Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:26 pm  

Is anything happening at the club? I had imagined that Saints would be using the fans bar to show old games, have players evenings and so on, anything to keep some money ticking through the tills. If I was still oop north, I would love the opportunity to attend something like that in the long cold dark winters, and to spend some time amongst the faithful, so long as the faithful didn't include the doom and gloom mongers like saddened! (although I suspect he is more likely to be found amongst his own kind at the pie dome )

Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:44 pm  

I have to agree with Saddened. How many times during the regular season did you find yourself watching the Super League show or Boots 'N' All or Backchat and Saints hardly got a mention. We are almost invisible!!!

Even in the off season we are nowhere to be seen compared to other teams. Hull are after Prince, Leeds are after a strike centre, Wigan are spending money to help them stay strong after some departures. There are not even any good rumours about Saints.

2012 was awful but the club seem quite happy to carry on in the same way.

Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:34 pm  

Noel Cleal wrote:

How many times during the regular season did you find yourself watching the Super League show or Boots 'N' All or Backchat and Saints hardly got a mention. We are almost invisible!!!

I noticed this too. But it's the club's own fault.

Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:39 pm  

The thing is, all the other news in RL at the moment is bad news. Well for the northern hemisphere it is. Hull going in for Price seams to ring very similar to how some Aussie players used to treat Saints. They would be linked and almost ready to sign then suddenly they are off somewhere else.

Whilst the squad is not perfect, you could see that in terms of money and player slots we were full before the GF ball had been kicked. Saints tend to get all our signings done early on. No doubt if we where holding back, the same people would be moaning at this point that we have missed all the quality signings like Manu and young up and coming talent and we are just left to pick over the dregs of what is left.

Even when we where in our golden period, I can't recall one month after winning the GF against the likes of Bradford, thinking that I needed more Rugby news.

I agree the international game could have done with a bit more and maybe as has been suggested thinking outside the box and going for games in the pacific or even somewhere a bit off track like the USA or South Africa, may have stoked more interest.
The lack of SL players playing for the other home nations has pretty much confirmed the death nell of splitting up team GB for me. The idea was decent and I'm not going to be using hindsight to bash an attempt to give RL a wider base for competitions like the RLWC. But with SL players basically treating all the other homenations as also rans compared to England, England has become the defacto team GB.

The RLWC is already set in motion and so it's too late to change now, but the RLWC should be an end of the homenations and we need to get the NRL to take international rugby properly and propose some serious time aside for proper internation fixtures that catch the general publics imagination as opposed to just the RL public.

I'd like an international series following something like this

2013 RLWC

2014 GB tour of NZ - Auz tour of Pacific Island
( this will give those countries some much needed international exposure and money, it also means the Auzzies don't have to pick the very cream and any injuries can be rested)

2015 RL world club challenge
( This would be the last 4 GF winners from each hemisphere or if there are any spots left due to repeat winners, then 2nd and 3rd from the current season would also become eligible)
I'd also like to see France - Wales - Pacific Islands start some mini comp

2016 Aussie tour of GB and France - NZ tour of pacific islands

2017 RLWC - You can still split GB, but the GB coach should not coach England, England and Wales should have equal billing in terms of coaching and playing staff.

Then repeat but tours taking place in alternate hemispheres

Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:52 pm  

Noel Cleal wrote:

Even in the off season we are nowhere to be seen compared to other teams. Hull are after Prince, Leeds are after a strike centre, Wigan are spending money to help them stay strong after some departures. There are not even any good rumours about Saints.

2012 was awful but the club seem quite happy to carry on in the same way.

Hull have made themselves look a bit stupid with Pearson promising 2 quality half backs for next season, bringing in Holdsworth then failing publicly with bids for Chase, Prince and Miller...also wonder what unrest this will cause with Seymour and Horne as it suggests to me Gentle doesnt deem either good enough to start regularly for them.

Leeds appear desperate for a centre, and again have failed publicly in bids for Moon and Lulia and with other available centres cant see them signing anybody of quality now so may have to continue playing Ablett there

Wigan have spent money signing Smith, Green and Taylor for next season...but imo Smith and Green are nowhere near as good to replace Finch and Leuluai, Taylor is a good prospect but a lot is needed to replace Lima, and have also lost Carmont (huge blow), Fielden and looks like Hock could be on his way as well. They have spent money on 3 players to try to improve, but the 3 arent as good as what they have lost for me.

Just because these teams have been linked with players, they havent really made any significant signings that makes me think "God I wish that was us", and I would rather not be linked with anybody, than get my hopes up that a quality player would be coming in or we would be strengthening our squad and then be disappointed. For me, we are stronger this season than last as Turner is an adequate replacement for Shenton, Manu is stronger than Flannery and we have added Walmsley who looks a very good prospect and can play front or back row as cover. If players available arent better than what we have got then why look at signing people for the sake of it

Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:57 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

The thing is, all the other news in RL at the moment is bad news. Well for the northern hemisphere it is. Hull going in for Price seams to ring very similar to how some Aussie players used to treat Saints. They would be linked and almost ready to sign then suddenly they are off somewhere else.

Whilst the squad is not perfect, you could see that in terms of money and player slots we were full before the GF ball had been kicked. Saints tend to get all our signings done early on. No doubt if we where holding back, the same people would be moaning at this point that we have missed all the quality signings like Manu and young up and coming talent and we are just left to pick over the dregs of what is left.

Even when we where in our golden period, I can't recall one month after winning the GF against the likes of Bradford, thinking that I needed more Rugby news.

I agree the international game could have done with a bit more and maybe as has been suggested thinking outside the box and going for games in the pacific or even somewhere a bit off track like the USA or South Africa, may have stoked more interest.
The lack of SL players playing for the other home nations has pretty much confirmed the death nell of splitting up team GB for me. The idea was decent and I'm not going to be using hindsight to bash an attempt to give RL a wider base for competitions like the RLWC. But with SL players basically treating all the other homenations as also rans compared to England, England has become the defacto team GB.

The RLWC is already set in motion and so it's too late to change now, but the RLWC should be an end of the homenations and we need to get the NRL to take international rugby properly and propose some serious time aside for proper internation fixtures that catch the general publics imagination as opposed to just the RL public.

I'd like an international series following something like this

2013 RLWC

2014 GB tour of NZ - Auz tour of Pacific Island
( this will give those countries some much needed international exposure and money, it also means the Auzzies don't have to pick the very cream and any injuries can be rested)

2015 RL world club challenge
( This would be the last 4 GF winners from each hemisphere or if there are any spots left due to repeat winners, then 2nd and 3rd from the current season would also become eligible)
I'd also like to see France - Wales - Pacific Islands start some mini comp

2016 Aussie tour of GB and France - NZ tour of pacific islands

2017 RLWC - You can still split GB, but the GB coach should not coach England, England and Wales should have equal billing in terms of coaching and playing staff.

Then repeat but tours taking place in alternate hemispheres

I Like your International programme idea. It would give us a better indication as to where our International game is and what key areas we will need to improve.

Re: I know its the off season but... : Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:06 pm  

St_Cunningham_no9 wrote:

I Like your International programme idea. It would give us a better indication as to where our International game is and what key areas we will need to improve.

It's an idea and it has huge gapping hole in it, such as will the NRL clubs allow a mini- comp after their GF?
There is a lack of a schedule for France and it does not go further than 5 years as we don't know whether places like South Africa could provide a team. But I think we have to go back to GB in some form and we can't afford to close shop on the RLWC, not yet anyway.

The local game SL and Championships, well they are another matter.

I was wondering about the TV deal too. If SL could double the money by doubling the ad space on sky for RL games would fans accept this and bite the bullet and allow a mini-break in a half. It does not have to be at a precise point in time, but something like a pro-longed drinks break, after a try or penalty around the 20 minute mark.

I know it sounds looney. But at the moment people seam quite content to complain about the lack of money without any real solutions about increasing the money in SL or RL. Just saying the RFL or the Chairmen should pull their finger out is not a solution.

Any other ideas for increasing revenues?

Re: I know its the off season but... : Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:48 pm  

Northampton_Saint wrote:

I must admit to becoming ever more jaded with SL - the gameplay is getting more and more one-dimensional and tedious with every passing season, the playoff system makes a complete joke of the result of 90% of all games played and sucks all the life and drama out of them all, and the quality and skills of players on show is diminishing at an ever faster rate. Saints are in a fantastic position for success next season the way the various SL squads are currently looking (we've got to be near favourites for SL) but even that hardly enthuses me for next year. I went to 4 home games last season (by far and away the fewest I've been to in over 2 decades, and most of those were just to see the new stadium really) and didn't really miss it at all if I'm being honest. I get far more excitement out of watching football these days and that's just wrong...

Don't agree about the play-off/GF principle, but otherwise I share your jadedness.

I've been saying for a few years now that the game has become an ever-more boring arm-wrestle. I personally think the rule changes (or at least the change in interpretation of the rules) are to blame.

I remember the days of quick PTB's and a strict 10m defence being enforced. People whinged about there being too many high-scoring games; call me crazy, but I kinda enjoy watching tries being scored. 'Course, I might be being biased because Millward coached us into a style that really suited the rules at the time and we had the players to exploit the high-tempo speed of the game, but it was a fantastic specacle. Even under Anderson we played good rugby to watch; perhaps not as unpredictable and we did focus more on our defence, but Potter's tenure seemed to coincide with the game slowing down generally and becoming more of a defence-dominated slug-a-thon.

Sad to say that I'm quite ambivalent these days about a game I used to be so passionate about.

Re: I know its the off season but... : Fri Nov 02, 2012 3:49 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

It's an idea and it has huge gapping hole in it, such as will the NRL clubs allow a mini- comp after their GF?
There is a lack of a schedule for France and it does not go further than 5 years as we don't know whether places like South Africa could provide a team. But I think we have to go back to GB in some form and we can't afford to close shop on the RLWC, not yet anyway.

The local game SL and Championships, well they are another matter.

I was wondering about the TV deal too. If SL could double the money by doubling the ad space on sky for RL games would fans accept this and bite the bullet and allow a mini-break in a half. It does not have to be at a precise point in time, but something like a pro-longed drinks break, after a try or penalty around the 20 minute mark.

I know it sounds looney. But at the moment people seam quite content to complain about the lack of money without any real solutions about increasing the money in SL or RL. Just saying the RFL or the Chairmen should pull their finger out is not a solution.

Any other ideas for increasing revenues?

The only international tie is with ISC and that is money being paid out. In principle the Stobart deal was good for National Coverage but nobody outside of the two rose counties are remotely interested in RL. Looking at the NRL coverage of RL they seem to not only have Nationally recognised brands sponsoring, but world wide franchises too. It's probably time for RL in this country to start looking at nationally recognised brands for sponsorship (Ty-phoo with Saints is a Start) as well as local, successful businesses. For clubs like London it may provide an even trickier passage to obtain the levels of sponsorship due to the city being more of a Football and Union Fan Base.

I would start by having Pre Season Matches sponsored by a big business or a number of successful small businesses. See how it takes off and maybe develop the concept (if successful) to certain league games being sponsored by businesses/companies outside of the main league sponsor. So even if then gate is average there is the sponsorship money from the Game sponsor coming in.

Sky and the RFL certainly need to discuss improvements to the TV deal too as the player drain to Union or the NRL will continue to. Until the RFL play Sky at their game then the Sport as a whole will suffer. (Idea) Tender the contract to who is willing to heavily promote the game not only locally, but nationally and to lesser extent, initially, internationally.

Any other thoughts by anyone else

Re: I know its the off season but... : Sun Nov 04, 2012 1:30 pm  

St_Cunningham_no9 wrote:

The only international tie is with ISC and that is money being paid out. In principle the Stobart deal was good for National Coverage but nobody outside of the two rose counties are remotely interested in RL. Looking at the NRL coverage of RL they seem to not only have Nationally recognised brands sponsoring, but world wide franchises too. It's probably time for RL in this country to start looking at nationally recognised brands for sponsorship (Ty-phoo with Saints is a Start) as well as local, successful businesses. For clubs like London it may provide an even trickier passage to obtain the levels of sponsorship due to the city being more of a Football and Union Fan Base.

I would start by having Pre Season Matches sponsored by a big business or a number of successful small businesses. See how it takes off and maybe develop the concept (if successful) to certain league games being sponsored by businesses/companies outside of the main league sponsor. So even if then gate is average there is the sponsorship money from the Game sponsor coming in.

Sky and the RFL certainly need to discuss improvements to the TV deal too as the player drain to Union or the NRL will continue to. Until the RFL play Sky at their game then the Sport as a whole will suffer. (Idea) Tender the contract to who is willing to heavily promote the game not only locally, but nationally and to lesser extent, initially, internationally.

Any other thoughts by anyone else

Sky are the only ones propping the game up, and are the reason we have a full time professional league. Without sky we really are back to the 70s with desperately poor coverage of cup games on bbc a d nothing else