It was clearly a poison chalice. Had we been in a position to apply and been accepted it would have been a disaster. But a fair few suggested we were showing a “lack of ambition” by not doing so.
The point is that we were not in a position to apply and the Club admitted that. There was no chance that Widnes would have been selected ahead of Leigh, Toulouse, London, York, Featherstone or Bradford. So in the end, the right decision was made. Just a thought though. In the remote chance we make the top 5 and are in the play-off final this year, will we be in a position to go into SL or would we just look forward to another disastrous season and certain relegation? Leigh have not signed any stand-out players and it looks to me that Beaumont has not been prepared to put in a huge investment, in the likelihood of relegation. Maybe he knows something about the RFL/SL plans!!!!
I think the point is more that none of the Championship clubs were in a position to apply. Leigh had probably the most willing financial backer in Beaumont but even that has been worthless.
I expect Toulouse to go up this year but they will still struggle just the same unless the RFL juggles the rules to keep them in SL no matter what to use them as the next example of the proof that expansion is working as planned (having swept Toronto and Ottawa under the carpet, of course).
Its interesting how its changed:
Think back to the first 10-12 years of SL:
Salford, Hull, Widnes, Wakefield, Hull KR, Huddersfield all stayed up for a period after promotion: only really Castleford who yo-yo'd (down 04, up 05, down 06, up 07).
What's changed? If anything for me the Top End of SL is weaker pound for pound than it was back then...
As Spelly said earlier on, Degsy knew what he was letting himself in for but was willing to take that chance and hope that Salford or KR would be worse than them and one of them would be going down, and to be honest they still have punchers chance.
Its hard for any team to build for the future in super league or the championship, look at us with our old front row, Grady, Tyrer and Smith, even Baker isn't that young so they will all need replacing over the next couple of years. If we were ever to get into super league we would need experienced full time pro's and have to leave most of the squad behind.
Apart from Saints, Leeds, Wire, Hull, Wigan and possibly Catalan, the teams in super league struggle for money every year and that's with Sky money, but then again look at the debts Wigan have every year just to challenge for the top six, we realistically couldn't match them without a big investor.
It is disgraceful if RFL/SL have not decided on the allocation of central funding for 2022. How on earth can clubs plan for next season, albeit it has been known for some time that the Sky money would be cut and clubs should have been planning with this in mind?
I hope and think that a sense of reality might return to RL with the cut in funding. Other than clubs with big financial backers willing to throw money at the club, like Warrington, Wigan and St Helens, how many clubs can afford to pay the astronomical wages to lure often average NRL players, many of whom are far from successful?
Can clubs afford to pay players £200,000 plus? Should the salary cap be adjusted to make it a more level playing field? Clubs will need to look to develop their own players, whether through an Academy and/or Reserve teams and links with local community clubs.
Instead of aiming for a split in the game, we need someone who can bring the game together with a fairer distribution of central funding to all clubs. Clubs themselves should face reality and need do develop a plan to be financially sustainable.
Perhaps clubs with minimal local support or sponsorship and totally reliant on central funding, need to face reality and accept that they can no longer rely on central funding. Maybe funding should be a minimum sum to each club, with additional funding based on season tickets/attendances and local sponsorship. This may encourage those clubs to do more to try and increase local support or face the reality of not being sustainable.
How is DB even allowed to be an owner of a team? Is there “fit and proper purposes”, this is the man who terminated every contract on the books citing that the club were that skint, he couldn’t guarantee participation in the up and coming season, yet 4 months later he was signing players like Saul on huge contracts.
Even said it in his article on the Duffy sacking ‘to get me back interested’
Sport club ownership isn’t a game and it’s people’s livelihoods on the line so if he gets relegated but keeps these players on then gets bored again halfway through that season he’ll walk again.
I'm glad he is nowhere near our club, I wonder how many Leigh fans actually like him.
I know what you are saying Town Team but this is just their 3rd season of Top Flight Rugby since 94 so I guess some things would be overlooked.
Most fans used to aspire to drink at the top table, but I think we have realised there is no point in getting there for a season and a kicking
remember the Irish tonker commentating Widnes are not fit for super league some years back
to go up you need a structured plan, which I do not think we have yet due to last few years turbulence
we are better where we are , hopefully winning more than we lose, we are nowhere near ready for the duper league
enjoy the times
I wouldn't have accepted less funding than all the other SL clubs on principle. Toronto got nothing, Leigh got £1milion instead of about £1.9 million. Pure greed from the other 11 clubs, it should be a level playing field. I hope they sneak 3 or 4 wins and stay up.
Funny though, they got £1m plus Beaumont's supposed millions, but still rely on loans to make up the squad and are struggling to have a full squad this weekend.
Funny though, they got £1m plus Beaumont’s supposed millions, but still rely on loans to make up the squad and are struggling to have a full squad this weekend.
Not all the revenue going into a business is spent on one asset - there are day to day operating costs and a need for some form of investment in the future of the business, which is imho is one of the big problems for SL. Operating costs stop (mostly) investment in the future which is why they push the “expansion’ thing in the hope that a knight on a white horse is going to rock up with unlimited funds to put into the (future of the) game.
Well said RV. “Expansion” in North America was part of the RFL’s muddled thinking but surprise surprise, that’s now a dead duck. What is desperately needed is a plan to develop and expand the game in this country.
Sadly, SL is soaking up the TV cash leaving less for everyone else, and the academy structure has been “improved”/reduced.
I pray that someday we will have just one governing body for the whole game with a proper 10-year plan that they won’t change on a whim.
Funny though, they got £1m plus Beaumont’s supposed millions, but still rely on loans to make up the squad and are struggling to have a full squad this weekend.
Not all the revenue going into a business is spent on one asset – there are day to day operating costs and a need for some form of investment in the future of the business, which is imho is one of the big problems for SL. Operating costs stop (mostly) investment in the future which is why they push the “expansion’ thing in the hope that a knight on a white horse is going to rock up with unlimited funds to put into the (future of the) game.
Will there be any substantial additional day to day running costs by moving from full-time in the Championship to full-time in SL, which will not be offset by potential additional season ticket sales, match-day income and sponsorship?
Maybe Beaumont has made a calculated business decision in pushing for the place in SL, on the basis that Toulouse and Featherstone were probably favourites for promotion in 2021. Take the SL money on offer, withhold any further investment in 2021, that cannot be offset against increased revenues, and plan to invest in the squad in 2022, whether in SL or the Championship.
He may see it as a worthwhile gamble. Potentially managing to avoid relegation in 2021 and having the full SL central funding and his own investment to put into building a stronger SL squad in 2022; or, if relegated, putting in his own investment in 2022, together with any parachute payment (if still paid), to strengthen the squad in 2022 for the Championship, with a better chance of promotion to SL in 2022.
Or, as some have suggested Beaumont's SL ambitions outweighed the risk he was taking in going into SL with reduced central funding and then not building a squad capable of competing in SL!!!!
I do agree that many clubs, not only in SL, are reliant on central funding with no or little investment in the future; and some may well fail when the cut in central funding hits home.
I would say the cost of contracts and associated additional costs (insurance, etc.)for a full time professional squad of, say 25 first teamers and an academy and or youth and or reserve squad (or whatever SL pulls out of the hat next),the cost of hiring a full time staff, both front office and coaching staff, etc. would outweigh the benefits of an extra 1000 season tickets.