London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:22 pm  

I've been aware of this for a little while, but didn't want to raise it here to cause unnecessary concern, especially as the initial info was confidential and not intended for public consumption. But it is now out in the open. What wasn't clear was which club were in discussions; Ealing (having just failed their ground review again), London Irish (due to Brentford now being in the Premier League) or Wasps (a new ground to assist their revival). https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-12003099/New-owners-London-Irish-enquire-long-term-groundshare-AFC-Wimbledon.html The following press release from AFC Wimbledon this evening confirms that London Irish have approached AFC Wimbledon. https://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/2023/april/more-interest-in-using-our-stadium-after-international-fixture/

I've been aware of this for a little while, but didn't want to raise it here to cause unnecessary concern, especially as the initial info was confidential and not intended for public consumption. But it is now out in the open. What wasn't clear was which club were in discussions; Ealing (having just failed their ground review again), London Irish (due to Brentford now being in the Premier League) or Wasps (a new ground to assist their revival). https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-12003099/New-owners-London-Irish-enquire-long-term-groundshare-AFC-Wimbledon.html The following press release from AFC Wimbledon this evening confirms that London Irish have approached AFC Wimbledon. https://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/2023/april/more-interest-in-using-our-stadium-after-international-fixture/

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 7:01 am  

How, expected

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 7:09 am  

It might well be a good thing if Broncos are forced out as PL is clearly not the answer to their current problems.

If LI were to move to PL they would be by far the bigger team even though crowd sizes would be similar. Would AFC fans welcome that? 3 years is a long time in the Premier League, Brentford may well not be in it then, particularly if Ivan Toney receives the sort of ban for his misdemeanours others have & they do struggle without him. Assuming the corrupt FA don't ban him over the close season, next season could be quite tricky for Brentford.

As a side note Smithers99, why have AFC had such a poor season on the pitch?

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 8:13 am  

Interesting. PL would have been a good ground for us if we had an owner who invested in other parts of the club but we don't. We will only continue to go backwards under Hughes so with or without him we are looking at lower end Championship / L1 rugby league.

Hampton and Richmond Borough FC are installing a 3G surface over the summer but will probably want to use the pitch for academy and women's games. Sharing with a RL side may, however, be something that appeals to the new owners.

Perhaps a full on partnership with Rosslyn Park where we share back room staff. This would have the advantage of us getting a very good coach back (assuming they were interested).

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:20 am  

The move to the East side? Of the ground has improved atmosphere and match day experience but PL is manifestly too big for us even taking into account that even some of the biggest clubs in the land have empty stands. The additional costs of training etc elsewhere are nuts. Corporate take up if numbers of sponsors is anything to go by doesn’t look like it’s gone through the roof and I completely unsighted on how much effort we’ve made to embed in the local area. It looks minimal which would make sense with such a small background staff and players etc part time. All in all if we go we go. The hope is much clearer thinking and planning is adopted by the Board before next move. Could we not pay a consultant to share their thoughts. It would cost but would it be more than what this move has cost.
On another issue I too was a bit surprised to see where AFC were in the table. What has gone wrong?
If we move to RP that stand would need to be pulled down and replaced straight away.

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 10:54 am  

I assume that although the shares appear to have been handed to son of Hughes, he himself doesn't have the funds so still reliant on Daddy. Wonder if there would be any Lottery or Sport England grants available to upgrade the RP stand & facilities?

In any event, we are still stuck with the intransigence of Hughes & his tame Lobster.

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 11:20 am  

Deadcowboys1 wrote:

I assume that although the shares appear to have been handed to son of Hughes, he himself doesn't have the funds so still reliant on Daddy. Wonder if there would be any Lottery or Sport England grants available to upgrade the RP stand & facilities?

In any event, we are still stuck with the intransigence of Hughes & his tame Lobster.

Jack Hughes plays hooker for Bedford Blues so unlikely to be able to fund the team independently.

Lobster still claims his greatest achievment on LinkedIn as restructuring and consolidating all Broncos operations at Trailfinders. He seems to do love all for the Broncos these days so I assume hockey is now his main gig.

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 5:30 pm  

If we are not going to be successful in IMG plans and will be kicked out of Plough Lane and playing in the lower league , why dont we look at Imber Court in Esher.It has a rugby pitch with a 800 seater stand already, bar, good parking, two railway stations within ten minute walk and is owned by local residents who got a 35 year lease on it in about 2015.

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 6:22 pm  

Roslyn Park is well situated as a ground both by road and transport links. I think there is scope to develop the stands on most sides of the ground. There is certainly a need as I can’t see how they can get past health and safety again. The fly in the ointment is the volume of asbestos knocking around. Removing that would quadruple the cost unfortunately. IMHO they are one kid or OAP taking a spill from a big insurance claim. My feel is that as it’s RU heartland there are quite a few causal supporters in a way that we don’t seem to get at PL.
Not sure how big the crowd was today but maybe 300-400. Not bad really.

Re: London Irish in Initial Plough Lane Talks : Sun Apr 23, 2023 7:03 pm  

Firstly, it shows a lack of ambition or maybe a realisation from the exiles that 9k is their limit. Not sure of their 2022/23 average, but they were well up on Reading numbers and growing.
Secondly, are we really delivering what AFC hoped? If we stumble along with 11 gates delivering 11,000 fans all year for the food trucks etc, surely their heads will be turned by a club that can deliver them nearer 100,000.
Next. Have we yet admitted to ourselves <yes, you Hughes> that this was a huge folly? IMG aren't interested in "your" London, so what next?
Rosslyn Park, with a few Bob thrown at them might take us in as "partners", but let's face it, we're beggars now, not choosers.
I was 100% against moving to Yrailfinders, but on reflection now, moving to Plough Lane is up their with employing Gus as the biggest error the club has made under this owner.