RFL petition

[frank]

Numbers mounting nicely on this petition, 1051 at the moment  so for those who have not signed get cracking, it's vital that you do.

[gingerjon]

27 minutes ago, frank said:

Numbers mounting nicely on this petition, 1051 at the moment  so for those who have not signed get cracking, it's vital that you do.

Why?

[Manx RL]

21 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Why?

Why?

 

[gingerjon]

Just now, Manx RL said:

Why?

 

Don't fancy yours much.

[Dave T]

9 hours ago, Denton Rovers RLFC said:

Couldn't agree less, how much do fans spend to go to Newcastle and get rat arsed? It's cheaper to go to wembley than it is for 2 days in Newcastle, that's fact, not fiction!

The problem is many fans are expecting discounts all the time now, this is also why the sport won't get blue chip sponsors because they know full well that the vast majority of Northern fans are tight arsed low demographic types who think £30 is a 'bloody expensive do' yet will pizzle that away and more on a Friday or Saturday night and spend upwards of £60 for a ticket to see some concert or other!

The priority as to where people spend their money has changed and in RL circles the sports fans are the tightest by far!

But, there is a huge difference here, for a few reasons.

1 - I suspect we don't get huge numbers going for the 2 days now, we see probably a small number of thousands who do that I would guesstimate.

2 - Newcastle is cheaper to go for a day session than London if you are inclined to make a session of it.

3 - And a biggie - you will definitely see your team play - spending a couple of hundred quid to see your team play in a great stadium with a festival atmosphere would be more attractive to many. There will be far fewer neutrals than at Wembley.

4 - You are not comparing like for like when you compare prices. At Wembley I would not sit in the upper tier. Yet that is the only place you can sit if you want a ticket for less than £50 (excluding discounts). As a neutral, I find that relatively expensive. 

One thing people don't realise is that the RFL have drastically changed their pricing structure for this event over the last 10 years. When I first went in 2009 (Wire v Hudds) the 2nd cheapest price band was behind the sticks in the lower tier (£26). These are now a flat rate of £50 (4th price band up). 10 years ago it was easy to get an affordable seat in the lower tier, now it is between £50-£80. Going sitting in the Gods where there are huge empty sections and a lesser atmsosphere is not for me, even if it is now cheaper. And I suspect I am not on my own as we are seeing fewer and fewer attend this event.

Warrington have been to Wembley 5 times now in the last 10 years, the price increase for the same seats is quite stark, it makes it easier for fans to stay at home and watch on TV, particularly when the novelty has worn off. The novelty for the likes of Hull and Warrington has now worn off which is something that perhaps helped crowds for a couple of the years over the last decade. 

[Dave T]

10 hours ago, Denton Rovers RLFC said:

IMHO there were more neutrals there last August than for a while, simply because it was Catalans, and certainly many, many more than 2000 and always has been.

I agree with this. I suspect there can't have been more than 15k or so from the finalists. I don't think neutrals was the issue (although naturally we would want more), but the crowd was probably in line with expectations when compared to Wigan v Hull the previous year (working off announced crowds only). Wigan and Hull both have bigger followings than Wire, and both would hugely dwarf the few thousand Catalans brought. Getting a 15-20k reduction is not a surprise.

If we get 50k for 2 UK based teams, that is the real issue.

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

20 hours ago, Angelic Cynic said:

    They were 2 million pounds down before they failed to receive payment for the Denver Test.

    They then lost money on the Challenge Cup Final.

     http://www.rugbytradedirectory.com/news/2018/july/rfl-announce-loss-for-2017.html

Unless they made a bundle on the Kiwi Tests I think they may still be a little in the red.

     They may have to work harder to treat the customers - players and those paying at the turnstiles - better.

     It worked for one former CEO - https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/nrf-tesco-ceo-sir-terry-leahys-10-lessons-for-success/

Thanks for a good post, AC.

[Rupert Prince]

It's too easy to get to Wembely for the top 4 or 5 clubs. Especially as they only come in at the round of 16.  Wigan Wire Leeds Hull Saints, it's a treadmill.  What is the point?

But this suits the RLF since they are only interested in making money from the gate.    

The whole cup needs a revamp.  An all inclusive round of 32, with maybe  several SL clubs knocking themselves out. Then a conference, seeded perhaps, 3 or 4 games (maybe more). Top 8 then draw for quarter final. Then Semi.

Several games... mostly an early season competition, and with a possibility of a non SL finalist.   Thus more diversity.  Plus makes space for dropping the loop SL fixtures.  Effectively, loop fixtures replaced by these cross divisional games being mixed in with this conference section of the Cup.

Whatever needs revamping, if any, it should not, NOT, be based on simply the event making money for the RLF. What is important is that we have a good competition. 

[Mr Plow]

17 hours ago, The Parksider said:

Hemel Oxford & Gloucester's core support was 100 each I assume family, friends, committee members etc.

Participation in soccer & RU is MASSIVELY down too. Are the RFL to "blame" for changing social trends??.  

Yeah, Hemel Oxford and Gloucestershire all failed, they didn’t work, that was under Timmer as chief ioerafions officer and CEO.

RU have lots of development officers going to clubs and into schools throughout the country to try and get more people playing the game. What is RL doing to get more people playing it? Nothing 

[Rupert Prince]

1 hour ago, scotchy1 said:

I'm not sure that it is too easy to get to Wembley, but it often doesnt seem like an achievement. In 2017 Leeds reached the Semi-finals with a aggregate score of 194-38.

Im not sure why people expect it to build much momentum or interest. The early rounds arent like amateur rounds in the fa cup. They wont get that dream draw against the SL sides. The middle rounds are just lower league sides going through the motions where maybe 1 or 2 will get pummeled in a big tie. The big clubs are going through motions pretty much to the semi-finals.

like you say, a group stage can mitigate some of that. 8 groups of 4 very early season (or even pre-season) top one or two go through (id go top 2 but top only makes each game a must win for the big sides (but also creates more dead rubbers) and you can make it a comp clubs are actually engaged with.

In my view, not pre season.   But early, after a few of the rounds, say 2. But draw for the round of 32 could be at week 1 of SL season.  The survivors could be seeded,  based on last seasons' ladders and several matches can then be played in a group stage.

With these games, we can cut out loop fixtures for SL clubs... although a club may go out in the first round.  

Anyway,  it freshens up the Cup and allows Championship clubs play SL clubs.  Also maybe profits could be pooled and may be the RFL get their cut and give up on "bonds".

[Rupert Prince]

17 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

The problem with being in season is that it loses momentum stopping and starting all.the time

Going preseason you  could have the weekends consecutively and even have a game a day for a few weeks and give it some momentum.

It also means that you can start the SL season later and run pretty much straight through and with something of a running start with clubs being at or near the peak 

That's true, but it could well lead to at least 1 SL club going out in "R1".  This does not bother me, but there needs to be some game time for all the clubs since 16 teams go out in R1.

I am not sure if it's the right thing to have 32 teams in a group stage... But it's an option.

[Mister Ting]

Is this how Brexit started? There's still hope.

[bobbruce]

On 1/6/2019 at 4:48 PM, Angelic Cynic said:

   It is not the fault of the club - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46171505

That’s a bit convenient though. Out of 13 home games this season upto end of december. 7 have got no where the 51k it’s supposed to be capped at. The other 6 have gone well past that figure so it looks like they only cap in games they know aren’t going to sell well anyway.