Rugby League is 'bankrupt'.

[HKR AWAY DAYS]

Quote:In his letter Hudgell, who has pumped millions into Rovers, said: “I hope these events will make the governing body wake up to the fact that the game is ‘bankrupt’ and look to address the fundamental problems and corrective actions needed to arrest that slide.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/spo...-Neil.html

I've been saying this on Twitter for months. The sport needs money, and lots of it. If you take Bradford's plight, apart from Widnes' Steve O'Connor, the money has been raised by the hard work of supporters. There has been nobody else with vast sums of money who have donated. Ask yourself why that is and you'll see what financial state RL in Britain is really like.

[The Swede]

The problem with this 'governing body' is that there is not one man in there who is a) a good business man or b) has been out on that field and held a rugby ball in their life.

[Jimmytherhino]

He's got a point. How can we expect teams in non league areas to survive when clubs such as Bradford slap bang in the middle of the heartland cannot

[westy_warrior]

well thats moer good coverage for our game then. bellend.

[HKR AWAY DAYS]

I look at RL in Britain like a jigsaw puzzle. The RFL are seemingly putting the pieces together to create this big picture. I believe that the idea of expansion is not only to spread and increase participation around the country, but also to try and generate sponsorship from places previously untouched by the sport.

That will most definitely take years to achieve but we really need something now. It will be interesting to see what imapct the Stobart sponsorship deal has in the next 12-18 months.

[Rhinomike1958]

(04-04-2012 10:00 AM)Jimmytherhino Wrote:  He's got a point. How can we expect teams in non league areas to survive when clubs such as Bradford slap bang in the middle of the heartland cannot

Its very easy to look at the game overall and point the finger at the RL and the sponsors etc. etc. While we love our great game, at the end of the day it is a business which requires a careful balance between income and expenditure as do all trading companies. The Bulls are in financial trouble; but so were Leeds RL in the 1990's, Leeds United more recently, Portsmouth followed and now of course Glasgow Rangers. No one would say football is in decline despite such adversity. The common denominator is simply bad management. It is all too easy to seek blame or a scapegoat elsewhere. If you spend more than you accumulate, trouble beckons unless a rich benefactor comes calling.

[Gateaux]

(04-04-2012 09:50 AM)Saint Until I Die Wrote:  The problem with this 'governing body' is that there is not one man in there who is a) a good business man or b) has been out on that field and held a rugby ball in their life.

Exactly.

That said rugby isn't alone in being a sport which relies on "sugar daddies" to survive.

[chesterhino]

why is the hkr chiarman making it sound like its the rfl's fault???

if some clubs are paying players too much money then what do they expect!!!
clubs like hull kr should be bringing through their own youth instead of signing new players on "british" passports every season...

[HKR AWAY DAYS]

(04-04-2012 10:49 AM)chesterhino Wrote:  why is the hkr chiarman making it sound like its the rfl's fault???

if some clubs are paying players too much money then what do they expect!!!
clubs like hull kr should be bringing through their own youth instead of signing new players on "british" passports every season...

HOMEGROWN
(1) Kris Welham
(2) Jordan Cox
(3) Liam Watts
(4) Louis Sheriffe
(5) Scott Taylor
(6) Aaron Ollett
(7) Rhys Lovegrove
(8) Scott Murrell
(9) Liam Salter
(10) Nick Johnson
(11) Sam Latus
(12) Rich Beaumont
(13) Chris Heil
(14) James Green
(15) Dave Peterson

All signed up on contracts. Your argument does not hold water.

[chesterhino]

lovegrove....bought from aus
murrell....made by leeds
watts....taken from feath

how many of those others have played in the 1st team this season?

how many "home grown" in the starting 17???

and by homegrown , i mean have come through your academy, not through someone elses.