Latest is that one working party says there is a possibility of a reduced Championship season starting late August.
We will see..
I am not sure how to add a link, but Derek Beaumont's lengthy comments in total RL dated 7th June, make interesting reading regarding the season re-start.
The two which were my personal favourites were the automatic promotion of the four full time championship teams (Leigh of course included ) and the comment on furlough. My understanding was that furlough was brought in to help employees stay in employment and look after their obligations. Now, I may be wrong, but it seems to me that Beaumont is suggesting that clubs use furlough money to pay for weekly Covid 19 testing. I may be doing him an injustice and there may be a provision for this, but I have not heard it mentioned before.
I fully appreciate that owners and directors want to try and ensure the survival of their clubs, but it would be nice to think that they would work together to try and ensure a system was found under which all clubs made it to the other side.
t
Of course you have to take into account that Beaumont sees himself as a member of the McManus/Leneghan group and, to be honest he has ploughed a great deal of filthy lucre into the Leigh pot.
The critical question for us is just how clubs will continue to be financed into the future.
As a club we have been rescued from extinction by a few supporters who were willing to put up what, to Beaumont & Co, would be seen as petty cash. The supporters on a wider front responded and threw into the Viqi pot etc and the rest is history. Just how long we can rely on that sort of loyalty and how far that will carry the club is an unknown as yet. The return to 'normality' may give us a clue as will the season ticket sales. I hope that we can rise to the occasion and show the RFL that community clubs are sustainable.
What has to happen however is that the RFL and the SL realise that if the game as we know it needs to encompass all, not just the privately financed. I suppose that what I am saying is that the game has to realise that together we stand, divided we fall.
There are many clubs below SL sailing so close to the financial wind that their survival is threatened every year and there is obviously a limit to how far the game's cash will stretch. There may be a need for the RFL to take a more direct role in 'selling' the game in its heartland and improving the crowd support within the M62 corridor. Simply relying on the historical '****** is a rugby town' is not good enough and maybe clubs aren't selling the game as they should (ourselves included?), but a more professional approach may result in a better response.
At the opposite end of the spectrum the SL clubs need to realise that the game is bigger than the top ten (atm) English clubs. Let's face it the scattered supporters of the non-SL clubs form a good proportion of the Sky subscribers and without them the Sky contract would bite the dust!
If, as looks likely, there are no more attended UK sports events in 2020, can RL of any level afford to stage a game?
Degsy proposing a 16 team SL this year with 4 to go down....
Wow.
Degsy proposing a 16 team SL this year with 4 to go down…. Wow.
He seems to be getting more desperate. I wonder who he thinks should be the extra 4 teams? Maybe Toulouse, London, Bradford and Widnes!!
I can't see there being any Championship/League 1 games this year unless the covid virus restrictions are lifted by the end of August, which seems highly unlikely at the moment.
If it was handled properly we could probably play games with access for season ticket holders only using both main stands and spacing out. Sounds a bit odd, but somebody is going to have to move at some point!
Furlough will end at some point and we might then get started preparing for next season if this one is scrapped.
There is an RFL meeting tomorrow to consider the 2020 Championship/League 1 season re-start.
Apparently one owner (Beaumont?) threatening legal action if there is no re-start. Toulouse have proposed a re-start in the Championship with clubs retaining existing points and playing each other once, with a top 5 play-off. Would they be so keen for a re-start, if promotion to SL was taken off the table?
Maybe there could be some scope for a return of spectators with the reduction in the social distancing to one metre, but could clubs still afford to pay for testing and how many people will turn up to games.
Maybe Leigh. Featherstone and Toulouse will agree to subsidise other clubs by meeting any testing costs? Probably not, but it will be academic as there is unlikely to be an relegation from or promotion to SL in 2020.
Does seem like a lost cause tbh. We are not out of the wood yet by any means, no matter how Boris might dress it up. Trying to cheer the lads on under a mask isn't an inviting prospect!
If there is to be no real target of promotion the games are more or less friendlies to get some cash back in the coffers and give us an afternoon out. Both laudable aims, but at what risk?
It must be hard for Degsy to take and I have some sympathy, but any sport is a chancy business, ask Djokovitch!!!
Down to government regs I guess, but almost all teams could handle social distancing due to low crowds as a % of ground capacity! Especially with it being a family sport.
Then it's a case of cleaning everything etc. If teams are on the bones of their arses all the time though, even a small drop in crowds due to people being put off/vulnerable/still shielding etc. this will mean that they will struggle financially even if it does restart.
Legal action - Hilarious. What's he going to do? Sue the RFL who don't have a pot to piss in? Not like they were runaway leaders with a handful of games to go, in which case he might have had a bit of a point.
They are hoping to have 25% capacity at football matches from September, Widnes could probably manage that, spreading about 3,000 fans over the 4 stands, but most of the teams in our division have mostly terracing, so I don’t think they could keep fans 1 meter apart, especially when your team get close to the line or score. They might manage it in SL but not the championship.
No decision today from the meeting of League 1/Championship clubs who seem to have passed the matter to the RFL. Newcastle, Leigh and Featherstone pushing for resumption, but I guess that this will be on the basis that there is still an opportunity for promotion.
I hope that the league resumes and Leigh have their usual mid-season crash and miss out on promotion anyway. I'll bet McDermott would welcome a big city team like Featherstone to SL.
It looks like SL will resume in August, which should include relegation. On this basis, Championship/League 1 could resume again with promotion and relegation. RFL (not individual clubs) should agree to meet any additional testing costs of League 1/Championship clubs from the Government loan. Of course, Beaumont and Noble would waive any support as those clubs can clearly afford the resumption of the league.
The RFL could meet the costs of the loan from staff savings by bringing RFL/SL management under one umbrella - and perhaps reviewing whether they can afford or justify salaries of £300.000/£400,000 to the Chief Executive.
You never know, SL clubs may agree to give a bigger share of the Sky money to League 1/Championship clubs to offset loss of gate money, but I guess not.
Irrespective of that, will Widnes and other League 1 (Newcastle) and Championship clubs be able to fulfil the CC sixth round games, which presumably will be televised and some income generated.
Would we take our players off furlough to play a Challenge Cup tie with no fans?
I wouldn't personally. If we have to we must be compensated.
Also, if there is no promotion (has this been decided yet?) what is the point of playing a bunch of friendlies?
If fans are allowed in by the start of November and the end of the furlough, then why not start a new season then, could even revamp the 1895 into the old style NRC Group stage adding 3 extra home fixtures, (more games for season ticket holders) start the league maybe on New Years Day.....
As you say CJ, there are options and the SL/RFL need to make some decisions asap. Problem is that everyone is nervous about the way that the unlocking process might go.
We need every penny to prepare well for next year. No point in wasting money on a lost cause.
What is it with the RFL - no decision on promotion and relegation and further delay in any decision on resuming the Championship/League 1 season. What is going to change in the next two seeks to enable them to make a decision?
They have made some rule changes, including scrapping scrums for the rest of the season. Whilst I think the scrums in the modern game are a complete farce, removing the scrums is a fundamental change to the nature of the game Why not just play tick and pas, as players in a tackle probably have greater contact than in a scrum. I suppose that we should be thankful that they are capable of making any decisions.