To be honest it’s probably the most important season since 1895 RL is at a watershed – we missed chances 20 years ago, let kick and clap steal our clothes, changing their laws to reflect RL laws radical measures are required now, massive exposure needed on terrestrial tv look at the cricket 100 for example but back to Widnes, we hopefully are solvent and should have a budget to more than compete in the championship player recruitment through finnegan will be interesting- he should know who he wants by now the future set up of SL plus is out of our hands, but given the choice I think the RFL should move away from SL – how many years is the new sky deal for ? Sky have got a lot to answer for, not they give a monkeys, they would probably put live cheese rolling on if it sold dishes
Sky doesn’t have anything to answer for. Sky is a well run business that invests in things to make a profit. They offered the RFL the first contract years back and the RFL accepted the contract. Sky didn’t threaten them, they offered them a financial deal and the RFL chose to accept it and at that point a number of people clapped their hands and said ‘Yay - I can watch live (ha ha) matches in the pub or at home - sweet’. Just after that people slowly started to see the professional game for what it was / is : a stereotyped game for automatons who can make 100 - 150 metres a game, can make 3 - 6 ‘line busts’, whatever they are, can carry the ball up 25 - 40 times a game and can make 40 - 60 tackles per match. Ideally they should also be able to kick the ball 40 metres with enough hang time so that the chasers can try and dodge round the blockers. Then spectators who had become Sky subscribers started watching other stuff that could match their concentration span - currently a game derived from cricket that you can get over and done with in about an hour - and so the RFL having sold the family silver (which you can only sell once) is now, as they used to say ‘rubber ducked’ without any idea what to do as can be seen from their ever increasingly stupid ideas.
To be honest it’s probably the most important season since 1895 RL is at a watershed – we missed chances 20 years ago, let kick and clap steal our clothes, changing their laws to reflect RL laws radical measures are required now, massive exposure needed on terrestrial tv look at the cricket 100 for example but back to Widnes, we hopefully are solvent and should have a budget to more than compete in the championship player recruitment through finnegan will be interesting- he should know who he wants by now the future set up of SL plus is out of our hands, but given the choice I think the RFL should move away from SL – how many years is the new sky deal for ? Sky have got a lot to answer for, not they give a monkeys, they would probably put live cheese rolling on if it sold dishes
Sky doesn’t have anything to answer for. Sky is a well run business that invests in things to make a profit. They offered the RFL the first contract years back and the RFL accepted the contract. Sky didn’t threaten them, they offered them a financial deal and the RFL chose to accept it and at that point a number of people clapped their hands and said ‘Yay – I can watch live (ha ha) matches in the pub or at home – sweet’. Just after that people slowly started to see the professional game for what it was / is : a stereotyped game for automatons who can make 100 – 150 metres a game, can make 3 – 6 ‘line busts’, whatever they are, can carry the ball up 25 – 40 times a game and can make 40 – 60 tackles per match. Ideally they should also be able to kick the ball 40 metres with enough hang time so that the chasers can try and dodge round the blockers. Then spectators who had become Sky subscribers started watching other stuff that could match their concentration span – currently a game derived from cricket that you can get over and done with in about an hour – and so the RFL having sold the family silver (which you can only sell once) is now, as they used to say ‘rubber ducked’ without any idea what to do as can be seen from their ever increasingly stupid ideas.
So you are saying the game of RL is boring to watch ?
<p style="text-align: left;">Whatever words someone may choose to use: Rugby League has become boring, sterile and predictable.</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>
I didn’t quite hear the full conversation about it on Monday, but I’m fairly sure Finney stated Widnes didn’t.
</p> I do think this all points to us being in a good financial position compared to most next year. Hopefully the fans come back to a decent level
Not having a go Spidey but you are missing the point. Widnes can just about afford to run a part time team of about 2 dozen players. If a couple of key / senior players get long term injuries we are stuffed (Tomkins, Jewitt as an example). We rely on two week loans to tide us over which sometimes works (O’Neill) but more often doesn’t (Doro, Robson). We have no depth in the local amateur game so can’t rely on willing locals making up the numbers like in the (very) old days and we don’t have kids coming through because the RFL don’t care about or promote the junior game and kid who might have been interested have moved on to other forms of entertainment. Basically being financially sound means we’ve got a padded chair on the Titanic, rather than a hardback plastic chair.
That's all with hardly any income from crowds and no loan. Put that into next year with increased income from crowds (we'd be one of the higher attendances for sure) no debt to repay - we should be in a better position than most.
I really hope you are right mate.
I think it's more important than ever that Championship clubs and lower SL clubs breakaway and form their own league. Leave Saints, Wigan, Wire and Leeds to it, they're entitled to it, it's boring. We do need to revamp the game, I thought that might happen when Hearn was involved, maybe bring him back. We can't compete with RU as an 80 minute game, we need some lateral thinking. An independent board of business minded non-rugby people would be able to steer this in the right direction, not everyone will like it at first but, stay as we are and we won't be here in 5 or 10 years. RL has been going for 125 years, it's not on the cusp of a expansion breakthrough, it's had its shot, the glory days are gone. We need to move on and secure something that people in these communities can embrace moving forward, and it's not SL. No chance.
Absolutely agree GPO.
One of the main area of concern should be youngsters - getting kids (and through them family) involved in the game, making it fun and re-establishing a pathway to a viable adult game.
I think we should move to a permanent 9's games, new rules. 4 quarters of 12 mins or something like that. Let's go the whole American hog here, it works. Look at what these format revamps have done for the other sports, cricket in particular.
SL is on notice from Sky and has been given two years to sort something out.
If the sorting out means changing to some hybrid 'quickie' game like nine a side, or even 7 a side with a view to challenging RU and getting into the next Olympics that might at least get some wider support and publicity for the 13 a side game. The teams specialise in that game form and their games could be a useful double bill to add to the game-day experience!
The SL teams seem to be set on maintaining their funding whatever the cost to no SL clubs. The idea of making games more competitive hardly bothers those who aren't supporters already. I can't really envisage anyone suddenly becoming a supporter because of it.
The top SL clubs have become little 'empires' with many more staff than was ever needed before. They will resist reducing their empires as any executive does - they are always the last ones to leave! Once Sky drop their input again the slide will increase - then we might see some change, but it will be too late for some.
Clubs like ours, outside SL, will have to manage largely on their own devices, support and so on. In other words back to where we started.
It may be better if the clubs outside SL simply decided to be part time and proud of it. There may well be some SL clubs that will have to follow us, but it would have to be on a part time basis with stiffer salary caps. That would make it a very competitive league, controlled once again by the clubs themselves.
Leigh down and Toulouse up, as said. After that they will jettison Wakefield and Salford for more money each and the ten team competition.
I may have a fixation about SL and greed, but is it correct that Catalans do not share in the Sky payout?
If that is the case, then I assume that if Toulouse replace Leigh (who have been given less than any other SL club) next season that’ll mean that they don’t share in the loot either, and so it’s even more for the UK teams.
Leigh down and Toulouse up, as said. After that they will jettison Wakefield and Salford for more money each and the ten team competition.
They might do it (RFL) but you can’t run a stand alone league that small as a professional sport in the medium / long term. There is no incentive for kids to be bothered taking up the game if there are only 250 players will make the grade in the professional game.
Well that’s the plan and it’s going to happen so long as Sky are still around.I read the only thing that stalled it this week was the proposal of the interim fourteen team league in 2022.They still want a competition of ten,it’s just a question of how to arrive there.
I think it’s more important than ever that Championship clubs and lower SL clubs breakaway and form their own league. Leave Saints, Wigan, Wire and Leeds to it, they’re entitled to it, it’s boring. We do need to revamp the game, I thought that might happen when Hearn was involved, maybe bring him back. We can’t compete with RU as an 80 minute game, we need some lateral thinking. An independent board of business minded non-rugby people would be able to steer this in the right direction, not everyone will like it at first but, stay as we are and we won’t be here in 5 or 10 years. RL has been going for 125 years, it’s not on the cusp of a expansion breakthrough, it’s had its shot, the glory days are gone. We need to move on and secure something that people in these communities can embrace moving forward, and it’s not SL. No chance.
How can anyone possibly think that St Helens, Wigan, Warrington and Leeds are the problem?
The issue is the other half of Super League - who vote for themselves to cling on to what money they've got.
No matter what system is in place, St Helens, Wigan, Warrington and Leeds would be in the top 5/6 teams. So they aren't the ones holding it back.