Iirc as a Viqi member I was approached and signed up at a higher rate than I was before!!! I upped my donation to about £1 per weekday, not a lot tbh out of my pension but it might well too much for some, and that's not a criticism. We all have our own priorities and family etc has to come first.
I can guarantee that as the weather improves the number of pints at the bar will also increase, maybe knocking one off and offering it to WVips is an option?
You may be right but there is a lack of trust on this side of the Penines, and maybe on your side too on a club to club basis!!!
You may be right but there is a lack of trust on this side of the Penines, and maybe on your side too on a club to club basis!!!
Our board have been fairly vociferous in their criticism of the way they perceive the game to be run in favour of the current SL clubs and most fans feel the same, there has been a sense, rightly or wrongly, of us not being "wanted" going back to 1994 (when we were relegated to the second tier despite finishing sixth from bottom in the top flight).
I will say though that like you, many of our fans are very wary/suspicious of how Bradford are treated given the RFL's recent involvement with the ground and Bradford's peppercorn rent. Until fairly recently Bulls fans across the board readily admitted that Odsal was in no way shape or form suitable for SL, but now with the IMG system disregarding the actual state of most grounds other than for certain broadcasting/media factors, it suddenly seems to have been deemed to meet minumum standards.
I agree with Lord Lucan, they don't want Featherstone in, to be fair why would they with Cas and Wakey already in.
The 2 teams they do want in are Bradford and York. RFL Commercial even said they can see York in Superleague in the next 2 to 3 years. To comment and mention one club specifically "York for me is a real standout" I thought wasn't the best idea from a centralised body.
By the same token, why would they want Widnes in with Warrington and St Helens already in. Leigh are in for 1 reason and 1 reason only, Derek Beaumont. Or 1 million reasons per season if you want to take a different view.
I've said it before but will repeat myself, until IMG/RFL commercial can agree a decent TV deal with a share of money for the clubs to run full time sides, there is no point Widnes getting into SL.
Warrington and Saints are losing over £1 million per season on crowds of over 10k. Thr current TV deal is £800,000 per club down on what it was a couple of years ago. For a club with say 6,000 fans in SL and no rich backer the numbers for a full time SL side literally don't add up. (For reference see Salford)
@dan1, 100%. There is no point Widnes getting into SL.
Sounds like the basics for a Wallace & Grommit movie!!!!
Successful clubs with rising crowds require wealthy donors to buy annual six figure Season Tickets!!!!! Time to increase gate prices?
Dan I am with you because no point going up to be tonked every week like London. Without a big benefactor like Leigh you have no chance being full time. Personally I think the best for us is to build a very competitive side ho will compete at the top of the Championship and to be enjoyable to watch. Be interesting how long these benefactors in Super League will pump money into a club because eventually there funds being rich will diminish. Lets enjoy the rugby and encourage more to come because I can see a few teams struggling financially in Super League in the near future.
If clubs with home gates of 10000 as well as Sky money are making a big loss then they're not cutting their cloth to fit.Trouble is none of them want to cut back and give an advantage to their rivals.
@sinbad it's just not viable with the current level of money coming into the game. But they can't cut back, RL players are at the lower end of the pay scale as it is for professional athletes. Cost of living is going up and a lot of jobs are offering annual cost of living pay rises. Can you imagine them asking players to take a pay cut in these circumstances. Not to mention the physical toll RL puts on your body.
It will get to the stage where having a trade such as an electrician or plumber and a decent semi pro RL contract will be better paid than a mid level earning player with a full time SL contract.
Cutting back doesn't have to be on the playing side only.Some of these clubs have an abundance of non playing staff in various roles.
I think that already is the case
100% The myth that SL players are paid massively is totally untrue. Likewise Champ players are on a pittance and all need second sources of income. All the Viking's players have jobs outside of the sport.
There are a select few in SL spread across the clubs who get decent money, but certainly 90-95% of SL players will need a job after retiring from the game.
Paulie xx
Wasn't the birth of SL the signal to remove the previous rule of players being required to have a job in addition to whatever they received from the game.
Wigan adopting the contract system was the start of the full professional package.
It's difficult to sympathise with Warrington's financial loss when you look at their coaching set up on the wolves web page.No fewer than 17 are listed including non jobs such as head of rugby operations and performance analyst.That's without the CEO on God knows how much salary per year.Nobody can tell me that these roles makes any difference to what happens on the pitch.Its not just Wire. Saints,Leeds,Hull and Wigan are the same.They all act as if they are Premiership football clubs like Man Utd and Arsenal but with just a fraction of the income.