I can see why they would struggle to get anglers. I'm not sure I'd be happy as part of a squad with, trying to be fair, a lot of such big personalities in it....
Plus the financial commitment to fish is massive, they split their open winnings with the team!
Fishing at that level is hugely expensive, I've spent hundreds if not thousands of pounds just practicing for nationals, AT semis etc.
It is without doubt a shame though, in my opinion they were the most professional team out there, even if they haven't had the success in recent years, and I hope it doesn't indicate the things to come for other top teams!? It leads on to the prevalence of 20 peg opens, club attendances falling, AT team champs and nationals dropping leagues and team sizes. The whole competitive match angling scene is changing, for the worse in some ways, and I think this is just another manifestation of it.
Bring back kim Milsom lol