15 March 2014

GUEST BLOG: London - My Views, My Visions, My Fears

Starting Super League Pod for us was all about expanding our rugby league horizons, whether that was through new experiences of our own or getting in touch with fans across rugby league to share their experiences with us. With that in mind we're really pleased to present our first guest blog.

We're both really interested in the spread of the game but we aren't best qualified to talk about it with the true passion of a fan on the ground. Everyone is aware of the recent and current issues facing the London Broncos but we wanted to know what following the game in London feels like for a London fan. So, here are the thoughts of Ian Gatward, we hope you find it as interesting and entertaining as we did:

First of all for those who don't know who I am I am a London RL supporter, now for those who wonder why I have not put Broncos there is a simple reason.

I went to my very first live Rugby League game on Sept 14th 1980 when Fulham played Wigan in Division Two of the Slalom Lager Rugby League Championship and since then I have followed the club from it's high point in winning the second division championship in 1982 to seeing it play at Chiswick polytechnic stadium in a cup tie against Bradford Northern as it was then in near freezing conditions to playing in the Cup Final in '99 to where we are now and it is that part I want to put my point to.

I seem to remember a Boots 'n' All programme when Brian McDermott basically said that the club needs help from some one or some group with a lot of money and also the RFL to provide help with promoting the club and the game in the capital.

True David Hughes has been the main lifesaver of the club and the RFL well that is another subject.

But today I went to the Hive (for London v Wakefield) anticipating a fighting display from the club. I mean after all last week for 60 minutes we were well in the game against Warrington and only in the last quarter Warrington ran away with it, so really the scoreline was harsh, and we had the usual 'the team is gelling' and 'all the players and coaches are working hard to get a competitive if not winning side together' and as a realist I accepted that because, lets be honest, we are lucky to still have a club.

So I turn up to watch a display which was inept at best and downright awful at worst. So awful in fact I was so angry I resorted to Twitter to basically say my thoughts and my feelings to the club.

All I kept getting back was the usual drivel of 'we are working hard and...' etc etc etc.

Please don't get me wrong I understand with all the issues we have had that this was always going to be a long hard season, which we are still seeing new players, but in my mind the problems run a lot lot deeper than all this.

I spend a lot of my time defending why London should have a Super League side and for all the reasons of the game needing a national presence not just the M62 corridor so to speak up to a point I felt I was winning my argument. But how can I defend the club especially the way it is run and coached.

Let me explain, getting back to the RFL now unless I live on cloud cuckoo land I do believe the Challenge Cup Final is played at Wembley Stadium in London. Now apart from the usual fans from both cup final teams there are neutral supporters of the game probably looking for a club to support, I know about London but how will they know there is Rugby League in London? Simple answer is they don't. Why not advertise the fact? Why not have folks handing out leaflets or tickets or whatever just to promote the game?

But to blame it entirely on the RFL would be total folly, I believe we have a Chief Executive in Gus MacKay. Who is he you all ask? Well we hardly know him. He is never seen when he needs to be seen and in my opinion has basically driven the club to the wall.

From the end of last season when we beat an injury hit Hull KR side and not finish at the bottom merely on the fact that Salford were deducted points we all went away from the game thinking and asking what was going to happen with the club.

Like everything else rumours were flying around from all areas as to the club had ceased to be, to ground share with so many clubs and anything and everything possible. Then we heard we were going into administration. Then we were saved. Then we were not and for a couple of months we knew absolutely nothing. In fact on the days of court appearances the Twitter feed was going into overdrive and the voice of London Rugby League Ian Ramsdale was continually being asked what was happening but even he did not know. Now there might have been business and commercial reasons behind it but at least Wakefield fans were being honestly told that finances were so bad that key players were having to be sold and Bradford were going through torture but again the fans were being told, we were being told nothing.

When we knew the club was safe we were realistic to know that we were having to start from scratch and fairness to the club we were going to be patient and support the team and coaches. Now this is where my worries begin with what is happening, we all as one said we would all help with the promotion and publicity of the club. As to now nobody has been contacted by the club, I have even volunteered so many times given my e mail address my mobile number and whatever, not even a thanks but no thanks.

So what is the Chief Executive and the RFL doing about it? As far as I am aware nothing. Stanmore is a busy shopping area about a 10 minute drive from the ground with pubs and clubs and supermarkets, in fact a great place to advertise the club...but nothing. And when I mention it not a whisper from the club, so what does the Chief Executive do during the week? Not a lot from what I can gather because where is the publicity drive? where are the future supporters going to come from when nobody knows within the area we actually exist.

The same old excuses and the same old pre-game spin is starting to sound really hollow now and unless urgent action is taken the club I have supported for 34 years and made many many friends with and gone to so many grounds and met so many wonderful people will be allowed to drift and die and I do not want to see that but I fear for its future and for the game as a whole in the south.

So what are my suggestions? 1. The club seriously needs to listen to the supporters. We are paying good money to watch the club and we need to be listened to. After all we have volunteered to help with no reply from anyone, and 2. Sort the squad or the coach out because surely we can not afford to play like today again.

Hope this makes sense as you can see my frustration is so much that something needs to happen and this is my view.

You can contact me at IAN.GATWARD@sky.com or on Twitter @Gatwardian

Thanks for your assistance.

Regards Ian

Thank you Ian for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us. I'm sure anyone reading this will get a sense for his frustration and that is shared by many London fans now the season is up and running.

We hope that the London club will make use of passionate fans like Ian and the others who have volunteered to help the club. What we've seen at all clubs over the years in rugby league is the great role fans can play in the progress of a club. From those fans that take in young out of area players to their homes to those that give up their time and resources to build new stands, there are great stories of fan volunteer power in our great game. It may be time for the London club to embrace that rugby league spirit if it stands a chance to remain at the top table, before that enthusiasm to support the professional game in London declines too far.

If you're interested in sharing your rugby league experiences with us like Ian has done please get in touch by email to superleaguepod@gmail.com. More importantly, if you want to help Ian on his quest to get more fan information and involvement then please get in touch with him on the contract details given above. For more from Ian or on London rugby league we recommend you visit London Broncos photos and news fan blog and also follow Ian Ramsdale on Twitter.


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