Tommygilf

Quite, and that is before we consider that at least 2 of those games iirc were double headers with England Women, and the massively successful wheelchair final (which genuinely felt like the only game you couldn't get a ticket for). It was far too saturated. If they wanted that strategy then they should have priced it accordingly, instead they went as if it was a Union world cup in the same places. Nor did they do what was anecdotally the hugely successful multi-game deals for each venue. I don't buy the feigning ignorance to all these existing market experiences, and whilst cost of living was a consideration, it shouldn’t be overstated at all as an excuse either.

Too much of the tournament played in too small of an area with tickets priced too highly for events and an audience that didn't match up to those prices. The premium and well scheduled events were well attended, shock. To me it seemed the organisers never really had a grip on either the audience they were going for or the product they were selling. Indeed the two strategies seemed entirely at odds with one another; and what's worse is it seemed to ignore the best of what had worked previously. The £40 to stand at Warrington was bad enough, but it was ridiculous when placed alongside 3 other games at the same venue, plus 3 at St Helens, 6 in Wigan, Leigh and Bolton (including 2 other Quarter finals) and of course the final in Manchester. There's not enough people in that area to pay those prices for those games - and there's equally not enough people willing to travel for those games either. That's before we consider how generally our best international attendances come either in Leeds or London. It just annoys me that these issues were so blindingly obvious to anyone I want to know why Dutton et al. either didn't see them, or thought they could overcome them.

Given the answer to most if not all of those is "no", I think the hope is that at least the financials of the tournament worked.

Hopefully the game gets on with the new sponsors involved in the World Cup to generate that income. Cazoo etc could be sponsoring the Women's Super League, for example. I mean I doubt it will maintain those connections, but its good to have positive expectations. Its also encouraging that whilst he is very frank about the failings, the inclusion aspect is seen as very valuable by him and therefore the IRL. Hopefully that positivity towards all 3 disciplines, that "olympic like" festival, is maintained going forwards.

I think the issue with Castore is not only, is it better quality, but also, is it better enough quality to justify a nearly £80 shirt? Not only would that be £15 more than LUFC are charging for brand new Adidas shirts for example, but even if it was the same price as LUFC, have we a market conditioned to much lower prices for those items? I know you and I both have the superdry Rhinos range which was top whack when it came out. Like you I dont mind paying more for a quality item. I just don't think a single season match shirt has that same draw imo. Perhaps they can produce a range that can be sold closer to the current £50 price point, but does that lead to compromises in quality?

I have no love for Oxen at all, but their offering has improved imo. Its still not great, or elite even, but it is better than it was. The retro shirts are an attempt at the Score Draw market imo, equally as cheap but they sell well enough.

Have you seen the price of the Umbro union kits for their world cup at launch...

Castore are nice (now), but their ranges can be somewhat limited - my mum couldn't believe the difference between the Adidas Celtic shop and the Castore Rangers one when we went to Glasgow a few years ago for example. There is a suggestion that they have tried to expand too quickly, branching out into Football, Cricket, Rugby and even F1 in a very short period of time. They make the Roosters and Storm kits in the NRL iirc, as well as Saracens and now Leinster from this season too in NH Union. The kit looks good: Aside from the quality, which has improved, and the size of the range offered to teams, the main critique has been the price. Naturally that was more fierce when the brand was newer and quality not as good, but its still far from cheap. It will be a minimum £60-65 for a shirt for example (the Leinster shirts are on sale for £79). I wonder how that will go down in English RL.

Oxen have improved to be fair, and whilst they still do have weird gear like the origin stuff, they haven't been as bad this year as in previous seasons. However, they should never have come on board with the Rhinos as their first club, nor been handed total control of the sales and merchandise department in the way that they were at the club either. FWIW, Kappa seemed to have some decent gear last time round in RL. I got some TWP stuff. It didn't feel very bespoke though, in that Salford for example had the exact same stuff just with a colour change. Its nice and a decent enough quality, but not very "premium" or individual I suppose.

Interesting, Hummel pulling back a bit? The last FC Forces shirt wasn't Hummel was it. On top, are both this and the Hummel deals with the main brand or through a local supplier? Edit: in answer to my own question: "Advantage Brands offers a platform and suite of services to own and operate Apparel and Accessories brands, and the opportunity to develop licenses and acquire brand IP as consumer focused alternatives for the Active, Lifestyle, Sport Licensing and Team Sports market channels. Brand Licenses include Kappa and Steeden with private label services supporting further brand partners."

The RFL is looking into an incident in which an object was allegedly thrown at a touch judge from the Leigh end during Sunday's game at Salford. Both clubs have been asked for their understanding of what happened following Ken Sio's opening try. Referee Ben Thaler called the match commissioner on to the pitch in the immediate aftermath.

I agree that is a reasonable goal in the short to medium term. Hopefully that is something that is achievable to. So much of it is building up the "club", its not just the team on the pitch that make a Super League club.

Unsurprising really, there is basically zero visibility for most non Super League teams in this country. I bet most of those kids could have told you what Leeds, St Helens and Wigan etc play in - even a few teams in the NRL.

Have they still got the Union URC too?

Hopefully they were HD at least...

Does that 5k cover 6 to 8 camera angles, and presentation & commentary teams?

Tom Briscoe playing, who knows

Can lose 50 nil again

IMG have not, and never will, say that getting good results aren't helpful. Indeed they've given a quarter of their grading points to this specifically. What they are saying, is that doing this, to the detriment of all else, will not be enough.

That doesn't mean that they aren't doing things now though surely?

Because of working early on weekends occasionally I've often found that if I'm to socialise with mates that week I'll be driving and as such not drinking. There's only so much pepsi max or lemonade a man can drink, so I've tried the 0% stuff. FWIW I think the Peroni version isn't bad, better than Becks Blue imo. Not had Guinness 0 or many others yet as I've liked the Peroni stuff. I wouldn't have it if I didn't have work the next day mind.

Dependent on your preference, a top historian or spiderman...

I can't believe that, given your club is the single biggest example of a club that has taken on implementing the "IMG plan". Improved matchdays, a rebrand, squad investment? Have all these passed you by?

Reflective? The sport was a financial basket case then. Its not great now, but its in a far better place financially.

That doesn't make sense to me H sorry.