New Widnes Vikings director Matt Roberts was a guest on the Widnes Rugby Chat podcast to discuss what’s going on behind the scenes at the club.
Speaking on his arrival back in February, he stated he was a life long supporter who lives in Birmingham, with his uncle Tony Chambers previously serving as chairman of the club.
Matt boasts a well respected role working for a large insurance company heading up the UK and Europe side of the business.
Moving forward a couple of months, Matt sat down with James Gordon on the podcast answering questions about his arrival, the current situation at the club and what he thinks the future looks like for Widnes Vikings.
How Matt become involved
The move come about after a disappointing loss at home back in 2023 against Sheffield Eagles where the Vikings was thumped 18-38. Matt said: “There was not a lot of people in the stadium, we was heavily beaten.”
“I think we got a couple of tries at the end and I remember on the drive home thinking I just can’t accept mediocrity, it’s something in life I just can’t accept and I felt I could help the club it felt like the club needed something different and some help.”
“I felt I could make a difference, I remember when Stuart Murphy come on board and him saying in a statement if someone wanted to invest in the club to reach out, so I was in London the next morning and I was on the way down on the train and sent him an email explaining a bit about my background and how I could help the club off the field.”
What investing in Widnes looks like
The board of directors at Widnes now consists of club Chairman Stuart Murphy, Roger Harrison, Rod Steele, Joy Moreton, Matt Taylor and now of course Matt Roberts. It is a healthy amount of directors involved in running the club but many wonder how the process works.
“I bought shares into Widnes and when you buy a certain amount then that gets you a board seat.
“Then that means I am a board member who attends board meetings and everything that else that comes with being a director of a sports club and a business.”
The Super League goal
The question gets asked a lot in passing conversation by many but it was put to Matt is Super League a realistic goal for the club. He approached the answer referring to both possible routes whether it is promotion or through the current IMG system by saying
“Yes absolutely Super League is our goal, from 2012 onwards we saw some great nights and after the Warrington game that was probably the first time since being out of Super League it felt like a Super League game, obviously the attendance helped but once you have a taste of it, it’s something you want on a more regular basis.
“Granted we have to look at the IMG licensing that might be tricky for us because you look at clubs around us like Toulouse and London geographically we can’t help where we are.”
“But our goal doesn’t change, the one thing we have said it has to be sustainable, back in 2012 we had one man putting money into it and when that dries up or someone doesn’t want to put money in anymore then what happens?”
“Where we sit today I think promotion and relegation in the short term is the answer if you’re looking at it over the next year or two it’s the easiest way for us, but longer term if you’re looking at a five year plan which is what we have got as a board then towards the end of that five years you could be looking at IMG licensing situation which I am in favour of.”
Feasibility without a backer at the top tier
It is well known Widnes don’t have a wealthy benefactor some teams have and it was put to Matt how feasible it was to achieve the Super League dream without having a money man pumping money in.
He said: “I think yes, what I will say is would you be competing in the top four of Super League without pumping money in probably not unless you have a Leicester City type of situation where you go on a roll.
“But I think so, you look at Wakefield who have spent money on there team but also spent a lot on there facilities, we have the luxury where we have that.
“Your revenue is linked to on field success if we do well on the field you get people coming through the door, buying season tickets, buying merchandise and more sponsors on board from a commercial aspect then you might find someone who can see what we can offer and then they might want to invest.
“Then your investors grow so you minimise risk from it being one person putting money in to five, six seven people investing, so I think we can and it is realistic.”
Listen to the interview in full on episode 8 of the Widnes Rugby Chat podcast.
