Razzmatazz!

So we now have a Chairman with arguably the best name in rugby league in Dick Raaz, but what do the new BOD appointments really mean for our club. Well firstly let's look at each of the new members in turn:

Dick Raaz (Chairman): Ex-US Navy Submarine commander and also played a role behind the scenes of the Blockbuster movie The Hunt For Red October. The American is now heading up the radioactive waste repository at Drigg. From what I've heard, eccentric might be a good way to describe Raaz, but he obviously must be doing something right to be in charge of such an important project at Drigg. Whether he is rugby league material though, only time will tell.

Cath Giel & Tim Knowles: Both are members of Copeland Councils Executive committee and you would presume they sit on the board to protect the councils interest in the club as well as ensuring the Pow Beck redevelopment scheme can move forward. A good move for the short term in my view, whether they will be in it for the long haul though is another question.

Barry Richardson: Well Barry is no stranger to the club and the fans. The former Chairman has made more returns to the BOD than Rocky Balboa has made comebacks. That point aside though, virtually everyone I have come across has a lot of respect for Barry and in my view, we need someone on the BOD who has experience in running a rugby league club. After all, the previous people mentioned haven't had any at all.

Michael Wood: Long time Haven fan and long serving accountant at JFW Robinson & Co. You would like to think Mike will be in charge of the financials of the club, something which has seemingly been hard to control over the past couple of seasons.

The new look BOD certainly does have a unique mix of knowledge, experience, local influence and flair. On the surface it seems like the departure of Gordon Grace has resulted in a more positive result than was envisaged.

The new BOD have wasted no time in setting out their stall for the future of the club. As expected, the main point they focus on is the development of the stadium, something which has been in the pipeline for numerous years now. They hope that Rugby League will act as a catalyst for the success of the Pow Beck scheme with the new stadium being part of this.

One interesting point they do make is the 8000 capacity stadium that work should commence on next year. Now I stand to be corrected on this, but why are we building an 8000 capacity stadium when this doesn't meet two of the previous Super League entry criteria? Providing criteria for future applicants stays roughly the same, then surely that put us at a two point disadvantage before we even start. It would be impossible for us to tick the 'A stadium capacity of at least 12,000' and 'An average crowd of 10,000 or over' boxes. Ok so the latter is a little ambitious anyway, but with an 8000 capacity stadium, we haven't even got the potential to tick that.

Surely a policy similar to what Leigh have done with their sports village would be a better approach to take. Originally scheduled for 10,000 all seater, they changed the plans to incorporate terracing in order to meet the 12,000 capacity criteria. I for one am slightly concerned over the stadium capacity announcements and would be keen to hear what the new BOD plans are in regards to Super League. Saying that though, do the RFL actually use the criteria to make their decisions on Super League entry?! - That's another story.

What does seem to come out of this announcement made on Radio Cumbria is that the existing ground wouldn't be re-developed. Instead a completely new stadium would be erected within the vicinity. Should we believe all of this though? I'm personally taking it all with a pinch of salt. We have been told numerous times that development work is going start, but so far we haven't seen anything which remotely backs up any the plans. Until the JCB's move into the Recre then I'm afraid I am sitting with the sceptical people.

On a side note, the Dan Russell and Soni Radovanovic saga continues as both are still waiting for an absolute decision to be made one way or another. The return of Saia Makisi as a non quota player would be an extremely good move by the club if they can pull it off. Then of course there is the Greek/Aussie player which only a few people know about. If all of these signings come off, which going on past experience will be unlikely, then I think we have a good enough squad to take on any team in our league.

A new BOD with new plans to move the club forward all seems very positive on the surface. However, unlike some fans, I am not prepared to laud praises on these people just yet. 'Actions speak louder than words' and that statement has never been appropriate than it is for Whitehaven RLFC in the current climate.