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Rugger off ...

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:00 pm
by neilw
Whilst not having the slightest interest in Rugby, I’ve found myself anti supporting London Welsh, in the hope that they’ll go down, get out of Oxford and off of our pitch. They now appear to be in a precarious position.

Given the current value of the stadium and state of the pitch, with LW as joint tenants, surely their demise is a key element to our sustainable future?

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:15 pm
by Radley Rambler
I too raised a smile when London Irish beat Wasps yesterday. It's a question of timing really. If we owned the stadium, then I would be 100% behind a rugby team sharing the costs of running that stadium. We would also have control over how much we spend on the pitch to maintain it.

However, at present all LW bring to us is a worsening of the playing surface (although the rain has undoubtedly not helped) and a significant increase in the cost of buying the stadium so come on Sale and London Irish!

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:15 pm
by amershamwrighty
Can I be controversial for a moment ?

The last couple of weeks I've watched the Football league show and compared to some grounds, our pitch is like a billiard table.

For example - Blackpool,Tranmere and Walsall have dreadful pitches which resemble a sand pit and I don't believe they share with rugby teams. Huddersfield do and have done for some years so in theory they have proper management of their pitch and it is still awful.

London Welsh playing on it can't help our pitch - I think they've only got 2 more home games, thank heavens - but it is only a small contributory factor to the current OUFC malaise.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:17 pm
by slappy
Couple of points for discussion
At the fans forum, IL said that Kassam was now getting &quotdouble rent&quot. Is that likely, that LW would be paying the same, as they have fewer games, and don't have first choice on Saturdays?
He also said that LW get good central funding from the rugby authorities.
IL also said that any improvements to the Kassam stadium would have to be paid for by OUFC/LW 50:50. Which I took to mean a dual use pitch would have to be paid for, rather than just a reseeding in the Summer.
There is a possibility that LW may not be able to return to Old Deer Park, as it was only allowed at the step below due to being grandfathered in under old ground rules.
It also needs the top team at the step below to be capable of promotion with an appropriate ground.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:25 pm
by Brahma Bull
Having talked to the people at London Welsh through OxVox, the distinct impression is that, relegation or not, they will see out their second year option. They are keen to cement their place in Oxford moving forward.

They get alot of revenue from a central agreement the RFU have with their main sponsors, likewise if they retain their top flight status they will benefit from purchasing a 'golden share' - I can't quite remember the in's and out's but its important for their influence in the top flight.

At least the bottom of the table scrap between them, Irish and Sale is interesting. :D

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:39 am
by Kernow Yellow
I may be wrong, but I thought that our pitch (which was once state-of-the-art) was now anyway in need of renewing, as some of the sub-structure had worn out. If this is the case, and the cost will now be split between two parties, rather than us paying for it alone, then this could be seen as a good thing. I'm not sure LW would be happy to pay half the cost though, when they've only had a tiny fraction of the use over the last 12 years.

But yes, LW can certainly rugger off as far as I'm concerned. If they want to become rooted in the Oxford area and build a fan base locally, the least they could do would be to change their name - even MK Dons have had the decency to do that. The way the Oxford Times fawn over them and promote them as Oxford's premier sports team these days is embarrassing and annoying. Do they really think more people in Oxfordshire care about how London Welsh get on than about Oxford United? I sincerely doubt it.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:19 pm
by Radley Rambler
Ask and thee shall receive

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/21595254

I could make a joke about the Minchery Farm fax machine but that would be too easy.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:49 pm
by Hog
&quotKernow Yellow&quot wrote: I'm not sure LW would be happy to pay half the cost though, when they've only had a tiny fraction of the use over the last 12 years.
But surely it's the future state of the pitch that matters, not how it's deteriorated over the last 12 (or 3) years?

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:44 pm
by Snake
&quotRadley Rambler&quot wrote:Ask and thee shall receive

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/21595254

I could make a joke about the Minchery Farm fax machine but that would be too easy.
Thanks for that link. The words “London

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:54 pm
by Matt D
&quotslappy&quot wrote:At the fans forum, IL said that Kassam was now getting &quotdouble rent&quot. Is that likely, that LW would be paying the same, as they have fewer games, and don't have first choice on Saturdays?
don't forget they had to negotiate this deal at short notice and were pretty much committed to playing in oxford due to their appeal to be promoted: not a strong position from which to negotiate with firoz kassam.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:26 pm
by Kernow Yellow
&quotHog&quot wrote:
&quotKernow Yellow&quot wrote: I'm not sure LW would be happy to pay half the cost though, when they've only had a tiny fraction of the use over the last 12 years.
But surely it's the future state of the pitch that matters, not how it's deteriorated over the last 12 (or 3) years?
Surely it's a bit of both? I'm not professing any particular knowledge of the situation at all, but if I were negotiating for LW I'd be a bit miffed at having to stump up however many hundreds of thousands of pounds to relay a pitch they've hardly used, and which they might not be using for much longer.

As an OUFC fan, however, I would entirely welcome such a scenario. I don't buy this 'all pitches are bad at the moment' argument - plenty of pitches are usually bad at this time of year, but never previously ours. (We nearly had a match called off at Bristol Rovers this time last year after no more than about an hour and a half of rain.) I think the rugby is at least as much to blame as the weather for the sudden worsening of our playing surface.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:43 pm
by Ancient Colin
Strikes me that the pitch has been deteriorating for quite a while now, and well before Neither London Nor Very Welsh arrived. I suspect more about the system structure wearing out and cutbacks in the ground maintenace after the separation of club and ground ownership and the departure of a fulltime club groundsman. Um, groundsperson.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:35 pm
by Snake
Result of the hearing expected at about 6 p.m. today according to Twitter.

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:58 pm
by SWA
Let's hope London Welsh get a large points deduction in the hearing...
Get them back to London

Re: Rugger off ...

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:58 pm
by Ancient Colin
Five point penalty and a fine. They are appealing. Well, in one sense, anyway.