Deadcowboys1 wrote:Don't disagree with this other than to say most successful people tend to be arrogant including dare I say it yourself. Unfortunately, Hughes & success where rugby league are concerned were never in the same bed.
Mr H was and is the only game in town for Broncos for several seasons. Where we are now was inevitable, only the timing was in doubt. Many teams are built on similarly shallow foundations and many are at risk. Many may have to cut the wages and standard of their squads which will lead to smaller tv deals- an anti-virtuous circle.
DH’s money allowed fans to have a bit of fun and for that he should be thanked but now sadly it’s done.
I wonder if the Covid situation is where our fate was sealed. The termination of the 2020 season spaffed our parachute payment down the toilet. The 2021 season was a mess - 7th with a full time squad was pony. Did he feel after he treated staff right over lockdown (as I understand) that they were all a bit quick to do one. The complete loss of momentum and pitiful crowds when they were allowed back was depressing.
There can be no excuses for the move to Plough Lane with a PT/L1 squad. it was the perfect example of a last incompetent throw of the dice and of someone who wasn’t getting good objective advice or not taking it. As I said at the time if he’d wrote down what he planned to do and had shown it to a grown up they’d have explained why it was total pony. It’s like he guessed what would be enough for IMG and assumed they’d just accept it rather than stick to the criteria they had developed (sh xx as some of them were). Let’s be honest Last year was going nowhere until we bought a couple of players late doors, Fev collapsed and we were in SL on the back of a string of away games that almost none of us saw. Then the brutal announcement came that IMG weren’t playing games and we’ve blundered through another sub par season albeit one where the side developed from poor to competitive but again the damage for crowd growth was holed below the water line in our 1st few games now. One positive is we no longer need to worry about crowd growth.
In fairness to him and his family he’s probably given up enough of his money the situation isn’t going to change London and rugby league aren’t really viable.
The next couple of weeks will be a daily litany of players leaving and then we’ll hear from love rugby league or Matthew Shaw that the club has folded. Sad.