Wasps move
Dallaglio hits out at stayaway critics
ESPN Staff
October 9, 2014
James Haskell Dai Young and Andy Goode of Wasps pose for a picture at the Ricoh Arena © Getty Images
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Erstwhile Wasps skipper Laurence Dallaglio has joined the ranks of former and current players backing the club's move to Coventry.

Social media has been awash with criticism of the decision and the way it was reached, and Dallaglio said that while he had sympathy with genuine supporters he was more wary of those who had jumped on a bandwagon.

"I'm listening to what the fans are saying and the fans who turn up week in, week out will be heard and addressed," he said. "But a lot of people are throwing stuff against the club when, quite frankly, I haven't seen them every weekend at Adams Park.

"I'm not quite sure where they're coming from because there are only 6,000 people turning up to games at the moment. Some will continue to support the club in the way I have and others will not. That's their choice.

"I was a board director of the club when we nearly went bust two years ago. We were one tackle from being relegated and I'm not sure if the club would ever have got back up because it doesn't have the infrastructure for that. In my time at Wasps I've had six different training grounds and three different stadiums. We were successful despite the environment and surroundings, not because of them.

"Wasps are a nomadic club. They're not a place and never have been a place. They're not a Bath, Gloucester or Leicester. We've always been nomadic.

"To have a place you call your home and a home that you actually own is a massive step forward. It will still feel like my club. It would have been great if we could have found a solution in London, but that just doesn't exist. Something radical had to happen because the reverse of that was going under, which wasn't an option either."

The true scale of the anger will be more apparent this Sunday when Wasps host Bath. Although vociferous protests seem unlikely, the club say they are braced for "all possibilities".

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