Norfolk Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 2021 is finally looking up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef K Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 If only Elstone had thought of phoning Brian Barwick up to borrow his little black-book with all those big sponsors in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Actually a very good article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleEyePie Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 If Robert Elstone is considered too expensive then Hearn is a non-starter. I can't see him taking such a job for cheap. You'd also have to weigh up the cost of his salary against any potential commercial gains he might bring. That's before you consider whether he'd be the appropriate person to take such a job. I honestly think at this point Super League's only hope lies with the NRL. It seems to be much better placed to grab international media attention and piggy-backing off that could be the only chance Super League has of getting close to a top 5 sport in this country. The bigger the NRL and State of Origin gets the easier it could be to sell Super League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Hearn wouldn't touch this with a barge pole. He saw straight away that the set up of the game is unmanageable with too many vested interests and power across so many spaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: Hearn wouldn't touch this with a barge pole. He saw straight away that the set up of the game is unmanageable with too many vested interests and power across so many spaces. Plus he'd have to back up some of his (deliberately?) vague promises about how he could transform the sport. That might make him hesitate too. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binosh Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 It will be fine, don’t worry, one of the resident experts on here will take the job and revolutionise the sport overnight. They’ll do it all for minimum wage aswell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 It looks to me that without any kind of major investment he realises that he will just be a glorified administrator. His tenure was full of nice enough little touches, some housekeeping things that needed doing, but I think he was hoping to bring private investment to the table to allow his team to make major changes. Now we are heading for no investment and no TV increased funding he would have another 3 or 4 years of treading water and nudging things around with no power or money to make proper changes. On Elstone himself, I just don't think he was enough of a visionary for this role. This was a role all about delivering change and leading the comp to want to move in a new direction. Maybe he had great plans that he now can't deliver, but he never articulated them publicly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Just now, Futtocks said: Plus he'd have to back up some of his (deliberately?) vague promises about how he could transform the sport. That might make him hesitate too. Tbh, that doesn't bother me. He's proven to far more important people on a number of occasions that he is perfectly capable of that. I'm sure from his meetings with Ralph that he was very frank about his view of the state of the game, and unless radical change was agreed (not happening), he's not backing a losing horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUBRATS Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 hour ago, Eddie said: No you’re right, let’s carry on the same tin pot clubs running the game and excluding anyone with any ambition who might threaten their position. Eddie , which clubs do you mean ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 26 minutes ago, Tommygilf said: Actually a very good article Yes and pretty much on the money. These 4 paragraphs describe major areas were he failed and these are pretty much his legacy. I just hope some of the damage can be undone: Elstone's handling of Toronto Wolfpack was heavily scrutinised. He made it abundantly clear that he saw no value in the Canadian club, despite their encouraging attendances and early success at cracking an untapped rugby league market. An 'independent' report into their value came across as a hatchet job, rather than a genuine case study into what they could bring. Sadly, the short-sightedness of many clubs, whose self-interest approach is just as big an issue, meant the Wolfpack were confined to history. His big job was to secure a TV deal. The implications of Covid perhaps make it unfair to compare whatever deal is agreed to that of the existing £40 million per year deal. But the fact that Elstone has spent huge sums in consultancy fees while trying to broker a deal is another cause for concern. Eventually, some of his supporters became dissenting voices. With TV money likely to be reduced, Elstone went in search of external income. He had been a strong advocate of securing a private equity deal. When he tabled it, five clubs rejected it. But they had to pay a six-figure consultancy fee to the merchant banker. It was the final, decisive blow in a miserable, miserable tenure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Just now, Tommygilf said: Tbh, that doesn't bother me. He's proven to far more important people on a number of occasions that he is perfectly capable of that. I'm sure from his meetings with Ralph that he was very frank about his view of the state of the game, and unless radical change was agreed (not happening), he's not backing a losing horse. He's promoted individuals in a sport for individuals. Some might argue that he has done this by making professional boxing even tackier than it was before - see the in-no-way staged press conference "brawls". He has no experience running a whole club sport, with all its leagues and varied priorities/vested interests/crises. And if he asks his dad for advice, well, Barry's only foray into team sport was as the chairman of a single club, and that was a bit underwhelming. Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 2 minutes ago, Dave T said: It looks to me that without any kind of major investment he realises that he will just be a glorified administrator. His tenure was full of nice enough little touches, some housekeeping things that needed doing, but I think he was hoping to bring private investment to the table to allow his team to make major changes. Now we are heading for no investment and no TV increased funding he would have another 3 or 4 years of treading water and nudging things around with no power or money to make proper changes. On Elstone himself, I just don't think he was enough of a visionary for this role. This was a role all about delivering change and leading the comp to want to move in a new direction. Maybe he had great plans that he now can't deliver, but he never articulated them publicly. I agree with that, I think the failures from a financial perspective have ultimately finished him despite all the positive stuff around presentation etc. I think without PE he knows his position is stuffed. He's almost certainly not going to get a higher TV deal, and without PE to cover both his own (undisclosed) vision and the lower income clubs face from that he's played all his cards. Given that St Helens and Leeds are now in open revolt too... Aside from the SL produced stuff, which was alright for a new show, its arguable to see pretty much everything else as a disaster. Magic Weekend to Liverpool, disaster. French TV deal, disaster. Toronto, disaster. Leigh getting half the money, disaster. Papa Johns pizza deal, disaster. PE investment, disaster. Not getting the biggest club in the game on side, disaster. TV deal, reported disaster. Whilst individually for all these events you can cite mitigating circumstances, as a collective it paints a pattern that after 2 and a half years would make anyone's position untenable. The rebranding of clubs was an initiative from Sky so he can't even claim that! Ultimately I don't think he was neither enough of a visionary nor did he inspire enough confidence to get others on board, except where the promise of cash was on offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 minute ago, Futtocks said: He's promoted individuals in a sport for individuals. Some might argue that he has done this by making professional boxing even tackier than it was before - see the in-no-way staged press conference "brawls". He has no experience running a whole club sport, with all its leagues and varied priorities/vested interests/crises. And if he asks his dad for advice, well, Barry's only foray into team sport was as the chairman of a single club, and that was a bit underwhelming. Whatever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Just now, Tommygilf said: I agree with that, I think the failures from a financial perspective have ultimately finished him despite all the positive stuff around presentation etc. I think without PE he knows his position is stuffed. He's almost certainly not going to get a higher TV deal, and without PE to cover both his own (undisclosed) vision and the lower income clubs face from that he's played all his cards. Given that St Helens and Leeds are now in open revolt too... Aside from the SL produced stuff, which was alright for a new show, its arguable to see pretty much everything else as a disaster. Magic Weekend to Liverpool, disaster. French TV deal, disaster. Toronto, disaster. Leigh getting half the money, disaster. Papa Johns pizza deal, disaster. PE investment, disaster. Not getting the biggest club in the game on side, disaster. TV deal, reported disaster. Whilst individually for all these events you can cite mitigating circumstances, as a collective it paints a pattern that after 2 and a half years would make anyone's position untenable. The rebranding of clubs was an initiative from Sky so he can't even claim that! Ultimately I don't think he was neither enough of a visionary nor did he inspire enough confidence to get others on board, except where the promise of cash was on offer. With respect, I think that is a very one-sided list, and we really shouldn't now give Sky credit for the whole rebrand activity that SL went for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pie tries Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 4 hours ago, Mumby Magic said: Give it to Claire Balding That’s not a bad suggestion. Intelligent. Loves the sport. The sport loves her !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 12 minutes ago, GUBRATS said: Eddie , which clubs do you mean ? Wakefield Trinity primarily. Don’t worry I don’t mean Leigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Just now, Dave T said: With respect, I think that is a very one-sided list, and we really shouldn't now give Sky credit for the whole rebrand activity that SL went for. They are without doubt the major "highlights" of his tenure, and that list is by no means exhaustive. Its not me giving Sky credit, he did! He repeatedly claimed that the rebrands of the league and various clubs was part of a follow up from Sky saying the sport should modernise that aspect - that may be yet another example of Elstone hiding behind others where convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 minute ago, Pie tries said: That’s not a bad suggestion. Intelligent. Loves the sport. The sport loves her !! So what job should presenter Claire Balding get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 minute ago, Tommygilf said: They are without doubt the major "highlights" of his tenure, and that list is by no means exhaustive. Its not me giving Sky credit, he did! He repeatedly claimed that the rebrands of the league and various clubs was part of a follow up from Sky saying the sport should modernise that aspect - that may be yet another example of Elstone hiding behind others where convenient. Can you provide a link to that, because this detail about Sky seems to have emerged from the Hull KR bloke a couple of weeks ago. About a year ago Elstone sang Sky's praises saying they had been a great partner and supportive of the whole rebrand and new content etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 hour ago, Wigan Riversider said: As I stated on a previous thread: Sky run SL and the RFL run theRL national team, the CC and the rest. I am no expert and don't pretend or claim to know it all but I believe now is the time to look elsewhere from Sky. There must be other markets and commercial opportunities C4 have just put back on normal and I am personally loving it. Sky have monopolised tours since 1990 however they have competition. Ideally RL can take advantage of that competition IMHO. If I am wrong...so it must be. I hope you are joking? C4 presentation of the cricket is woeful, it makes Sky’s RL look professional. The sooner cricket is back on Sky the better, they have perfected it. Sadly the same can’t be said for RL. Alas, well off topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommygilf Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Just now, Dave T said: Can you provide a link to that, because this detail about Sky seems to have emerged from the Hull KR bloke a couple of weeks ago. About a year ago Elstone sang Sky's praises saying they had been a great partner and supportive of the whole rebrand and new content etc. He said it on numerous occasions mate, I believe I heard it first on a podcast, though each club that has rebranded has said similar - the report on each club and the league came from Winter 2019. Of course they were going to be supportive of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futtocks Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 1 minute ago, Dave T said: So what job should presenter Claire Balding get? Elstone's. She has no experience of that sort of work, has many other time-consuming interests in broadcasting, and wouldn't it be heart-warming to transform her from a popular fan and ambassador for the sport into our next reviled and ridiculed scapegoat? Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted. Ralph Waldo Emerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wigan Riversider Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 5 minutes ago, DoubleD said: I hope you are joking? C4 presentation of the cricket is woeful, it makes Sky’s RL look professional. The sooner cricket is back on Sky the better, they have perfected it. Sadly the same can’t be said for RL. Alas, well off topic Dated granted. They had only days to organise but had 1 million viewers on day 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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