Derwent

Criminal : United Kingdom on Netflix is very good. David Tennant’s acting performance in episode 1 is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time, absolutely nailed it.

You missed off Salford but yes I think the clubs will vote 6-5 against, the RFL will vote for and the decider will be how Elstone votes.

A PG is a legally binding document not just a proposal. It was stated a couple of years ago that Argyle had lodged a PG with the RFL. In simple terms it is a document that agrees that should a business default on its obligations then the individual assumes personal liability for them.

Initially Perez sold them the dream of being able to expand to North America without it costing them anything. This is why Toronto were admitted. If Perez had come along at that time and asked to join but with no promise of being self-funded I doubt he would have been given the time of day. That is why the situation now re Toronto is a completely different proposition. It is now one of yes you can have expansion but its going to cost you. With the best will in the world if its not financially viable then it doesn't make sense to do it, not at this precise moment in time in the middle of an unprecedented situation which will undoubtedly put a lot of clubs under financial pressure. To burden them with more for another pipedream would be pretty reckless in my view.

Championship and League 1 clubs are already scrutinised and measured on various things. They don't just get given the central funding they have to hit certain targets. If they don't hit those then they get lower funding. They are measured on things such as community activity and even have to hit targets for having a certain number of followers on various social media platfroms like Twitter, Facebook and even the OurLeague app.

It’s more than that. Unfortunately due to the current crisis it is a case of survival. Toronto can only be readmitted if it’s not to the detriment of other clubs. No point in including them and losing 3 or 4 other clubs in the process. That may be short term thinking but in stark reality that’s the situation we are in. This isn’t fantasy island and with this pandemic there’s a real danger of clubs going pop if you take money away from them now. The sad fact is that a lot of our clubs simply can’t afford the “jam tomorrow” approach.

As I originally said, they were prepared to stand the losses to secure better TV rights in the long term. But RL can’t afford to stand such losses. I’m sure there’s lots of things the RFL and SL would like to do in a perfect world but unfortunately in the real world they need to be paid for. I read lots on here from people like you who tell us what the game should be doing. I’ve yet to read anyone with a solution of where the money comes from to do it.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.pjstar.com/sports/20160930/nfl-game-in-london-sell-out-every-time---and-still-lose-money%3ftemplate=ampart

The NFL themselves have stated that they have lost money but are prepared to stand them in the pursuit of a more lucrative TV contract.

If we are judging wingers on scoring tries then it’s Uate. He was the NRL’s top try scorer of the decade for 2010-19.

Are you aware that a few years ago the RFL hired IMG, the world’s leading company on sports marketing and licencing etc, to handle the TV contract negotiations. Even they with all of their expertise could not get a better offer from Sky or get other broadcasters interested. That’s the reality of the situation. Still, I’m sure you know better than them hey ?

Revenue and profit aren’t the same thing. In 2018/19 the Premier League clubs had combined revenue of over £5 billion. Those same clubs had collective losses of £599 million in the same period. Go figure.

Apart from the USA there are very very few sports clubs around the world that make money. Even in football, the biggest sport in the world, there a tiny handful that are profitable to any serious level. In Europe certainly most sports clubs are seen as rich men’s toys and not business investments. There are very few clubs that provide any meaningful return on investment, the best that they can hope for is that the intrinsic value grows to make it worth more than they paid for it. Different cultures I guess, but the people running the clubs over here do not do so to make money. The likes of Davy, Hudgell etc have spent millions for very little in return, it’s pretty much philanthropy.

Who said anybody should take advice from Wakefield and Hull KR ? You’re just making things up.

I always go back to Vic Wakeling’s (Head of Sky Sports) comments when he was asked about Paris being included in the first SL. He said Sky were not particularly in favour of it and saw no value in their inclusion but told Maurice Lindsay they wouldn’t interfere if he wanted them in. There’s a very insightful interview with him in Phil Caplan’s book SL - The first ten years.