Mersey Tigers: Has the roar become a faint growl?

Despite the social media furore that emanated after the announcement of Mersey Tigers’ cut from the BBL just a couple of weeks ago, the matter is still bubbling under the surface.

For all intents and purposes, the decision has been made and Liverpool and the rest of Merseyside will not be represented by a professional side in the British Basketball League. The end.

However, there has been a rallying call through the Twitter account “Bring Back The Tigers” (@BBTheTigers), and the issue hasn’t been completely forgotten about.

A number of former Mersey players have been vocal about what has transpired, either through social media or with the occasional offering to sites, such as ourselves, who have been watching the story unfold.

Last year’s captain Gael Hulsen expressed his sadness and disappointment shortly after the news broke to Eurobasket.com, whilst this week fans’ favourite, Chris Bigley, spoke to TUB about both his frustration with the manner in which the cut from the BBL was delivered, but also gave a huge amount of gratitude to the supporters who stuck by the side during such a difficult season.

David Aliu, the former Tiger who made the decision to move on to last year’s returning Manchester Giants, spoke to UKAmericanSportsFans.com about how vital a role having a professional side in his home city has been, and what the implications may mean in the future now it has lost that.

“Being from Liverpool, and seeing over the years the struggle of having nowhere to play basketball – no [local top level] teams to go watch apart from Chester Jets and Manchester Giants – I think the city has lost a huge opportunity for youngsters to develop, and see first hand, the talent from their city and be able to witness top tier games; it’s a really sad thing to see happen,” said Aliu.

He went on to convey his reaction at the news, which was delivered in eleven words from the BBL: “It was a shock to me as [as far as the announcement to remove Mersey Tigers from the BBL], as far as I was aware, they [Mersey Tigers] were going to continue to play this upcoming season.

“I don’t know if they will be able to come back from this situation,” believes the Liverpudlian forward.

“As someone who is from Liverpool, and has previously been a part of it, I hope and pray that they can come back at some point.

“At one time, we had a really good fanbase, it was developing, all going in the right direction, and it’s such a shame to see all that work come undone over these last few months.”

Another insight came from Nathan Schall, who joined Mersey midway through their winless season, after not being able to find a regular starting place with his own hometown team of the Giants, but is clear on the point that a professional team should reside in Merseyside.

“We should be able to have a sustainable team in Liverpool; I think there is a market for it,” said Schall at the recent NBA 3X event in Manchester.

“I, personally, feel that, with the Tigers, maybe something should have been done earlier, an intervention earlier when it was on a downward path, rather than let them have to struggle themselves to get out of a hole. I’d like to see a Liverpool team come back, but I think they need to rejuvenate themselves, start from the bottom and work their way back up.”

That is the hope for Mersey Tigers right now, who are carrying on regardless working on a planned Summer Camp in mid-August, and their planned academy programmes, as well as their recent tie-in with EBL Division Four side, Liverpool Basketball Club.

Finally, one key part of all the debate that surrounds what has gone on is the idea of where basketball stands nationally and how the sport is developing on a number of levels. Sam Neter at Hoospfix highlighted the matter earlier this week looking at the Olympic legacy one year on, but Aliu also pointed out separately that although steps are being taken (which perhaps could have helped this situation be avoided had they been taken a number of years ago), the end-of-year school report seems to say something along the lines of “Not yet working to maximum potential”.

“First and foremost for me, a lot of arenas need to be on a certain level in regards to playing facilities, at the same time, they are going in the right direction as getting teams involved. The more teams there are involved, in different places of the country, it is only going to grow as a sport and increase the fanbase.”

“It is going in the right direction with new sides coming in, but there are still things that need to be changed.”

• Let us know what your thoughts are regarding Mersey Tigers’ removal from the BBL. Is it time to turn our backs and look to the future? Or would you like to see Mersey return at some point in the future? Comment below or tweet us at @uk_sportsfans