Yep, this is the exact reason I'm hoping Leigh stay up

The £800k is not an issue, our owner has stated that, the biggest problem is that we have signed a quality champ squad most of whom have “not quite made it” at the top level ( Jordan Thompson an example) or are on their way down (Ben Flower)

Also have an unproven coach a top end of champ let alone SL,

With not much quality around to bring in its gunna be a tough gig

100% spot on. How many other sports allow the turkeys to vote for Christmas? Its absolute madness.

We pay money to have a RFL board and a SLE board and they dont even make any decisions. The clubs do.

Leigh, Toronto, Timbuctoo should all have the same central funding as the other clubs in the league. You either accept them into Super League or you dont. To ask Leigh to compete on less money than the rest is absolutely ridiculous.

If the latest Sky offer is true the it could be 10 team SL or maybe even 8 .never mind 12 . Elstone has a big negotiating job on his hands

Some clubs are really going to struggle if they have to take a 50% cut in TV money.

They'll have to accept Sky's offer. There is no one else interested. Tough sh-t. The game continues to kill itself.

I’ve not been following any of this, are BT not interested?

If Elstone does a deal where the game ends up on only 50% of current deal, Nigel Wood’s reign will look like a golden era.

IF the deal is for less than the current one, Elstone should fall on his sword and the RFL should take control of the game again. IF....

The game needs an injection of cash and a strong enough governing body to implement some considerable (and painful) changes to the game as a whole in this country and not just fritter it away.

Unfortunately, im not confident in either, the tail wags the dog and the governing body (ies?) are so weak its untrue.

I'd love the NRL to come in and buy into the game over here and revolutionise the antiquated systems in place here.

We have consistently as a game undersold ourselves time and time again, look at the publicity that has been generated in the mainstream media by Kevins MND marathons, look at the positive impact RL has on communities across the North, look at how the real RL family comes together and the savagery of 80mins of RL and tell me how the fudge a governing body(ies) cant sell this game to audiences consistently and profitably?

We've become a game mired in gimmicks, quick fixes, fads and selling the game on Northern stereotypes (not gonna fly outside the M62) Until we start to embrace a more professional presentation of the game then we'll always hand the vison of the game to its detractors / Mungoball haters.

Does anybody understand the pros and cons of the private equity deal Elstone is reportedly negotiating. I would have thought if we are going down that route Leeds would be be better served by sorting something out for themselves. Can't really find anything good to say about Elstone. Hetherington and McManus have clearly smelled a rat, and I trust both to get the big things right.

Because Darth & McManus know both how to run a club.

Others are just blinded by the promises of ££££ but cant see the long term effects

McManus was one of the people behind the split and the appointment of Elstone, all to get Nigel Wood away from running the game, as they didn't have faith in him negotiating the TV deal, based on the previous 5 year deal he negotiated. In hindsight, Wood deserves a medal for that deal.

I'd be amazed if Leeds didn't veto a private equity deal. We have no reason to sell our future revenues for a short term cash bump.

I read that the new sky deal is 50% lower than the current deal. the cash will stay in SL and nothing going to the lower leagues. Unfortunately what else do we expect. The only bidder are SKY they have no competition and they can say take it or leave it. As a sport we are so little minded. Instead of leveling up we always level down to the lowest point. In the last 10 years we have gone backwards. Over 10 years ago we had a plan, a plan to have better stadiums, academies, modern facilities etc. Unfortunately we still have grounds like Wakefield, Castleford, poor supported teams like Salford, Huddersfield and HKR. We cannot change the sport because the majority of the chairmen do not want change, they want the money, they use the money to pay all the wages and subsidise the running of the clubs.
We try and expand the game, so Toronto are brought in, the run out of money, off they go, then Leigh are in, they were probably the best bet, but where is the expansion away from the M62 corridor.
We need to remember why SKY pay their sponsorship, it because they want to sell more SKY sports in their TV package. they do give us the money for fun, its to buy their packages and they feel that they have enough coverage in the M62 corridor.
We have to get real and make changes, we need to employ someone on £300k + pa and let them put a plan together. If it upsets people and clubs then fine, but we need a 5 year plan, licencing, no relegation, all clubs must have an academy, better stadiums, better facilities minimum seater and standing stadiums. If you dont deliver you are out. Some clubs do need to merge together.
Candidly looking at SKY sports, we dont get any better coverage than the like of Darts, netball, basketball etc. Let us stop kidding ourselves, however good we think the game is others do not think like us, so it is time for a new direction, change, and new faces at the very top, We are driven forward by people that even i would not employ. If we dont make the changes, start looking forward to the players going back to part time professionals.

Nothing there to disagree with but how do you expect clubs to fund better facilities, stadiums and acadamies with basically half the budget? These things cost substantial funds and clubs and the sport does not have it.

Like i always say in this situation its easy for fans of our club to talk about sponsors and crowds. We are a big city. If Leeds got the % of fans to population that Cas get for example get we would need a 60k stadium.

I agree with all your points but there is no money to fund big projects in the sport and no real interest from outside the sport.