Transatlantic League just days away??

[The Parksider]

A new Error/Era for the game is now probably just a matter of days away? Be careful what you wish for..........

Perez said at the start this was never just a one club project.

"When we started this journey, we knew that one team is not enough to yield what you need to yield from the market. Now that Toronto is up and running and in a very good place it's time to fulfil that destiny and get the next teams set up. Toronto was the first of its kind, so a test project”.

"We are looking to make Super League the most commercially viable competition, apart from the Premiership, that plays in the northern hemisphere. To do that you need to have more North Americans, at least five or six clubs in SL in  the next 10 years."

“The RFL voted unanimously to allow us to enter the league. We will be working with the CRL to develop a strong talent pool. Our goal is to build a competitive Super League level club from day 1 but also focus on investing in player development here in Canada so that we can build our homegrown talent”. 

Eric Perez

Toronto Wolfpack will most likely get to Superleague next week. If they do then that will be (despite the promises made above) without a single North American player on board now or any time in at least the next 10 years. TWP will be staffed entirely by players from the pool the English Superleague clubs draw from.

Buoyed by no apparent bar to their promotion since Rimmer cast doubt on them being allowed in Superleague in January (Rimmer in an about face is now heaping praise on them) Perez and Argyle are talking more NA clubs with Philadelphia added to the list that also contains Montreal, NY, Boston and  Jacksonville. It may be the stated 10 year plan will run like this:-

TWP replace Widnes, New York replace Salford, Montreal replace Hull.K.R, Boston replace Wakefield, Philadelphia replace Huddersfield, Jacksonville replace Castleford? Choose your own list if you like, but don't forget there's likely to be nobody left to replace on west of the Pennines as we head towards only three big clubs left there if Salford collapse financially as is predicted.

With the promise of player development in Canada proving to be utterly false, something most people ignore, each new entrant to the fledgling Transatlantic league will need to ship 30 players over to North America who would usually play here. Forget the worn out excuse more NA clubs will mean SL goes to 14 then 16 and then 18. Don't keep kicking that can down the road.

Do please try to remember the worsening player shortage. It’s been conveniently and deliberately ignored by people for two years now. Let’s talk reality?

In addition around 35,000 SL fans will find their clubs relegated probably for good (do not ignore the fact any American TV deal will require American clubs are not relegated), so any aspiring European Championship clubs like York, Newcastle, Bradford and Toulouse won’t have much of a chance of joining this Transatlantic League. Clubs relegated from SL will stop running academies if they cannot afford it outside SL, and in addition the purpose becomes just to stock the American teams. Will kids continue to play RL in Cas or Huddersfield if they are expected to go to America if they make it?

Do not continue to ignore Perez himself states the pointlessness of TWP being in Superleague on their own. After two years of ignoring these points above it's time to come off the fence and stop making excuses, discuss the reality of the Transatlantic League as set out by Mr. Perez above that may be with us by the weekend...   Will it save us and how??or destroy us??

[ojx]

I have never heard you make these points before. Thanks for starting a new thread to rehash them.

[kiwis 13 6]

North American teams in Superleague... maybe 1 or perhaps 2 if there are any more capable of steping up to Superleague after that form a North American competition.

[Copa]

Meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown meltdown 

[Manfred Mann]

New York must follow Toronto otherwise no point in trying to develop the game in North America. But at least two more must follow after New York is established. They should be drawn from Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Jacksonville. 

[Oliver Clothesoff]

If Toronto are going to further wind up sad, colloquial old men who think the game should be kept in small former industrial towns in the North of England only, then I’m all for Toronto’s inclusion in Super League in 2019. 

 

[Damien]

Well that's one long post about absolutely nothing really. It's essentially one long opinion piece dressed up as fact. I obviously need a crystal ball like that though so I can see and predict the future. Also if what you see transpires then it looks pretty good to me but I'm not quite as optimistic as you about all of that .

[Colin James]

4 hours ago, The Parksider said:

Will kids continue to play RL in Cas or Huddersfield if they are expected to go to America if they make it?

Surely 'a career in RL can take you around the world' is a better selling point than 'a career in RL will see you become familiar with every service station along the M62'?

I may be wrong and there are certain stereotypes about Yorkshire folk but surely they don't actually believe that the place is the centre of the universe and there is nothing beyond the county border?

As for player development. They have existed for two years. How quickly do you seriously think they can be expected to turn children who have never seen RL in their life into men who can play against professionals? How dare they not pack the team with 16 year old Canadians! Clubs with 100 years of history don't have academies or reserve teams, I think we can afford Toronto a bit of leeway to get pathways going.

[Omott91]

Parky really is the ''glass half empty'' type.

[Just Browny]

I disagree with Parky, but I think we need to show more concern for someone for whom the most compelling action at 3am/4am is to have another panic about Toronto. Clearly having a tough time.

[Omott91]

4 hours ago, The Parksider said:

A new Error/Era for the game is now probably just a matter of days away? Be careful what you wish for..........

Perez said at the start this was never just a one club project.

"When we started this journey, we knew that one team is not enough to yield what you need to yield from the market. Now that Toronto is up and running and in a very good place it's time to fulfil that destiny and get the next teams set up. Toronto was the first of its kind, so a test project”.

"We are looking to make Super League the most commercially viable competition, apart from the Premiership, that plays in the northern hemisphere. To do that you need to have more North Americans, at least five or six clubs in SL in  the next 10 years."

“The RFL voted unanimously to allow us to enter the league. We will be working with the CRL to develop a strong talent pool. Our goal is to build a competitive Super League level club from day 1 but also focus on investing in player development here in Canada so that we can build our homegrown talent”. 

Eric Perez

Toronto Wolfpack will most likely get to Superleague next week. If they do then that will be (despite the promises made above) without a single North American player on board now or any time in at least the next 10 years. TWP will be staffed entirely by players from the pool the English Superleague clubs draw from.

Buoyed by no apparent bar to their promotion since Rimmer cast doubt on them being allowed in Superleague in January (Rimmer in an about face is now heaping praise on them) Perez and Argyle are talking more NA clubs with Philadelphia added to the list that also contains Montreal, NY, Boston and  Jacksonville. It may be the stated 10 year plan will run like this:-

TWP replace Widnes, New York replace Salford, Montreal replace Hull.K.R, Boston replace Wakefield, Philadelphia replace Huddersfield, Jacksonville replace Castleford? Choose your own list if you like, but don't forget there's likely to be nobody left to replace on west of the Pennines as we head towards only three big clubs left there if Salford collapse financially as is predicted.

With the promise of player development in Canada proving to be utterly false, something most people ignore, each new entrant to the fledgling Transatlantic league will need to ship 30 players over to North America who would usually play here. Forget the worn out excuse more NA clubs will mean SL goes to 14 then 16 and then 18. Don't keep kicking that can down the road.

Do please try to remember the worsening player shortage. It’s been conveniently and deliberately ignored by people for two years now. Let’s talk reality?

In addition around 35,000 SL fans will find their clubs relegated probably for good (do not ignore the fact any American TV deal will require American clubs are not relegated), so any aspiring European Championship clubs like York, Newcastle, Bradford and Toulouse won’t have much of a chance of joining this Transatlantic League. Clubs relegated from SL will stop running academies if they cannot afford it outside SL, and in addition the purpose becomes just to stock the American teams. Will kids continue to play RL in Cas or Huddersfield if they are expected to go to America if they make it?

Do not continue to ignore Perez himself states the pointlessness of TWP being in Superleague on their own. After two years of ignoring these points above it's time to come off the fence and stop making excuses, discuss the reality of the Transatlantic League as set out by Mr. Perez above that may be with us by the weekend...   Will it save us and how??or destroy us??

Give it a rest and stop trolling.

You don't need to remind us that we're only days away from best thing ever to happen to Super league and if it means dragging conservative people kicking and screaming out of the M62 corridor and into the 21st century then I'm all for new clubs entering. 

[frank]

Parky,if the T W had had  North Americans in the team they would not be where they are now.Once they reach  SLthat's the time to introduce  those players to the game.It's going to be a slow process in doing that.The way SL is at the moment it needs a shot in the arm and theWP have provided  a lot of publicity for the game so far.

[yanto]

Like Toronto there are not many home grown players at Liverpool or Man City or Chelsea but guess what they all aim for. 

Champions League football.

That is were the money is made not the Premiership. 

If a Transatlantic League is going to bring in new investment, new clubs, new World Wide TV deals then surely that will benefit the heartland clubs left behind.

If the Transatlantic League does flourish your Widnes, Halifax. Workington's will still be around playing at a level that suits them and the amatuer game will still be producing future players. 

Maybe a Transatlantic League beamed around the world will actually be the saviour of the game in the UK as the profile of the sport gets a much needed boost. 

All in the air but who knows ten year down the road we may have a great product awash with money from top to bottom. 

Nice dream ☺ 

 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Perhaps I'm being too sensible but if more NA teams come in then there will be TV deals in the biggest media market in the world which will grow attendances and revenue over there and encourage more kids to play the game which will increase the player pool which means those players will filter down to the UK teams which will mean that super league can be expanded which will mean that more heartland teams will not need to be relegated. 

Sorry, too much sense in that........ 

[Yorkshire Knight]

The most striking thing for me is the fact that there are no Canadian players in TWP. Imagine being a spectator going to a game for the first time, staying behind to get apparel signed etc then not hearing a single accent you can identify with. What connection does the team have to the city they're supposed to be representing? At the moment, many words come to mind when describing the team. I'm not questioning the authenticity of the TWP but at some point you have to ask, how long will the team be relying on Aussies/Brits to the fill the ranks? This is why I've always said that building the foundations ie grassroots is the most important step in expansion. Hopefully development plans are underway 

[cookey]

Your absolutely right YK,it's similar to the English cricket team and the English rugby union team - full of people brought up in South Africa.

 

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

4 minutes ago, Yorkshire Knight said:

The most striking thing for me is the fact that there are no Canadian players in TWP. Imagine being a spectator going to a game for the first time, staying behind to get apparel signed etc then not hearing a single accent you can identify with. What connection does the team have to the city they're supposed to be representing? At the moment, many words come to mind when describing the team. I'm not questioning the authenticity of the TWP but at some point you have to ask, how long will the team be relying on Aussies/Brits to the fill the ranks? This is why I've always said that building the foundations ie grassroots is the most important step in expansion. Hopefully development plans are underway 

The fans won't care if the Wolf Pack are successful, just as Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool etc do't seem to be too bothered at the lack of Englishmen in their sides

[Yorkshire Knight]

2 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

The fans won't care if the Wolf Pack are successful, just as Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool etc do't seem to be too bothered at the lack of Englishmen in their sides

I don't really think football is a fair comparison for the simple reason that it's football. And it's also not like all those teams don't have academies 

[JohnM]

7 minutes ago, Yorkshire Knight said:

The most striking thing for me is the fact that there are no Canadian players in TWP. Imagine being a spectator going to a game for the first time, staying behind to get apparel signed etc then not hearing a single accent you can identify with. What connection does the team have to the city they're supposed to be representing? At the moment, many words come to mind when describing the team. I'm not questioning the authenticity of the TWP but at some point you have to ask, how long will the team be relying on Aussies/Brits to the fill the ranks? This is why I've always said that building the foundations ie grassroots is the most important step in expansion. Hopefully development plans are underway 

I dont think that is really how it is, though. A successful TWP is a blooming flower that should/could:/might/may/will/can be used to create ambition in the young, a reason to develop grass roots, the seed as it were to grow local participation. Without a successful TWP, there is absolutely no reason anyone would develop the grass roots game.

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, Yorkshire Knight said:

The most striking thing for me is the fact that there are no Canadian players in TWP. Imagine being a spectator going to a game for the first time, staying behind to get apparel signed etc then not hearing a single accent you can identify with. What connection does the team have to the city they're supposed to be representing? At the moment, many words come to mind when describing the team. I'm not questioning the authenticity of the TWP but at some point you have to ask, how long will the team be relying on Aussies/Brits to the fill the ranks? This is why I've always said that building the foundations ie grassroots is the most important step in expansion. Hopefully development plans are underway 

The thing is all of the Canadians on here have said repeatedly that they don't care about that and that it is quite normal in some Canadian sports for teams to be stacked with non Canadians. The fans also seem to have great rapport with the players regardless of nationality, far better than I see at most clubs.

[Gluedo]

Perez certainly knows how to put verbal meat on the bone doesn't he;

Quote

"We are looking to make Super League the most commercially viable competition, apart from the Premiership, that plays in the northern hemisphere. To do that you need to have more North Americans, at least five or six clubs in SL in  the next 10 years."

What does he mean by 'Premiership'? Does he mean the Premier League (football)? Or the Premiership (Rugby Union)?

If he means the Premier League then he'll be looking for revenues somewhere in the £4-5bn or if he means the RU Premiership then something around the £300m mark. 

Super League currently has revenues of £60m.

However, there are scores of sports leagues in the Northern Hemisphere (in fact all the biggies are exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere) such as the NBA, Bundesliga, Serie A, Top 14, MLS,  Mexican Baseball and Swiss Ice Hockey plus many more that all have significantly higher revenues than Super League. 

Dog-whistle marketing at it's finest. 

[Just Browny]

17 minutes ago, Yorkshire Knight said:

The most striking thing for me is the fact that there are no Canadian players in TWP. Imagine being a spectator going to a game for the first time, staying behind to get apparel signed etc then not hearing a single accent you can identify with. What connection does the team have to the city they're supposed to be representing? At the moment, many words come to mind when describing the team. I'm not questioning the authenticity of the TWP but at some point you have to ask, how long will the team be relying on Aussies/Brits to the fill the ranks? This is why I've always said that building the foundations ie grassroots is the most important step in expansion. Hopefully development plans are underway 

I think it is easy to think other places are as parochial as the north of England, where the way in which you refer to a particular piece of bread can mark you out as a foreign intruder. 

Of course youth development is important: that is precisely why it is exciting to develop a new club and support base in virgin territory where new people and populations will be exposed to the game and hopefully give it a go.

[Tommygilf]

8 minutes ago, Yorkshire Knight said:

I don't really think football is a fair comparison for the simple reason that it's football. And it's also not like all those teams don't have academies 

And their academies recruit from around the world too.

[JohnM]

14 minutes ago, Yorkshire Knight said:

The most striking thing for me is the fact that there are no Canadian players in TWP. Imagine being a spectator going to a game for the first time, staying behind to get apparel signed etc then not hearing a single accent you can identify with. What connection does the team have to the city they're supposed to be representing? At the moment, many words come to mind when describing the team. I'm not questioning the authenticity of the TWP but at some point you have to ask, how long will the team be relying on Aussies/Brits to the fill the ranks? This is why I've always said that building the foundations ie grassroots is the most important step in expansion. Hopefully development plans are underway 

Do people going to a game for the first time try to get shirts signed? The grass roots proposition in back to ftont. No TWP, no gras roots.

I understand Parksiders position, I think, but fear he might be misunderstanding mine. For example, I think it is perfectly possible for SuperLeague clubs to afford the travel involved in playing away games in Toronto. Sure they might have to find say an extra £150k a year to fund it, but weare talking here of multi-million £ businesses. 

[Spidey]

2 hours ago, Omott91 said:

Parky really is the ''glass half empty'' type.

More like there's a dribble at the bottom