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| Quote ="Sal Paradise"The standard of SL is as bad as it has been since its inception - do you really think the standard would be unaltered if the likes of Graham, Burgess, Ashton & Eastmond were still in RL?'"
You seem a little confused here. Whilst Eastmond (and possibly Ashton) did seem to be motivated purely by profit, Burgess, Graham (and Ellis) wanted to play at a higher level in Australia. We could have paid twice the money and they still would have left.
Quote Your view that talented players can just leave the game and it would not affected doesn't stand scrutiny.'"
Really? I thought we had a cracking end of season without most of our starting pack.
Quote What would you suggest as a suitable salary cap? and would you expect the current players to take a 30% pay cut?'"
I can't pin down a precise figure, which is why I offered the question up for general discussion. Would the players be happy? Of course not. Would we suffer considerable short term consequences? Yes. But what consequences will we suffer if we continue under the current model? How happy will players be when their clubs (and wages) disappear from under them?
Quote Rather tan have a minimum wage maybe we need a minimum income - if a club cannot generate £4m then it should not get a licence.'"
I wouldn't object to that. But it still leaves us in the position where teams with two or three times the income can destabalise the game.
Quote Finally Sky need a product on which it can sell advertising - you are suggesting reducing the quality on offer, why should Sky continue to pay the same money for a worse product?'"
I really don't understand the seemingly automatic assumption that both reducing and leveling the wage structure must ultimately reduce the quality. If I pay Sam Tomkins 30% less does he suddenly become 30% less effective?
I mean, sure - I understand the worry that the top earners will leave en masse. I don't think this is a certainty because not all players are motivated by money or a desire to play in the NRL or Union.
Yes - some will leave. But without the customary cadre of a "big 4" we would have a far less predictable competition where talent and coaching take precidence over a beefy wallet.
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| Quote ="Mugwump"You are assuming the likes of Union and the NRL (which has functioned perfectly well without large numbers of SL imports) will have plenty of surplus money to throw around in the future. The evidence suggests Union is struggling as much as league - perhaps moreso. My guess is their inflated wages bubble, like ours, will burst. '"
If you look at the evidence, then it is pretty clear that the NRL will have more money to throw around in the future. Why wouldn’t they spend it on better players?
Quote And I also have no doubt that as wages continue to decline in this country more youngsters will think twice about giving up on league. '" So you’re hoping that economic deflation affects the whole nation enough to bring down wages for RL players and make other careers less attractive. If we accept this frankly mental premise, who is going to be able to afford tickets?
Quote I've yet to see much evidence of this. '"
You've yet to see evidence of the well documented history of the formation of our game?
Quote Adding words such as "particularly", "supremely" etc. to an argument from authority doesn't elevate it to truth. '" I know, they are adjectives, they are used to describe things. HTH
Quote Question dodge.'" There was a question in that rambling nonsense?
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| Quote ="Mugwump"
I really don't understand the seemingly automatic assumption that both reducing and leveling the wage structure must ultimately reduce the quality. If I pay Sam Tomkins 30% less does he suddenly become 30% less effective?'"
No, he goes somewhere else and becomes 100% less effective.
Quote Yes - some will leave. But without the customary cadre of a "big 4" we would have a far less predictable competition where talent and coaching take precidence over a beefy wallet.'" The Championships are a competition with a low SC and which is unpredictable.
Yet people, in general, still don’t want to go watch, screen it on TV, pay millions in broadcast contracts and sponsorship or play in it.
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| Quote ="Mugwump"It's a risky career option, but it's not an insurmountable problem. Any significant cut to the salary cap would have to be accompanied by some form guarantee that the club and the game would take steps to provide players with the means to pursue an alternative career of their choice once they are finished (funding for an academic or vocational qualification) - apprentice partnerships with local businesses etc. etc. Such schemes already exist at certain clubs and I'm sure they could be improved upon.
In any case, I think you are overstating the scale of the problem. How many League players could realistically have earned fantastic wages outside of the game? Many I've spoken to are eternally grateful to League as they have few ideas about where they could succeed in the outside world. Moreover, "decent" wages are becoming ever more difficult to find in this country and the trend won't improve any time soon.
We've stood the loss of all but the entire pack to Australia, Ashton, Eastmond, Tomkins et al to Union. The last time I checked the game hadn't imploded. Nor is it likely to.'"
What you seem to be saying is that (taking it to an extreme for arguments sake) we could get away with paying all our players an equal, low wage, say £25k across the board. We wouldn't need to worry what effect it would have because it would increase competitiveness and unpredictability. And we needn't worry about players leaving for other sports/leagues/careers because there are always some lads who don't know what else they'd do. I'm not knocking those type of lads - but surely we don't want to exclude lads who have a genuine chance of even a slightly better career elsewhere?
There is a business saying that says something like if you aren't growing you are standing still and standing still means you will get left behind and die. We ought to be doing everything possible to grow RL - geographically, demographically and economically. Everything should be done in balance and proportion yes, but let's not just give up and reduce the appeal, breadth and diversity!
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| Any artificially imposed restriction on economic activity has issues. One of the best run is OPEC, but whilst they have a certain amount of control over world output of oil, they have less control over the price.
I always saw the cap as a short term measure, something to allow those lower down the league to build their finances into a position where we all played from a similar starting point.
However this does seam to have failed and lowering it I would suggest would do little to improve the game.
I think the cap has had it's day and the RFL needs to look at being more of an accounting administrator. I would suggest clubs should be free to spend what they want to spend, but that for a club to qualify for the next round of licencing in the preceeding 3 years the club must break even.
This will take away the need for the clubs to concentrate on player wages. They can pay what they like, but they must cover all their costs. Now if a wealthy benefactor wishes to pay player wages off the books that would be fine. My issue is with wealthy benefactors buying clubs then debting them up to the hilt. So they are not actually paying for the players from their own pocket, but from the clubs future income (which may or may not come in).
In this case a club could have a meger revenue of less than £1million. But with a weathly benefactor be able to pay wages of £3million. As the benefactor would carry the costs not the club.
The same would go for any stadia development, any benefactor could pay the costs of the development, but the club itself would only be liable for buying the stadium on a mortgaged basis that the club could afford to manage.
It's not a panacea and it will not cure all ill's but it will concentrate minds on actually running a stable financial club, seperate to any fan or chairmen lead demands for better players.
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| I would add to that, if Wigan for example wanted to pay Sam Tomkins £1million a year, why should they be prevented from doing so, it would simply mean they would have less money available to offer to other players who whilst they may not be of sam quality, they may not be a million miles away.
Also if a club creates a talent, why should that club not benefit from the trickle down effect, if that player was hot property they could sell to a rich club and benefit as the rich club could fit them in their wages structure straight away. The cap means that rich clubs don't pay transfers as often because to ship a player in they need to boot a player out as the cap does not allow them to hold both at once.
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| Quote ="Sal Paradise"Some points for Mugwump to respond to:
The standard of SL is as bad as it has been since its inception - do you really think the standard would be unaltered if the likes of Graham, Burgess, Ashton & Eastmond were still in RL? Your view that talented players can just leave the game and it would not affected doesn't stand scrutiny.
Is the game imploding - I would say yes, I can see a further 3/4 clubs going under during this year, none of these clubs will spend anything like the full cap.
What would you suggest as a suitable salary cap? and would you expect the current players to take a 30% pay cut?
Rather tan have a minimum wage maybe we need a minimum income - if a club cannot generate £4m then it should not get a licence.
Finally Sky need a product on which it can sell advertising - you are suggesting reducing the quality on offer, why should Sky continue to pay the same money for a worse product?
What next winter rugby?'"
As predicted - Salford are the first
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| Quote ="SmokeyTA"If you look at the evidence, then it is pretty clear that the NRL will have more money to throw around in the future. Why wouldn’t they spend it on better players?'"
I'm sure they will. But if the NRL currently wants a British player, and the player wants to play in the NRL (which anyone who has lived abroad and understands the upheaval will know is no certainty by any means) there's little we can do to stop him even before their income expansion.
Quote You've yet to see evidence of the well documented history of the formation of our game?'"
I've yet to see any evidence that YOU understand it.
Quote I know, they are adjectives, they are used to describe things. HTH'"
I know. You used them to bluff out an argument from authority. Which doesn't make it any less so.
Quote ="SmokeyTA"No, he goes somewhere else and becomes 100% less effective.'"
That's two arguments from authority. Congratulations.
Quote The Championships are a competition with a low SC and which is unpredictable.
Yet people, in general, still don’t want to go watch, screen it on TV, pay millions in broadcast contracts and sponsorship or play in it.'"
You really are straining to prove that lowering wages in a time when the majority of people in Britain are taking a pay cut each year in real terms will render the game devoid of skill, entertainment, sponsors and people willing to watch. Perhaps you should consider a career in palm reading?
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| Quote ="SEB"What you seem to be saying is that (taking it to an extreme for arguments sake) we could get away with paying all our players an equal, low wage, say £25k across the board.'"
I was thinking more along the lines of maintaining the current meritocratic model (better players receive higher wages) - but at a lower overall ceiling which is a fixed minimum and maximum for all clubs and an absolute requirement for entry into the competition.
Quote We wouldn't need to worry what effect it would have because it would increase competitiveness and unpredictability.'"
You said that. I said it would indeed cause problems and would probably have to be implemented in a stepwise, phase-down fashion to mitigate upheaval as much as possible.
Quote And we needn't worry about players leaving for other sports/leagues/careers because there are always some lads who don't know what else they'd do.'"
You said that. I said we will likely lose players which would certainly be worrying. However, I (and I'm sure the players) prefer this to clubs going out of existence because they are busting their finances attempting to keep up with the top teams who can outspend them for the best talent.
Quote I'm not knocking those type of lads - but surely we don't want to exclude lads who have a genuine chance of even a slightly better career elsewhere?'"
Of course not. Which is why I wouldn't take such action without making every effort to keep as much talent as possible.
Quote There is a business saying that says something like if you aren't growing you are standing still and standing still means you will get left behind and die.'"
There's a mathematical saying that infinite growth is impossible and there's a Marxist saying which argues it leads to disaster.
Quote We ought to be doing everything possible to grow RL - geographically, demographically and economically. Everything should be done in balance and proportion yes, but let's not just give up and reduce the appeal, breadth and diversity!'"
I really don't see these arguments as mutually exclusive.
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| Mugwump - Why have you started a thread to just then answer the questions you posed yourself?
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| The sport was founded due to money, it has always been at the core of the sport. I doubt there has ever been a successful club that did not spend money to get success. At the same time it is easy to sound money and not have success.
Looking at world sport and the salary cap, money probably has the least impact on the sport that it has had for a while (ignoring the club that run out of it).
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| Quote ="Mugwump"I'm sure they will. But if the NRL currently wants a British player, and the player wants to play in the NRL (which anyone who has lived abroad and understands the upheaval will know is no certainty by any means) there's little we can do to stop him even before their income expansion. '"
That’s nonsense and you know it, You don’t need it explaining to you that the economics of the move will be part of the equation for the player.
Quote I've yet to see any evidence that YOU understand it. '" In the context of what has gone before, this doesnt make any sense whatsoever.
Quote I know. You used them to bluff out an argument from authority. Which doesn't make it any less so. '" No I didnt.
Quote That's two arguments from authority. Congratulations'"
Its not an argument, its self evident fact.
Quote You really are straining to prove that lowering wages in a time when the majority of people in Britain are taking a pay cut each year in real terms will render the game devoid of skill, entertainment, sponsors and people willing to watch. Perhaps you should consider a career in palm reading?'" Nope, its obvious to most people. People arent taking wage cuts as gesture of solidarity with the economy, they take them because they dont have another option. Our players do. Its is self-evident that a lower quality game, will get lower attendances and visibility, and that lower attendances and visibility will result in lower sponsorship and TV rights. We see this in action, its called the championship.
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| I'm still not convinced some clubs aren't paying more than the salary cap. We aren't seeing top talent move around clubs like we see in the NRL and we aren't seeing clubs sharing success like we see in the NRL. Given ? 8 of the SL are spending full salary caps you would expect to see more of the two above indicators happening.
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| Quote ="JB Down Under"I'm still not convinced some clubs aren't paying more than the salary cap. We aren't seeing top talent move around clubs like we see in the NRL and we aren't seeing clubs sharing success like we see in the NRL. Given ? 8 of the SL are spending full salary caps you would expect to see more of the two above indicators happening.'"
Well over the last 5 seasons we've seen 4 different teams top the table, 2 teams win the Grand Final, and 3 different teams win the Challenge Cup. I don't think that's too bad personally and isn't particularly any worse than the NRL.
I would question whether 8 of the 14 teams are spending the full cap, and I would certainly question how much many of the SL clubs are spending on things like conditioning, physios, sports science etc
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| Quote ="SmokeyTA"That’s nonsense and you know it, You don’t need it explaining to you that the economics of the move will be part of the equation for the player.'"
No. It's written in plain English and makes perfect sense. If you can't process information I can't be held responsible.
Quote No I didnt.'"
I'm afraid you did.
Quote Its not an argument, its self evident fact. '"
You have no conclusive evidence to support this claim. It is not self-evident. It is not a fact. Claiming that it is doesn't make it so.
Quote Nope, its obvious to most people.'"
Another argument from authority.
Quote People arent taking wage cuts as gesture of solidarity with the economy, they take them because they dont have another option. Our players do.'"
What - ALL our players? Every last one? They will ALL desert the game? Or do you mean only the good ones? Either way this is not a copper-bottomed fact either. There is no evidence. Believe it or not - some players play for the love of the game. They are more than happy with the money but it's not the primary motivating factor. I'm quite sure there are many SL players who wouldn't appreciate the mercenary attributes you assign to them.
Quote Its is self-evident that a lower quality game, will get lower attendances and visibility, and that lower attendances and visibility will result in lower sponsorship and TV rights. We see this in action, its called the championship.'"
Whilst I'm sure there would be difficulties with losing [isome[/i players in the short term it is NOT self-evident that skill levels would drop off a cliff. We would still have a fully-professional game. We would still have young players wanting to play the game to a high level. Believe it or not - people WANT to play rugby league. People WANT to watch rugby league.
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| Quote ="LifeLongHKRFan"Mugwump - Why have you started a thread to just then answer the questions you posed yourself?'"
Quote 1. How competitive is SL outside of the traditional big spenders i.e. Leeds, Wigan, Bradford, St. Helens (perhaps Warrington)? I'm talking purely about league positions (assuming 5th or 6th is now 1st) which I know is not an ideal measure but it's a starting point.
2. Which club last won SL, or just the league, running a modest budget in comparison to other big-spending clubs?
3. Based on the figures published (and I know they aren't comprehensive) what is the relationship between budget and final league position?'"
I haven't answered any of these questions.
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| Quote ="Him"Well over the last 5 seasons we've seen 4 different teams top the table, 2 teams win the Grand Final, and 3 different teams win the Challenge Cup. I don't think that's too bad personally and isn't particularly any worse than the NRL. '"
Really?
I mean, sure - at the start of the season it's pretty much impossible to know who will win SL (out of three or four sides who have gobbled up most of the talent). But I can list with certainty those sides who (sans some freak Munich-esque catastrophe hitting Leeds, Saints, Wigan & Warrington or the intervention of some rich sugar daddy) [uwon't[/u win it - season after season after season.
Can you say the same - consistently - about the NRL?
Wouldn't it be better if ALL clubs began the competition spending precisely the same amount of money? Wouldn't the bottom 6 or 8 attract more fans if they genuinely felt they had as good a chance as anyone else? How about sponsors?
I really don't understand it. RL fans are forever moaning that SL is not competitive. Yet when we suggest a very rough proposal to make it so they fall over themselves to argue it absolutely positively won't work. Or is it that they just want some clubs to be more equal than others?
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| Quote ="Mugwump"Really?
I mean, sure - at the start of the season it's pretty much impossible to know who will win SL (out of three or four sides who have gobbled up most of the talent). But I can list with certainty those sides who (sans some freak Munich-esque catastrophe hitting Leeds, Saints, Wigan & Warrington or the intervention of some rich sugar daddy) [uwon't[/u win it - season after season after season.
Can you say the same - consistently - about the NRL?
Wouldn't it be better if ALL clubs began the competition spending precisely the same amount of money? Wouldn't the bottom 6 or 8 attract more fans if they genuinely felt they had as good a chance as anyone else? How about sponsors?
I really don't understand it. RL fans are forever moaning that SL is not competitive. Yet when we suggest a very rough proposal to make it so they fall over themselves to argue it absolutely positively won't work. Or is it that they just want some clubs to be more equal than others?'"
Yes, really. As I said SL has 4 different teams top the table, 2 teams win the GF and 3 teams win the Cup over the last 5 seasons. The NRL has had 4 teams top the table and 3 teams win the GF over the same time period. Hardly an earth-shattering difference.
You're right, of course, in that the league would be more competitive if every club could spend the full cap, but that's just a statement of the bleedin' obvious.
The solution to that problem is not to immediately lower the cap to the level of the worst off club, it's to bring the bottom clubs up to the level of the top clubs.
I also don't totally agree with this argument that it's "always the same clubs" at the top. You mentioned Wigan, Saints, Leeds and Warrington. Only 2 of those clubs have been consistently at the top and winning things since the start of SL, and one of those had a break for a few years. Also, possibly the most dominant club in the history of SL is missing from that list. It wouldn't be a surprise if any of those 4 you mentioned win the big prize next season, nor is it unreasonable to suggest clubs like Catalans or Hull could win it. That's over 40% of clubs. I don't think that's particularly bad.
The solution is not to reduce wages down to a very low level and lose many more players to other sports or careers, nor is it to significantly raise the cap or do away with it as that would simply lead to a wider gulf. The solution, in my opinion, is to keep the cap where it is and to "professionalise" the lower clubs to get them up to a higher level off the field so that they can sustainably spend more on the field.
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| Quote ="Mugwump"No. It's written in plain English and makes perfect sense. If you can't process information I can't be held responsible. '"
I understand it, but it is nonsense
Quote You have no conclusive evidence to support this claim. It is not self-evident. It is not a fact. Claiming that it is doesn't make it so'" So you are saying, that if Sam Tompkins stops playing Rugby League, he is still, in some form, effective as a Rugby League player? interesting.............
Quote Another argument from authority. '" I cant help it if what is obvious to most people is difficult for you to understand.
Quote What - ALL our players? Every last one? They will ALL desert the game?'" Thats a lovely straw man you are building there. Quote Or do you mean only the good ones?'" This would be a very very bad thing. Quote Either way this is not a copper-bottomed fact either. There is no evidence. Believe it or not - some players play for the love of the game. They are more than happy with the money but it's not the primary motivating factor. I'm quite sure there are many SL players who wouldn't appreciate the mercenary attributes you assign to them. '" Where is your evidence for this? Where is your evidence that players would be willing to accept lower wages to even the competition?
Quote Whilst I'm sure there would be difficulties with losing [isome[/i players in the short term it is NOT self-evident that skill levels would drop off a cliff. We would still have a fully-professional game. We would still have young players wanting to play the game to a high level. Believe it or not - people WANT to play rugby league. People WANT to watch rugby league.'" As i said, we see it in action. Fortunately we have a league which posses the attributes you crave. We have a league where the cap has been lowered to a level all can spend, and it is competitive and unpredictable, but its best players leave for pastures new, for more money, and that league struggles to attract fans, sponsors and a tv deal.
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| Quote ="Him"Yes, really. As I said SL has 4 different teams top the table, 2 teams win the GF and 3 teams win the Cup over the last 5 seasons. The NRL has had 4 teams top the table and 3 teams win the GF over the same time period. Hardly an earth-shattering difference.'"
How about the full time-frame comparsion (1998-2012) as opposed to your selective 5 year one?
[uSuper League[/u
4 teams winning the GF
6 teams appearing in the GF
5 teams finishing top of the ladder
[uNRL[/u
9 teams winning the GF
12 teams appearing in the GF
9 teams finishing top of the ladder
And the comparison suddenly becomes earth-shatteringly different
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| Quote ="SmokeyTA"I understand it, but it is nonsense
So you are saying, that if =#FF0000Sam Tompkins stops playing Rugby League, he is still, in some form, effective as a Rugby League player? interesting.............
I cant help it if what is obvious to most people is difficult for you to understand.
Thats a lovely straw man you are building there. This would be a very very bad thing. Where is your evidence for this? Where is your evidence that players would be willing to accept lower wages to even the competition?
As i said, we see it in action. Fortunately we have a league which posses the attributes you crave. We have a league where the cap has been lowered to a level all can spend, and it is competitive and unpredictable, but its best players leave for pastures new, for more money, and that league struggles to attract fans, sponsors and a tv deal.'"
Who he?
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| Quote ="William Eve"How about the full time-frame comparsion (1998-2012) as opposed to your selective 5 year one?
[uSuper League[/u
4 teams winning the GF
6 teams appearing in the GF
5 teams finishing top of the ladder
[uNRL[/u
9 teams winning the GF
12 teams appearing in the GF
9 teams finishing top of the ladder
And the comparison suddenly becomes earth-shatteringly different
'"
Not really. The point was to illustrate that despite having a salary cap that everyone can spend to, as in the NRL, there can still be the same teams up at the top dominating, as Manly and Melbourne have done recently. And that despite a somewhat unequal league in SL there are still over 40% of teams in with a very good shout of winning the GF next season. The issue now is to make those 40% pull their fingers out come playoff time and actually beat Leeds and to bring more of the 60% left in to a position where not only can they spend the full cap but they are professionally run and can sustainably spend the cap plus the extras needed to be consistently at the top.
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| Quote ="Him"
I would question whether 8 of the 14 teams are spending the full cap, and I would certainly question how much many of the SL clubs are spending on things like conditioning, physios, sports science etc'"
Wigan, st's, hull fc, Warrington, Leeds, hull kr, les cats, hudds all spend full cap
Not sure how close to the cap the remaining sides are?
Still doesn't explain why you don't see the player movement that you see in NRL? When was the last time we saw a decent England player move from the big 4 to another club?
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| Quote ="Him"Not really. The point was to illustrate that despite having a salary cap that everyone can spend to, as in the NRL, there can still be the same teams up at the top dominating, as Manly and Melbourne have done recently.'"
I accept that Melbourne and Manly have been consistently good recently though domination by those two is stretching your argument somewhat. St George Illawarra might disagree given their club won the GF in 2010 and finished top of the ladder in 2009 and 2010. The point the OP was making is that every NRL club believes they have a reasonable shot at the title and there's plenty of evidence to support that view, even if we only consider your selectively recent 5 year time frame for comparison purposes. The Bulldogs, Roosters and Eels have all finished 16th and bottom of the NRL ladder during the past 5 seasons - yet all three of those clubs have also reached the GF during the same period. Gold Coast Titans finished 3rd in 2009, 4th in 2010 and 16th and last in 2011. NZ Warriors Grand Finalists in 2011 and 14th in 2012.
Quote ="Him"And that despite a somewhat unequal league in SL there are still over 40% of teams in with a very good shout of winning the GF next season.'"
I disagree with that figure. The only teams in with a very good shout of winning SL are Leeds, Wigan, Saints and Warrington - 4 out of 14 = 28.5%. Has anything changed for 2013? I don't think so and the bookmakers odds reflect that same closed shop of only 4 SL teams in with a chance - Warrington 3/1 or less, Wigan 7/2 or less, Saints 4/1 or less, Leeds 11/2 or less... next up, you can get 14/1 on Hull, and 22/1 on Catalan... Hudds 50/1, Hull KR 80/1, Bradford 100/1, Wakey 150/1, Cas and London 250/1, Widnes 350/1, Salford 450/1.
The problem for SL is that it's practically the same teams competing for the title year in, year out ever since it's inception with only 4 teams ever winning it, punctuated by spells of dominance of two of those 4 teams. The only change has been the disappearance of Bradford down the financial gutter to be replaced by Warrington whose place at the top table is solely due to being bankrolled by a sugar daddy. The importance of money, eh?
Quote ="Him"The issue now is to make those 40% pull their fingers out come playoff time and actually beat Leeds
and to bring more of the 60% left in to a position where not only can they spend the full cap but they are professionally run and can sustainably spend the cap plus the extras needed to be consistently at the top.'"
The issue we have now is a salary cap which is set at a level which is unsustainable for most, particularly in the current economic climate. Not only has it ensured a closed shop of only 4 genuinely competitive SL teams who are able to manage well enough financially to cope (mainly via the generosity or largess of their sugar daddy), but it's now becoming increasingly evident that several SL clubs will fall by the wayside or worse still - no longer exist. The whole financial model and structure on which SL membership is currently based is inherently flawed - franchising, new stadia criteria, salary cap, etc - the game cannot afford it. It requires urgent review and surgery ASAP. My view is that if the game continues on it's current path, there will be several clubs in SL liquidated within the next 5 years. Other struggling SL clubs who manage to survive will have to consider a return to a semi-professional existence.
I'm sympathetic to the views of the OP on this - as a first step in securing the financial viability of the game (significant decrease in Sport England handouts to the RFL notwithstanding) I'd be looking at reducing the salary cap to a level which is more sustainable and manageable for all - down to around £1 million per club - increased competitiveness will follow. I'm not concerned about the loss of a few players and a reduction in the quality of the SL product - that's been an ongoing process for several seasons anyhow - since at least 2006 - when SL clubs could no longer afford to prop up their squads with better quality overseas signings.
What is the point of maintaining the current flawed set-up? Is it because it suits your club Leeds and they'll be alright Jack? Not much point IMO if there are hardly any teams left to compete against.
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| Quote ="William Eve"What is the point of maintaining the current flawed set-up? Is it because it suits your club Leeds and they'll be alright Jack? Not much point IMO if there are hardly any teams left to compete against.'" There is no point maintaining the current system, there are flaws in it and changes we should make, but you will really need to explain your logic that thinks that putting on a lower quality product, and as such bringing in less money from sponsors and tv deals, and from turnstile takings and merchandise spends, and not investing in new facilities/stadia and re-introducing the uncertainty and instability of relegation is going to achieve the aims we have as a game?
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