gingerjon

And yet you yourself have talked about the non match pleasures of attending as being a reason to keep doing it - beers beforehand, meeting friends etc. So, even for you, it’s more than the game. It’s always about creating that for as many people as possible in as many ways needed.

It’s irrelevant to what we choose to do. That’s the important bit.

Yeah. Nah.

And this is always answered but you raise it again anyway.

My inspiration: "But look, you found the notice, didn't you?" "Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard."

Oh no, there's going to be a tournament between teams no one cares about playing in places where no one will watch them. Whatever is rugby league to do.

Literally the top Google return for “Sheffield Eagles CEO” is Mark Aston on LinkedIn saying he’s the CEO. Like a normal person, I did a search.

Also someone needs to have a word with the Mark Aston on LinkedIn who thinks they’re CEO of Sheffield Eagles.

Fair enough. It did seem to fit with the others though - three directors, one sales director and a Chief Executive.

You need to tell Companies House. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03871551/officers

This had completely passed me by. I like it. Wiki says they have to do it for UEFA competitions too but can’t say I’ve noticed.

It’s magnificently awful in every way.

Rebranding to Wimbledon would be a shocking idea so I look forward to them announcing it that soonish.

Next year will still have the three World Cups bundled together. Though your point about the size and scale of what France could deliver is sound.

Yes, I don't disagree. My overarching point is that they shouldn't be cannibalising because they are months apart and, if we hadn't bored (at best) and actively discouraged (at worst) by both poor events and a lack of events, then we would have an audience for two events (plus) in London that are separated by four months. We used to get 100K plus a year in London sales alone.

I do think it's also worth saying that it's a very insular rugby league attitude to reach for the (okay but not great) Wembley Ashes sales to think that's the problem. They're far enough apart that they should not be cannibalising each other.

I think it makes a difference when it comes to looking at alternatives in the sense that people are choosing to do fewer things (in my experience) so there’s a bigger element of prioritising than in previous years. That should change at some point. But, by doing the bare minimum for so long, RL finds itself not at the front of that choice queue for enough people.

The game that skipped back to being a northern game for northern people is reaping what it sewed. That and the impact of a decade of underwhelming match day experiences for the final at a time when (a) there are alternatives and (b) cost of living.

Am aware. But looks like the crowd will be in the 45-50k mark and they’ve had to put in place coaches and park and ride to get past council/stadium restrictions.

Stuttgart weren’t the underdog in that final.

It was a union man who set the whole league up.

Exactly. A lot of talk.

So good it didn’t complete a full second season?

Go on, what were the crowds like?

We’re only about eighteen months on from the last reimagining of French RL that was going to raise profile, bring in new money etc … and we’re still dealing with the wide eyed incompetence of the French that saw their grand World Cup plans fail as they couldn’t meet their side of the income arrangement. Anyone coming in has to deal with decades of investment failure. Not pie in the sky but also not really new and, more importantly, has to take in just how small a sport RL is in France.