28 replies to this topic

[Hornets Nest]

Hi Andy,

I ve no problem at all in you revealing that I m not a member that is common knowledge, Apart from gate money I ve no intention of adding to the Hornets coffers whilst Mark Wynn is in the chair. This is also common knowledge so come on keep up.

And as for the club communicating with people, well I can tell you that I was in the sponsors lounge yesterday when a member of another table asked about “missing names” on the Hornets team sheet – Reid, Mc Hugh, Mervill.

The Chairman’s response, “Why are you asking me I don’t pick the team”

Erm Mark he was just asking if players were injured or working. It was a cringe moment.

Well done Mr Tann for speaking to the room and bringing credibility to the situation.

Mark Reynolds

[ClockworkCarrot]

They have gone bust more than once, it's six and two threes really. I was highlighting that many clubs exist on a deficit and when the hard times come around it's hard to keep going. There are probably many more but I can't think back too well these days.

Pugwash.

Puggy, you really should be more careful when making these statements regarding other clubs. Oldham Bears went bust - and that's it. I'm not saying there haven't been financially difficult times for Oldham RLFC 1997, but it's still in existence and has never entered administration. Chris Hamilton may have faults but the one thing he hasn't done is put the club into administration or wound it up and started again.

Regarding the main topic - I think that for many of the smaller, low budget clubs the Hornets RL model is a sound one. Trust ownership, living within your means and supporters with a stake in the club are all admirable. There will however always be clubs who want to follow the Bill Quinn / Des Johnston route and to be honest it's a lot of fun while it lasts.

Phil Whitworth
(Rugby Oldham Board Member)

[Anita Bath]

As for the forum issue, this forum is nothing to do with Rochdale Hornets R.F.L.C.S.L., it is independantly run but there are rules as there are rules everywhere and I think you will find that when you signed up to be a member you ticked a little box which indicated that would agree to follow the rules.

Please identify yourself if you wish to post on off-field matters.

Pugwash.

The rules say "if you wish to make a point about the administration of the club" I must identify myself. I have no wish to make any such point and have not attempted to. Are we to play by the stated rules imposed by the administrator or some further developments yet to be stated?

[PooingDog]

Regarding the main topic - I think that for many of the smaller, low budget clubs the Hornets RL model is a sound one. Trust ownership, living within your means and supporters with a stake in the club are all admirable. There will however always be clubs who want to follow the Bill Quinn / Des Johnston route and to be honest it's a lot of fun while it lasts.

Phil Whitworth
(Rugby Oldham Board Member)

Clockwork Carrot. Do you not think that the Co-op model would also be good for the bigger clubs (and RL and other sports in general). Forcing clubs to live within their means and be ultimately controlled by their fans must be a good thing regardless of size.

[boro hornet]

Did Rugby League clubs not start of as members clubs,along with most other sporting clubs and was not Oldham RLFC not a members club until shortly before becoming the bears when pound signs glazed their eyes with the promises of a great future until it all fell apart.I bet a lot of Oldham fans would love to still belong to a club owned by its members run in a sensible way.I know i am proud to be a member of Rochdale Hornets and have a say in how its run i could never have afforded to have been a shareholder.

[ClockworkCarrot]

There's a difference to being a members club and the Trust model, Oldham were a members club run by committee but as a fan I had no say in how the club was run unlike a shareholder in a Trust. Personally I think the Trust model is good for smaller clubs and may be an ideal for all clubs, but if you look at sporting enterprises around the world they are generally not run on a Trust model. Only Barcelona spring to mind as bucking the trend as a large sporting venture owned by the fans (but they're still supported by wealthy benefactors pumping in money). Personally I think a properly administered salary cap should be enough based on more realistic incomes and forecasts.

Sadly sporting ventures are not normal businesses and they don't inspire normal feelings, therefore I suspect that even if they were all run by Trusts you would still find some going bust or struggling financially. I'm glad Hornets are making a proper fist of it and operating in a financially viable manner as it does provide a sensible template for new clubs to follow.

[Pugwash]

Puggy, you really should be more careful when making these statements regarding other clubs. Oldham Bears went bust - and that's it. I'm not saying there haven't been financially difficult times for Oldham RLFC 1997, but it's still in existence and has never entered administration. Chris Hamilton may have faults but the one thing he hasn't done is put the club into administration or wound it up and started again.

Regarding the main topic - I think that for many of the smaller, low budget clubs the Hornets RL model is a sound one. Trust ownership, living within your means and supporters with a stake in the club are all admirable. There will however always be clubs who want to follow the Bill Quinn / Des Johnston route and to be honest it's a lot of fun while it lasts.

Phil Whitworth
(Rugby Oldham Board Member)

CC, I'm quite prepared to retract the term administration if it was used wrongly to any club I mentioned but it was only to illustrate that clubs have been going bang and that the minority is indeed growing. I also stated that if a money person is willing to keep putting money in hen this is OK, the problem comes when the money neded isn't there. During the run-up to Hornets period in administration we had men putting money in but they couldn't cope and damned nearly sent the club out of existence.

I'm fully behind the board at Hornets and I work hard to keep the club going in the right direction and I think we're making headway, slowly, but headway.

I now understand that the RFL are keen to get more clubs going down the route of being C0-Ops but that isn't to say that private funded clubs aren't accepted. If that's the right term.

Pugwash.

[herbie]

Don't just retract the term administration. Admit you were wrong when you stated in your post that "Oldham have gone bust on more than one occasion." They have never been in administration and have gone bust ONCE .

[Bedford Roughyed]

Clockwork Carrot. Do you not think that the Co-op model would also be good for the bigger clubs (and RL and other sports in general). Forcing clubs to live within their means and be ultimately controlled by their fans must be a good thing regardless of size.

I think this is one of those things that fans ask, but forget when a club stays at mid-table or lower. We fans are very fickle (look at some posting on the Oldham board). We moan when a club is in financial difficultly and we moan again when we don't spend on a team. I feel for anyone who tries to run a club as it's mainly a thankless task.

The co-op model stops one person controlling a club, but still needs money to work. Do clubs have the fans and sponsors to do that without extra cash from a.n.other?