Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 12:13 am
Cokey
Club Owner
Joined: Aug 19 2011 Posts: 21668 Location: Across The Universe....... Jai guru deva om - Nothings gonna change my world.
Or thane wrote:Why weren't Toronto getting the money from sky anyway.I don't really get why? Can anyone explain please?
Because they're not a member, only a guest. Seeing that Argyle is worth a cool $Billion, the central funding is just Chicken feed. He's also after a place on Melbourne Storms board. However, any money he can get his hands on, he'll take.
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 9:02 am
Dita's Slot Meter
International Star
Joined: Dec 18 2010 Posts: 3853
Cokey wrote:Because they're not a member, only a guest. Seeing that Argyle is worth a cool $Billion, the central funding is just Chicken feed. He's also after a place on Melbourne Storms board. However, any money he can get his hands on, he'll take.
The more we learn of Argyle, the more I sense he is a huge chancer.
Let's face it, there's no club loyalty with this bloke, in the same way many owners of UK clubs are actually supporters of their's - this is a money making venture for a guy used to making money. The location of his 'club' is irrelevant. He would just as likely put money into Leigh or Featherstone if he believed that he could make cash from it.
The latest ploy of getting the general public to fund the club says one thing- he is fed up of throwing his cash down a hole and wants other people's cash in a last attempt to save what he has already wasted.
Time for the British RL to tell these venture capitalists to remove themselves from our league. If there is really potential in North America, then let them do it off their own back and not attempt so, whilst embarrassing our league.
If we want to invest and back expansion, then let's make it work in the UK before we dream of helping out non existent sides in other countries.
And so you aim towards the sky, And you'll rise high today, Fly away, Far away, Far from pain....
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 9:40 am
Wrath
Player Coach
Joined: Mar 14 2006 Posts: 195
Dita's Slot Meter wrote: If we want to invest and back expansion, then let's make it work in the UK before we dream of helping out non existent sides in other countries.
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 10:23 am
rubber duckie
Club Coach
Joined: Mar 15 2008 Posts: 17200
I just see a feckin mess....and could get messier. I’m not convinced Covid-19 won’t be around for sometime. I envisage clubs going pop and SL being left with half the clubs at present. I’d even say a re-structure back to semi-pro looks to be the only way to survive, and a few championship teams Coming into SL to make up the numbers. I recon Catalan would go into the French Elite with Toulouse. No way can I see the government bailing out sports teams a second or prolong this first time. They cannot keep directing some money away from desperation elsewhere. That goes for football clubs too.
Packs Win Games Great Packs Make All Backs Look Class #onceawirealwaysawire
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 10:43 am
Dita's Slot Meter
International Star
Joined: Dec 18 2010 Posts: 3853
rubber duckie wrote:I just see a feckin mess....and could get messier. I’m not convinced Covid-19 won’t be around for sometime. I envisage clubs going pop and SL being left with half the clubs at present. I’d even say a re-structure back to semi-pro looks to be the only way to survive, and a few championship teams Coming into SL to make up the numbers. I recon Catalan would go into the French Elite with Toulouse. No way can I see the government bailing out sports teams a second or prolong this first time. They cannot keep directing some money away from desperation elsewhere. That goes for football clubs too.
I'm agreeing with most of that. Even more reason why any thoughts of expansion need dashing pretty quickly and we need to preserve what we already have.
How a sport with such a poor record, in normal times, for expansion success, can believe it can achieve, with a global league, what no other sport has ever managed, is pretty baffling.
And so you aim towards the sky, And you'll rise high today, Fly away, Far away, Far from pain....
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 10:56 am
St Helens Wolf
Club Captain
Joined: Apr 05 2018 Posts: 712
So many variables at the moment but undoubtedly challenging times ahead for RL (and a lot of other sports / industries).
When something like this happens it exposes the underlying weaknesses i.e. the businesses most likely to fail are those which were already in decline. I really didn’t have much confidence in the Toronto model and I didn’t expect them to be around 5 years from now even before Covid. I’m not sure what is going to happen to the travel industry but I do expect costs to rise which will hit Catalan. I think that people will also be less enthusiastic about travelling abroad which will result in a reduction in gate receipts from away fans who like to make a weekend of it.
Until the end of 2019 it was all about globalisation. Relatively cheap air travel meant that, in many cases, we were enjoying more than one foreign holiday per year. Long haul travel was nothing special and in my job I managing teams and customers none of whom were in the UK. There will be a certain amount of bounce back but, for a few years at least, I expect the world to become a bigger, rather than a smaller, place. Having a sport centred around the M62 corridor may not be such a bad thing.
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 10:58 am
Or thane
International Star
Joined: Jan 30 2015 Posts: 2256
I know alot of people aren't fans but i preferred the licensing systems. 3 years to produce home grown talent build a fan base etc i really loved the idea. The NRL has the same teams with no relegation and they're thriving. I know it's different over there with football and Union dominating over here, but Australias population is only 25 million, we're at about 65million but can't expand our game, keep the same systems, can't decide on rules, can't decide whether to have relegation and promotion or licensing etc Rather than having a set sport and saying this is our game and this is how it's run, we're like a start up company that has no idea what it's doing yet. Until we can sort out the basic most fundamentals we shouldn't even bother with trying to expand, we're trying to sprint at full speed but can't even walk yet, it's beyond a joke and absolutely highlights why we're a dying sport. A sport that i love beyond anything else but am losing interest slightly more each year. It's really sad
Post subject: Re: Toronto Wolfpack withdraw from this season
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 12:54 pm
Wrath
Player Coach
Joined: Mar 14 2006 Posts: 195
I've been watching our glorious sport since the late 50's. Did I find it less enjoyable or exciting playing workington, Dewsbury, etc, when most teams were semi-pro? True, skill and fitness were not at today's level, but watching your team play,provided the effort is apparent, will always be a joy.
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