Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:56 am  

I see there is talk Salford will enter administration if a buyer is not found soon. Added to the Bradford fiasco, the farcical lack of competition sponsorship and the ridiculously low Sky TV deal and it seems Super League is about to go over a cliff financially. Eamon's calls for a 12 team Super League might happen as soon as this season at this rate. It makes you wonder just how many clubs are on the brink at the moment. There are rumours about Castleford being in a similar situation, Hull KR have been muted as being in serious debt and London must be wracking up debt at an astonishing rate, even if it is all paid off by their owner, he won't suffer that for long when they are getting crowds of 2,000.

So on Salford, I'd take Holdsworth, Broughton, Williams and Moon off them. Overseas rules would be waved and everything, it'd be a goldmine.

Today has also seen a rather mysterious press story about Wigan and how Eric Pollard reckons their cup exit has cost them a quarter of a million pounds and how distraught this made him feel. One sincerely hopes they are not basing their budgets and spending on getting to finals, that would be terrible.

[Sadfish]

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:00 am  

You sound like you would be happy with a 5 team SL.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:05 am  

Sadfish wrote:

You sound like you would be happy with a 5 team SL.

10 would be my number. But no, despite the childlike joviality in my posts, I am genuinely concerned for the sport at the moment. There just isn't enough money coming into the competition and the days of cheap credit and generous lenders are gone.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:42 am  

^ I couldn't agree more.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:31 am  

Saddened! wrote:

10 would be my number. But no, despite the childlike joviality in my posts, I am genuinely concerned for the sport at the moment. There just isn't enough money coming into the competition and the days of cheap credit and generous lenders are gone.

Do you seriously not see that with ten teams there would be far less money coming into the game, how short sighted, what major sponsor would plough money in we can't get one as it is, the media would be even less interested, and one thing I can guarantee the players will not take less money, in fact the game would end up going back to being part time and then clubs with debts and need to make new grounds would suffer even more.

Why not make it a Lancashire league of four teams and Yorkshire the same, playing each other 6 times a season, that would keep those with their heads in the sands Happy I presume!

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:54 am  

If Salford did have to let a few players go Joel Moon has looked class everytime I've seen him.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:20 am  

No1 Saint wrote:

If Salford did have to let a few players go Joel Moon has looked class everytime I've seen him.

Just hope that it does not get to the "vultures" coming in for players! if any club has worked hard over the years it has been Salford & their Chairman John Wilkinson has been amazing loyal the service he has put into the club and the game.

The big mistake with the Salford new ground is no real income sources other than gate receipts, merchandise and sponsors, just think the success that Salford Variety Club had in it's day, wonder if any other club matched what they achieved and sadly it did not get appreciated at the time! I saw many major soul artists and had good meals there.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:37 am  

jaybs wrote:

Do you seriously not see that with ten teams there would be far less money coming into the game

No. If you wiped out four teams now, the quality of the remaining sides would be increased. Competition for places would be more intense and standards would go up. That would lead to more high quality games and with almost every game being a big, exciting prospect. I'm also pretty sure that with a competent management team in place, the RFL could negotiate a TV deal bigger than the one we have now.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:41 am  

What a sad story this is an unfortunately indicative with the state of the game.

I'm afraid RL is a dying sport and I don't see how it is sustainable.

Very sad.

Re: Time to harvest Salford/SL finances : Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:46 am  

Two leagues of 8 is what I would go for.

The salary cap to be 1.7m in SL1 and 0.8m in SL2. Teams play each other home and away in their own division and once in the other. So 22 games with a regional cup competition at the beginning of the season. It would increase quality and intensity while reducing the wage bills of the smaller teams.