Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:59 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

So seriously we should pack up the RFL and give it up as a bad idea.

Or do the thousands who enjoy the sport count for nothing in the eyes of those who still see this as a race between sports.

Pack it up? No, change the personnel and improve the processes and modernise it? Yes.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:39 am  

The issue is accountability. The RFL and the people running it are not accountable to anyone.

They take the TV money and Sports England funding distribute what they want to the clubs, hire a small army of employees at Red Hall and keep the rest for themself. They then announce a profit and pat each other on the back. So the clubs suffer for the RFLs mismanagement.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:43 am  

Perhaps they lack self-esteem?

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:50 am  

Take the Magic weekend.

How many companies could make other organisations provide staff free of change and out of their own pocket transport then to another part of the country for an event. Then the RFL pocket all the money from the event. It is the same to a certain extent with internationals.

It is no surprise that the RFL is booming and the clubs are falling apart. Nigel Wood has said that every Magic weekend has been a success. Well as the RFL don't have to pay any money for it and they get to keep all the profits then no wonder. It would be hard for him not to see it as a success from his perspective.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:02 pm  

Arthur Bitter wrote:

Perhaps they lack self-esteem?

Thanks for that it made me laugh out loud

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:09 pm  

Noel Cleal wrote:

Take the Magic weekend.

How many companies could make other organisations provide staff free of change and out of their own pocket transport then to another part of the country for an event. Then the RFL pocket all the money from the event. It is the same to a certain extent with internationals.

The clubs are paid a set amount each for playing at that weekend. I'm not sure exactly what that is. McMannus, a few years ago publicly suggested it was only just enough to pay the clubs' overheads for the weekend given that they pay for a hotel for one night too. The RFL quietened his criticism by suggesting they'll look into it. By his silence in consequent years I suspect they must have increased it to his satisfaction. But I'm guessing.

But the main point is... they don't do it for free.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:08 pm  

Donkey OTay wrote:

The clubs are paid a set amount each for playing at that weekend. I'm not sure exactly what that is. McMannus, a few years ago publicly suggested it was only just enough to pay the clubs' overheads for the weekend given that they pay for a hotel for one night too. The RFL quietened his criticism by suggesting they'll look into it. By his silence in consequent years I suspect they must have increased it to his satisfaction. But I'm guessing.

But the main point is... they don't do it for free.

They'll have saved on the hotel bill this year too.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:40 pm  

And as with all SL decisions, the clubs have to ok it.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Fri Jul 13, 2012 6:56 am  

Having met Richard Lewis on several occasions I came to the conclusion that he is an extremely intelligent, affable and professional man whose business and administrative attributes are a world record leap beyond the standard, sub-standard dross the sport has been forced to put up with in the thirty years prior to his arrival at Red Hall.

Whilst the sport of RL has struggled to realise the achievements he planned from the beginning (although not for lack of effort on his part) I think it's fair to say he raised the profile of the sport considerably and went a long way toward vanquishing many of the popular negative stereotypes bandied about among the southern media. Part of me thinks that if a guy like Richard Lewis can't steer RL onto a successful and sustainable course there isn't much chance for anyone. But where there's life there's hope, I guess.

The big problem facing all clubs is the looming threat of falling attendances. Savage Tory taxation of the core working-class supporter base is leading fans to increasingly question the affordability of expensive season and match tickets. Unfortunately these decisions are being made even more difficult. Since its inception playing standards in SL have risen steadily and the pace of today's game bears little resemblance to the glacial movement fans were treated to thirty years ago. However, there is at least some observable evidence that playing standards in SL have peaked (perhaps two or three seasons ago) and we are now on the downslope. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the NRL, a competition which for decades has been a wellspring of talent, has grown to the point where the flow has been reversed and our best players are being leeched away. What imports do come our way seem mostly third tier quality and it's debatable whether they offer any greater value than the academy lads they are usurping. Meanwhile RU continues to pose a significant threat in terms of asset stripping. England's pedestrian World Cup exit will undoubtedly result in exorbitant inducements to SL's premier players. Up until a couple of years ago we were lucky that they foolishly thought it wiser to go after veteran internationals but post-Farrell they have sensibly sought to attract the brightest young talents.

Throw into the mix ever present financial woes which threaten extinction to a worryingly large number of SL clubs, rising fuel costs - not to mention the danger posed by demonstrably incompetent administrators such as Nigel Wood and it's safe to say our sport faces enormous challenges over the next five years and there is a good chance things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before getting better.

Re: no confidence in RFL ! : Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:47 pm  

Rugby League UK is very fragmented in more ways than one, someting which McManus hit on about restructuring our game.
RFL hq, superleague, championships, youth service areas are all single entities with no transition either way to integrate the sport the right way.

The RFL should be the flagship of our sport providing strong marketing, media prescence, sponsor stream. The RFL are abysmal in all these areas, so its wrong to expect the clubs to create revenue when the environment in our sport is distinctevly lacking.

Something needs to be done before the game starts to implode on itself with poor quality players, lack of intensity in games, poor match official standards, lack of sponsors.
You can look at our game 2 ways, if you see the RFL making profit and Sky audiences are up we are doing really well. If you see clubs losing money due to lack of sporting stature then we are not. McManus could be right when he wants restructure of the game.