Jump to content

Widnes problems


dkw

Recommended Posts

26 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Who's withholding?

The BBC reported they got an advance payment so salaries could be paid.

2 income streams - RFL have advanced next months central funding for player wages.

SL have withheld the next instalment of the parachute payment as they can pocket approx. £40k each and they don't have any responsibility for Widnes anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 690
  • Created
  • Last Reply
9 minutes ago, Clogiron said:

 The Bulls meanwhile seem to be trying to price themselves out of the market with their admission prices,

Key word being trying I think.

Reported attendance 6024 for our 1st home game.

You can't budget for away fans, that's financial suicide. You set your price and watch ticket sales. A couple of extensions of Early Bird prices helped and a flexi-ticket for those who can't commit to all the home games of a season.

The first year we were in championship I think we averaged about 5.2k regular season and 6.2k for the middle 8's - so if we stay in the 5-6k bracket, prices are sustainable. As is the club, which is the main thing....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems Mr Backhouse may be due an apology.

He was called 'bitter' after he failed to  purchase the club and suggested the club would be in administration.

Then another potential purchase has pulled out.

Things must be particularly bad.

http://www.rlnews.co.uk/reports-administration-threatens-vikings/

This could run for sometime if the administrators are on the putative salaries as the ones appointed at Bradford.

     No reserves,but resilience,persistence and determination are omnipotent.                       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isn't just a case of why take on a debt riddled club when you can let them go into administration, fob off all the staff, small businesses etc. And just restart as Widnes 2019! Didn't the club formally known as Bradford Bulls, now named Bradford Bulls 2016 do the same?

Touch Rugby W(h)inger and part-time Super Hero (Thursday mornings by appointment) :superman:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BATLEY BULLDOGS RLFC :bb:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

Breaking News on the BBC - administration and a 12 point deduction, may face liquidation if no new investment by next week. Very sad for the game this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/47323878

Giving them a 12 point deduction and putting them in serious risk of relegation is a sure way to try and get new investors in to try and save the team isn't it? I know that was done to Bradford but that's wasn't a genius idea then either. If Argyle invests in them or not I don't care much as I will still be a TWP supporter but the RFL isn't doing anything to help bring money into the game here.

For all the Widnes fans on here I do hope that things work out for you and that the team keeps going.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, TrueBull said:

2 income streams - RFL have advanced next months central funding for player wages.

SL have withheld the next instalment of the parachute payment as they can pocket approx. £40k each and they don't have any responsibility for Widnes anymore.

Aside from covering players wages (which the RFL have sorted), what exactly would be the point of giving Widnes more money until they've got another backer lined up?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Piggy's mate said:

Isn't just a case of why take on a debt riddled club when you can let them go into administration, fob off all the staff, small businesses etc. And just restart as Widnes 2019! Didn't the club formally known as Bradford Bulls, now named Bradford Bulls 2016 do the same?

I heard at Newcastle last weekend that this was the plan. An investor is there ready, but waiting for administration to clear the debts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Krzzystuff said:

Giving them a 12 point deduction and putting them in serious risk of relegation is a sure way to tray and get new investors in to tray and save the team isn't it? I know that was done to Bradford but that's wasn't a genius idea then either. If Argyle invests in them or not I don't care much as I will still be a TWP supporter but the RFL isn't doing anything to help bring money into the game here.

2

On the flip side, if there is no points deduction, what is to stop clubs going to into administration, wiping out any debt and screwing over the people that are owed money rather than settling debt the honest way? The RFL would be crucified for letting that happen too. The way to sell Widnes now, is probably similar to the way you sold Bradford two years ago, you ain't getting a sniff of anything good in the next 12/18 months but you've got the good basis to build this from the ground up if you do it properly. Nobody investing in any business - sport or otherwise - should be expecting an instant return from a business in administration surely?

SQL Honours

Play off mini league winner - 2002. Bronze Medalist - 2003. Big Split Group Winner - 2006. Minor Stupidship - 2005, 2006. Cup Silver Medalist - 2008, 2009

CHAMPION - 2005, 2009, 2010

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

People, generally, aren’t bothered about MK Dons. The animosity has long since died down and there’s no boycott of attending MK Dons as an away fan. I’d say the only people really bothered by them are AFC Hypocrites.

I'd say you were well off the mark, there is a huge amount of anti MK Dons feelings around, big numbers of football fans of all clubs and levels who won't give a penny to them, indeed some, won't even acknowledge they exist.

To say there are only Wimbledon fans who have a problem is way off IMO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Amber Avenger said:

On the flip side, if there is no points deduction, what is to stop clubs going to into administration, wiping out any debt and screwing over the people that are owed money rather than settling debt the honest way? The RFL would be crucified for letting that happen too. The way to sell Widnes now, is probably similar to the way you sold Bradford two years ago, you ain't getting a sniff of anything good in the next 12/18 months but you've got the good basis to build this from the ground up if you do it properly. Nobody investing in any business - sport or otherwise - should be expecting an instant return from a business in administration surely?

very good point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

People, generally, aren’t bothered about MK Dons. The animosity has long since died down and there’s no boycott of attending MK Dons as an away fan. I’d say the only people really bothered by them are AFC Hypocrites.

I disagree. I know plenty of fellow Southend United fans who would refuse to set foot in that stadium. Not an issue this year thankfully as they were relegated in 2018. The mugs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/21/2019 at 9:37 AM, Omott91 said:

A question for English folks,

There is a lot of talk about possible Liverpool and Manchester teams and how they're not rl cities. From an Aussie perspective both these cities have rl teams in their outlying suburbs. For example, Salford is less than a few kilometres from Manchester according to Google. The same for Liverpool. I've read so comments on how Liverpool doesn't play rl, yet last year the city had 3 Super League teams within half hour drive. My question is how far away from a rl playing area do you need to be before it is considered to be a non rl area? Also, how much closer to Manchester does an rl team need to be for Manchester to be considered an rl city if Salford isn't close enough already?

This is an (unusual for you) very good post indeed, and very perceptive. The very fact Liverpool and Hull are linked by an extremely busy motorway I was on only last night shows that people move significant distances for their work and entertainment. As one leaves Liverpool the signs to Warrington, St.Helens and Widnes come up very quickly and of course there are many RL fans in Liverpool and of course they go watch these clubs just as people in these three RL towns go watch Liverpool and Everton. The latter club a big Liverpool based soccer club, has large support from North Wales and the fact you have recognised is Liverpool RLFC are not going to pull RL fans with three big RL clubs on the doorstep.

Castleford is a small town off the motorway of 40K people and hardly has the wider area to itself with Featherstone and Wakefield close by. It got an average crowd of 9,000 in 2017 very many of whom were attracted to the club from outlying areas because it ain't hard to get to. Cas fans themselves comment on the reach of the club.

In Manchester - I went from Leeds to Manchester and back yesterday, there is a river close to the city centre where if you cross the bridges you are in Salford. The two city's are just one conglomeration and whilst Salford is to the West I know Salford fans who live in the east of the conurbation in Manchester. All these people decrying Manchester being blocked from entry to the game have this weird idea that nobody in Manchester has heard of RL and if a club lands on their doorstep they are going to support it in their thousands. They just aren't, and the RFL have to take the usual stick accordingly.

Newcastle RL are on 800 crowds from a 775,000 (wiki) Tyneside conurbation. They have no other RL clubs near them and are becoming a club that may just survive in the Championship. They face established big Soccer and Rugby Union clubs attracting many thousands of fans which any RL club away from the M62 will face. 

The fact is expansion away from the M62 or even inside the M62 doesn't work for a regional minority sport hence over the last 122 years 51 new clubs have gone under and currently a good number more face this if the TV deal reduces for 2021 and of course the Superleague clubs take all the available money which they have to.

But the bottom line is for some people, many who turn up on here new clubs are exciting and old clubs are boring, but at least the old established ones are very real. Not a bloke with some money shipping players to a rented ground somewhere there is minimal RL interest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, meast said:

I'd say you were well off the mark, there is a huge amount of anti MK Dons feelings around, big numbers of football fans of all clubs and levels who won't give a penny to them, indeed some, won't even acknowledge they exist.

To say there are only Wimbledon fans who have a problem is way off IMO

It’s really not. People aren’t fussed by them anymore. Any initial hatred has died down and it’s just the occasional chant now. I wouldn’t even say people boycott, it’s certainly not proven to be the case, teams get good allocation there and tend to fill it when given that much. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Route66 said:

Sad to see the state of a great club,i have many memories of some wonderful Widnes teams especially from the late seventies when town just couldn't beat them in the those Lancashire cup finals and the freescoring team with a young Martin Offiah really hope it's not too late to save them

Yeah they were a great team to watch with some fantastic players. The were my favourite " second team " after the Mighty Hornets. A coach load of us went from work to the Canberra Raiders v Widnes game at Old Trafford. What a great night that was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, David Shepherd said:

Is there a fraud case for the directors to answer?  They've been busy trying to sell advance tickets for the Sheffield and Featherstone games for quite a while. They must have known this was imminent.

Hopefully the defrauded ticket buyers can claim back from their banks, but if the money isn't there this may not be possible for some that have paid by debit card.

Im keen to see the outcome of an impending investigation into the board's behaviour, lots of mud being thrown at certain people, unsurprisingly....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

Well the thing is, it's two separate sets of people that you are counting as one entity.

say you own widnes and owe these people money, what's to stop you putting the club in to administration to avoid those debts. Well you lose what you have put in to the club and you lose ownership of the club. 

I then come in and buy the club, I've done nothing wrong. In fact I've done a good thing, taking on a failing business saving jobs etc. I then get punished with a 12 point deduction, transfer embargo etc etc. 

You no longer own the club or have any involvement in it. This punishment had absolutely no effect on you. But was to my detriment when I had no influence on either the debts or administration

I do understand the dilemma, however without this it is in potential new owners interests to allow the club to go belly up before taking over debt free. If you are going to buy a club and take their league position and points it would be hard to allow that to happen punishment free.

But, it is a tough one, when we have so few investors, it may not be doing the job it intended. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Trojan said:

Widnes were a promoted side, as were Leigh.  The general assumption of many on this forum is that promotion is as bad as relegation, and the one ultimately leads to the other for the club involved.  I'd say Exeter Chief's experience in Union proves the opposite.  We should aim for a similar situation in our game.  Until we do IMO the game will continue to struggle,

Problem is you've picked the 1 that worked... for that one there are a number since 95 and the "professionalism" for whom it has gone horribly wrong.. London Scottish, London Welsh, Richmond, Bedford, London Irish (having to merge/takeover Richmond and scottish) Rotherham have been I'm dire straights, Worcester manage walked a tightrope.  

League has had the same too when you start to reel off the likes of eagles, workington, oldham, bradford, Widnes (twice now), Leigh. 

It's relegation that hurts. Promotion if done wrong also hurts because you spend loads you can't afford to try and stay up and if you stay up it staves off the bailiffs for a bit.. until you go down or you actually break it and start to make money.. 

I'm just pointing it out rather than making a comment on it as such... no idea if there is a solution except the sport to succeed like football (and even then plenty of teams go fut trying to buy promotions then stave off relegation). Closed shop solves a bit but then damages the league below... 

I wish I had a solution  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/20/2019 at 3:23 PM, Marty Funkhouser said:

Think you should consider a name change to "Stretchy"...the "professional era" started in 1895...ALL have been relegated in modern times buts that irrespective of your original comment...Relegation has no "inevitable end product" at all...if we are stretching as much as you like to then ask Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea or even Juventus,

Except it didn't. ?

Visit my photography site www.padge.smugmug.com

Radio 5 Live: Saturday 14 April 2007

Dave Whelan "In Wigan rugby will always be king"

 

This country's wealth was created by men in overalls, it was destroyed by men in suits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

And I'm all for punishing the right people. The likes of beaumont, James rule, marc greene, Omar Kahn et al should all be publicly banned from the game.

totally agree with banning  the people who are the ones responsible for driving a club into the ground and then just walk away. had a chance, blew it, never allowed back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.