North Wales bound?: Rumour, press reports and uncertainty

Worrying press reports indicate the Crusaders could be set to disregard loyal supporters in the south and play a host of high-profile matches in North Wales. The news follows the release of the 2010 Super League fixtures – with the club leaving supporters outraged and confused by confirming the venue of only one of their thirteen home matches!

Talk of hosting matches in North Wales started last season when the Crusaders announced plans to take games "on the road".

The club was previously branded a South Walian entity, but officials started to promote the Saders as a club side spreading the rugby league message to the whole Welsh nation.

Wrexham AFC, suffering from a string of financial problems, were more than happy to play host to the Saders and suddenly fans had to come to terms with the fact that a home game or two would be played 125-miles away from Newport.

Further reports then suggested as many as three games could head to Wrexham, with potential home ties in the Challenge Cup to, perhaps, follow.

Fans, nonetheless, cannot have imagined that the club could possibly move lock, stock and barrel to Wrexham, or even play more home games there than in the south.

Following the appointment of Dai Watkins as president, a deal had been agreed with the Newport Gwent Dragons to play 10 home games per season at Rodney Parade.

However, conjecture and hearsay raise doubts over the deal and hint that more and more games will be moved to Wrexham's 15,500-capacity Racecourse.

The club revealed the location of only one home match when Super League released the fixtures last Wednesday.  That's the season opener - against defending champions Leeds - and will be at the Racecourse, a 250-mile round trip from the club's supposed new base.

The venue of any other games remains a mystery, and the speculation is that a lack of financial support in South Wales could force the club to head to Wrexham on a permanent basis.

The Guardian claims that Leighton Samuel could withdraw his monetary support for the club after the Saders quit the Brewery Field - and that Wrexham chairman Geoff Moss could help ease the shortfall in funding if an increasing number of games were played in Wrexham.

However, the article also states that the RFL is desperate for Cru to "retain a strong presence in the south" and claims that Watkins is trying to secure more investment from the south so the Saders can remain near their traditional base. We can but hope.

A situation of uncertainty has been created for us long-suffering supporters. Are we moving to Wrexham? If not, how many matches will be played there? Does the Newport deal still stand? Are any games being played in Neath?

The fans are getting very disappointing treatment. There's only eight days left to snap up season tickets at the generous 'Early Bird' price, and yet fans are expected to part company with hundreds of pounds without even knowing where matches will be played. It's a shocking state of affairs.

If ten games are not played at Newport, then fans who have already purchased season tickets will be seething.

The club, meanwhile, remain quiet. No statement has been made to help stop the confusion, and we can only assume that negotiations are going on behind the scenes.

However, this cannot be helping Brian Noble, Jon Sharp and Iestyn Harris with recruitment as they bid to lease new life into the Crusaders next season.

The fans have put up with so much in recent months. Controversy has met the Brewery Field exit, the Rodney Parade announcement, the new name, the new badge and so on. The appointment of the new management trio was cause for celebration - but if more and more games are to be taken hundreds of miles north then the club risks losing the support of many long-standing, loyal followers.

Let's try and keep the faith.