Reported that Salford need to tie up a lease by the end of the month otherwise they will lose their IMG B grading.
their central funding will fall from £1.31 million to £50,000 - which I assume is what Widnes get.
that sums up what is wrong with the way the game is managed, the gulf between the funding is far too large how are clubs in the lower leagues without a benefactor able to compete ?
there will be a steady stream of clubs going out of existence until this is rectified, even the likes of the pies can surely see you need these clubs otherwise the product will be worth less and less
It's a disgrace really and just isn't conducive to supporting the existence of the game moving forward. League 1 clubs get £20k. As more and more Championship and L1 clubs struggle, the game will have less and less players UK available to it; and we'll be further awash with also-ran Aussies.
League strongholds like North Manchester, Widnes, Cumbria will continue to see a major drop-off in youth participation as their local teams either struggle or go to the wall.
Culturally, I think rugby (both codes) is approaching the too-hard basket for kids in this country. What's the point? It's an elite, tough, demanding sport with a largely 2nd-rate reward system.
We look to the NRL as a beacon of aspiration but that's miles ahead of where UK RL is at. It's a (shared) national sport with a billion dollar revenue. Ours is lightweight in comparison and we're just serving to protect a few names whilst consigning our background to the four winds.
The idea that our SL clubs will still be able to pick up the brightest young talent despite the loss of lower league leagues providing the feeder to SL is bound to fail.
The RFL should be looking at how to trickle money into feeder streams to encourage more youth participation.
I have posted before regarding RL not being a contributor to the Olympic 7's competition, both male and female, is a case in point.
The RFL, in all fairness, should demand our inclusion to compete to represent our country. Young players see things like that as a chance to perform on a big stage and if they follow the RU path there is a chance!!!
Tbh, the vast majority of young, exciting SL players come through the academy systems of the clubs. It's extremely rare for a player signed from the lower leagues to make an impact at the highest level of the game, In the last 5 years how many have there been?
It's a point raised in other threads, but as far as the SL clubs are concerned, why should they share their TV deal with clubs that contribute nothing to the reward of said deal?
I'm not being cantankerous, just genuinely interested in what people think.
I take your point but the SL academies draw from the amateur clubs and from the academies of clubs at any level.
When you look for diamonds you discard a lot of dust before you find them, the smaller the number playing the game at young teenager level the fewer prospects you will find to become greats.
There are lots of avenues for kids with sporting talent, all offering professional careers. Athletics etc offers a sporting career, as does RU, and on a bigger stage than RL.
But with ex RL stars successfully coaching RU at international and club level eyes will be cast to the RL youth teams to find talented players and offering stardom. Just wait until a Wigan lad with an Irish name catches Farrell's eye!!!
SL clubs may be happy atm but very few can maintain progress without drawing from the NRL so they still need more from their own academies.
- @sandgroper I'd say the NRL aspect IS the sprinkling of gold dust mate. The game we knew 20, 30 years or so ago has gone and moved on. We don't pluck top players from the amateur game at 20+ anymore, that's not sating I think it's a good thing.
- The academy system we were part of has basically nullified that, as the clubs now spot players at am early stage and tie them to a club till their either a first teamer or discarded.
According to Rugby League Live, Salford now have been "...placed under special measures due to financial concerns...."
Curiously, or knowing the RFL - maybe not - "...Salford's IMG grade will not be directly impacted by being placed in special measures..."
Long ago there was a decision that the SL or RFL were to keep a eye on the individual clubs to avoid them over spending etc. Seems to have disappeared, if it was ever there, and when clubs like Wigan can overspend, but escape with their owners cheque book it shows that there is precious little supervision.
The whole idea of boosting the game into big cities is questionable, but if 'well financed ambitious clubs' like Sheffield, York , Oldham etc can't get even a small crowd the wider game is already dying.
As one post said our game has been overtaken and somehow what made it attractive has become lost. Maybe the head injury worries have put parents off letting their offspring taking it up.
One thing is true is that the financial distance between the top and bottom of our leagues makes real progress from bottom to top almost impossible, which is how the 'haves' like it!
I see Salford have paid off their debt so they will be fine now, as long as they get a new tenancy agreement, pity Blackpool never had the same support
Sadly so much sport these days is a TV 'event' rather than a 'sport' and as long as that is the case fewer people will be attracted to actually spend real cash to enjoy it 'live'.
The Sky package becomes the 'one payment buys all' answer for too many!!!
Yes bogsnorking is live next year