Ralph Rimmer gives an Interview

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, idrewthehaggis said:

 

In truth the number of teams is not the issue. Surely it is whether there is a adequately funded second tier to stop those unlucky to be relegated to stop disappearing into the abyss such as has happened to Oldham, Workington, Sheffield and Widnes.

Again this demonstrates a revolting RFL mistake. Re-alignment of the structure does not address the real big issues. 

 

To be fair to Rimmer, one of the few comments he made that said anything worthwhile on this weeks 5 live podcast addressed that and he said one of the good things about 10x2 is that it wouldn’t be disastrous for the relegated clubs like it is now, or a heart attack as he called it. What happens to whoever gets relegated from SL2 is a different matter though. 

[Damien]

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

To be fair to Rimmer, one of the few comments he made that said anything worthwhile on this weeks 5 live podcast addressed that and he said one of the good things about 10x2 is that it wouldn’t be disastrous for the relegated clubs like it is now, or a heart attack as he called it. What happens to whoever gets relegated from SL2 is a different matter though. 

I simply don't see how that is possible when the money isn't there.

[Eddie]

16 minutes ago, Damien said:

I simply don't see how that is possible when the money isn't there.

Presumably less to SL1 clubs to even it out a bit. Plus him and Johnston seem fairly excited about some new investment coming in, but probably not PE. 

[paulwalker71]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

 What happens to whoever gets relegated from SL2 is a different matter though. 

Are we sure there is going to be relegation / promotion in that direction?

Is 2x10s a way of effectively pulling up a drawbridge between 'the Top 20' and the rest, who would presumably then become more or less 'community clubs'?

Genuine question

[Damien]

59 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Presumably less to SL1 clubs to even it out a bit. Plus him and Johnston seem fairly excited about some new investment coming in, but probably not PE. 

There is no way SL clubs will be getting that much less to make that work. Again blowing loads of money, which beings in no revenue, on the Championship is crazy but that's for a different thread. I do worry that this is more Rimmer being concerned with his position and getting votes from clubs than doing what is best. It's a strategy we also saw from Wood. 

[Eddie]

28 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Are we sure there is going to be relegation / promotion in that direction?

Is 2x10s a way of effectively pulling up a drawbridge between 'the Top 20' and the rest, who would presumably then become more or less 'community clubs'?

Genuine question

Well no we don’t know anything, even when asked if England were playing France this autumn he was unable to comment, just started going on about being disappointed to lose the ashes series and World Cup. Surely the proper answer would be, well it’s not confirmed yet but we’re working with the FFR to try to arrange a fixture in Perpignan in October. I don’t know what could possibly be negative about that. 

[Tommygilf]

2 interviews in a week?!

[The Future is League]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

Well no we don’t know anything, even when asked if England were playing France this autumn he was unable to comment, just started going on about being disappointed to lose the ashes series and World Cup. Surely the proper answer would be, well it’s not confirmed yet but we’re working with the FFR to try to arrange a fixture in Perpignan in October. I don’t know what could possibly be negative about that. 

Which confirms my thoughts that with Rimmer at the RFL we are a rudderless ship

[LeeF]

2 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

2 interviews in a week?!

Don’t worry he’s back taking his invisibility tablets 

[sentoffagain2]

  I heard Rimmer say he wanted the game quicker and more exciting it's touch and pass or 9's then.How out of touch Rimmer is,the game needs to be less predictable 5 drives and a kick and less fenetic on the last tackle.Fewer interchanges and the forwards forming a decent scrum would help.If it is to be 2x10 then each team should play others in the division home and away and once from the other division 5 home 5 away 28 games without loop fixtures.I like Magic Weekend so maybe that would be a problem.

[Damien]

1 minute ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  I heard Rimmer say he wanted the game quicker and more exciting it's touch and pass or 9's then.How out of touch Rimmer is,the game needs to be less predictable 5 drives and a kick and less fenetic on the last tackle.Fewer interchanges and the forwards forming a decent scrum would help.

I feel like I have repeated this time and again but quicker does not equate to better. If anything making the game quicker has the precise opposite effect in that it just encourages scoots and 5 drives and a kick because it becomes far to easy to make yards. There is often no need to do anything else, such as more high risk plays or anything involving creativity, because you are making yards at will.

[The Future is League]

40 minutes ago, sentoffagain2 said:

  I heard Rimmer say he wanted the game quicker and more exciting it's touch and pass or 9's then.How out of touch Rimmer is,the game needs to be less predictable 5 drives and a kick and less fenetic on the last tackle.Fewer interchanges and the forwards forming a decent scrum would help.If it is to be 2x10 then each team should play others in the division home and away and once from the other division 5 home 5 away 28 games without loop fixtures.I like Magic Weekend so maybe that would be a problem.

Rimmer just confirming yet again that he detached from reality when it comes to our game

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

18 hours ago, Eddie said:

Presumably less to SL1 clubs to even it out a bit. Plus him and Johnston seem fairly excited about some new investment coming in, but probably not PE. 

“Even it out a bit”… just more code for levelling down.

 

There aren’t 20 clubs in our system with the ability to compete at a full-time, elite level - let alone 20 with the desire to do so. The constant lowering of expectations, and mitigating for failure, is slowly strangling our game to death. 

The day we moved away from a licensing model (which if anything was already watered-down from what it needed to be), was the day the lunatics took final control of the asylum and set our strategy on the basis of what was in the alleged best interests of Leigh, Wakefield, Featherstone and other marginal organisations. 

 

[Spidey]

5 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

“Even it out a bit”… just more code for levelling down.

 

There aren’t 20 clubs in our system with the ability to compete at a full-time, elite level - let alone 20 with the desire to do so. The constant lowering of expectations, and mitigating for failure, is slowly strangling our game to death. 

The day we moved away from a licensing model (which if anything was already watered-down from what it needed to be), was the day the lunatics took final control of the asylum and set our strategy on the basis of what was in the alleged best interests of Leigh, Wakefield, Featherstone and other marginal organisations. 

 

Well here’s 10 in addition to the 12 SL, so there probably is 20 clubs who “could” go FT

Toulouse

Featherstone

London

Bradford

Newcastle

Widnes

Halifax?

Ottawa?

Avignon?

York?

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

1 minute ago, Spidey said:

Well here’s 10 in addition to the 12 SL, so there probably is 20 clubs who “could” go FT

Toulouse

Featherstone

London

Bradford

Newcastle

Widnes

Halifax?

Ottawa?

Avignon?

York?

I don’t even know where to start with that nonsense. The idea that all of the above can sustain full-time, elite football is laughable - not even half of them.
 

I guess a couple more might do if you lowered average wage budgets even further, so we had even more people on “full time” wages of £20-25k than we embarrassingly do now, but as I’ve said that would deplete our game’s ability to compete for talent even further and just continue the death spiral… and still wouldn’t get you to 20!
 

What’s the matter with the expectations of our fan base? It mystifies me, but probably gets the  standard of leadership it deserves now I think about it

[Spidey]

4 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

I don’t even know where to start with that nonsense. The idea that all of the above can sustain full-time, elite football is laughable - not even half of them.
 

I guess a couple more might do if you lowered average wage budgets even further, so we had even more people on “full time” wages of £20-25k than we embarrassingly do now, but as I’ve said that would deplete our game’s ability to compete for talent even further and just continue the death spiral… and still wouldn’t get you to 20!
 

What’s the matter with the expectations of our fan base? It mystifies me, but probably gets the  standard of leadership it deserves now I think about it

Just pointing out those who have the desire to go FT. Ask them all they all want to be in SL eventually

[Damien]

8 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Well here’s 10 in addition to the 12 SL, so there probably is 20 clubs who “could” go FT

Toulouse

Featherstone

London

Bradford

Newcastle

Widnes

Halifax?

Ottawa?

Avignon?

York?

That list doesnt fill you with much confidence. 4 teams with question marks, Bradford who have had huge issues and have only just gone back to Odsal and London have just announced going to part time. Widnes don't seem too rosy at the minute either and only last week denied rumours of financial problems.

[rlno1]

15 hours ago, LeeF said:

Don’t worry he’s back taking his invisibility tablets 

Abdo from the NRL takes the same.

[rlno1]

If you listen to Johnson and Rimmer on the BBC Podcast it seems they are following Shane Richardson's plan for British RL.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/dissecting-shane-richardsons-plan-for-british-rugby-league/

It all seems to match up. 

[Damien]

4 minutes ago, rlno1 said:

If you listen to Johnson and Rimmer on the BBC Podcast it seems they are following Shane Richardson's plan for British RL.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/dissecting-shane-richardsons-plan-for-british-rugby-league/

It all seems to match up. 

Which was widely castigated.

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

32 minutes ago, rlno1 said:

If you listen to Johnson and Rimmer on the BBC Podcast it seems they are following Shane Richardson's plan for British RL.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/dissecting-shane-richardsons-plan-for-british-rugby-league/

It all seems to match up. 

Richardson’s plan was some half-ar***, phoned-in nonsenseburger sketched by rugby league’s 2nd most annoying obese executive on the back of a napkin 

 

So of course it will be taken up with gusto by Rimmer and company!

[rlno1]

1 hour ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

Richardson’s plan was some half-ar***, phoned-in nonsenseburger sketched by rugby league’s 2nd most annoying obese executive on the back of a napkin 

 

So of course it will be taken up with gusto by Rimmer and company!

Agreed, Richardson for a guy who was in England for a few years seems to have no idea. The ignorance of Australian RL officials is amazing, they believe because things work in Brisbane or Sydney they will work in England but seem to forget RL has no Premier League to compete with in Sydney or Brisbane or is a sport that is marginalised.

[Forever Trinity]

If anyone watched the programme about the decision making on 9/11 in America regardless of ones view watching the documentary and listening to Bush who was the President then his view on leadership certainly isnt getting your head down and disappearing for weeks and months its worth a watch just to watch how he performs at the time and his narrative 20 years later. Ralph is a bus ride of leadership.

[M j M]

A couple of thoughts now i've had chance to listen to the BBC podcast.

Firstly I wonder how humiliating it is for Rimmer not to be allowed onto such a thing without the steady hand of Johnson accompanying him, interrupting him and, frankly, upstaging him in coherence. I do wonder what the RFL board think of the current chief exec and what his future is.

Onto the specifics as others have said I wished we had people more able to think on their feet interviewing - or at least more willing to follow up on what was being said.

More than once Rimmer said two tens would free up the calendar. It's total BS, as everyone who follows the game knows. You'd free up the calendar by simply getting rid of the loop games in the twelve team top flight. Are they seriously proposing that the clubs will have just nine home games?? But it wasn't challenged. Nor was what it meant practically (a fifth of the top flight potentially being non UK based, how does the broadcaster feel about that?), will it not just mean more loop games and has anyone even done any research which will almost certainly show that fans don't want such a stupid thing?

The stuff about a "strategic partner" worries me but let's see. Sure it's better than the disaster of private equity and Johnson at least seems to get why that isn't a good idea so hopefully we can bin it for good. But I'm cautious of what 'strategic partner' means. It's very wooly and presumably will be tied to $$$ but I'm always very wary of management in any organisation looking to have a third party to deflect blame onto when something goes wrong when it should be them making the decisions and them finding the funding and them being held accountable.

We're paying a fair amount of money for the game's leadership here and frankly I'm not seeing a lot of bang for our buck.

 

[rlno1]

I also noticed how Johnson jumped in to answer questions for Rimmer and thought the same, that is his response could be awkward.

My concern is News Corp now have their tentacles all around the Australian game as they intended back when all the Super League rubbish started. Will they be the third party or something aligned with them but in another name? Could the stripping back of the English game be for a rebuild in future years as they did in Australia.

I love the tradition of our game but it seems to be getting lost in the pursuit of TV money. How can the British game turn it's back on half it's clubs? Kevin Brown may say we have the best product but it is not reflected in attendances, same goes for in Australia.