Cardiff City promoted to top flight

Cardiff City promoted to top flight

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22075542


Looks like Cardiff city average around 26000 per game, and going into the Prem this is sure to increase, Swansea are already in the Prem.

With two teams in the Prem, can Ospreys and Caardiff Blues compete for fans?

It looks to me that it, is a critieal time for club rugby in Wales. The presence of football has never been stronger, and the regions and WRU rather than planning together to compete are at loger heads.

What effect do you see this having on the regions? Will Cardiff Blues struggle to attract fans?

Kingshu wrote: Will Cardiff Blues continue to struggle to attract fans?

Lets not pretend the Blues have owned sport in Cardiff for a fair few years now, City's following has surpassed the Blues for a while. The WRU and Blues have done nothing of note to entice new fans, let alone tap into the fanbase already actively avoiding them.

The question isn't how will this effect club rugby, it won't IMHO, it's what can club rugby do to close the gap and attempt to be number one again in Cardiff and Swansea!!!

thebluesmancometh wrote:

Kingshu wrote: Will Cardiff Blues continue to struggle to attract fans?

Lets not pretend the Blues have owned sport in Cardiff for a fair few years now, City's following has surpassed the Blues for a while. The WRU and Blues have done nothing of note to entice new fans, let alone tap into the fanbase already actively avoiding them.

The question isn't how will this effect club rugby, it won't IMHO, it's what can club rugby do to close the gap and attempt to be number one again in Cardiff and Swansea!!!

And you're probably right, so why pish into the wind trying to close an uncloseable gap?

We saw Ospreys so the buy one season ticket get one free to attract fans they may have been losing to Swansea.

Have the Ospreys been successful in gaining extra attendance?

Will the Blues have to do something similar?

Exactly. This business of rugby 'competing' with football for fans is only an issue for the Team Wales crowd, whose identification of Wales as a 'rugby nation' if only for 7 weeks a year, is threatened by the fact that regional crowds don't match the numbers of chippy tarts you can cram in the Millstone on match days. Fact is, club rugby has always been of secondary interest to club football in Wales, and probably always will be. Nothing to do with where the teams are based or called or any of that toss, just the way it is. It totally skews the way the game is perceived and develops. Saracens if I'm not mistaken think a ground with 10k capacity is sufficient for their needs, compare that with the Blues moving to the CoCS. Blues might lose a few stragglers and fair weather supporters but it ain't exactly gonna be cheap to watch Cardiff play Man U is it? I predict little effect.

Perhaps Blues should do some kind of link with Cardiff City? Give a free rugby ticket to the Season ticket holders at the footie, or some cut price/linked ticket deals.

Of course if the new attendees do not then see the names they know, Halfpenny, Warburton etc then they may be disappointed.

LondonTiger wrote:Perhaps Blues should do some kind of link with Cardiff City? Give a free rugby ticket to the Season ticket holders at the footie, or some cut price/linked ticket deals.

Of course if the new attendees do not then see the names they know, Halfpenny, Warburton etc then they may be disappointed.

Er, yeah they should do this

Stone Motif wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Perhaps Blues should do some kind of link with Cardiff City? Give a free rugby ticket to the Season ticket holders at the footie, or some cut price/linked ticket deals.

Of course if the new attendees do not then see the names they know, Halfpenny, Warburton etc then they may be disappointed.

Er, yeah they should do this

I'll second that

Kingshu wrote:Cardiff City promoted to top flight

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22075542


Looks like Cardiff city average around 26000 per game, and going into the Prem this is sure to increase, Swansea are already in the Prem.

With two teams in the Prem, can Ospreys and Caardiff Blues compete for fans?

It looks to me that it, is a critieal time for club rugby in Wales. The presence of football has never been stronger, and the regions and WRU rather than planning together to compete are at loger heads.

What effect do you see this having on the regions? Will Cardiff Blues struggle to attract fans?

The capacity of CCS is only 26828 and a block of a few hundred seats is always left empty to segregate the fans, so attendances will not increase.

I think Blues need a good draw in the H-cup and a good run there.

Fans cannot have been to happy with this season, competing with Connacht for league position, poor in H-cup, another season like that could draw fans even further away.

A good run in H-cup and fans in Cardiff will be back supporting thier team in numbers, looking at the signings Blues do look to be trying to come back up to being a play off challanging team. However those around them are also getting better and it'll take some effort.

The regions and the WRU need a joined up plan to promote the regions and boost attendance, because if the Welsh national football team started doing well, they could drop further behind.

Kingshu wrote:

The regions and the WRU need a joined up plan to promote the regions and boost attendance, because if the Welsh national football team started doing well, they could drop further behind.

Tailored to suit each of the 4 maybe?

IMO the Swans and Red Dragons (Bluebirds or whatever they wanna be called) being in the prem may actually be a boost for rugby in Wales. After all Cardiff are not exactly the most friendly of football crowds, and them an Swansea always have violence in the crowd/city when they play. So it may actually be a positive for rugby as we do have a family friendly atmosphere which will hopefully win over people compared to the football.

Kingshu wrote:I think Blues need a good draw in the H-cup and a good run there.

Fans cannot have been to happy with this season, competing with Connacht for league position, poor in H-cup, another season like that could draw fans even further away.

A good run in H-cup and fans in Cardiff will be back supporting thier team in numbers, looking at the signings Blues do look to be trying to come back up to being a play off challanging team. However those around them are also getting better and it'll take some effort.

The regions and the WRU need a joined up plan to promote the regions and boost attendance, because if the Welsh national football team started doing well, they could drop further behind.

Would hit Team Wales more than the regions, as the cowboy hat brigade would time their days out on the lash to coincide with the toe-ball rather than with opportunities to shout 'give it to Shane'.

Attendances are just one slice of the large shat flavoured cake of systemic issues for pro rugby in Wales. Imo they are symptomatic of these issues rather than the cause so worrying whether a few tail-hangers defect to Cardiff City is small beer. The potential loss of hospitality sales for example is more important, but even that goes back to bigger issues.

Kingshu wrote:We saw Ospreys so the buy one season ticket get one free to attract fans they may have been losing to Swansea.

Have the Ospreys been successful in gaining extra attendance?

Will the Blues have to do something similar?

Nah.

What are the Cardiff attendances like currently? If they're getting a full house or near full hose then it'll make little difference to the Blues.

What I would be worried about is young people wanting to play soccer instead of rugby.

I'm not sure that it will have much effect. Speaking only from personal experience, now that Cardiff are in the Prem none of my fellow Dragons supporters will follow Cardiff City next year instead. We'll still be following the Dragons. Only a very small study obviously! But, I can only see the occasional fan being turned. We've not been getting the occasional fan for years, so I'd say that certainly Dragons and Scarlets crowds will be about the same. Ospreys do not seem to have been dented by Swansea when comparing pre and post promotion crowds. Maybe it will for Cardiff, but being such a big population base I think they'll cope.

I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

thebluesmancometh wrote:

Kingshu wrote: Will Cardiff Blues continue to struggle to attract fans?

Lets not pretend the Blues have owned sport in Cardiff for a fair few years now, City's following has surpassed the Blues for a while. The WRU and Blues have done nothing of note to entice new fans, let alone tap into the fanbase already actively avoiding them.

The question isn't how will this effect club rugby, it won't IMHO, it's what can club rugby do to close the gap and attempt to be number one again in Cardiff and Swansea!!!

Pretty much what I said a few weeks ago

profitius wrote:What are the Cardiff attendances like currently? If they're getting a full house or near full hose then it'll make little difference to the Blues.

What I would be worried about is young people wanting to play soccer instead of rugby.

That would be an ecumenical matter.
Seriously, Cardiff City season tickets were all sold out this season and are already sold out for the next. Therefore, I suppose in rugby terms, they near enough had a full house for every game at CCS. No doubt the sale of matchday and away allocation tickets varied a tad, but not significantly.
What our rugby leaders should consider however is game scheduling so as not to clash with CCFC/SCFC, for example when they are playing an away game at say 5-30pm Sat and it's televised.

Stone Motif wrote:Exactly. This business of rugby 'competing' with football for fans is only an issue for the Team Wales crowd, whose identification of Wales as a 'rugby nation' if only for 7 weeks a year, is threatened by the fact that regional crowds don't match the numbers of chippy tarts you can cram in the Millstone on match days. Fact is, club rugby has always been of secondary interest to club football in Wales, and probably always will be. Nothing to do with where the teams are based or called or any of that toss, just the way it is. It totally skews the way the game is perceived and develops. Saracens if I'm not mistaken think a ground with 10k capacity is sufficient for their needs, compare that with the Blues moving to the CoCS. Blues might lose a few stragglers and fair weather supporters but it ain't exactly gonna be cheap to watch Cardiff play Man U is it? I predict little effect.

This is also true and also something I made clear weeks ago, only to be attacked by the same morons.

Morons, please don't try and discuss our national sport when you are as clueless as you are.

mikey_philVIII wrote:

thebluesmancometh wrote:

Kingshu wrote: Will Cardiff Blues continue to struggle to attract fans?

Lets not pretend the Blues have owned sport in Cardiff for a fair few years now, City's following has surpassed the Blues for a while. The WRU and Blues have done nothing of note to entice new fans, let alone tap into the fanbase already actively avoiding them.

The question isn't how will this effect club rugby, it won't IMHO, it's what can club rugby do to close the gap and attempt to be number one again in Cardiff and Swansea!!!

Pretty much what I said a few weeks ago

Same old, same old, etc.

With Cardiff in the prem, it will generate more money for the city and the surrounding area's thus giving more disposable cash to people who may not like football but could use the extra money to go and watch the Blues instead. Cardiff already have their fans in Cardiff and the valley's, but just because they are now in the premiership it does not mean that the current Blues fans will now watch the football team instead. I have always said that the reason why Cardiff and Swansea have such huge gates for football is because there are only TWO teams.

If you look at it geographically Cardiff city supporters come from all over South East Wales, I know they are big in Merthyr and they have a big following in the Gwent Valley's also in the Rhondda as well, it is the same for Swansea, they have support from Pembroke to Glynneath. Now that is two football clubs for the whole of South Wales, now compare that with how many rugby teams in the same area that the FOUR pro teams have to compete with, if you combine the Dragons attendances with the Blues you would not be far off 12000-15000 per game perhaps more and that is with them competing with Pontypridd, Cross Keys, Bedwas, Ebbw Vale and countless others, if you combine the Scarlets and Ospreys attendances you would not be far off 18000-20000 per game, and that is while competing with the likes of Neath, Llandovery, Aberavon and countless others, so for me rugby being "watched" in Wales is in good shape, there is just to much to watch, and Cardiff and Swansea being in the premiership for me attendance wise will not alter much now, they could take future fans however unless the regions start to improve, but the extra income around the areas will only help.

Kingshu wrote:I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

minority of areas in uk that traditionally play rugby over football in producing better rugby teams shocker

Stone Motif wrote:

Kingshu wrote:I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

minority of areas in uk that traditionally play rugby over football in producing better rugby teams shocker

But what happens the Rugby teams, when the football takes over? It's appearing to do so in Cardiff and Swansea?

Kingshu wrote:

Stone Motif wrote:

Kingshu wrote:I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

minority of areas in uk that traditionally play rugby over football in producing better rugby teams shocker

But what happens the Rugby teams, when the football takes over? It's appearing to do so in Cardiff and Swansea?

How is it?
Football has always been the major sport in Cardiff, Swansea and newport. Henceforth Llanelli shall be known as heart & sole rugby country.

Kingshu wrote:

Stone Motif wrote:

Kingshu wrote:I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

minority of areas in uk that traditionally play rugby over football in producing better rugby teams shocker

But what happens the Rugby teams, when the football takes over? It's appearing to do so in Cardiff and Swansea?

Kigshu, read my post above, football is far from taking over, two teams between the whole of South Wales, compared to about one hundred Rugby teams, if you even just combined the Dragons and the Blues attendances compared to Cardiff you would not be that far off, the same with Ospreys and the Scarlets compared to Swansea City, and that is without the few thousand people who will go and watch their Premiership rugby sides or their local village side.

LordDowlais wrote:With Cardiff in the prem, it will generate more money for the city and the surrounding area's thus giving more disposable cash to people who may not like football but could use the extra money to go and watch the Blues instead. Cardiff already have their fans in Cardiff and the valley's, but just because they are now in the premiership it does not mean that the current Blues fans will now watch the football team instead. I have always said that the reason why Cardiff and Swansea have such huge gates for football is because there are only TWO teams.

If you look at it geographically Cardiff city supporters come from all over South East Wales, I know they are big in Merthyr and they have a big following in the Gwent Valley's also in the Rhondda as well, it is the same for Swansea, they have support from Pembroke to Glynneath. Now that is two football clubs for the whole of South Wales, now compare that with how many rugby teams in the same area that the FOUR pro teams have to compete with, if you combine the Dragons attendances with the Blues you would not be far off 12000-15000 per game perhaps more and that is with them competing with Pontypridd, Cross Keys, Bedwas, Ebbw Vale and countless others, if you combine the Scarlets and Ospreys attendances you would not be far off 18000-20000 per game, and that is while competing with the likes of Neath, Llandovery, Aberavon and countless others, so for me rugby being "watched" in Wales is in good shape, there is just to much to watch, and Cardiff and Swansea being in the premiership for me attendance wise will not alter much now, they could take future fans however unless the regions start to improve, but the extra income around the areas will only help.

Lord D in sensible post shocker

LordDowlais wrote:

Kingshu wrote:

Stone Motif wrote:

Kingshu wrote:I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

minority of areas in uk that traditionally play rugby over football in producing better rugby teams shocker

But what happens the Rugby teams, when the football takes over? It's appearing to do so in Cardiff and Swansea?

Kigshu, read my post above, football is far from taking over, two teams between the whole of South Wales, compared to about one hundred Rugby teams, if you even just combined the Dragons and the Blues attendances compared to Cardiff you would not be that far off, the same with Ospreys and the Scarlets compared to Swansea City, and that is without the few thousand people who will go and watch their Premiership rugby sides or their local village side.

Merthyr still has a football team doesn't it? Made the European cup winners cup in the late 80s according to wiki.
There must be as many football clubs as there are rugby clubs in south Wales.

Stone Motif wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:With Cardiff in the prem, it will generate more money for the city and the surrounding area's thus giving more disposable cash to people who may not like football but could use the extra money to go and watch the Blues instead. Cardiff already have their fans in Cardiff and the valley's, but just because they are now in the premiership it does not mean that the current Blues fans will now watch the football team instead. I have always said that the reason why Cardiff and Swansea have such huge gates for football is because there are only TWO teams.

If you look at it geographically Cardiff city supporters come from all over South East Wales, I know they are big in Merthyr and they have a big following in the Gwent Valley's also in the Rhondda as well, it is the same for Swansea, they have support from Pembroke to Glynneath. Now that is two football clubs for the whole of South Wales, now compare that with how many rugby teams in the same area that the FOUR pro teams have to compete with, if you combine the Dragons attendances with the Blues you would not be far off 12000-15000 per game perhaps more and that is with them competing with Pontypridd, Cross Keys, Bedwas, Ebbw Vale and countless others, if you combine the Scarlets and Ospreys attendances you would not be far off 18000-20000 per game, and that is while competing with the likes of Neath, Llandovery, Aberavon and countless others, so for me rugby being "watched" in Wales is in good shape, there is just to much to watch, and Cardiff and Swansea being in the premiership for me attendance wise will not alter much now, they could take future fans however unless the regions start to improve, but the extra income around the areas will only help.

Lord D in sensible post shocker

I do get the odd one now and then.

Cardiff Dave wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

Kingshu wrote:

Stone Motif wrote:

Kingshu wrote:I was thinking that outside London, its rare for a town/city to have a well support Prem football team and rugby team.

Glasgow and Edinburgh don't attract good crowds,
Leicester have Leicester City in the championship, did it effect crowds when they were in the Prem? I suspect since Leicester Tiger are one of the best supported teams they would be uneffected.
Newcastle, Falcons seem to do ok.

All the big rugby clubs outside London seam to do better where the football teams are in lower leagues. Is there a link?

minority of areas in uk that traditionally play rugby over football in producing better rugby teams shocker

But what happens the Rugby teams, when the football takes over? It's appearing to do so in Cardiff and Swansea?

Kigshu, read my post above, football is far from taking over, two teams between the whole of South Wales, compared to about one hundred Rugby teams, if you even just combined the Dragons and the Blues attendances compared to Cardiff you would not be that far off, the same with Ospreys and the Scarlets compared to Swansea City, and that is without the few thousand people who will go and watch their Premiership rugby sides or their local village side.

Merthyr still has a football team doesn't it? Made the European cup winners cup in the late 80s according to wiki.
There must be as many football clubs as there are rugby clubs in south Wales.

Yes we do, although Merthyr Town F.C only get about two to three hundred people per game, about the same as Merthyr RFC, so that is one football club against Cefn Coed RFC, Treodyrhiw RFC, Dowlais RFC, Nelson RFC, Bedlinog RFC, there are a few pub teams and lower ammature league teams (Penydarren/Trehharis) but there are nowhere near as many football teams around South Wales compared to the rugby teams, even if you just combined our four pro rugby teams into two, there is about the same interest in them as in the two professional football teams.

P.s Just to let you know, we beat Atalanta in the cup winners cup in 1987, one of the best nights in Merthyr sporting history.

Kingshu wrote:

But what happens the Rugby teams, when the football takes over? It's appearing to do so in Cardiff and Swansea?

Kingshu in 2 an 2 makes 5 shocker.

There isn't a town in Wales where interest in rugby outweighs that in top-flight football, outside 7 weeks of madness every February. It has always been so and always will be, so it's hardly 'taking over'.

Achieving more, certainly, but that's another matter.

mikey_philVIII wrote:
How is it?
Football has always been the major sport in Cardiff, Swansea and newport. Henceforth Llanelli shall be known as heart & sole rugby country.

Nice

I think a lot of people are now blurring the lines between a passing interest (recording MOTD) and a hardcore fan!!!

The City faithfull (around 5k or so) have always been a the Ninian and CCS, they have been buffered by a number of goers, and fairweathers for a while now. This season has been the most succesfull and I know a number of Blues season ticket holders who have gone to numerous home games.

Me and mates will discuss city, MOTD and CL all the time, but it is passing fan talk, willing City to do well and following them religiously are 2 different things.

As someone said, Following City is like following east Wales, Newport county has a decent following but even their fans watch City every now and then, everyone in Gwent, Caerphilly, and further a feild will talk about City with ownership, yet half of them have never been to a game.

Rugby however is a different issue, the prem isn't comparible to the Welsh football prem, local clubs have far greater support than football clubs (who generally get teams to turn up with the odd mate or 2 on the sideline)

So City in the prem will guarentee more revenue for the city, a packed CCS every now and then, and beyond that a lot of chatter about how they are doing, no Blues fans are going to jump ship, Blues fans are the die hards who are not bolstered by the fair weathers right now.

The Blues have to be carefull not to make City direct competition viewers wise, attempt to piggy back Cities success slightly, and most importantly show a united front for sport in Cardiff (and beyond)

What does worry me is that football participation in juniors since regionalism has doubled (not to a huge detriment in rugby however) and a lot of children hold their parents grudges against the WRU/regions, we have to be carefull not to lose the playing numbers with harsh selection policies, selection at too young an age, and sometimes pitch placement/use.

Rugby in wales needs a restructure from the bottom up (FROM THE BOTTOM UP WRU, NOT THE TOP DOWN) and we need to excite people again.

I personally feel NZ style structure, based solely around clubs, focus on clubs, with a club tournament showing the best players off in wales against the best in wales locally, where away fans can travel too, and then regional rugby for HC/Amlin games.

Imagine Cardiff, Ponty, Merthyr and Caerphilly playing a round robin and the top 2 progressing through to the knockouts against the other best 6 teams, local rivalries return, success at 50% of top tier clubs, then regions are selected by the best players from the 4 clubs, more success for the locals to get excited by, and then maybe a bit of success in europe too, success breeds success. I know the logistics would be difficult, but we have to start thinking long term, not let the kids in for free and all will be well in 10 years!!!

I can't see it changing anything for the Blues to be honest.

Last Saturday Cardiff City's game was a sell out with 27k, and was played at the same time as the Blues game against Zebre which attracted an attendance of around 10k.

Both Swans and Cardiff city have already got capacity crowds hence there will be no difference in the short term until the Liberty is extended by 11K over the next 4 years. If Cardiff can stay in the Premier they could easily fill a 40k or more stadium (with an extension) and this will take away supporters for the Blues. I hope Newport County get promoted this year, they could feed of the success of Cardiff City to progress through the leagues, Newport could do with some success.

LordDowlais wrote:

P.s Just to let you know, we beat Atalanta in the cup winners cup in 1987, one of the best nights in Merthyr sporting history.

Merthyr Tydfil AFC beating an Italian side in the 80s; who would've bet on it eh?

Cardiff Dave wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

P.s Just to let you know, we beat Atalanta in the cup winners cup in 1987, one of the best nights in Merthyr sporting history.

Merthyr Tydfil AFC beating an Italian side in the 80s; who would've bet on it eh?

I was there, over ten thousand people in the ground that night, some peple say there were over fifteen thousand mind, they came from everywhere, Merthyr, Ebbw Vale, Tredegar, Aberdare, we qualified for the competition after winning the Welsh cup, my farther took me to see it and it was such an occasion that will go down in history, it was all in the national papers after as well.

jimlewtheblue wrote:I can't see it changing anything for the Blues to be honest.

Last Saturday Cardiff City's game was a sell out with 27k, and was played at the same time as the Blues game against Zebre which attracted an attendance of around 10k.

Thats not a bad attendance in rugby terms especially considering the lack of success lately for the Blues. Many teams would be delighted with that. Are the Blues' attendances rising year on year?

profitius wrote:

jimlewtheblue wrote:I can't see it changing anything for the Blues to be honest.

Last Saturday Cardiff City's game was a sell out with 27k, and was played at the same time as the Blues game against Zebre which attracted an attendance of around 10k.

Thats not a bad attendance in rugby terms especially considering the lack of success lately for the Blues. Many teams would be delighted with that. Are the Blues' attendances rising year on year?

Depends how they are manitpulated, few seasons back there were some bumper MS crowds in there, and this season they probably cound the 37k at the MS double header as a home attendance for both Dragons and Blues!!!

Then theres the move from the CAP that brought initial boosts in crowd, then the huge drop off as fans boycotted the CCS, and the bumper crowds back at the Arms park 12k or so, but it seems to have evened off at below 10k.

In summation, from a Blues POV Frak knows!!!

Mike Hall opens his gob;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22201954

Cardiff Dave wrote:Mike Hall opens his gob;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22201954

The stats are nothing more than jibber-jabber that we already knew. Surprised the OP hasn't brought it up actually in an attempt to give this thread more credibility.

Mike Hall lost any credibility when he jumped in to bed with Peter Risdale.

LordDowlais wrote:

Cardiff Dave wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

P.s Just to let you know, we beat Atalanta in the cup winners cup in 1987, one of the best nights in Merthyr sporting history.

Merthyr Tydfil AFC beating an Italian side in the 80s; who would've bet on it eh?

I was there, over ten thousand people in the ground that night, some peple say there were over fifteen thousand mind, they came from everywhere, Merthyr, Ebbw Vale, Tredegar, Aberdare, we qualified for the competition after winning the Welsh cup, my farther took me to see it and it was such an occasion that will go down in history, it was all in the national papers after as well.

Bet the Mafia had a few lira on the outcome of the game, if you get my drift.

gcBlues wrote:Mike Hall lost any credibility when he jumped in to bed with Peter Risdale.

He's a shambles talking complete nonsense just as he did when we were at CCS. Yet when it was clear that the Leckwith gamble had spectacularly failed, we didn't hear a peep out of him.