He was the one who instigated all of this full time professionalism, franchising, licencing and everything that goes with it.
He was the little boy who had a bit of spare cash to afford to play his favourite game at Wigan, pay sportsman as much as you like so long as they bring home the silverware. Gather together the best possible players available from wherever in the world they come from, just win trophies & stop anyone else winning. He soon jumped the good ship RL when salary caps started to take effect on the clubs finances.
We all know the history, we've all heard the stories.
Read Kris Radlinski's autobiography if you ever get the chance it'll give you a real insight into the way that man did his RL business. He's to blame for the mess the game is in at the moment & the greed that the top clubs now have.


R.I.P. professional RL.

Worst post ever. Without Maurce Lindsay this sport would be dead on it's . Yes, none of us like the cash filled domination of Wigan but you wouldn't be so bitter if it happened at your club, would you?

And that's from a Saints fan.

Why do you think so many RL clubs at all spectrums of the professional ladder have gone bust in the last 20 or 30 years ?
They've all been chasing the dream that's why.
Oh, and just to confirm your point, THIS GAME IS DEAD ON IT'S BOOTY.

What's the point in playing at top level if you're not chasing the dream? Sport is about winning.

Whilst the game isn't at a particularly strong position, it still has a foundation and potential. We still have large TV deals and sponsorships. The game is still available for you to watch and enjoy.

I understand you're frustrated about not getting in SL but this is just ridiculous, you going to blame Jeremy Clarkson next because he's on a show on BBC who also happen to cover the challenge cup?

Grow up a bit, you sound very bitter.

Should we be having a minutes silence then as our dream of Super League is dead and buried.

We are not bitter we just don`t like being taken for mugs , you hit the nail right on the head IT`S ABOUT WINNING. That is what the game should be about promotion and relegation the ones who win get rewarded and the ones who lose fail.You know like every other sport except rugby league , rewarding failure produces mediocrity.

Who is Jeremy Clarkson ?

Really?

Did you really just ask that?

Oh yeah I completely agree with you, I thought you was hard done by. I was just making the point that blaing Maurice Lindsay when he had nothing to do with the decision was a bit pathetic. He's done an awful lot for Rugby League, not just Wigan.

Oh yeah, he was the fella behind the ill fated world club challenge debacle too....

I interviewed Maurice Lyndsey about 12 years ago and it was clear where his loyalties lay and it was not with the RL community as a whole. I remember the responses he gave to open questions revealed his vision of the future was very Wigan/large club centric. He had little time/understanding/respect for the roots of the game and was shockingly short sighted when it came to the future direction.

I would say he is not wholeheartedly to blame for the state of the game today, but he was a major instigator of the problems we now find ourselves in. As for being a saviour, dont believe the hype as most of it came from him. Sky were coming into the game irrespective, he just happened to be the one who undersold it.

I liked Maurice. He dragged this game up off the floor and with the concept of SL ensured the long term funding of the game. Don't blame him for the lying, cheatung and underhand way the current administrators run the game.

Sorry Rich I disagree. He was a primary cause of the game getting into such strife from the way he ran things at Wigan (who almost went under despite all the success). As clubs tried to match their model the game became unsustainable. It was he who put the game on the floor in the first place.

Sky were coming along anyway, he was just in the right place at the right time, the same as any chimpanzee who happens upon a bunch of bananas which fall from the tree. He had the opportunity to plant some of the windfall and create firm foundations and he blew it.

He spent money on consultants who knew sod all about the game and put together a half assed plan then sat back and waited to see what happened. Most clubs in SL's first few years nearly went bust because they were unprepared. Poor business planning (no guidance again from Uncle Mo), players agents, the Super League war in Aus, etc, etc all combined to put massive pressure on clubs and cause them to overspend massively. Where was the guiding hand from the leader of the game..........grooming the racehorses which are his main passion.

No, Maurice Lyndsey may not be wholly responsible for the mess the game is in, but never underestimate the role he played in its downfall.

FWIW

I too agree that ML has some blame to shoulder for the state of RL, he was a man who played to win, and in doing that he changed the rules so he could win, and he did, he is not the only one who has done this, A well know football manger has done this for years, and it got him knighted, The F1 supremo is well docmented at winning at all costs, its nothing new at the top of every tree, there are people who change the rules for the own gain

I keep saying it the way to relsove this rumpus is

Promotion and Relegation

Problem with this is that the game hasn't fallen. The attendances are up on the years prior to SL. It's a mess down here but at the half or so dozen "proper" clubs in SL their lot is a happy one.