Derek Beaumont

[MADREDNIGE]

On 7/26/2018 at 2:48 PM, Blind side johnny said:

Oh, and make sure that 2000+ local fans turn up for every home match.

1400 more then Batley lol  

[Blind side johnny]

3 hours ago, MADREDNIGE said:

1400 more then Batley lol  

Sharp as a tack, as ever.

[MADREDNIGE]

57 minutes ago, Blind side johnny said:

Sharp as a tack, as ever.

Oh yes I've learnt a lot from you  

[Lupset Ram]

Leigh v Featherstone for the prestigious shield final. 

It might be worth a few quid to the winner.

[Tim Streets tache]

12 hours ago, Lupset Ram said:

Leigh v Featherstone for the prestigious shield final. 

It might be worth a few quid to the winner.

I wonder the actual shield is better than the League leaders shield. Laughed my head of when i saw Ashton Sims et all waving what looked like an ashtray when it was confirmed Toronto finished top 

Have any of you seen the video going round twitter of Beaumont taking the Mickey out of Fev and Bradford at some function?? Oh how that's bit him on his used to be fat backside!

 

[graham fisher]

1 hour ago, Tim Streets tache said:

I wonder the actual shield is better than the League leaders shield. Laughed my head of when i saw Ashton Sims et all waving what looked like an ashtray when it was confirmed Toronto finished top 

Have any of you seen the video going round twitter of Beaumont taking the Mickey out of Fev and Bradford at some function?? Oh how that's bit him on his used to be fat backside!

 

Yes I’ve see the video,karma

[Robthegasman]

As I live in NW Manchester I have heard it suggested that Leigh are well and truly in the stuff that you see at the Davyhulme sewage treatment place and at best there will be a lot of cost cutting at best going on but even by getting rid of all the full time players I doubt it will make up a shortfall of £1m assuming my maths are right.I would not be surprised if they go down the same route as Bradford and if they do then as a Swinton Lions fan I think they should be made to restart in Championship 1 come 2019 like Bradford should have done in 2017/18.

I am also hearing that things aren’t too well at Fev either seeing as they have failed like Leigh have to get into the top four and it has I hear been suggested they too will have to cut cloth accordingly and again if they go down the Bradford road they should suffer the same fate and punishment.

And we won’t talk yet about what will happen with Salford if they go down because that will or should at least bring a Council down.

Now I don’t know what the finances at your place and the doggies place are like but I would think that you both along with us now do things right and in my opinion why are clubs like ours as we are very similar the ones who have to look over our shoulders and have the cloud of relegation hovering over us?

It is time something was done about clubs like Leigh and others as frankly if that is the way they play it is cheating.

[Blind side johnny]

9 minutes ago, Robthegasman said:

As I live in NW Manchester I have heard it suggested that Leigh are well and truly in the stuff that you see at the Davyhulme sewage treatment place and at best there will be a lot of cost cutting at best going on but even by getting rid of all the full time players I doubt it will make up a shortfall of £1m assuming my maths are right.I would not be surprised if they go down the same route as Bradford and if they do then as a Swinton Lions fan I think they should be made to restart in Championship 1 come 2019 like Bradford should have done in 2017/18.

I am also hearing that things aren’t too well at Fev either seeing as they have failed like Leigh have to get into the top four and it has I hear been suggested they too will have to cut cloth accordingly and again if they go down the Bradford road they should suffer the same fate and punishment.

And we won’t talk yet about what will happen with Salford if they go down because that will or should at least bring a Council down.

Now I don’t know what the finances at your place and the doggies place are like but I would think that you both along with us now do things right and in my opinion why are clubs like ours as we are very similar the ones who have to look over our shoulders and have the cloud of relegation hovering over us?

It is time something was done about clubs like Leigh and others as frankly if that is the way they play it is cheating.

That is nonsense. Leigh have not cheated; they have simply relied upon a very supportive Chairman. If that is cheating then 70% of the clubs in RL are guilty of the same thing. DB is simply trying to put the club on a sounder financial footing when he can no longer guarantee £500k pa - is that wrong or sensible?

Being bitter about how Swinton were shafted by their own directors is no excuse for wanting to see every other club suffer in the same way. It wasn't the fault of GMC that you have been homeless for all of these years, instead look closely at the leadership under which you have survived and struggled.

Ever since 1895 our sport has been divided into the haves and have-nots, that's why there are no longer any Liversedge, Brighouse, Broughton or Scarborough teams. Sport isn't fair or egalitarian - get used to it; we certainly are.

See you on Sunday.

[silcoates]

On 7/25/2018 at 8:52 PM, Pigeon Lofter said:

Here it is,the whole match on Youtube. 1977.

 

Thanks for that PL.great noisy crowd at the Weaste-salford.  great shirts and playing the ball with the foot it looks so much better than to days efforts. 

[Phil Loxton]

11 hours ago, Robthegasman said:

As I live in NW Manchester I have heard it suggested that Leigh are well and truly in the stuff that you see at the Davyhulme sewage treatment place and at best there will be a lot of cost cutting at best going on but even by getting rid of all the full time players I doubt it will make up a shortfall of £1m assuming my maths are right.I would not be surprised if they go down the same route as Bradford and if they do then as a Swinton Lions fan I think they should be made to restart in Championship 1 come 2019 like Bradford should have done in 2017/18.

I am also hearing that things aren’t too well at Fev either seeing as they have failed like Leigh have to get into the top four and it has I hear been suggested they too will have to cut cloth accordingly and again if they go down the Bradford road they should suffer the same fate and punishment.

And we won’t talk yet about what will happen with Salford if they go down because that will or should at least bring a Council down.

Now I don’t know what the finances at your place and the doggies place are like but I would think that you both along with us now do things right and in my opinion why are clubs like ours as we are very similar the ones who have to look over our shoulders and have the cloud of relegation hovering over us?

It is time something was done about clubs like Leigh and others as frankly if that is the way they play it is cheating.

What actually did you expect Leigh and Fev to do? They were aiming for the top four and failed. Well done to the teams that got there and I especially hope Halifax do well against the full timers. As far as I know Fev nor Leigh cheated they just simply failed to get what they aimed for and obviously gambled and will need to cut their cloth accordingly. You seem to be on a downer on relatively successful teams. Fev are quite stable. They own their ground and have a good following but obviously they will need to be more financially savvy next season. Distribution if monies has admittedly been unfair which left some clubs more able to challenge. Let's hope we have a fairer system next season to help all championship clubs. Unfair? Yes. Cheating? No

[NickD]

11 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

That is nonsense

Ever since 1895 our sport has been divided into the haves and have-nots, that's why there are no longer any Liversedge, Brighouse, Broughton or Scarborough teams. Sport isn't fair or egalitarian - get used to it; we certainly are.

See you on Sunday.

Bit harsh BSJ.  Wrong side of bed this morning?

 

[Blind side johnny]

19 minutes ago, NickD said:

Bit harsh BSJ.  Wrong side of bed this morning?

 

Not at all harsh Nick, just honest.

Wait until I do post something harsh, then you'll notice.

[silcoates]

2 hours ago, Blind side johnny said:

Not at all harsh Nick, just honest.

Wait until I do post something harsh, then you'll notice.

I'll vouch for that tee hee!

[Blind side johnny]

It was interesting to read in today's LE that Beaumont is definitely leaving Leigh at the end of this season. He says that the club will switch to a part-time operation but that some of their players with valuable contracts are refusing to relinquish these. How unreasonable of them!

How soon might they be toying with relegation again, with no Gateshead to save them this time? One thing is for sure - this league is going to be very interesting next season and nothing like as predictable as it has been this year.

[Blind side johnny]

His statement in full - worth reading:

 

I won't be at the game today or the Barrow game; not by choice but because I am away on holiday. I was very nervous about attending the Sheffield game after the emotional week of realising we wouldn't make the four and having to dismantle what had taken five years and seven figures of time, money and effort. I don't use or look at social media these days which has been a massive improvement to my life but I could imagine that it was pretty volatile after my short statement and I was nervous of attending with my family and there being any kinds of scenes like I experienced at the Toulouse game earlier in the year.

I needn't have been nervous as the fans were absolutely fantastic to the boys with the way they welcomed them onto the field and stayed right behind them even when we went two scores down to a spirited Sheffield side that smelled blood. It would have been easy for the lads to chuck up some white flags at that point given the week they had had, especially given we had a couple of debutants in there, but to the contrary they fought on gallantly to a much deserved win. It felt surreal and somewhat hollow but it was all that any of us could really achieve that day and they answered my challenge to finish the regular season with a win to set the platform to win the Shield at the end of the season.

Losing the Million Pound Game in October and dealing with the aftermath of that, seeing people's contracts terminated, was one of, if not the hardest, thing I have had to do. This is much harder than that as the emotion of doing this whilst realising that everything had been in vain took its toll. I would like to thank the players and staff that have torn up their contracts and moved on, some at their own expense and one individual in particular who has torn up a three-year contract and gone with nothing to go to in order to enable the Club to have a chance to survive in the short term. I would also like to thank the backroom staff who have collectively agreed to pool the resources and all stay on to the end of the fight before also walking away to enable the Club to have a chance of survival. It is a mark of their respect for me as a person and what I have tried to do and invested into the Club and the community and I feel so sorry for these guys as ultimately it isn't their lack of effort that has seen this happen to them.

I was hoping to have conducted enough player movement before the transfer deadline to have ensured the short term future of the Club was safe without any additional funding from me as I wasn't comfortable putting money into something that had no future. Unfortunately I was unable to achieve that fully although I am committed to ensuring the Club can fulfil its last fixtures of the season; however, this will unfortunately accumulate more losses within that period that will now worsen the Club's position. It was important to me to maintain a squad that could compete to win the Shield but I am disappointed that a small number of players asked to move on didn't do so and take alternatives presented to them which would have ensured the short term future of the Club without increasing liabilities. What is vitally important is that we can get the remaining players who are contracted beyond this year to find alternative clubs and accept some responsibility for the failings on the field in order that the Club isn't left with liabilities it cannot fulfil which ultimately would be catastrophic.

If this happens then the Club will not be in danger and will be able to re-structure a part-time squad based on the new level of central funding and income it can generate with no further involvement from me. I hope when the season is over this is achieved so that the Club is in a better position than when I had to write personal cheques to all the players part way through the season when the Club couldn't pay them and was facing a winding up petition from HMRC. Ultimately that will be decided by the players who have contracts as to what they choose to do but the harsh reality is that if they attempt to stay then the Club won't be able to survive and then they would have to go anyway so I am confident common sense will prevail and the Club's history and place in the community will be respected. Should the worse happen and the contractual liabilities force the Club into liquidation then I give my word I will ensure that a community Club is formed and give it a cash injection to ensure it can operate and establish itself going forward with no liabilities and no involvement from me whatsoever.

I haven't made a further statement which I had initially intended to do as I don't think it is appropriate yet given what I have to say so I will keep it in reserve until everything has been resolved. However, I do think it is necessary to respond to two comments I saw in last week's trade press. The first of those were Ralph Rimmer's comments in response to comments from Ian Lenagan in the League Weekly. Ian was very respectful to our Club in his comments for which I thank him. He was pointing to our plight as evidence that the current structure doesn't work. Ralph responded that it was down to the fact that clubs are "locally managed" that is more the issue. Well given Ralph is an intelligent man I would like to know what he would have done managing our Club "locally" in this structure.

You see we were given £750k central funding and a parachute payment of £500k which was strictly on the terms that we spent the full £1.25M of central funding on players' contracts to remain strong and have a squad to challenge to return to Super League. So how do you therefore comply with that stipulation but at the same time protect your business in case you don't make the top four and lose another £1M of funding Ralph?

The obvious answer would be only sign one year deals so if it doesn't work out you are free from contracts but you wouldn't be able to compete for signatures offering one year deals and therefore wouldn't have a strong squad nor spend the £1.25M. That suggestion is like saying that all Super League clubs should only commit to £750k despite getting £1.8M potentially so that if they get relegated they aren't at risk of administration.

This doesn't happen but the sport recognises this and has a clause in the playing contracts which enables contracts to be terminated if a club is relegated, something we were able to do last year. Indeed even with a parachute payment of £500k this is allowed as you are still potentially losing £500k central funding plus whatever commercial and season ticket reductions follow.

So Ralph it is my contention that the structure does have a serious issue here, rather than the local management of the club, because we have failed to make the four and suffer far bigger consequences than being relegated from Super League. We lose £1.05M of central funding but have no protection in the contracts to terminate to protect the business as you do suffering less of a drop by being relegated from Super League. And that, Ralph, is where the problem lies.

I didn't plan for not making the four; in all honesty it never crossed my mind but if it had what could I have done? Refused to take the parachute and fielded a squad with minimum risk should we not make the four? That's all I could have done "locally managing the club" and that would have been nonsense. In the end you don't need a Super League team in the Championship. It actually works against you with the pace of the game and the constant stops in play while people get their breath back but you do need a Super League team when it comes to the play-offs to beat those teams to take their place and that's where the conundrum is.

I tried to contact Ralph and got a text saying he was overseas and would contact me soonest but I haven't heard from him. I also called Karen Moorhouse but haven't heard back there either. Perhaps they have what they want with me having no choice but to leave the sport or maybe I am just becoming paranoid. Either way I certainly feel a little isolated right now but that is something I will speak more about at the appropriate time.

The second comment I saw was from Andy Burnham, someone for whom I have the upmost respect. He made a statement in conjunction with Lord Peter Smith the leader of the council and Jo Platt our local MP.

The statement which was on the GMCA website read: "We know this is a worrying time for all Leigh fans so we wanted to provide reassurance that we stand behind the club and are ready to support it in any way we can through this coming period.

"The success Leigh Centurions have seen in recent years will live long in the memory and is due in no small part to the energy and finance invested by Derek Beaumont. We thank him for his efforts on the club's behalf.

"Leigh Centurions now needs to begin a new era which could bring real opportunities to build on our traditions. This club has some of the best facilities in Rugby League, a loyal fanbase and neighbouring amateur clubs which are a production line for top players. All of the fundamentals for success are firmly in place and we make a direct appeal to potential investors in Leigh to step forward and write the next chapter in this great club's proud history."

Andy was respectful to my position for which I thank him. However, I must respond to the comment stating that "we stand behind the club and are ready to support it in any way we can through this coming period."

I have contacted Andy to discuss this with me which I look forward to doing when he has the opportunity. The harsh reality that I won't go into full detail of yet is that the Council and LSV have been anything but supportive and we have been at loggerheads with them all year with them declining my many requests for assistance since being relegated. In actual fact we are being charged more in the Championship this year than we were in Super League last year. The Council and LSV were happy to reap the rewards of my investment and the success it brought the club and the town. Higher attendances and secondary spend increased their income dramatically, whilst the social and economical benefits it brought to the local community and businesses was undoubtedly significant. It's disappointing that when the tide turned, they weren't prepared to assist us.

There will be a lot more to come out about the situation at LSV which isn't appropriate at this stage but I don't think it is right that people are given a false impression of the actual situation. I haven't had any contact from (LSV Chief Executive) Simon Toon, Jo Platt or Lord Peter Smith to either see how I am, how the Club is or if there is anything they can do to help the situation.

I have supported them all year against my personal judgement concerning restricting items being brought into the stadium etc but unfortunately haven't been supported in return. The statement is certainly right in respect of LSV being a fantastic facility, something I have always championed, but it's no good living in a house in which you can't afford to pay the bills and that unfortunately is the case and will become even more so as the Club returns to a part time status. With regards to wanting to attract investors I think that is rather more a decision for me to make than them.

This week's example of LSV 's willingness to "stand behind the club and (being) ready to support it in any way we can through this coming period" is me learning that we are not permitted to do the team run on the main pitch on the Saturday before this weekend's game as normal, due to its usage for football.

I have also found out from the circulated LSV calendar that Manchester United Ladies team have been given use of LSV on two occasions in February and March next year on a Sunday without any consultation or notification to ourselves, which given the Stadium's primary use is supposed to be for the town's rugby team I find appalling.

I always say everything happens for a reason and you don't always know the reason at the time. Something good always comes from something bad and good things happen to good people so I have no doubt that the good people of Leigh will in time enjoy good times and be able to make sense of the reason behind what has happened down the line. I have used my own money to give the Club some great times and will happily write that off to the right people should they come forward to be able to invest in the Club to get it back to Super League, where I still genuinely believe it belongs.

I will always be a fan and a supporter I would like to think when it is all over that I will in time be able to come to games as a sponsor and enjoy watching the Club that I feel is very much part of me. I hope that will soon enough be in Super League. I have been part of it twice and I never say never so who knows maybe down the line it could be third time lucky but for now I think with the uncertainty of the sport and all the issues I have with it, coupled with our current plight, it's time for a new era and one I genuinely hope can be more successful than I was.

Three Championship League Leaders Shields and a promotion to Super League with three quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup are topped only by our first ever Super League away win and that memorable night scoring 50 at home against Wigan. I have no issues with Wigan; they are a remarkable Club, something I would always aspire to achieve but the local rivalry over the years puts that at the top of my memories.

So before I go we have the chance to win one last thing, something we have never won before, and it would be great if we could go out on a high from such a low position and get that final to be at LSV and lift the Shield for our outstanding fans whom I applaud and am desperately sorry towards!

Yours in sport

Derek 

[coolie]

Fair play to Derek for that insight into the Leigh club. 

And a little disappointing players not terminating their contracts when the Club are in dire straits. 

Hopefully Leigh will survive and then flourish under a new regime insuring Leigh will be apart of the rugby league family for years to come. 

Always like Derek.. Yes he was a supporter who tried to make the team he loved bigger & better, and put his money where is mouth is and became a character of rugby league, whether you love him or hate him what's he's wrote is full of passion.. 

And that's the bloke who is Derek beaumont. 

Good luck derek

[Blind side johnny]

2 hours ago, coolie said:

Fair play to Derek for that insight into the Leigh club. 

And a little disappointing players not terminating their contracts when the Club are in dire straits. 

Hopefully Leigh will survive and then flourish under a new regime insuring Leigh will be apart of the rugby league family for years to come. 

Always like Derek.. Yes he was a supporter who tried to make the team he loved bigger & better, and put his money where is mouth is and became a character of rugby league, whether you love him or hate him what's he's wrote is full of passion.. 

And that's the bloke who is Derek beaumont. 

Good luck derek

Would you be surprised if I disagreed.

Imagine that you are a young athlete with a family and a mortgage. You are approached by a couple of blokes, one of whom is the coach and the other the chairman of the professional RL club. They offer you a three year contract on decent terms to sign for them as a professional RL player. They don't put any terms and conditions about needing to achieve a specific league position nor any detailed performance requirements in that contract. The team that you are playing for then fails to make the top four; the bloke who has been bankrolling that club, who offered you the contract and guaranteed your wages now says that he is leaving and can no longer fund the club. Somehow or other the fact that you are not prepared to tear up that contract and all that this entails means that you are the one that is guilty of placing the club in jeopardy.

Yeah, that seems fair. No blame attached to Dessie. Everyone else's fault (players, coaches, LSV, Mayor of Greater Manchester, RFL, tooth fairy etc.)

[Wakefield Ram]

While you can't criticise him for what he did and the money he put in, he knew what the consequences were if they didn't make the top 4. He's right that he almost didn't have a choice but he chose to roll the dice and with so much at stake, not having a contingency plan is naive at best. It's not up to the local council to bail out RL clubs, it's not like councils are awash with money.

 

 

[Ramite]

Those players that sign up I'm sure they know RL is littered with teams that have gone bust especially at this level. It's hardly a secure source of money , there are no guarantees that money will be paid out. They know how important the top 4 is in terms of money . Themselves and they agents they use would be naive to think otherwise. Of course they have the right not to tear up any contracts and stay on board. 

[Blind side johnny]

4 hours ago, Ramite said:

Those players that sign up I'm sure they know RL is littered with teams that have gone bust especially at this level. It's hardly a secure source of money , there are no guarantees that money will be paid out. They know how important the top 4 is in terms of money . Themselves and they agents they use would be naive to think otherwise. Of course they have the right not to tear up any contracts and stay on board. 

These are full-time players though.

I guess that you would also say that the employees of BHS/Comet/Poundland are to blame for their own woes too? Just naive to expect their employment to be honoured?

[Piggy's mate]

But the RFL with their twisted distribution of funds is more to blame imo. Teams like Fev have to invest in the players to try get in the top four to keep the merry go round going. It did for Bradford a couple of seasons ago and now it will dismantle the efforts at Leigh.. great way to develop the game eh!

[Blind side johnny]

1 hour ago, Piggy's mate said:

But the RFL with their twisted distribution of funds is more to blame imo. Teams like Fev have to invest in the players to try get in the top four to keep the merry go round going. It did for Bradford a couple of seasons ago and now it will dismantle the efforts at Leigh.. great way to develop the game eh!

Partly to blame I'm sure. This sort of thing never happened before when regular P&R was the norm did it?

And, please, don't atribute Bradford's problems to the distribution formula - it was much more complex than that.

[DOGFATHER]

2 hours ago, Piggy's mate said:

But the RFL with their twisted distribution of funds is more to blame imo. Teams like Fev have to invest in the players to try get in the top four to keep the merry go round going. It did for Bradford a couple of seasons ago and now it will dismantle the efforts at Leigh.. great way to develop the game eh!

Totally agree with you, to my mind the SL clubs themselves created this issue. The SL clubs exacerbated the issue of relegation during the last TV deal with Sky. When they increased there own funding from £1.1M to £1.8M, and increased the funding in the lower divisions by a much smaller percentage, widening the gap between themselves and everyone else even further than it already was. 

It made relegation almost a death warrant, as the gap in funding is far too great between divisions to be sustainable. 

If they had increased the percentage funding for all clubs in the CH and CH1 to lessen the impact between divisions, it would make things much more workable for every club should the worst happen.

But it seems greed got the better of them... (no surprise there then).

[Blind side johnny]

18 hours ago, DOGFATHER said:

Totally agree with you, to my mind the SL clubs themselves created this issue. The SL clubs exacerbated the issue of relegation during the last TV deal with Sky. When they increased there own funding from £1.1M to £1.8M, and increased the funding in the lower divisions by a much smaller percentage, widening the gap between themselves and everyone else even further than it already was. 

It made relegation almost a death warrant, as the gap in funding is far too great between divisions to be sustainable. 

If they had increased the percentage funding for all clubs in the CH and CH1 to lessen the impact between divisions, it would make things much more workable for every club should the worst happen.

But it seems greed got the better of them... (no surprise there then).

I mostly agree, but their greatest fear was the NRL taking away every player of quality due to the SL clubs being unable to start to compete with them on salaries.

[DOGFATHER]

1 hour ago, Blind side johnny said:

I mostly agree, but their greatest fear was the NRL taking away every player of quality due to the SL clubs being unable to start to compete with them on salaries.

Yes, I realise that and I do understand the logic. I can't help but think, that the long term approach might have been a better option. I.e. to lessen the wages of players and have a salary cap that is affordable to all 12 SL teams. Let today's top talent go to the NRL, do not try to compete with them, they can't anyway, as the financial gap between SL and the NRL is nearly as big as the one between CH1 and SL.

Build the game up in this country over a number of years and improve the spectacle for fans to attract more of them, until we are at a point were the TV deal would command a similar figure to that in Australia, so we could start to compete for the top players.

I'd like them to create a more balanced competition where every team has a realistic chance of winning silverware every season.

I still maintain, one of, if not the best season I have seen was in 2009. It is certainly up there with the 2 seasons where we finished 3rd. Harrison came in to replace Thornton, and we avoided relegation on the last day at Featherstone. Leigh were saved from relegation by the demise of Gateshead.

That season, despite us only just avoiding relegation, the teams were extremely evenly matched it was great to go to games having absolutely no idea if you would win or lose, regardless of who you were playing.

Barrow won the title that season, winning just 13 games out of 20, and Toulouse (who were exempt from relegation that season)  finished in 10th place, out of 11 teams in the division and won 9 out of 20 games.

That is how league's should be fought out IMO, that would increase the spectacle for fans and help to improve the game as a whole in the longer term, teams would have to play at there best every week to win anything. I'm sure that part of the problem in attracting fans to the game is, it has been dominated by 3 or 4 clubs over the last 20+ years. I'm sure it doesn't help to attract new fans to the sport, when so many games and even seasons are predictable before a ball is kicked.