Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 3:21 pm Posts: 18730 Location: educating League Freak on all things rugby league Member for 19 years
CM Punk wrote:
Johnathan Ford has left Toulouse for "personal" reasons. Wonder who they'll find at this stage to replace him
I think it’s clearly a vaccine issue but wrapped up under personal reasons.
That’s a huge loss for them. Ok he was untested at SL level but he was their key play maker and also talisman.
It’s a real shame we won’t get to see him play in SL in my opinion.
As for who replaces him, they are going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat big time. There have been so few playmakers on the market this last year that at this late stage I would say it will no almost impossible for them to get any quality in place for the start of the SL season.
Unofficially the most boring poster on Cherry and White.
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:38 am Posts: 27031 Location: WIGAN Member for 18 years
It could turn in to a bit of a farce the Toulouse entrance to Superleague, with the exits not just being any old squad players but their leaders and playmakers. Promoted clubs are on a hiding to nothing anyway and this is going to leave it difficult for them to compete on any level.
I really hope they can sort some replacements and they can compete because I think it’s great to have them in the league and a season of getting battered could really hurt them long term.
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:01 pm Posts: 3006 Location: In the sky with diamonds Member for 10 years
I'm not against expansion, but personally, I can't see Toulouse being anything but a flop and I can't believe they ever got the greenlight to move into SL. Or at least under the current climate.
It's not hyperbole to say that the last two seasons have probably been the most difficult for clubs in living memory. Having to manage Cats and the different rules/regulations hampered the integrity of the comp (especially in 2020) & added extra unneeded headaches and costs. I'm a RU fan and trying to get teams over and into France for the European comp has been a mindfield this season. That's talking about games every few weeks and not every other week like we'll see in SL too. It doesn't take hindsight to have seen potential issues regarding international travel, or different approaches to vaccines either.
Add in the extra costs of another long trip for clubs and fans and it just seems like the wrong time.
20 LEAGUE TITLES 19 CHALLENGE CUPS 3 WORLD TITLES SAYS IT ALL REALLY
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 10:31 pm Posts: 19722 Member for 19 years
sergeant pepper wrote:
I'm not against expansion, but personally, I can't see Toulouse being anything but a flop and I can't believe they ever got the greenlight to move into SL. Or at least under the current climate.
It's not hyperbole to say that the last two seasons have probably been the most difficult for clubs in living memory. Having to manage Cats and the different rules/regulations hampered the integrity of the comp (especially in 2020) & added extra unneeded headaches and costs. I'm a RU fan and trying to get teams over and into France for the European comp has been a mindfield this season. That's talking about games every few weeks and not every other week like we'll see in SL too. It doesn't take hindsight to have seen potential issues regarding international travel, or different approaches to vaccines either.
Add in the extra costs of another long trip for clubs and fans and it just seems like the wrong time.
I'm booked on the trip for Toulouse and I can't wait, hope they do well. Will slightly make up for the Toronto trip that unfortunately got cancelled.
WIGAN RLFC - SL ERA
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Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:01 pm Posts: 3006 Location: In the sky with diamonds Member for 10 years
MattyB wrote:
I'm booked on the trip for Toulouse and I can't wait, hope they do well. Will slightly make up for the Toronto trip that unfortunately got cancelled.
It's certainly not personal on my part and anti Toulouse or anything like that. Maybe I'm just being overly cautious, or not wanting to see things fall down that could have been avoided.
20 LEAGUE TITLES 19 CHALLENGE CUPS 3 WORLD TITLES SAYS IT ALL REALLY
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:12 pm Posts: 2833 Member for 16 years
Gutted about Toulouse. What was going to be a very difficult task now seems impossible.
They are a certainty to go down with Leigh or Fev replacing
RICHARDS IS SUPERMAN!!!!
Wire_91 wrote:its your first final in about 8 years and now you ravin and rantin about it F**k off, and ill be going old trafford tomoz cheering on the saints and ill be writing on this forum givin you loads of shi* when your drying you eyes and the wire fan will be here handing out the tissues in the thousands, thats if you do take that many fans cause now it looks like its your fans who have jumped on the band wagon now your in a final, this time last year there was only 1000 people in the jjb and now its fillin up cause youve won the league hahaha proper true supporters you are
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:03 pm Posts: 1072 Member for 13 years
NSW wrote:
Gutted about Toulouse. What was going to be a very difficult task now seems impossible.
They are a certainty to go down with Leigh or Fev replacing
While it isn't ideal for them to lose Ford so close to the season starting he was unproven at SL level and they do have Gigot and Albert to play in the halves, both of whom have played in SL already, in the case of Gigot to a good standard. Promoted teams are always up against it anyway and I think the impact of Ford leaving may be less than people expect. If they lose more from the squad it will hit them but I don't think Ford going will doom them on its own.
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2005 3:05 pm Posts: 15417 Member for 17 years
Rogues Gallery wrote:
I wonder if they'll take a punt on Ryan Hampshire, far too good of a player not to be playing at a pro club.
Good shout that. Either that or maybe they will loan someone in
Frank Zappa wrote:
Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.
The_Enforcer wrote:
Most idiotic post ever goes to Grimmy..... The way to restart should be an arm wrestle between a designated player from each side.
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