Merthyr Ospreys supporters, you've shown us your banner now show yourselves!

by Morgannwg Mon 14 Jan 2013, 7:23 pm

First topic message reminder :

You are regulary at Ospreys games, perhaps more often than Swansea, Bridgend and Neath residents, sporting your 'Merthyr supports Ospreys, the one true region' banner. The Ospreys have infringed copyright by stealing your slogan. You've been attending Ospreys games for years and now all of a sudden #OneTrueRegion flags are being sold which generates profit not for Merthyr, but for the Ospreys.

Next items: Why do you support them? Why are they the One True Region? And what more do they do for rugby in your community than the Blues? LD, I'm looking at you here.

by Welsh Magician Thu 17 Jan 2013, 3:02 pm

Morgannwg wrote:
Welsh Magician wrote:I won't be logging in again, but I think it's important to note the context of this thread with current proceedings in Welsh rugby politics. Now that it has been made clear that one or two of the regions could be scrapped or downsized from their current status it is far from surprising to see the most successful of them being attacked by other regional teams fans.

Well I'm glad to hear you will not be logging in again seeing as your final retort is another bolox accusation.

Ta ra.

In what way is it? It's perfectly normal to want to retain your position in Welsh rugby despite how unsustainable it may be and this is only a way of acting out, I am sure many people can see this in a different light once context has been added. Enjoy your forum, I for sure did not enjoy the experience and would not recommend it.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 17 Jan 2013, 3:11 pm

Welsh Magician, have you posted on any other threads? 606v2 is a decent place, honest.

by Morgannwg Thu 17 Jan 2013, 3:59 pm

Welsh Magician wrote:
Morgannwg wrote:
Welsh Magician wrote:I won't be logging in again, but I think it's important to note the context of this thread with current proceedings in Welsh rugby politics. Now that it has been made clear that one or two of the regions could be scrapped or downsized from their current status it is far from surprising to see the most successful of them being attacked by other regional teams fans.

Well I'm glad to hear you will not be logging in again seeing as your final retort is another bolox accusation.

Ta ra.
In what way is it? It's perfectly normal to want to retain your position in Welsh rugby despite how unsustainable it may be and this is only a way of acting out, I am sure many people can see this in a different light once context has been added. Enjoy your forum, I for sure did not enjoy the experience and would not recommend it.

1. Why would you base a point on the disbandment of a Region? None of that is confirmed and the WRU have stated they are devoted to maintaining the current four.
2. You believe the said region to be the most successful, which is highly debatable (see the Blues achievements).
3. Yet against you've regurgitated your nonsecial accusation (people attacking the Ospreys). I posted some simple questions and you and others have repeatedly proven incapable of answering them.
4. Nobody cares whether you leave or stay put. Every single one of your posts has been absolute tripe which would lead most to believe you have nothing to add to this forum.

thumbsup

by Liam Thu 17 Jan 2013, 4:56 pm

In fairness the O's are doing quite a bit:

Schools initiative:

For groups of 20 and over, schools are eligible to order and purchase match day tickets for only:
Children Under 16: £1
Adults: £10

for every ticket that your school purchases, you will have 50p put into a savings account for you to purchase anything from our Gilbert catalogue

Ospreys Rugby are delighted to announce this exciting new initiative which will shortly be rolled out to the primary schools within the unitary authorities of Swansea, Neath / Port Talbot and Bridgend. The initiative has come about through a collegiate strategy developed by Ospreys Rugby, RWE, WRU, Castell Howell Foods and Neath Port Talbot College, respectively.

The scheme will seek to engage pupils in Years 5 & 6 and encourage them to develop their oracy, literacy and numeracy skills through investigating various aspects of Ospreys rugby activities and relating them to aspects of the pupils' own lives. Further to this, the initiative seeks to provide opportunities for pupils to develop their inter-personal skills and enhance their self esteem.

There are 6 elements to this programme, which will be delivered through 6 individual sessions, culminating in a rugby tournament, with the emphasis firmly on participation! The other five areas will focus on the following areas:

Who are the Ospreys
A week in the life of an Ospreys player
Match Day
A player visit to participating school
A tour of the Liberty Stadium,
with a unique multi-sensory experience of how the home changing area would be on match days.
an energy awareness workshop, in association with RWE.
a healthy eating experience in association with Castell Howell Foods.
All stake holders in the programme are excited about the prospect of implementing this initiative, which will be formerly launched in september 2012, with Education Minister Leighton Andrew AM among the guests attending.

Junior camps:

A holiday based programme for children aged 5-14, our camps will involve the children in fun games and activities aimed at developing their core skills for lifelong participation in sport, while also delivering a great fun experience for all. Players from the Welsh national squad will be in attendance at the end of each camp, to reward the children for their hard work, and to sign autographs and take pictures. Get coached by some of the best at the Ospreys
23rd - 25th July: Bridgend College, Pencoed Campus (3 days)
14th - 16th August: Swansea University (3 days)
21st - 23rd August: Llandarcy Academy of Sport (3 days)

Its pretty decent if you ask me. And what they're doing which is smart is targeting the next generation. Some fans will never support a region and although regions don't give up on them, they have focused on the people who don't have the dilemma of club vs region. Its smart. Yes I have just copy and pasted and i'm not saying the O's are the best region, but they've done some good things in there they can't be knocked for.

by Morgannwg Thu 17 Jan 2013, 5:01 pm

Exactly Liam, I wholeheartedly agree with you. It's great to see Ospreys rugby doing everything they can for their Region. I won't knock them for that... In fact I cannot see where I have once knocked them.

by Liam Thu 17 Jan 2013, 6:08 pm

Don't get me wrong, reading other regions sites they have similar things going on and fair play to all of them. Just seems people have taken to some regions better than others.

In Merthyr for example, where I'm from, I always thought the Blues had the upper hand in terms of supporters. However, inr ecent years it has very much swung in the favor of the O's. Personally, I think its due to success in the rabo/magners and the many welsh internationals on show. In theory, the Blues should be doing well as you can simply hop on a train to cardiff and you're there in 40 odd mins to watch the game. Plus unlike the Liberty, the arms park is right by all the best pubs in the city centre. Maybe its because the Blues haven't been great for a few years and people like Roberts rarely turning out for us.

Its a difficult point but it is what it is and the regions just need to keep working at it. In a few years maybe the support in Merthyr will return more strongly to the Blues with Cuthbert re-signing and some exiting young prospects coming through. The odd amlin game being switched to Merthyr, maybe at Penydarren Park may be the way forward, but may be difficult to do with Merthyr Town playing there. Wouldn't know how that one would work with contracts and things like that. Maybe the Blues could work out a deal in which both benefit.

by Liam Thu 17 Jan 2013, 6:09 pm

Morgannwg wrote:Exactly Liam, I wholeheartedly agree with you. It's great to see Ospreys rugby doing everything they can for their Region. I won't knock them for that... In fact I cannot see where I have once knocked them.

Absolutely Morg. We all have our favorite regions and tbh, I do think the slogan one true region is a bit arrogant. but that's what they've gone for.

by wayne Thu 17 Jan 2013, 6:52 pm

Liam, I know you said Leighton Andrews was attending, possibly you could have added that he said it was unique in Wales and said it was an excellent initiative that was the brainchild of Keith Collins a former officer with the Ospreys Supporters Club (OSC) was a former teacher and Deputy Head Master within Ospreylia, before Illness curtailed that.
Morg 2.11 today quote:Want some advice? Don't go around telling people they have chips on their shoulders. It is the most unneccessary and most overused word on 606V2
Morg 2.51 today quote: that just proved my point that the phrase is overused across this forum and is usually the retort of a poster that lacks credibility in their argument.
Just check who was the first person to use that phrase on this topic. You ask on this topic for the Merthyr Ospreys to declare themselves,I told you to go on the Os website and ask 2 posters why they support the Os. It was a way of telling you they hold a similar if not that banner and have done so in mainly away matches in the HC for at least 5 years.
St.Mo11.08 Tues:If you had followed the Academy story properly you would find we are still funding the academy in those proportions, it was quoted to prove that the Dodger was lying when he said the WRU was entirely funding the acadamies, this is important to us.
BMC4.02:The only way Coombs, Fussell or Tovey would get in the Welsh squad if there were extensive injuries, so it would be a small amount, the Os have not bought anybody from within Wales, you must have been away from the Os region for a long time Ian Gough has more than level 1.I agree about Howlers Cardiff bias, yet there are not 6 better SHs in Wales than LW, for a start there are none atm at the Os.

by wayne Thu 17 Jan 2013, 6:59 pm

Liam wrote:
Morgannwg wrote:Exactly Liam, I wholeheartedly agree with you. It's great to see Ospreys rugby doing everything they can for their Region. I won't knock them for that... In fact I cannot see where I have once knocked them.

Absolutely Morg. We all have our favorite regions and tbh, I do think the slogan one true region is a bit arrogant. but that's what they've gone for.

Sorry boys, if you think this is a new concept, it is not, we have been calling ourselves that since at least 2005 when we moved to the Liberty, it was started as we were made up of 2 clubs, whereas the rest of you were and still are a single club in a lot of peoples eyes.

by Breadvan Thu 17 Jan 2013, 8:16 pm

It's just a daft PR slogan from the region. I take little notice of it..

by thebluesmancometh Thu 17 Jan 2013, 8:23 pm

For me it's quite simple, and in no way anti Osprey...

One true region - back this statement up, tell us why the other 3 are not real regions!

West is best - put up or shut up!!!

PS if you want me to slate the blues too just let me know in which areas, I'll kick it off with that god awfull excuse for a badge...

by Breadvan Thu 17 Jan 2013, 8:50 pm

Blues...I think it's partially down to the dropping of the Neath/Swansea name altogether.. While the others have kept theirs.

by thebluesmancometh Thu 17 Jan 2013, 8:53 pm

Well Blues are the only ones still using Cardiff on their logo, but as all the regions the O's are still using the club colours (except for Dragons)

by wayne Thu 17 Jan 2013, 9:48 pm

thebluesmancometh wrote:Well Blues are the only ones still using Cardiff on their logo, but as all the regions the O's are still using the club colours (except for Dragons)

That's the point the Newport Gwent Dragons can't get any club to join up with them so this season they pick a multi coloured shirt, whereas the Ospreys remain true to the 2 teams that set them up initially by having predominately Black at home (neath) and White (swansea) away with subtle variations each season to include all clubs within Ospreylia, with this season on the home shirt all the junior clubs names printed. This is why for 2 of the 3 previous seasons they have been I believe the 2nd highest shirt sales in the British Isles.

by thebluesmancometh Thu 17 Jan 2013, 10:01 pm

They have been a very high shirt sales team because of their strategy. They devised a mass promotion and flooding strategy, and produced too many differing shirts and flooded the market. These shirts generally made bargain bins very quickly and hence were bought and worn all over Wales.

Infact I met a guy wearing an Ospreys shirt in Newcastle recently who claimed he was a real Geordie but picked the shirt up for a fiver in Swansea a few weeks previously.

And the Dragons had Ebbw joined with them originally.

Also how is the O's wearing Neath and Swansea colours helping the whole region? Surely it just highlights the 2 clubs in wales who had to give in their fight to stand alone and join with each other, they didn't join through some sort of good will to a region that never existed, they joined because Llanelli refused to do so with Swansea and Neath were left with Swansea or nothing!

by wayne Thu 17 Jan 2013, 10:12 pm

thebluesmancometh wrote:They have been a very high shirt sales team because of their strategy. They devised a mass promotion and flooding strategy, and produced too many differing shirts and flooded the market. These shirts generally made bargain bins very quickly and hence were bought and worn all over Wales.

Infact I met a guy wearing an Ospreys shirt in Newcastle recently who claimed he was a real Geordie but picked the shirt up for a fiver in Swansea a few weeks previously.

And the Dragons had Ebbw joined with them originally.

Also how is the O's wearing Neath and Swansea colours helping the whole region? Surely it just highlights the 2 clubs in wales who had to give in their fight to stand alone and join with each other, they didn't join through some sort of good will to a region that never existed, they joined because Llanelli refused to do so with Swansea and Neath were left with Swansea or nothing!

Wrong again, initially Neath were going in with Bridgend, so because of Llanelli intransigence they joined with Swansea, they were never on their own, as for shirt sales for 3 seasons we had a merchandise turnover of over £1 million. As somebody else said earlier in this thread Os shirts outsell the Blues within certain areas of the Blues supposed area, yes what did you lot do to Ebbw for them to dump you.

by thebluesmancometh Thu 17 Jan 2013, 10:16 pm

Firstly if Llanelli managed stand alone status Neath Bridgend were both going to miss out because Swansea were all but given regional status anyway.

Secondly the impressive Ospreys boasted and impressive unit sales record yet earnt barely much more than the blues profit wise. Turnover and profit are 2 different things my friend.

Lastly when did Ebbw dump the Blues?

by wayne Thu 17 Jan 2013, 10:30 pm

thebluesmancometh wrote:Firstly if Llanelli managed stand alone status Neath Bridgend were both going to miss out because Swansea were all but given regional status anyway.

Secondly the impressive Ospreys boasted and impressive unit sales record yet earnt barely much more than the blues profit wise. Turnover and profit are 2 different things my friend.

Lastly when did Ebbw dump the Blues?

You are making a fool of yourself here give it up for your own sanity, I said you were a blues supporter initially, then you say you are talking about the Dragons, now you are a Blue again.
The carve up was because initially Llanelli wanted stand alone and then Cardiff wouldn't join with Ponty, that is why Neath and Swansea combined, same as Bridgend and Ponty.
As for profit one of those £1 million turnover seasons Cardiff couldn't hold onto Mike Phillips even with the piemans money.
I don't know why I'm bothering with you and as of now I shall not be again, as somebody on your side of the argument said when any body comes out with the phrase CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER has already lost the argument.

by Stone Motif Thu 17 Jan 2013, 10:53 pm

In need of more history lessons I see Wayne, not least in regards to your own region and the long-running animosity between Neath and the O's...we did not dump Ebbw their benefactors went into the arrangement with gobs bigger than their cheque books, and did a runner as soon as they realised the costs involved. Cue shafting by WRU and the ludicrous situation where the board with the most cash to splash probably refuses to do so as they are part owned by a gang of imbeciles who have done their best to ruin them.

by Cardiff Dave Thu 17 Jan 2013, 11:11 pm

wayne wrote:
thebluesmancometh wrote:Firstly if Llanelli managed stand alone status Neath Bridgend were both going to miss out because Swansea were all but given regional status anyway.

Secondly the impressive Ospreys boasted and impressive unit sales record yet earnt barely much more than the blues profit wise. Turnover and profit are 2 different things my friend.

Lastly when did Ebbw dump the Blues?
You are making a fool of yourself here give it up for your own sanity, I said you were a blues supporter initially, then you say you are talking about the Dragons, now you are a Blue again.
The carve up was because initially Llanelli wanted stand alone and then Cardiff wouldn't join with Ponty, that is why Neath and Swansea combined, same as Bridgend and Ponty.
As for profit one of those £1 million turnover seasons Cardiff couldn't hold onto Mike Phillips even with the piemans money.
I don't know why I'm bothering with you and as of now I shall not be again, as somebody on your side of the argument said when any body comes out with the phrase CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER has already lost the argument.

CARDIFF chief executive Bob Norster, 24 February 2003;

"We have never been blindly saying we need to stand alone. But with regards us joining with Pontypridd, it's an absolute nonsense.
We are in the privileged position at Cardiff Arms Park. I think it's nonsense for the Rhondda Valleys to be forced together with us."

So not such a great start to "regionalism", we are all in it together type stuff. Also Cardiff did end up standing alone, but less than a year later the Celtic Warriors (Pontypridd's WRU allocated region) received the shepherd's crook and Ponty found themselves forceably joined with Cardiff.
Mad or what?

Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2003/02/24/norster-don-t-isolate-the-blue-and-blacks-91466-12670204/#ixzz2IHAMkIAS

by Cardiff Dave Thu 17 Jan 2013, 11:29 pm

Stone Motif wrote:In need of more history lessons I see Wayne, not least in regards to your own region and the long-running animosity between Neath and the O's...we did not dump Ebbw their benefactors went into the arrangement with gobs bigger than their cheque books, and did a runner as soon as they realised the costs involved. Cue shafting by WRU and the ludicrous situation where the board with the most cash to splash probably refuses to do so as they are part owned by a gang of imbeciles who have done their best to ruin them.

History lessons plus factual lessons for all I feel.
This perpetual arguing about "regions" is doing nothing but damage to the game in Wales and it's also embarrassing.
The English, Irish, Scottish, French, etc must think we are all a bit mad.

by Cardiff Dave Thu 17 Jan 2013, 11:50 pm

wayne wrote:
thebluesmancometh wrote:Firstly if Llanelli managed stand alone status Neath Bridgend were both going to miss out because Swansea were all but given regional status anyway.

Secondly the impressive Ospreys boasted and impressive unit sales record yet earnt barely much more than the blues profit wise. Turnover and profit are 2 different things my friend.

Lastly when did Ebbw dump the Blues?
You are making a fool of yourself here give it up for your own sanity, I said you were a blues supporter initially, then you say you are talking about the Dragons, now you are a Blue again.
The carve up was because initially Llanelli wanted stand alone and then Cardiff wouldn't join with Ponty, that is why Neath and Swansea combined, same as Bridgend and Ponty.
As for profit one of those £1 million turnover seasons Cardiff couldn't hold onto Mike Phillips even with the piemans money.
I don't know why I'm bothering with you and as of now I shall not be again, as somebody on your side of the argument said when any body comes out with the phrase CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER has already lost the argument.

As reported in the 2009 accounts, Cardiff's turnover was £7,915,341.

by thebluesmancometh Fri 18 Jan 2013, 11:34 am

WOW wayne, a severe lack of knowledge really puts you in a pickle doesn't it? I wouldn't return to this thread either if I were you!

Firstly as a Blues supporter am I not allowed to comment on other regions, or make the argument the region who does most around their back garden is the Dragons from what I've seen? Or does that make me insane?

You as an Ospreys supporter have backed yourslef into a corner, and this highlights the problems Ospreys are going to have when defending what is IMHO an IDIOTIC CLAIM!

You keep getting disproved and then you move on to another argument, firstly your players travelled the best, then you made the most money, then you have the best relationship with 2 clubs, then you were the most understanding at inception, jees it must be hard being the Angels of Welsh rugby!

by thebluesmancometh Fri 18 Jan 2013, 11:34 am

Maybe now we've reached Ospreys dad is bigger than everyone elses dad?

by LordDowlais Fri 18 Jan 2013, 12:47 pm

I have only just came on here and seen this thread so sorry for the late reply Morgannwg, there are indeed a LOT of Ospreys supporters here in Merthyr, the Ospreys top is probably more popular than the Welsh one to be honest, but as for the actual support, well I really do not know, the thing is there is a lot of "Valley" supporters in Merthyr and they look at Cardiff RFC as a bit of the anti Christ, unless you are my farther who absolutely loves them and the Blues, but he thinks his blood is bluer than royalty, which is the only answer I can come up with, Cardiff RFC/ Blues have always had a regal attitude around them, full of toffs and posh people and the working class around Merthyr mostly supported Pontypridd, now when the Warriors were disbanded, and there were a lot of Warrior supporters in Merthyr at the time, they needed someone else to support and other than Cardiff the closest team at the time were the Ospreys added to the fact that they played a lot of games in Neath which is only a few miles away then this is where the support stems from, I on the other hand will watch any region, and will cherry pick my games, but I must confess I do watch the Ospreys more than any other and I do have a soft spot for the as they are at least trying to reach out to the surrounding areas, they took Neath RFC's colours, they provide the lions share of the Welsh side and they have even incorporated the Aberavon colours into their kit at one time. Also Adam Jones is a neighbour of mine so I sometimes get snippets from him when I see him in the street, but he hardly ever leaves his house unless it is to do with rugby. Also Cardiff RFC/Blues do nothing at all around Merthyr or the surrounding Valleys, I once helped out with a youth set-up just south of Merthyr, and just north of Pontypridd, I will let you lot guess the club, and when we asked for representation from the Blues for our awards night at the end of the season they told us basically to go and look elsewhere as they were all to busy with clubs in and around Cardiff, so we contacted the Scarlets and they sent us Mark Jones, and they could not do enough for us, and what a nice bloke he was, he had only just had his knees fixed and he was still looking as fit as a fiddle. So in a nutshell I suppose people of the valleys can connect more with the Ospreys because they are new and they are just as close as Cardiff, the Blues on the other hand are still just plain old "Cardiff RFC".

by LordDowlais Fri 18 Jan 2013, 12:56 pm

P.S a know a lot of people from Merthyr who grabbed the season ticket offer with both hands this season, perhaps if the Blues did this they might have had more support from around Merhtyr, I might have even got on board with it as my old man goes to loads of Blues games.

by Morgannwg Fri 18 Jan 2013, 2:31 pm

LD, this thread was not specifically aimed at you. That was a bit tongue in cheek because I know that you're an Ospreys supporter from the Dowlais. raspberry

But you have answered in kind and that puts some things into perspective for a few of us curious folk. On the other hand, what do you think #OneTrueRegion malarky? Do you think it's true?

by LordDowlais Fri 18 Jan 2013, 2:58 pm

It's more true than any other, at least they have dropped their city/town names, and they are reaching out to the communities.

by Guest Fri 18 Jan 2013, 3:38 pm

LordDowlais wrote:It's more true than any other, at least they have dropped their city/town names, and they are reaching out to the communities.

The communities is nonsense as shown on plenty of other posts previously. Dragons do as much. The Dragons having Newport in the name is easily countered by the Men of Gwent on the collar, the Gwent in the name and a G (for Gwent) tail as our emblem.

Maybe we should use it more, as we don't cancel games on a whim just because we can't raise a front row from the clubs we supposedly have a poorer relationship with than the "One True Region"

by thebluesmancometh Fri 18 Jan 2013, 4:04 pm

That is a pretty cras but pertinant point, is a 'region' doing the most for it's region/fnas when they'd rather cancel a game than get a prop from a club they have poor ties with.

by Stone Motif Fri 18 Jan 2013, 5:10 pm

Also worth noting we are doing arguably as much on a much, much smaller budget...

by LordDowlais Fri 18 Jan 2013, 6:01 pm

Stone Motif wrote:Also worth noting we are doing arguably as much on a much, much smaller budget...

What has that got to do with anything ? Look there are fundimental reasons why as to why Newport and Cardiff will not drop these names, it is because they see the fact that they have city names it makes them more marketable, this is fair enough, but there are already a Cardiff and a Newport, and these are there to represent a city, the "regions" are their to represent an area bigger than a city that incorporates the city in itself. I do a lot of work in Tredegar and Ebbw Vale and I can tell you that you will not see many Newport Gwent Dragons supporters around these towns, why, because they still see that region as Newport not Gwent, thus makes be believe that the "Men of Gwent" are not doing enough to be "Men of Gwent" it also say's mars on chocolate bars but they do not come from that planet. I have no problems with what Newport and Cardiff are doing but I will tell you one thing, Cardiff Blues do very little north of the A470, and I cannot see the Newport Gwent Dragons around Tredegar and Ebbw Vale either, but this does not stop me from watching and supporting them, but lets stop looking at these teams through tinted glasses and just admit, they are what they are, and what they are, aint regional. I would go to say though, that the Blues are worst than the dragons for ignoring the whole of their region, but at least they are open about it.

by LordDowlais Fri 18 Jan 2013, 6:03 pm

thebluesmancometh wrote:That is a pretty cras but pertinant point, is a 'region' doing the most for it's region/fnas when they'd rather cancel a game than get a prop from a club they have poor ties with.

The ties that were broken with Neath RFC are slowly being repaired, thus my earlier statement that the Ospreys are making more of an effort. thumbsup

by Cardiff Dave Fri 18 Jan 2013, 8:35 pm

LordDowlais wrote:Cardiff Blues do very little north of the A470,

"Brecon Open Training Event cancelled
18 January 2013, 3:27 pm

After much deliberation Christ College and the Cardiff Blues have come to the decision that Monday's open training session will have to be cancelled
Brecon has had approximately eight inches of snow and looking at the forecast, it's not expected to be mild enough to thaw in time for Monday.
We are extremely disappointed that the event has been cancelled and we will look rearrange.

http://www.cardiffblues.com/news/6206.php

Also, from wiki,
"The A470(T) is a major long-distance road in Wales, from Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast."

by Stone Motif Fri 18 Jan 2013, 10:04 pm

LordDowlais wrote:
Stone Motif wrote:Also worth noting we are doing arguably as much on a much, much smaller budget...

What has that got to do with anything ? Look there are fundimental reasons why as to why Newport and Cardiff will not drop these names, it is because they see the fact that they have city names it makes them more marketable, this is fair enough, but there are already a Cardiff and a Newport, and these are there to represent a city, the "regions" are their to represent an area bigger than a city that incorporates the city in itself. I do a lot of work in Tredegar and Ebbw Vale and I can tell you that you will not see many Newport Gwent Dragons supporters around these towns, why, because they still see that region as Newport not Gwent, thus makes be believe that the "Men of Gwent" are not doing enough to be "Men of Gwent" it also say's mars on chocolate bars but they do not come from that planet. I have no problems with what Newport and Cardiff are doing but I will tell you one thing, Cardiff Blues do very little north of the A470, and I cannot see the Newport Gwent Dragons around Tredegar and Ebbw Vale either, but this does not stop me from watching and supporting them, but lets stop looking at these teams through tinted glasses and just admit, they are what they are, and what they are, aint regional. I would go to say though, that the Blues are worst than the dragons for ignoring the whole of their region, but at least they are open about it.

by LordDowlais Sat 19 Jan 2013, 7:43 am

Stone, I think you forgot to type something. Headscratch

by Stone Motif Sat 19 Jan 2013, 8:33 am

Blydi phone...

Something along the lines of if i send two lads to the shops to buy me a bag of chips, one spends a pound and the other spends twenty pound for the same bag of chips, which one am i going to clip round the ear? Of course money is relevant. If we're delivering the same community stuff as the O's whilst arguably starving ourselves in the process, we should get more credit. As for Ebbw Vale well I know a fair few Dragons fans from North Gwent and just off the top of my head can think of numerous events, community initiatives etc that have taken place in Ebbw, not to mention members of the playing squad who come from there, so to me a far more logical conclusion is that people who don't know about the Dragons don't want to know about the Dragons, they want something to feel chippy and victimised about, as you kind of prove with your posts. I am still not seeing any evidence the O's do anything more than the Dragons in their area.

by LordDowlais Sat 19 Jan 2013, 11:00 am

First off I am not getting chippy, as I have already said I support all the regions and do not have any problem with what they are doing, and as for doing more, out of all the regions, the Ospreys are the only one's who are doing things like taking LV cup games outside of their main base of operation. If these teams were to truly want to embrace their region then just call themselves the "Dragons" or the "Blues" but they don't but will that stop me supporting them, no, as I support all Welsh rugby in any guise or form. Hug

Also for Cardiff Dave, I have hardly ever seen any Blues representation in and around Merthyr, also when I pick up my Merthyr Express every Thursday I do not see anything as regards to the Cardiff Blues, why don't they advertise these training sessions in the local newspapers so more people know about them ? It's not hard, it just shows that they do not try hard enough.

by thebluesmancometh Sat 19 Jan 2013, 2:20 pm

LD

I see where your coming from I really do, but 'advertising' these camps isn't viable, the clubs and more so schools will all be made aware and the responsibility is on them to tell the juniors where and when, I kno0w the Blues were struggling with numbers in some camps as certain unnamed P.E teachers were keeping it quiet on purpose. There was a bit of an issue season before last as an ex Neath player was accused of not allowing his players to attend!!!

Not that I am defending the Blues, they are worst of the lot for the regional relations, but it is certainly not one way traffic, infact I get the impression now and then that the Blues initiatives are being met by stone walls at times and they are giving up trying (not that they tried hard enough IMHO)

Stone makes one hell of a point though, I know first hand that driving to Ebbw on a regular basis as a low paid staff member or a volunteer is very difficult, Ive made the trip tons on the last few seasons and didn't receive a penny for it, as have lots of volunteers from Newport! Not that they all come from Newport, they have a great voluntary team all over Gwent!

by LordDowlais Sat 19 Jan 2013, 5:15 pm

The thing is bluesman, I love rugby, and in particular, Welsh rugby, the thing is Stone Motif questioned weather the Ospreys are actually doing more than any another region to embrace their catchment area, and for me, yes they are, the Ospreys have dropped the Neath and Swansea monicker and they take LV games to Bridgend, that is more than what both the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons have done and half more than what the Scarlets have done, so there can be no argument there, also they have not kept the original club colours which is another thing that no other region has done, so when people go n about budgets and money spent theses things are all trivial as changing your name and colours costs nothing and taking lesser games around the region will actually make you money. Ale

by thebluesmancometh Sat 19 Jan 2013, 5:26 pm

Don't disagree with taking games on the road, but you have to put it in perspective, could the Dragons viably take any game up to Ebbw without losing a small fortune? Can the Dragons afford to do so? The possibility was there to host at Ponty for a while but it just wasn't viable!

Regarding the Colours, surely with the move away from clubs and the introduction of 'regions' the idea was to get away from ties at club level, IMHO Scarlets, Blues and Ospreys have all done the same thing and kept their club colours whereas the Dragons have designed a pretty much whole new kit (of which all regions were encouraged to do I beleive) Therefore IMHO the Dragons are the most regional in this element.

Also a kit colour change, and rebrand costs a fortune in costs and income revenue stream potentially effected by a rebrand, also using smaller stadiums costs money, ou have to rent the place not owned, pay staff, and arrange deals with drinks/snacks operators not to mention compensate those you have deals with at the home ground etc, then you do all this extra cost which includes team travel and pay for it with a smaller crowd who pay less on average per fan!

by thebluesmancometh Sat 19 Jan 2013, 5:29 pm

Plus the Dragons play most academy/elite games in grounds around the region...

Cwmbran, Pontypool, Ebbw, Newbridge etc, whereas on the 6 occasions Ive been to an O's home game it has been Swansea based.

From a lot of first hand experience from 3 regions I can honestly claim that the Ospreys are certainly not the 'One true region', anyone who beleives so is just nuts, and this little phrase will do so much damage in welsh rugby, like we need this rubbish right now!

by Stone Motif Sat 19 Jan 2013, 8:30 pm

LordDowlais wrote:The thing is bluesman, I love rugby, and in particular, Welsh rugby, the thing is Stone Motif questioned weather the Ospreys are actually doing more than any another region to embrace their catchment area, and for me, yes they are, the Ospreys have dropped the Neath and Swansea monicker and they take LV games to Bridgend, that is more than what both the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons have done and half more than what the Scarlets have done, so there can be no argument there, also they have not kept the original club colours which is another thing that no other region has done, so when people go n about budgets and money spent theses things are all trivial as changing your name and colours costs nothing and taking lesser games around the region will actually make you money.

Pick a straw, any straw...how many regional club houses have been trashed by the senior Dragons team on a bender? How many games cancelled because there was no-one that could be called up from a regional feeder club? How many regional feeder clubs in Gwent have tried to go it alone as a pro franchise? How are Bedwas getting on compared to Aberavon this season? It takes more than a crappy tagline and a big redevelopment contract for Cuddy to make a region I'm afraid...

by LordDowlais Sun 20 Jan 2013, 9:23 am

Stone Motif wrote:
LordDowlais wrote:The thing is bluesman, I love rugby, and in particular, Welsh rugby, the thing is Stone Motif questioned weather the Ospreys are actually doing more than any another region to embrace their catchment area, and for me, yes they are, the Ospreys have dropped the Neath and Swansea monicker and they take LV games to Bridgend, that is more than what both the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons have done and half more than what the Scarlets have done, so there can be no argument there, also they have not kept the original club colours which is another thing that no other region has done, so when people go n about budgets and money spent theses things are all trivial as changing your name and colours costs nothing and taking lesser games around the region will actually make you money.
Pick a straw, any straw...how many regional club houses have been trashed by the senior Dragons team on a bender? How many games cancelled because there was no-one that could be called up from a regional feeder club? How many regional feeder clubs in Gwent have tried to go it alone as a pro franchise? How are Bedwas getting on compared to Aberavon this season? It takes more than a crappy tagline and a big redevelopment contract for Cuddy to make a region I'm afraid...

And it takes more than a Men of Gwent tag line on the collars to make a region as well. thumbsup

by Stone Motif Sun 20 Jan 2013, 9:48 am

I totally agree, but they're not the ones claiming it does are they? Doh

by LordDowlais Sun 20 Jan 2013, 12:00 pm

Stone Motif wrote:I totally agree, but they're not the ones claiming it does are they?

No, but Risca Rev is claiming it though. Laugh

by Guest Sun 20 Jan 2013, 1:07 pm

LordDowlais wrote:
Stone Motif wrote:I totally agree, but they're not the ones claiming it does are they?

No, but Risca Rev is claiming it though.

Resorting to lying now, are you? Surely you aren't that dull that you misinterpret why I posted about that. It was clearly in response to your post, regurgitating the same boring arguement that there's one Newport in the name, so Dragons aren't regional wah wah wah.

by LordDowlais Sun 20 Jan 2013, 2:24 pm

Look people, lets look at facts, of all the regions, weather it be down to money or not, the one that has made the most effort are the Ospreys, facts are facts, the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons have not dropped their city names, none of the other regions have changed their kit colours and none of the other regions take any games on the road, they might all do the same training sessions and do the marketing rounds around the regions but none of the other three regions do as much as the Ospreys. Do the Ospreys play in White ? No they do not. Do they take games around the region ? Yes they do. Have they dropped the Swansea/Neath names ? Yes they have. All these things are more than what all the other regions are doing, except for the Scarlets who have at least dropped the Llanelli name from their name.Also the Ospreys are the only region that gave a good season ticket offer that no other region are yet to do. The Ospreys are doing more than any other region and that is a fact.

by Morgannwg Sun 20 Jan 2013, 2:53 pm

So dropping a name tag makes you the one true region.

by LordDowlais Sun 20 Jan 2013, 2:55 pm

Morgannwg wrote:So dropping a name tag makes you the one true region.

No, but it's a start, and it is one more thing they have done over the Cardiff Blues and the Newport Gwent Dragons. thumbsup

by Sponsored content