gingerjon

Dean Buchan?

Obviously, for a minor tournament like a Club World Cup, you have to contort to fit the supposed ideal for global TV times. But for the actual World Cup they should kick off at whatever works best for the place it’s being played in. People will tune in. The issues around stadiums seem to be a lot around transport and they aren’t getting fixed.

Literally being blamed for not being able to protect rugby league from itself.

It's underperformed versus the club organised tours that sell out college football stadiums and have done for years. So attendances are almost certainly under the projections and with prices seemingly slashed by hundreds of dollars even for the semi finals, it's taken a lot of discounting to get people in. It's had less buy in than the Gold Cup which ran alongside it. And MLS also seems to be more important to the US fans right now. Messi is back scoring for Inter Miami in the league already. Games have mostly been ... fine. Really nothing more than that. It was always going to make a profit - that's what happens when you get the Saudis to sportswash through you. Going on reports from attendees - it is going to be carnage for the actual World Cup next year.

IMG are being paid off. Their reputation will survive the current incarnation of the RFL's ineptitude. Whether English RL does or not is another matter. Either way, the new RFL have had several months to put their distinct mark on the Salford issue and have, because incompetent and lazy, failed to do so.

Green Bay played in Milwaukee for decades alongside games in Green Bay. They are very obviously Wisconsin's NFL team.

It's been a decent tournament. Crowds have been noisy and involved as well, which I think has helped. Notable, I think, that goalkeeping really seems to have come on since the last Euros across the board.

It may not be hard, but it’s not straightforward. Hence a discussion.

You could read it.

This is literally a thread discussing a 14 team Super League so how is the question being ignored?

We’ve already been told that the RFL are breaking into their piggy bank in order to pay off IMG. So the most likely scenario next season is two French teams in the top division, a division of 14, and a governing body with massively depleted resources in order to pay for breaking a contract.

Finland become the first team to go out and not really deserve it. But the noise when Switzerland equalised. That must have caused an avalanche or two.

You are literally agreeing that clubs should, can and do work to increase their home fans as away fans is not a reliable income stream.

I think it's them showing how smarter clubs don't rely on it but take their own steps to get people in.

Oh no. Sounds awful. How can clubs even think about trying different things for different games to increase the attendance?