Its not an assumption, its a fact. You do know the difference dont you? or has your constant defence of Uncle Ted Richardson blurred the lines for you? Catalans do have a stadium fit for purpose. This is a fact

Catalans do regularly get quite a few through the doors. More than most. This is also a fact.

Their Stadium is not falling down. This is a fact.

They have not gone bust, also a fact.





i doubt you could if you tried

no im not.



Gareth Ellis was signed 9 years ago. Get over it. Both Willie Poching and Paul Aiton had played NRL before joining Wakefield. neither are Wakefield products, Poching was also signed 14 bloody years ago.

Wakefield right now, have Fox, Mathers, Keinhorst, Briscoe, McShane, Smith, Moore, Scruton. All leeds developed players.

The catalan budget is 9.3 million euros, roughly £8million, putting them, financially speaking, in the top 2/3 clubs in the competition. This was announced during their launch evening (and my French is far too poor to go find a link)



Catalans have a fantastically strong base financially (how Toulouse would affect that would be interesting) but, as a sport we have decided "live by the sword die by the sword" is a more important factor.

Some strange going's at Catalans. www.catalansdragons.com/en/artic ... statement/

Some strange going's at Catalans. www.catalansdragons.com/en/artic ... statement/

Agreed, something is going on behind the scenes there.

Quote Dave K.="Dave K."Some strange going's at Catalans. www.catalansdragons.com/en/artic ... statement/'" Brent Webb on his way out of the club by the look of things. Jamal Fakir punted to reserve grade. Those two must be among those Catalan players [i"who aren't prepared to wet their shirts and instead believe in holidays or Club Med"[/i according to club president Guasch.

Quote Dave K.="Dave K."Some strange going's at Catalans. www.catalansdragons.com/en/artic ... statement/'" Brent Webb on his way out of the club by the look of things. Jamal Fakir punted to reserve grade. Those two must be among those Catalan players [i"who aren't prepared to wet their shirts and instead believe in holidays or Club Med"[/i according to club president Guasch.

Without strong management from top to bottom a few of their players will just be there for a jolly, and i really dont think give a stuff about anything else just getting their wage and being in the sun nearly all year round. Looking at the highlights vs wakey they just looked really unfit and just as if they didn't or couldnt be d to put the effort in

Leon Pryce looked like the game had come as a hindrance to him.

Sigh, I know S.L needs strong clubs, I also know Catalans are believed to be a strong club.



As I said before & will reiterate, why does there need to be a strong French club if, & I’ll say it again, if, in theory, there were twelve strong English clubs, why do we need a gimmicky team?



My comment was based on purely theoretical musing, but the fact remains, the French National team has gone backwards since the introduction of a French S.L side. You can wax as lyrically as you like about pathways & debuts, no doubt the next excuse will be “give it time” or maybe the inclusion of another French club is the answer, yet our National side is now playing a hotchpotch of antipodeans to get a decent run-out.



So, once again, why “in theory” does S.L need a strong Catalans team?



BTW, that was a bit uncalled for reminding me I'm a Wakefield fan

.

Why are Les Catalans a gimmicky team? They are a french side playing in the premier European competition, a competition which is the right level for them. Why are they any more of a gimmick than any other side?



has the french national side gone backwards? This is a team which were beaten by Lebanon in 2002. Yeah they are struggling to meet the big 3, and in World Cups have been overtaken by other teams. But France are producing their own, through their structures (including les catalans) and in that context arent doing too bad. I think expecting them to get to the level of the big 3 within a decade is a bit harsh.



In Theory SL needs a strong Catalans side because they represent a large swathe of France where RL is played, they are a route to professionalism for Young French players. They highlight the game and act as a beacon in an area that would otherwise not be served, the bring increased visibility and media presence for the game. They expand the player-pool and give a professional option to players who would otherwise be playing RU.



They do all these things to a far higher degree than most heartland sides and as such the returns we see from our investment there is greater.

I hope that one of the clubs major selling points, i.e. having a great place to live and play rugby in the sun for almost all year, doesn't end up being a millstone round its neck.

Who voted Catalans?