Signed.



I went to university in Sheffield, so got to see a fair bit of the Eagles between 1996 and '99 when they were in their prime. If it isn't bad enough what happened to them from 2000 onwards, then this has to be the final insult. If Sheffield City Council can't accommodate them in a city of that size (is it still the fourth largest city in England?), then there is just no hope for the future of top-class sport in that part of the world.

signed.(352)



I couldn't watch 'the full monty' again if I hadn't.



Can we start a petition to send the Pies to Holland too?

Done and Good Luck

Done.



I've met the Sheffield fans at the Championship Finals when they've been played at the HJ for the last couple of years. If ever a group of dedicated supporters deserve a result to go their way its these guys.

Many thanks for the support it's very much appreciated



Good luck in the playoffs

Sheffield Eagles is a good friendly club and enjoyable place to watch a game. The big problem is they just aren't big enough in Sheffield in terms of crowd.



They are like a northern London Broncos in that they have a small group of very committed supporters and in fairness to the club it has had a fair bit of success and Mark Aston and the guys around him seem to run the club well with the resources they have, I think its quite a professional outfit on the pitch.



But in all that like you say they are in a large city and not far from rugby league heartland but the Eagles are not really part of the fabric of the city. It's a football city and the Eagles haven't ever been able to really capture Sheffield.



I do not hold out much hope for petitioning the local council because the council has had funding cuts and is having to cut back on services and the relatively low crowds makes it difficult to really lobby them for financial help. We saw what happened with the Don Valley and even the PR image of Jess Ennis and the local press weren't able to save them. The problem will be that for people at the council charged with making tough decisions on priorities in the face of cuts, the Eagles are just a lobby group that represent a small number of people, but councils get them all the time and have to say no.



I think the only real hope for Sheffield would be to get support from a private investor.



It's a funny city Sheffield because despite being associated with being a grim industrial northern city its a bit more upmarket than the other northern cities, pretty clean, safe, a nice open and green environment and in the areas around the city (especially between the city and the Peaks) there is quite a lot of wealth. So I think there's some potential in there....but for rugby league I'm not sure, its difficult. I know a fair few Sheffielders including rugby league supporting Sheffielders but they support other teams.



That said I am not knocking Eagles fans attempts to save their club as I say its a great place and its a very welcoming place to watch RL.

I'm not sure if you been to Sheffield City Centre recently, but Meadowhell continues to cause havoc. I don't think Sheffield is nearly as prosperous as Leeds, home p the current champions, or even Manchester, home of next season's





I think history, and the fact Sheffield is one of the original bastions of soccer have more to do with it. That said, cuts or no cuts, IMHO councils should be supporting strong community clubs, and RL generally, and from what I can gather the Eagles specifically, fit this bill.

he only asked for your help sally c.

Out of interest, for those of us who aren't really in the loop on this, what are the Eagles options now the Don Valley is closing? Obviously Sheffield has two football stadiums, but I'm assuming the cost of renting either of those would be way out of budget considering their capacities and Eagles' average attendances. Where are they hoping to move into, and where are they hoping to avoid? Or has it gone past that point and outright closure of the club altogether is the most likely outcome here? I agree they were treated disgracefully when that happened the first time obviously, so full credit to those responsible for reclaiming them.



Obviously I wish them as well as anyone else on here does, but you're always going to find support on an RL forum. If I was a Sheffield resident with no interest in the Eagles - which let's face facts, is the vast majority of them - then I perhaps wouldn't want a council that was being forced to make huge budget cuts to be finding the money to accommodate a sports team that attracts only a small minority of the city's population to it's games.



I'm not trying to stir it or anything, I have no wish to see the Eagles forced out, but if Britain's Golden Girl can't save the Don Valley I highly doubt they can, so taking sally's post above into account, I was just curious as to what the various options on the table for them are?

it does nobody an harm to show support. And its much more quicker to sign up than give chapter and verse telling why you won't!