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Cumbrian Lakers?

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
Koukash has been talking about an all Cumbria team to try and promote the sport in what is a hotbed of league. I do fear that geography and the insular mindset that league has would render it stillborn though. The distances may not seem that large but the roads between Barrow and Workington/Whitehaven are pretty awful.
They would have to play home games in at least Barrow and either Workington or Whitehaven if not all 3, if that were to happen I think it would be a bit like Tigers and Dragons here being nomads and not really belonging anywhere, struggling to forge an identity.

Still I would love to see it tried and would love it even more if they could make it work.

Other peoples thoughts?

https://uk.blastingnews.com/sport/2...-his-cumbrian-dream-could-work-002441907.html
 

Evil Homer

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,178
Looks pretty Lakey to me.

View attachment 18488
lake-windermere.jpg

gallery-1499676238-lake-district.jpg


Yeah probably not the best place for a pro sports franchise.
 

CC_Roosters

First Grade
Messages
5,221
*big sigh*

Would it work? Maybe only Barrow have the size and potential to be a fringe super league club again and that would require significant investment and planning and a few years to get there. With that in mind I like the positive thinking behind koukash vision to have the region represented. Still more questions than answers though, mainly being were would they play, Workington and haven would be seen as parochial so non-starter. I don't know the feeling towards Barrow but maybe that would work with some ground improvements for promotion. Certainly wouldn't think Carlisle as a host who may may have the best ground in Cumbria but ia not a league town.

Am I right in saying it's about 1hr 45 from Whitehaven to Barrow? Would Cumbrian travel to see a team representing them? Maybe they could split games lime West's tigers and others in australia
 

Evil Homer

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,178
Would it work? Maybe only Barrow have the size and potential to be a fringe super league club again and that would require significant investment and planning and a few years to get there. With that in mind I like the positive thinking behind koukash vision to have the region represented. Still more questions than answers though, mainly being were would they play, Workington and haven would be seen as parochial so non-starter. I don't know the feeling towards Barrow but maybe that would work with some ground improvements for promotion. Certainly wouldn't think Carlisle as a host who may may have the best ground in Cumbria but ia not a league town.

Am I right in saying it's about 1hr 45 from Whitehaven to Barrow? Would Cumbrian travel to see a team representing them? Maybe they could split games lime West's tigers and others in australia
It. Is. Not. Real.
 

Evil Homer

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,178
What isn’t real? This idea, or that he never said it?
All of it, it's just Koukash talking shit to endear himself to the knuckle-draggers and country bumpkins who think he's a big-shot. There's absolutely no chance in hell that he is going to be starting a Cumbrian SL team or that a team such as the one described could even exist, it's like suggesting an NRL franchise in Alice Springs. If one of the existing Cumbrian teams grows to the level that they can be in SL then great but I think that is very unlikely considering they struggle to even stay in the Championship.
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
A cumbrian super league franchise playing out of carlise with barrow,whitehaven & workington as feeders clubs could be a viable option..

But koukash isn't the man to deliver it

Carlisle? It’s not even a league town and Barrovians certainly wouldn’t be onboard with it. (I am qualified to say that)

All of it, it's just Koukash talking shit to endear himself to the knuckle-draggers and country bumpkins who think he's a big-shot. There's absolutely no chance in hell that he is going to be starting a Cumbrian SL team or that a team such as the one described could even exist, it's like suggesting an NRL franchise in Alice Springs. If one of the existing Cumbrian teams grows to the level that they can be in SL then great but I think that is very unlikely considering they struggle to even stay in the Championship.

Ok so we all understand it’s not real, the thread was created to discuss it any way. Do you have to live so relentlessly in the real world?

Also your stretching to say it’s the same as Alice springs.
 

Evil Homer

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,178
Ok so we all understand it’s not real, the thread was created to discuss it any way. Do you have to live so relentlessly in the real world?

Also your stretching to say it’s the same as Alice springs.
We used to get dozens of threads on here with people talking about fantasy Super Leagues with teams in London, Birmingham, Paris, Barcelona etc and this isn't really much different to that, at least those places would be credible locations for a top-flight sports franchise.
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
We used to get dozens of threads on here with people talking about fantasy Super Leagues with teams in London, Birmingham, Paris, Barcelona etc and this isn't really much different to that, at least those places would be credible locations for a top-flight sports franchise.

Yeah because Castleford with 2/3 the population of barrow and much less than this proposed area are doing dreadful.
The difference to those places is league is actually played in West Cumbria.
 

Evil Homer

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,178
Yeah because Castleford with 2/3 the population of barrow and much less than this proposed area are doing dreadful.
Yeah if Barrow was as big and successful a club as Castleford then I would be happy for them to be in SL. But they're not, they are a club that competes around the bottom of the Championship or the top half of League 1 and struggles to attract crowds of over 1,000. The other two Cumbrian teams are even worse. It's also the most sparsely-populated and geographically isolated part of the country. So yeah I don't really see a big incentive for a SL franchise to be placed there.
 
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