Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:19 pm  

I think British rugby league's in a very stale phase of it's history and it's falling further behind other sports every single year. Long gone are the days of the elite NRL players and union international superstars helping to attract more followers to our sport. To further compound the problems we are losing quality players and it’s only going to get worse as the gulf in salary cap increases. Personally I think RL was substantially more entertaining to watch 2-3 decades ago than it is today. The future going forward is bleak and potentially irreversible and I expect the fall in entertainment levels and interest to be reflected in Sky's next TV deal. The British game needs a massive shot in the arm to revive it but it’s just never going to happen unless the financial shackles placed on clubs are relaxed.

The current system may financially suit some benefactors but it's flawed and it's just making our sport less saleable and less attractive to watch year after year. The sport needs visionaries and speculative investors but we aren’t going to attract them with limiting, narrow minded operating conditions. The problem I see is the decision makers in our sport (club owners) don’t want to or can't invest new money and they’re concerned someone that does could enjoy some success and take their place at the top table. The salary cap may suit many club owners but it’s not the level playing field some say it is. For instance some big and historically successful clubs have a long tradition of attracting local quality kids due to their proximity to some of the best local amateur clubs.

I’ll ask you to consider a question. Do you think Sky would have offered the deal they did back in 1996 had Wigan not put Rugby League back on the map between the 80’s and 90’s with such a huge investment in the sport? And could they have achieved this if they were constrained with a salary cap? If our sport is ever going to expand and improve then surely people need to get their heads out of the sand and stop only thinking about there own circumstances.

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 5:48 pm  

Fan with rich owner in 'scrap the cap' shocker!
The salary cap ensures that clubs don't go to the wall trying to keep up with those trying to buy success. Without it, Salford (like many other clubs) would have ceased to exist long ago.
The question of whether the cap should be raised is a different matter. But scrapping it altogether would likely lead to some clubs booming, but most going bust.

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 6:55 pm  

theredshed wrote:

I think British rugby league's in a very stale phase of it's history and it's falling further behind other sports every single year. Long gone are the days of the elite NRL players and union international superstars helping to attract more followers to our sport. To further compound the problems we are losing quality players and it’s only going to get worse as the gulf in salary cap increases. Personally I think RL was substantially more entertaining to watch 2-3 decades ago than it is today. The future going forward is bleak and potentially irreversible and I expect the fall in entertainment levels and interest to be reflected in Sky's next TV deal. The British game needs a massive shot in the arm to revive it but it’s just never going to happen unless the financial shackles placed on clubs are relaxed.

The current system may financially suit some benefactors but it's flawed and it's just making our sport less saleable and less attractive to watch year after year. The sport needs visionaries and speculative investors but we aren’t going to attract them with limiting, narrow minded operating conditions. The problem I see is the decision makers in our sport (club owners) don’t want to or can't invest new money and they’re concerned someone that does could enjoy some success and take their place at the top table. The salary cap may suit many club owners but it’s not the level playing field some say it is. For instance some big and historically successful clubs have a long tradition of attracting local quality kids due to their proximity to some of the best local amateur clubs.

I’ll ask you to consider a question. Do you think Sky would have offered the deal they did back in 1996 had Wigan not put Rugby League back on the map between the 80’s and 90’s with such a huge investment in the sport? And could they have achieved this if they were constrained with a salary cap? If our sport is ever going to expand and improve then surely people need to get their heads out of the sand and stop only thinking about there own circumstances.

Hello Marwan!!

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:03 pm  

I'm not a fan anymore and I haven't attended a game this year due to being totally disallusioned with the sport. Sadly the game is dying a slow death in it's present format. Just because there's no cap wouldn't mean clubs would go bust. It's a total myth used often as a counter argument for scraping the cap. History proves that clubs survived 100 plus years before the cap. The main reason for the cap is for owners to remain owners year after year without having to dip their hand further in their pockets. All this achieves is preventing new money being invested in the sport.

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:22 pm  

theredshed wrote:

I'm not a fan anymore and I haven't attended a game this year due to being totally disallusioned with the sport. Sadly the game is dying a slow death in it's present format. Just because there's no cap wouldn't mean clubs would go bust. It's a total myth used often as a counter argument for scraping the cap. History proves that clubs survived 100 plus years before the cap. The main reason for the cap is for owners to remain owners without having to dip their hand further in their pockets. All this achieves is preventing new money being invested in the sport.

Even if clubs didn't go bust, it would mean some teams can buy their way to success, constantly stealing the best players from other clubs and leaving them with less support, therefore less money, therefore even less chance of competing.
Essentially, because you have a rich owner you expect to buy success. Maybe football could fill the gap you have now you are no longer watching RL?
Having said that, I do think the cap needs raising.

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:38 pm  

nottinghamtiger wrote:

Even if clubs didn't go bust, it would mean some teams can buy their way to success, constantly stealing the best players from other clubs and leaving them with less support, therefore less money, therefore even less chance of competing.
Essentially, because you have a rich owner you expect to buy success. Maybe football could fill the gap you have now you are no longer watching RL?
Having said that, I do think the cap needs raising.

I've watched this sport for years and it's always a small pool of clubs that have most of the success. This is mainly down to a long tradition of bigger support and their strong links with better quality local amateur clubs. What was wrong with a Man City or a Chelsea investing big money and enjoying/sustaining a share of the glory? In my view it's helped take football in England & Wales to a whole new level as the huge increase in Sky money shows.

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:03 pm  

theredshed wrote:

I've watched this sport for years and it's always a small pool of clubs that have most of the success. This is mainly down to a long tradition of bigger support and their strong links with better quality local amateur clubs. What was wrong with a Man City or a Chelsea investing big money and enjoying/sustaining a share of the glory? In my view it's helped take football in England & Wales to a whole new level as the huge increase in Sky money shows.

Yes, I thought the same when I watched the England national team. Or all the club teams get knocked out of Europe even though they are seeded in groups and should really make the quarter finals.
I think we are just about to see some further clubs gain success in RL. Hull FC and Warrington look set for a good tilt at becoming champions. In the past two years Hull KR and Cas have been in the cup final. I agree that we now need trophies to be spread more evenly, however scrapping the salary cap would surely mean an even smaller pool of clubs having the chance of success?

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:13 pm  

Just remind me what decade did GB/England last win a test series against Australia? The difference is regardless of England's continual failure since 66 and our clubs lack of success in Europe over the past few seasons football is still thriving financially.

Re: Time for change : Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:23 pm  

theredshed wrote:

Just remind me what decade did GB/England last win a test series against Australia? The difference is regardless of England's continual failure since 66 and our clubs lack of success in Europe over the past few seasons football is still thriving financially.

Indeed. Football is thriving, but how many of the clubs are? Most are run at a massive loss and are always on the edge of collapse should a rich owner decide to walk away.

Re: Time for change : Thu Jul 21, 2016 7:37 am  

"Most are run at a massive loss and are always on the edge of collapse should a rich owner decide to walk away."
but they don't.

Let's ignore football as it is so embedded into the national way of thinking that no sport can compete .

RedShed does have a point: I do worry about this game. It needs people at the ground to provide income and atmosphere but going to a sports match (bar football) is in decline. The game is becoming slow (largely down to not policing tackles IMO). We do not have the status of |RU. At least we are not as badly off as cricket (bar T20).