gingerjon

The only country in the world who, universally among its real fans, think this is a joke tournament are now its champions. Magnificent. Well done, FIFA.

OTOH, and I don’t necessarily agree with this but it’s the counter, Atherton would regard scoring at three an over as dangerously OTT. The game has completely changed since he played. Short version: there are probably as many scoring shots or meaningful deliveries now even with fewer overs.

Chelsea winning is the most fitting outcome of this pre season knockabout.

Lovely performance from the Lionesses. Ignoring the emotion and focusing on what they need to do. As things stand, it’s Germany in the next round. If not them, then Sweden. What an insane draw after this group.

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?

I don't know - and I'm sure it will be a sometimes yes, sometimes no argument - but they are simpler. No need for player development, no need for any longer term commitment, no need for anything other than, "Can you do a job for me this weekend?" It is completely explicable. It is no way to run a sport.

But the whole point of IMG and the twelve-year-plan is that is about doing the basics over the longer term in order to (a) take power away from the clubs who are understandably short sighted, and (b) open up more income generating opportunities. That has now been wrecked and there is nothing to replace it with anything like that ambition. This takeover is all about making rugby league in England the next speedway or stock car racing.

Bingo. It is staggeringly simple. The clubs will vote for whatever is easiest for them in the moment regardless of any impact that has on anything else. We all know why they will do this. It's not some kind of revelation or wisdom. But if we actually want the game to be successful then compulsion to be bigger than "what's the best team I can get out this weekend" is necessary.

Lionesses look like it will be down to beating Wales. Currently four up on a very overwhelmed Dutch side.

It’s like that time his girlfriend disagreed with him

There are no development costs. It’s the cheap option.