from SLE funds? Because they're all too self-interested and greedy is why.

If they hadn't helped then its a good bet that both Bradford and Wakefield would have been wound up. Or at least put in a much more damaging position. With so few clubs in RL, why shouldn't they help?



When did SLE say that? It's been a long time since they decided how anything was distributed. SLE is pretty much existing in name only. The SLE company is run by the RFL.



SLE funds are effectively RFL funds, the RFL decides where they go. In Bradford's case there were clubs willing to help. Did your club help out others when they were in trouble?

Where do you think the money loaned to Bradford came from? Where do you think the loans to any SL clubs come from? Advances of the TV money perchance?



Why do the RFL help Keighley and Rochdale in the same way? Why is it ok for the RFL to own Cougar Park and Spotland but not Odsal? Why are they allowed to own grounds at Normanton, Underbank; Hensingham; Maryport and Buslingthorpe Vale when they are amateur clubs under the BARLA banner rather than the RFL banner but helping and actual RFL member club is heresy?

You might be thinking of the Hard Rock Cafe, which part-sponsored 2-year East London project that ended September just gone and sponsored the Origin series for the past few years. Lenaghan and sports cafe never had anything to do with development work in London.

I am Widnes fan and dont recall Widnes ever being given any financial assistance from the RFL, the only thing I can remember is being given a 9 point deduction for entering administration and a ready made excuse for not being granted a licence in 2008.

One year you're flavour of the month, the next year they throw you to the dogs.

My Bad





Still, Harlequins RL were "sponsored" by Sports Café and Workplace Systems long after IL was told to leave the club by the RFL, so I would counter he has had something to do with development, given it was his cash that set up and funded the academy that has started to churn out SL players (notice I didn't say SL standard)

Are they still in SL next year then? :\

depends on how much money is left after the RFL bail out Bradford.....AGAIN





Honestly roofs, my communications from the clubs management dried up last week, so I am none the wiser. I'd say if we are in SL next year it will be with little or no investment and as cast iron favourites to drop down (if there's relegation).